Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire: The Guide to Being Glorious You (Thomas Nelson, Apr. 21), the latest book by bestselling author Jen Hatmaker, surpassed over 17,000 print units sold in its first week, according to NPD BookScan. (It sold another 9,000 copies in its second week on sale).
The sales feat was possible in part because of “pivots” made by the marketing and publicity teams in light of the Covid-19 crisis. Though the pandemic has caused major disruptions to the book business, online events and an emphasis of the book’s empowering message moved the needle, the publisher says.
In the biggest change due to quarantine restrictions and social distancing guidelines, Thomas Nelson and Hatmaker developed an online, one night only webcast event featuring author Brené Brown, comedian Anjelah Johnson, and music duo JohnnySwim. Readers could access the webcast by placing pre-order purchases of Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire. The event took place on April 30.
Additional pre-order incentives included immediate digital access to the book's introduction and two chapters, I Am Strong in My Body and I Believe in Spiritual Curiosity. Further, pre-order purchases came with immediate access to a one-hour coaching session (audio and video) with Hatmaker.
Because of Covid-19, marketing and publicity efforts targeted book clubs as well as #bookstagrammers with Hatmaker’s advice on investing in oneself now, according to Thomas Nelson. The publisher also relied heavily on Hatmaker’s podcast and speaking events platforms to promote the audiobook version of Fierce.
Looking ahead, Hatmaker is launching #FierceFreeFire Happy Hour via Zoom on Mondays starting May 18 to June 15 to discuss the book. Each of the five weeks corresponds with the five book sections.
Hatmaker’s past books, For the Love (2015) and Of Mess and Moxie (2017), have solder over 300,000 hardcover copies combined to date, according to BookScan.
