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No Shotgun Approach for This Millionaire
Daisy Maryles with Dick Donahue -- 9/1/97
Back in the beginning of spring, we reported that Longstreet's bestselling The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, was closing in on 220,000 copies in print after six trips to press. That figure is now up to a whopping 450,000. And the publisher is going back to press for another 100,000 copies in anticipation of a 20-20 piece on the book scheduled for October 3. Stanley seemingly broke all the rules in promoting his work, but in reality was following a calculated plan. He sent galleys to two reporters at the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press with whom he had long-term working relationships. He turned down invitations from Oprah and many other broadcast outlets. He did signings near his Atlanta home only after the book became a bestseller. The former university marketing professor noted that he focused his energy "into one key shot instead of taking a shotgun approach," adding, "I think the credible print media discounts you when they see you in a lot of slapstick electronic media." The tactic worked. The WSJ and AP pieces caught the attention of Rush Limbaugh, Success, Parade, U.S. News &World Report and USA Today. Stanley is still choosy about accepting interviews, as he is working on his next book, The Millionaire Mind. While he hasn't yet signed a publishing contract for it, one can be sure that he'll call on his own recent experiences for insights into the workings of a millionaire's mind. Not only has his hardcover done extremely well, but Pocket Books bought the paperback rights for $1.3 million.

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