I made this mistake when I launched my book.
I made this mistake when I launched my book.
I marketed the book like it was a product.
I pushed the cover, shared the Amazon link, posted the five star reviews. I talked about what was inside it.
And for a while it felt like the right thing to do. I wrote the thing. I was proud of it. Of course I wanted people to read it.
My book was about the lessons of resilience, I needed a way to leverage it into speaking opportunities.
But nothing was really moving.
I stopped talking about the book and started talking about what I knew. My story. The hard things I had learned.
The specific problems I had lived through and figured out. My point of view on things that mattered to my audience.
The work actaully led me to a whole new area which was going from vague to clear. That became my signature talk and work.
So, I leverged my book, marketing work and everything I knew into a single strong point.
Helping people get crystal clear about the message so they can finally become great messengers of it.
The book started following me everywhere after that.
People would find the content, feel like they knew me, and then go find the book on their own.
Here is what I've learned so far doing the authorpreneur thing.
Marketing a book gets you readers, but it's hard AF.
You're asking someone to spend money AND time to read your book. So, unless it's really for them, helping them solve a problem or getting them to the next stage of the path they are on. This is an uphill battle for most.
Understanding how to leverage the power of marketing yourself gets you clients, speaking gigs, consulting fees, and a platform that keeps growing long after the launch window closes.
The book is not the product. You are.
The book is the proof.
If you have been pushing your book and wondering why the opportunities are not coming, try shifting the camera.
Stop talking about what you wrote and start talking about what you know.
The book will find its audience.
But the brand is what opens the doors.
Keep going!
