Five Ways Business Owners Use Books to Grow Their Business

Transcription

1 Five Ways Business Owners Use Books to Grow Their Business MELISSA GONZALEZ, AUTHOR OF THE POP-UP PARADIGM

2 Introduction When an author comes to us to write a book, our conversation always starts with the same question: What exactly are you hoping to achieve with your book? Many potential authors have trouble answering this question. They know books have helped people similar to them, and they think a book will help them, but they aren t exactly sure how. They just believe that if they have a book, opportunities will somehow come to them. While not being wrong, this is not exactly true. Books don t just magically produce great results.

3 Introduction The most successful authors meticulously plan out the results they want from their book. They have a clear, specific goal in mind a vivid vision for what the book will achieve and how it will change their lives and with this clarity around the purpose the book, they are able to craft the content and the marketing strategy to make sure they reach that goal. This guide will show you have five of our past authors used clarity of purpose to achieve some awesome results. Let their examples help you figure out exactly how you can use your book to achieve similar success for yourself. Let s dive in. FIVE WAYS BUSINESS OWNERS USE BOOKS TO TO GROW THEIR BUSINESS 3

4 As an author, I knew I would be able to demand a higher fee. I also knew that, because of my book, audience members would remember me, see me as more authoritative and be more likely to hire me for future gigs. JOHN RUHLIN, BOOK IN A BOX AUTHOR

5 Strategy #1 Get Speaking Gigs STRATEGY #1: Get Speaking Gigs John Ruhlin is the CEO of Ruhlin Group, a strategic gift giving company. He s hired by organizations like NFL teams and Fortune 500s to give gifts on their behalf to engage with customers, vendors and employees. JOHN RUHLIN AUTHOR OF GIFTOLOGY In addition to his work directly for organizations, John also speaks on the topic of gifting, teaching others how to make sure their gifts stand out and make an emotional impact on the recipient. Before writing his book, Giftology, John was able to charge $7.5k per speaking

6 Strategy #1 Get Speaking Gigs engagement. That s no small feat and something that most people would be incredibly proud of. But John wanted to get on bigger stages, get paid more, and reach more people with his message. This informed John s strategy. He needed to write a book that people would want to speak about, that aligned with the message he wanted to share through his speaking, and that was high quality and professional enough that conference organizers would be impressed with the final product. So that s what he did. Once the book was released, John created a plan to get his book in front of these people responsible for booking speeches. He printed a special edition leather version and packaged it in a beautiful box. He sent these boxes to those who booked the types of speeches he wanted to give. Oh, and he doubled his speaking fee to $15k. As an author, I knew I would be able to demand a higher fee. I also knew that, because of my book, audience members would remember me, see me as more authoritative, and be more likely to hire me for future gigs.

7 Strategy #1 Get Speaking Gigs It worked. Within three months after the book was released, John had booked four speaking gigs at his new rate, and started to get inbound inquiries from others who had seen him speak and wanted to book him for future events. Within ten months, he d booked over 15 new gigs. The book was the best decision I made in It really took things to a whole other level. For more details on John Ruhlin s story, view his case study here.

8 What we ve done with The Five Hour Workday, it s been 10x what happened [when we were featured] on Shark Tank. STEPHAN AARSTOL, BOOK IN A BOX AUTHOR

9 Strategy #2 Create a Media Frenzy STRATEGY #2: Create a Media Frenzy When Stephan Aarstol started Tower Paddleboards, he quickly learned that he got his best work done when he worked less hours. But as the team grew, he made the assumption most companies make his team should be working 40 hour workweeks. One summer, Stephan decided to test the idea of having his team work his hours: 8am to 1pm, five days per week. Productivity skyrocketed and The Five Hour Workday was born. Stephan s goal was simple: he wanted to spread the message of the five hour workday, in hopes that other companies would adopt a similar schedule. This informed his strategy. He didn t plug his own product or focus the book on anything self-serving. Instead, he wrote the book that he knew media would be most excited by, and that could genuinely convince readers to change the way their companies operate.

10 Strategy #2 Create a Media Frenzy 4.4m views! Within a few months of the book s launch, Stephan and The Five Hour Workday were profiled in Inc, Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Fast Company. Stephan was booked on a TV media circuit that included CNBC, CNN, and Fox. The book has even exploded internationally, being featured in the UK s Daily Mail and hundreds of newspapers in Germany, Austria, Canada, India, and all across the globe. Some highlights: Huffington Post created a Facebook video on the concept that went viral, getting over 4mm views and 38k shares. Fortune Magazine is doing a profile of Tower, sponsored by Chase In Germany s largest newspaper, Stephan was named World s Best Boss There are even talks with major networks to start a reality TV show based around the concept of having Stephan help businesses implement the five hour workday

11 Strategy #2 Create a Media Frenzy Of course, this attention accomplished his goal of spreading his message. But the funny thing about focusing on helping others is that it often comes back around to help you. With all the visibility, Stephan s business continued to grow dramatically and attract incredible talent who want to support him in his mission. What we ve done with The Five Hour Workday, it s been 10x what happened [when we were featured] on Shark Tank. For more details on Stephan s story, read his case study here.

12 Writing a book helped me very quickly become known as the guy in my field. SIMON DUDLEY, BOOK IN A BOX AUTHOR

13 Strategy #3 Build Authority with Potential Clients STRATEGY #3: Build Authority with Potential Clients When Simon Dudley came to us, he had an amazing job as the Chief Evangelist of a telecommunications company. Unfortunately, it wasn t the job he wanted. Simon planned to start a consultancy to help organizations adapt to technological changes. He wanted to help the Blockbusters of the future not get taken down by Netflix, and he had the ideas for how to do it. The problem? He didn t have any credibility in the space. Despite knowing his stuff, he didn t have any background in innovation, and had no way to prove to potential clients that he was an expert. He wanted to create a book to chronicle what he knew, in order to give to clients in order to eloquently express his beliefs. This informed his content strategy: The book needed to be philosophically

14 Strategy #3 Build Authority with Potential Clients clear, showing Simon s brilliance in observing technological trends, but also actionable, showing his ability to adapt to them. The book needed to be his manifesto. Notice the difference from the above goals. Simon s book didn t need to focus on being media-worthy or catchy. It needed to show a depth of knowledge for the subsegment of people who were interested in the topic. This led to a very different book. When Simon s book, The End of Certainty, was released, he immediately had the tool he needed. Giving it away to prospective clients, he started to get more calls back, and soon his consultancy was doing so well that he was able to leave his job and pursue it full time.

15 I d been putting out great content for years. But it took having a book before I was really able to build my tribe. GEOFF BLADES, BOOK IN A BOX AUTHOR

16 Strategy #4 Build Your Audience STRATEGY #4: Build Your Audience Geoff Blades is a former VP from Goldman Sachs who is taking the lessons and mindsets that helped him succeed and sharing them with other career-focused professionals. Before writing his book, Geoff s excellent articles got a lot of attention, but it was hard for him to capture that attention. Readers would land on his website, enjoy his content, and move on. There was no next step. He tried opt-ins but had trouble finding anything that would connect with his audience. He decided to write a book that would serve as the way for readers to engage more deeply with his content. GEOFF BLADES AUTHOR OF DO WHAT YOU WANT

17 Strategy #4 Build Your Audience Like the other authors we are discussing, this informed his strategy. He wrote the definitive guide to the things his readers care about: how to hone your mindset to succeed in business and in life, and take control of your career. When Do What You Want was released, Geoff offered the first three chapters as an opt-in on his site. Immediately, conversions increased, and finally his blog readers had a next step. From the blog, they could opt-in for free chapters of his book, which was custom written to appeal to them. From the free chapters, they could buy the full book. By the time they were done with the book, they had become fans.

18 Releasing my book more than tripled my inbound leads, and added 33% to the bottom line of my business. MELISSA GONZALEZ, BOOK IN A BOX AUTHOR

19 MELISSA GONZALEZ AUTHOR OF THE POP-UP PARADIGM Strategy #5 Get More Referrals for Your Business STRATEGY #5: Get More Referrals for Your Business Melissa Gonzalez runs a retail pop-up consultancy called The Lion esque Group, where she works with brands to create incredible experiences and build connections with their customers through popups shops. When she wrote The Pop-Up Paradigm, Melissa s goal was simple: Get the book in the hands of readers who were in the market for pop-ups, educate them, and have the ones who were serious hire her to help them put the book s ideas into action.

20 Strategy #5 Get More Referrals for Your Business Because of these goals, Melissa focused the book specifically on pop-ups, as opposed to targeting a wider retail audience that might have sold more copies. She didn t need the book to appeal to everybody just to those she could specifically help, and who might hire her. Once the book was released, Melissa doubled down on this strategy. She provided organizations with overlapping audiences with hundreds of free copies to give away to their customers, and she focused on using the book to get media attention that her target market would be consuming (like a regular contributor spot on a retail radio show, a feature in Forbes, and profiles in almost all major retail media outlets). Her strategy worked. By intentionally putting her book (and therefore herself) in front of the right audience, the inbound leads to her firm more than tripled in 2015 with no paid advertising.

21 Strategy #5 Get More Referrals for Your Business Her caliber of clients also increased. Whereas she used to focus on luxury or emerging brands, her portfolio is now full of major publicly traded companies (such as Penguin Random House, Pinnacle Entertainment, and CAT Footwear) and major real estate projects (like the Peruvian trade commission, national mall groups, and America s first smart city, Loudon, VA). Her only lead sources? Referrals, the book, and the press she s gotten surrounding the book. For more details on Melissa s story, read her case study here.

22 Each of the five people discussed in this guide did many things right, but the biggest one was this: they were clear on their goals, and they used those goals to inform the book they created. Too many authors start by writing the book they want to write, and then try to find a market for it. This is backwards, and it leads to uninspiring results. The smartest authors start with their goals and work backwards to the perfect book they can create to serve the right audience, in the right way, in order to accomplish those goals. If you re thinking about writing a book, this is where you should start. If you re looking for support, we re here to help. On the Book In A Box website, you can read more about our process and meet our world-class team. Go If you think a book might make sense for you, you can sign up for a free call with one of our Author Strategists to discuss your goals, your book idea, and whether a book is the right tool to serve your goals.