What does the biggest nonfiction book launch in history have to do with your church? In this special episode of the unSeminary Podcast, Rich unpacks Alex Hormozi’s $100M Book Launch, a masterclass in attention-grabbing strategy that didn’t rely on TikTok trends or billboards but leaned heavily on the good old email! Alex is a first-generation Iranian-American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist who scaled multiple businesses to over $120M in sales, exited seven companies, and now runs Acquisition.com, investing in high-growth, asset-light businesses. He’s famous for his expertise in customer acquisition and monetization, and his approach to communication has lessons every church leader can use. In this episode, Rich distills three takeaways for your ministry: why campaigns beat one-off announcements, why over-communication is more effective than under-communicating, and how to compete in today’s attention economy. If you want fresh strategies to make your big Sundays (like Christmas or Easter) truly stand out, this one’s for you.
Podcast Transcript
Alex Hermozi, an entrepreneur turned content creator with a legion of rabid followers, just pulled off the most successful non-fiction book launch in history.
He’s known for breaking down great business growth strategies, and this time he applied those to selling his own book. You want to know what the results were? He sold millions of copies.
In fact, he saw over $100 million in revenue in a single weekend—literally smashing the next biggest record.
And here’s the kicker: he didn’t rely on TikTok trends or billboards. He did it almost entirely through email, sometimes sending seven or nine messages in a single day to his list.
While so many of us in the church world are nervous about sending one extra email, Hermozi showed the power of bold, well-orchestrated communication.
Today, in a special urgent episode of the unSeminary Podcast, we unpack what happened and what your church can learn from it. Lessons from Alex Hermozi? Well, they sure didn’t teach you that in seminary.
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Who Is Alex Hermozi?
Okay, so some of you might be wondering, who is Alex Hermozi and what exactly happened? And why should I care?
Well, Alex Hermozi is an entrepreneur and content creator with a huge online following. He’s known for building and selling businesses. That’s really what he does—help businesses grow, acquire them, build them up, and then turn around and sell them.
He has a direct, practical, and sometimes polarizing approach. In fact, I know there are some people listening who are kind of hate-listening because you can’t stand him. He’s a big, muscle-bound guy.
You may not like his personality, but listen—his methods are shaping how people pay attention and get traction in a noisy digital world.
So what happened was this: he launched his most recent book on August 16th, with a build-up that went back six weeks, all the way to July 2nd.
He had curiosity hooks, bonuses, even a stunt, and a huge volume of communication. We’re going to unpack that and give you applications for your church.
There are really three big lessons to take away. Let’s dive in.
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Lesson 1: Campaigns, Not Announcements
When we think about communication, the first lesson from Hermozi is this: think campaigns, not announcements.
In church world, we often assume that if the senior pastor makes one announcement, that will move the needle. But it doesn’t.
The Book Launch Campaign
Launch date: August 16th
Event: A full-day broadcast webinar with multiple segments encouraging book purchases
Leading up to launch: 30 emails in 3 weeks, each with a different angle, rhythm, and emotional hook
The campaign unfolded in three phases:
Early July (around July 2–9):
Subtle first email: subject line “You’re Invited”
Framed as an event, not just a book launch
Introduced a mystery bonus (“better than an NFT, less than a Bitcoin”)
Encouraged virality: bring a friend
Mid-July (13–20):
Clear explanation of what the book (“Money Models”) was about
Proof of results (testimonials, photos of truckloads of books)
Pre-orders opened July 20th
August 3–16 (Countdown Phase):
Emotional hype building toward launch day
Pre-order reminders, secret bonuses, daily countdowns
August 16th: 7 emails in 24 hours—countdowns, updates, reveals
August 17th: surprise repeat event with another 7 emails
August 19th: 9 “closing cart” emails to push final sales
Application for Churches
Don’t rely on one announcement. Build campaigns with multiple touches:
Early invitations framed as events
Mid-phase clarity about what people can expect
Final countdowns with urgency and hype
Lesson 2: Overcommunication Beats Undercommunication
Church leaders often fear “sending too many emails.” But Hermozi shows us that frequency + variety is what works.
He sent 7–9 emails in a single day—but they weren’t repetitive. They varied in:
Sender: some from Alex, some from his team, some from his wife Layla
Tone: some personal, some formal, some urgent, some invitational
Focus: some framed around opportunity (“bring a friend”), others around scarcity (“cart closes tonight”)
Application for Churches
Change up who the message comes from (senior pastor, executive pastor, kids’ ministry leader, etc.)
Mix tone and content: invitation, urgency, proof, community impact
Stop being afraid of “too many” emails. People’s inboxes are overflowing—you must overcommunicate with variety to break through.
Lesson 3: Compete in the Attention Economy
Hermosi knows how to break through the noise using pattern interrupts—similar to Mr. Beast on YouTube.
He used novelty, surprise, and intrigue:
Strange memorable lines like “better than an NFT, less than a Bitcoin”
The Guinness World Record stunt for “most non-fiction books sold ever”
A Steve Jobs-style PS surprise: “10 people who register now will spend a day with me in Las Vegas”
Application for Churches
Add novelty and surprise into communication:
Use real-time counters or “almost sold out” messaging
Share midweek testimonies via email or video
Hold back a surprise service (like an added Christmas Eve service) and “reveal” it later
Use PS lines with bonus invites or giveaways
In a distracted world, you can’t whisper and expect to be heard. You must interrupt patterns, create intrigue, and make your invites impossible to ignore.
Conclusion & Application for Churches
Speaker A: So what does this mean for you and me?
Too many leaders fear overwhelming people with messages. But the truth is: inboxes and feeds are overflowing. If we whisper, we’ll simply be ignored.
Hermosi was just selling books. We’re inviting people into a deeper relationship with Jesus—something infinitely more important.
Lesson 1: Campaigns, not announcements
Lesson 2: Overcommunication beats undercommunication
Lesson 3: Compete in the attention economy
Churches don’t fail because they communicate too much. They fail because they don’t communicate enough, with enough variety, frequency, and consistency.
Take a page from Hermozi’s playbook: build campaigns, communicate boldly, and watch your church’s invite culture grow.
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