ResultSource

ResultSource is a San Diego-based book marketing company that conducts "bestseller campaigns" on behalf of authors.^[1] The company states "'We create campaigns that reach a specific goal, like: "On the bestsellers list," or "100,000 copies sold.'"^[1] For example, for a negotiated fee ResultSource will guarantee that a book becomes a bestseller.^[2] It does this through bulk book buying programs designed to manipulate the metrics used by Nielsen BookScan and the New York Times Best Seller list, among other strategies.^[1] As a result of ResultSource's business practices, Amazon.com has stopped doing business with the company.^[3] The company was founded by Kevin Small.^[1]

The details of ResultSource's business are private and few in the publishing industry will speak openly about it.^[3] "It's no wonder few people in the industry want to talk about bestseller campaigns. Put bluntly, they allow people with enough money, contacts, and know-how to buy their way onto bestseller lists."^[3] However some information has come to light. In 2014, the Los Angeles Times published a story titled "Can bestseller lists be bought?"^[2][4] It describes how author and pastor Mark Driscoll contracted with ResultSource to place his book Real Marriage on the New York Times bestseller list for a $200,000 fee. The contract was for ResultSource "to conduct a bestseller campaign for your book, 'Real Marriage' on the week of January 2, 2012. The bestseller campaign is intended to place 'Real Marriage' on the New York Times bestseller list for the Advice How-to list." To achieve this, the contract stated that "RSI will be purchasing at least 11,000 total orders in one week." This took place and as a result, the book was successfully ranked #1 on the hardcover advice bestseller list on January 22, 2014.^[2] Driscoll later published an apology letter.^[5]

Other authors who are known to have contracted with ResultSource include:

• Tony Hsieh, Delivering Happiness.^[3][6]
• Soren Kaplan, Leapfrogging. Kaplan purchased about 2,500 books through ResultSource, paying about $22 a book for a total of about $55,000. He also paid ResultSource a fee in the range of $20,000 to $30,000. The book reached #3 on the Journal's hardcover business best-seller list, and #1 on BarnesandNoble.com.^[1]
• Joseph A. Michelli, Prescription for Excellence. It reached #1 on the New York Times hardcover advice and miscellaneous list dated June 12, 2011.^[1]
• Steve Poizner, Mount Pleasant: My Journey from Creating a Billion-Dollar Company to Teaching at a Struggling Public High School reached #5 on the New York Times list.^[7][8]
• Keith Ferrazzi, Who's Got Your Back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success- and Won't Let You Fail. Ranked #1 in all books on Amazon.com, and #1 on BN.com^[9]
• Ken Blanchard & Don Hutson, One Minute Entrepreneur: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business. ^[10]
• Martin Lindstrom, Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.^[11]
• Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, The Daily Carrot Principle: 365 Ways to Enhance Your Career and Life. Ranked #6 New York Times, #3 Wall Street Journal, #1 Amazon.^[12]
• Pamela Yellen, Bank on Yourself: The Life-Changing Secret to Protecting Your Financial Future. Ranked #3 New York Times, #2 USA Today, #1 Amazon.^[13]
• Tony Schwartz, The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance. Ranked #2 New York Times, #3 Wall Street Journal, #2 USA Today, #1 Amazon.^[14]
• Charlene Li, Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead. Ranked #5 New York Times, #3 Wall Street Journal, #3 USA Today, #1 Amazon.^[15]
• Phil Town, Payback Time: Making Big Money Is the Best Revenge!. Ranked #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, #1 USA Today, #1 Amazon.^[16]
• Clate Mask and Scott Martineau, Conquer The Chaos: How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy. Ranked #4 New York Times, #4 Wall Street Journal, #3 USA Today.^[17]
• Grant Cardone, If You're Not First You're Last: Sales Strategies to Dominate Your Market and Beat Your Competition. Ranked #8 New York Times, #3 Wall Street Journal, #4 USA Today.^[18]
• Mars Hill Church used ResultSource to promote Christian books, as did Christian authors David Jeremiah, Les and Leslie Parrott and Pastor Perry Noble.^[19][20]

See also

• Vanity award

References

1. Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg (February 22, 2013). "The Mystery of the Book Sales Spike". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
2. Carolyn Kellogg (March 6, 2014). "Can bestseller lists be bought?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
3. Jeff Bercovici (February 22, 2013). "Here's How You Buy Your Way Onto The New York Times Bestsellers List". Forbes. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
4. Julia Fleischaker (March 7, 2014). "Got $200,000? Congratulations, you're a bestselling author.". Melville House Publishing. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
5. "Mark Driscoll Posts an Open Letter of Apology". Relevant Magazine. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
6. http://web.archive.org/web/20140317122044/http://www.resultsource.com/bestseller/deliveringhappiness.php
7. Malcolm Maclachlan (April 29, 2010). "Hundreds reportedly received unsolicited copies of Poizner memoir". Capitol Weekly. Archived from the original on May 4, 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
8. Scott Herhold, etc (May 2, 2010). "Internal Affairs: The mysterious case of Poizner's best-selling book". The Mercury News. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
9. Ferrazzi, Keith. "Who's got Your Back". The WayBack Machine. ResultSource. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
10. & Don Hutson, Ken Blanchard. "One Minute Entrepreneur: The Secret to Creating and Sustaining a Successful Business". The WayBack Machine. ResultSource. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
11. Lindstrom, Martin. "Buyology". The WayBack Machine. RealSource. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
12. Chester Elton, Adrian Gostick. "The Daily Carrot Principle". The WayBack Machine. ResultSource. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
13. Yellen, Pamela. "Bank on Yourself: The Life-Changing Secret to Protecting Your Financial Future". The WayBack Machine. Result Source. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
14. Schwartz, Tony. "The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance". The WayBack Machine. Result Source. Archived from the original on May 21, 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
15. Li, Charlene. "Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead". The Wayback Machine. Result Source. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
16. Town, Phil. "Payback Time: Making Big Money Is the Best Revenge!". The Wayback Machine. ResultSource. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
17. Scott Martineau, Clate Mask. "Conquer The Chaos: How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy". The Wayback Machine. ResultSource. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
18. Cardone, Grant. "f You're Not First You're Last: Sales Strategies to Dominate Your Market and Beat Your Competition". The Wayback Machine. ResultSource. Archived from the original on January 7, 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
19. Sutton Turner (April 23, 2015). "Former Mars Hill Church Executive Pastor and Elder Shares All: Big Mistake of ResultSource (Pt. 1)". The Christian Post. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
20. Warren Throckmorton (November 16, 2014). "How the Religious Right Scams Its Way Onto the New York Times Bestseller List". The Daily Beast. Retrieved September 3, 2015.