The Otedola Playbook: A Masterclass In Modern Book Marketing

By Chido Nwakanma

The extraordinary buzz surrounding Femi Otedola’s new book, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, does more than confirm his status as a leading entrepreneur; it offers a definitive masterclass in how to propel a book into the cultural stratosphere. While many books are published, few generate such significant attention. Otedola’s strategic, multi-faceted campaign provides valuable lessons for authors and publishers alike, especially within the Nigerian context.

Just one month after its global release on 18 August, the book became an Amazon bestseller. As noted by Kunle Bakare, an unofficial publicist for the author, the book’s rise was swift and deliberate: “Appearing at number 4 on the Amazon UK bestseller list in business biographies and memoirs on Tuesday, 19 August, it rose to number 3 on Wednesday, 20 August, and has remained there for many days.”

This success was no accident. It resulted from implementing a precise and thrilling playbook that adheres to global best practices.

1. **Pre-release Hype: ** Building anticipation to ensure the book arrived not as a product, but as an event.
2. **Simultaneous Global Release: ** Launching to local and international audiences at once to create a unified, global conversation.
3. Dedicated Digital Hub: Creating a dedicated website to serve as the authoritative source for all information and, crucially,
4. **Direct Sales Portal: ** Integrating a sales portal on the website to capture all consumer demand directly, complementing traditional bookstore channels.
5. **Leveraging Influential Networks: ** Tapping into the goodwill of a powerful circle of friends to deploy elite public relations strategies for awareness and credibility.
6. **Strategic Social Media Deployment: ** Focusing efforts on Facebook, the platform of choice for Nigeria’s middle and business class, to generate sustained buzz.
7. **Authentic Storytelling: ** Anchoring the campaign on a relatable and credible story of ambition, resilience, and proven business success.
8. **Content Teasing: ** Strategically sharing compelling anecdotes and narratives from the book to maintain interest and drive engagement.

The blurb itself sells a compelling journey: it charts Otedola’s path from a child with a dream to a self-made billionaire who lost a fortune only to make it back again, ultimately settling into a role as one of Africa’s most significant philanthropists.

A key question remains: will Otedola undertake a physical book tour? While Bakare could not immediately confirm, the approach would mirror strategies employed by other highly successful Nigerian authors. Efosa Ojomo, a collaborator of Harvard’s Clayton Christensen, toured Lagos and Abuja to promote The Prosperity Paradox. Likewise, literary icon Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie conducted a global tour for her latest work, Dream Count, with stops in the US, Europe, and important Nigerian cities including Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu. Such a tour would enable Otedola to engage directly with stakeholders, attract significant media attention, and create memorable moments through signings and readings.

This sophisticated approach sharply contrasts with the often dull marketing surrounding even the most prestigious literary awards. The insight from Adedotun Eyinade of Roving Heights Bookstores is enlightening. He told Businessday that there is “No significant interest in the shortlist from the data I tracked. The NLNG prize list doesn’t move the needle in terms of sales. It doesn’t influence readers’ choices.”

This is a damning critique. Despite the platform of the Nigeria Prize for Literature and its $100,000 prize fund, the eleven longlisted and three shortlisted books failed to ignite public interest. The reason is apparent: an inability to generate the very buzz and conversation that Otedola has perfected. While the prize winners saw a finish line, Otedola approached his launch as a starting gun.

The global best practice is for publishers and their authors to promote their books. Lucrative prizes only boost the marketing efforts.

The lesson is universal: a book’s quality is only half the battle. In today’s crowded attention economy, a strategic, well-resourced, and professionally executed marketing campaign is not optional—it is essential. Femi Otedola’s Making It Big is more than a memoir; it is a case study in making it seen, making it heard, and ultimately, making it sell.