How to make money from your book (before you've even written it!)

Last week I touched on some of the business benefits of writing a book, because it’s not just about the book, but having the right strategies in place to make it profitable.

But many people can’t see this when they start.

One of the things that put many people off writing a book is the cost. Not just the cost of getting support to write and publish it, but also the cost of taking time out of client work to write it, and the non-financial cost to your life by making it a priority.

Then there’s also the cost of getting things wrong, writing and not promoting it, and perhaps even starting and not finishing it.

One of the ways I work with many of my clients is to help them to make money from their book before they’ve even written it. As their business book mentor, my role is to help you to use it as a fabulous marketing tool, and actually getting the book done is just part of the process. How it fits into your business is the first thing that we focus on together.

My clients employ me to make it easier for them with the right contacts and the right strategies, and here are some examples that have helped my clients to make money from their book, even before it is finished.

Before starting to write a book, one of the things I’ll often suggest clients do is to find out what people want to know from their book. A great way to do this is via a survey, whether you ask a few questions on Facebook, talk to your clients, or use a tool like surveymonkey.com. This helps you to build a community of people who love what you do, allowing you to build your list and these are people who are likely to want to work with you to learn more (as well as buy your book). In addition, of course, it gives you brilliant content for your book too.

Another means of doing research is through interviews. Some of my clients are doing this at the moment, and again as well as providing great content and stories, it also gives them a chance to connect with people who may want to then engage their services. It’s about having those conversations and a book is a great excuse to make them happen!

What I’ve also found is that through starting to formulate their ideas, clients are feeling much more confident about what they actually know, and will start to own their knowledge and expertise. This increased confidence leads to them stepping up and starting to get known for what they really stand for by the people who need to hear it.

When you know where you’re that expert, for a couple of my clients it has led to them running events or being invited to speak in front of groups. Becoming clearer on their message is a great positioning tool and that enables you to stand out. This in itself allows you to become that go-to person that people seek.

Another great thing that you can do is to turn your content into a programme where you can make a bigger difference and more money. This is a great way to test your strategies, like I did on the Your Book is the Hook programme last year, and it’s a good way to write a lot of words fast when you’re up against a deadline!

You can also pre-sell your book and this is brilliant to give you the time to write it. All you need is a simple squeeze page, a PayPal button, a focused overview and a mock cover to start to promote it now. This will allow you to take time to write it without worrying about where the next pound or dollar is coming from, and the incentive to actually finish it.

Or if you prefer, you can seek crowd funding for your book and this is another great way to create an immediate buzz for your business and your upcoming book.

And lastly, even if you’ve not finished writing your book, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get great PR from it. Two of my clients were featured in monthly magazines before their book was completed and my fourth book resulted in a two page spread in The Daily Express last July, and I haven’t even finished it yet!

In a nutshell, although your book is important, it’s everything else you do alongside it that will help you to grow your business. And this is where I come in. I’m there to help you with the short-cuts, the must-dos (and must-don’ts!), and ensuring that you use write the book that will actually grow your business.

I’d love your comments

If you’ve got anything else you’d like to add to help you to make money from your book, reach more people and make a bigger difference, then please pop them below in the comments. And feel free to share the link to this article with your friends.

Can you see how you can make money from writing your book?

To arrange to have a chat to find out how I can help you, then please click here to find out how I work and to arrange a complimentary business strategy call.