Martyn Cook is known in the business world for helping to create multiple seven-figure ecommerce brands, including his latest product Noobru.com. However, his recent top-selling book, “1% Secret” is a key into how to become successful, quickly.
The book since its launch has made multiple top-seller lists, and uncovers the hidden 'leverage points' within any internet business, while giving you the step by step guide to improve each leverage point by a lot more than just 1%.
We spoke to Martyn on being an author, his keys to success and all about how his book covers the seven important pillars of successful ecommerce businesses.
1. What is the key to success in the book industry you have found?
First off, I honestly salute any author who has gone through the pain, hardship and effort it takes to actually get a book published - it’s not a small feat, especially when it’s alongside running another business!
For me, I would say that a big part of the success in the book industry is about the preparation and the promotion. Without preparation, you won’t be on top of your calendar and schedule to actually produce your book and without promotion (both before and after publishing) few will have the opportunity to read the book.
In our preparation stage with 1% Secret - I was keen to get early feedback and also help cement the authority of the book with strong forewords and testimonials. We landed Kevin Harrington as a foreword for the book and more than 30 initial testimonials from early preview-readers - that was amazing.
There’s also a lot to be said for creativity and innovation - for example, I love how David Goggins in the audio version of his book ‘Can’t Hurt Me’, he breaks the mould of audiobooks and actually answers questions and adds commentary at the end of key sections - it makes the book way more immersive and enjoyable - it’s a fantastic book, I highly recommend it.
2. For those that don't know, tell us about your recent books you have published.
My most recent book is called - "1% Secret - How To Scale Your E-commerce Business From 6 Figures to 7 and Beyond” - It’s 50 chapters of actionable ways you can improve an area of your life or business by at least 1%.
1% may not sound like much, but really what we’re leveraging in the book is the compound effect of 1% incremental gains. On our website I demonstrate in a video how by improving 4 areas of your e-commerce customer journey by just 1% will result in a 400% increase in revenue! So imagine the effect on your business, if you applied one chapter of the book, per week , for a year and improved each of those areas by at least 1%? Huge.
I wrote the book as I felt I had a responsibility to share my experience and learnings from building seven successful e-commerce brands over the last 10 years. The book is my very best work and physical copies of the book are available for free at www.1percentsecret.com - I just ask that you kick in $7 for shipping, we cover the cost of the book.
3. As you have been highly successful in business too, what advice would you give to others wanting to start their own?
My advice would be to focus on creating a product that provides value. Don’t focus on money - focus on creating something that genuinely improves the lives of your customers.
With our brand - Noobru.com - it’s easy to figure out the value we’re giving our customers — Success and Achievement — that’s because whatever you’re trying to achieve in life - Crushing that exam, Performing better at work, sport or competition, being present in the moment, focus, confidence etc — if your brain performs better - YOU perform better. But we wanted to go one step further and provide value to people who need it most, in our case we chose to support the 2 Billion Malnourished people in the world. So with every order, we fortify the meals of at least 1 child for at least a year - our mission is to fortify 1 Billion meals by 2025.
On top of that, be an Enlightened Entrepreneur! Find a charity or cause that you can support with your business from the very beginning. Be genuine, and pick a cause that really makes a difference in the world. Right now, I would suggest causes that fight climate change, reduce single-use plastic, plant trees or fight global malnutrition - these are big issues that are really important.
4. Are you currently working on any new books?
I am definitely getting that ‘writers-itch’ once again - it comes from the sheet quantity and quality of amazing experience from the successful entrepreneurs that we interview on the Smarter Destiny Podcast that I run... we’ve interviewed nearly 100 entrepreneurs now, each with a business earning between 7 and 9 figures annually.
For my next book, I intend to filter and curate the amazing learnings and teachings from the 150+ hours of interviews into an easy to consume book format.
5. What authors and books are on your top reading list?
So many! In recent times I would say Yuval Hurari - Sapiens, Homo Deus or 21 Lessons for the 21st Century - are each incredible books. The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly is a brilliant insight into how technology will change our future and Principles by Ray Dalio is a really practical and innovative way into living your life.
6. What quote helps motivate you on a daily basis?
"I didn't come this far to only come this far”
I love this motto as it speaks to the point that there’s always ways to improve and opportunities to be better. I don’t tend to settle, I’m always questioning the ways things “have always been done” and looking for efficiencies, tweaks and areas to optimise. So why give up? Definitely appreciate how far you have come and be grateful, but that road ahead has so much excitement and challenge waiting for you - let’s keep going!
7. What are the overall goals for yourself heading into the rest of the year?
Without a doubt, my core focus right now is with Noobru - Our focus is on creating ‘functional drinks’ - that taste delicious, benefit some aspect of your brain - Motivation, Focus, Endurance, Memory, Recall, Creativity - and that can fit into the daily routines of our customers immediately. We’ve got some exciting products lined up that we are convinced will be game changers for our customers who use them. We have a host of game-changing products coming up, all will have brain boosting elements, but more than that, they will each benefit an important area of your ’bodily health’.
