- to write a book you need to have passion for your work, faith in yourself and your work, and express yourself with enthusiasm
- if you want to sell books, be a commercial writer, write what people want to read, not what you want to write, unless you know it's what people want to read
- take imperfect action because nothing has to be perfect
- self-publishing online is great, because it means that you can change, tweak and upload again
- activity follows identity: before you can go do something that you want to accomplish, you have to change your mindset about who you really believe you are so that you can do that thing
- in fiction you've got a problem, you work through it and you overcome it. There's a resolution to the conflict that may be success or failure
- in non-fiction it's similar. There needs to be a central problem, one big question, that you're going to help the reader attack and lead through that progression. Then you split that question into different steps in the process. Each question that is answered is a chapter
- how can I position this book as a book that's going to help people and people will want to buy?
- art and audience: how to creatively express yourself while writing for the person you want to reach
- anyone can write a book by doing a blog. You break it into chunks and constantly test it in the real world (through your posts) to see what works and what doesn't. This way you slowly build momentum up toward writing a book that people really want
- attention is the new revenue stream
- the main goal of a freebie is to grab attention and create your email list, your audience
- the three-step course process or three rungs of the ladder
- teach me how to do it (guide book)
- show me how (video tutorials)
- do it for me (to get more help)
- think about how you can repackage and repurpose your materials
- repurpose content (from podcasts, interviews…)
- strategies for email list building
- email capture forms in some blog posts
- content upgrades
- repurposing content to get to a different audience: turning blog posts and sections of books into Slideshare presentations that include a link to the original post or book, and a link to join your email list
- lay the foundations for each launch based on blog followers, email list and network
- follow what people are saying; listen to what people tell you
- don't let someone else's perception deflate your ambition. Keep on trying!
- be nice to people, be it at a conference, a book launch, a social event of some kind, because someone in that room that you may be talking to may just have the right relations
- a book has a very short life span: it sells 90% of the copies in the first 6 months
- if you've got advice to give, say everything you know about it and things will happen
- strategies to get buyers from Amazon to your list
- build an audience, your email list: give valuable resources that are not in the book or a bonus page, have a Facebook group
- nurture the audience by communicating with them and asking them questions that lead them to say what they want; have communities and private groups, and hold events: webinars, podcasts, videos, multimedia products
- provide a path they will follow: live events, communities, coaching programs, personal consultation or workshops that will help people fix their problem
- give people a value chain, and always have some freebie to give away
- it's sell it, then build it!
- the difference between "the hook and the book". The book is the content that's inside, but that doesn't sell. The hook is the title. And that's what sells
- it's the sales process that's hard work and takes the longest time
- whatever you do, do it for free and then make the irresistible offer at the end
- we shouldn't assume that everybody buys the same way, in the same pattern or at the same speed. So the sales process isn't a funnel, but rather a merry-go-round where people get on or off wherever they want, switch horses when they want and stay on as long as they want. So every so often you, the sales person, have to get in touch with them and ask: "Are you interested?"
- the book teaches the "what" while the online course or membership site teaches the "how", thus allowing you to go much deeper into the topic whether through video or coaching
- strategy to create a launch team
- send an application to your email list
- give benefits such as an advance copy of the book before the launch and being part of a private FB group
- requirements: read the book in advance, write a review on Amazon, share the link to the two chapters (you previously gave out in an opt in) on social media
- the biggest driver of opt-ins have been the different bonuses
- a program is good to make people do something that they won't do just by reading a book
- the key to book selling is "pass on", people telling other people to read the book. It's word of mouth.
There are a few repetitive ideas that show how recurrent some topics are among different speakers.