The Science Behind How Tim Ferriss Built The Network That Launched His Career

Before writing his first book, Tim Ferriss was basically a vitamin salesman. Granted, he was also a kickboxing champion, a world record–holding tango dancer, an investor, and an adviser to big-name start-up companies. But, as I revealed in my latest book, he himself wasn’t a big name. Ferriss had started an online company marketing a vitamin formula designed to enhance brain function that was aimed at athletes. He had adjusted the business to run mostly on autopilot and chronicled his process in a book he titled “Drug Dealing for Fun and Profit.” On the advice of his publisher, the title was changed to The Four-Hour Workweek. Now Ferriss had a real challenge. He was new to bookselling, so none of his past success would be any help to him in marketing this new product.

But Ferriss had a plan for achieving optimal results from minimum effort there as well. He knew his target group specifically. “18–35 [-year-old] tech-savvy males,” he recalls. “Partially because I’m in that demographic.” And because he was in that group, he also knew that he didn’t need to spend time getting the attention of the big media players that most newbie authors salivate after. He didn’t need the New York Times to review his book, or to land an interview on Good Morning America. Instead, he went small. “I identified the primary channels…