Cornerstone celebrates Atomic Habits' biggest week’s TCM five years after publication

Five years after publication James Clear’s guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones through incremental change is still dominating the charts, achieving its biggest week’s TCM. 

Week one of 2024 saw Atomic Habits sell 10,100 copies through the UK TCM. Nigel Wilcockson, associate publisher at Cornerstone, told The Bookseller: “Atomic Habits’ journey has been one from success on publication to stratospheric success today. There are various reasons for this. The author, James Clear, has and continues to be a brilliant champion of his work, particularly through his popular ’3-2-1’ newsletter (now sent to over 2 million people each week). We ourselves devote year-round attention to the book, through promotions, extensive and innovative marketing campaigns, and publicity opportunities. And, most importantly, it’s a brilliant book on a topic of universal interest and appeal.” 

Marketing manager Lydia Weigel said the title was a “key focus” for the team. “A year-round approach, with continuous social listening, insight and audience analysis, strategic investment in key seasonal moments like ‘Back to school’ in September and ‘New Year, New You’ in January – with major campaigns including OOH [Out of Home advertising] and digital with fresh creative approaches and visuals – have led to consistent success for this title.  

“This January is our biggest campaign yet, featuring London Underground OOH, a major paid advertising campaign running across key social platforms (Meta, TikTok) and Amazon display, as well as tactical e-book promotion, with a refreshed and elevated new visual identity for the New Year, choosing a design system that feels energised and distinguished.”