by Yvonne Bynoe on August 19, 2010
In the last few posts I have been stressing the importance of creating a comfortable living from your “right livelihood.” I have talked about How to Become a Well-Paid Writer, Artist or Other Type of Creative Worker and I provided you with 10 Ways to Make Money & Increase Sales By Writing a Book. Today I’m going to discuss how to attract more and higher paying clients for your work, product or service.
One of the best ways to boost your income and attract more customers is to become known as an expert in your field. Experts command higher fees for their work, product or service because they are perceived as being worth the additional cost. Experts are routinely asked to give keynote addresses or to facilitate workshops at conferences and events sponsored by universities, corporations, professional organizations and government entities. Experts can become well-paid consultants to corporations and high-end entrepreneurs. Experts are routinely sought out by the media for interviews and to weigh in on issues related to their topic.
I found this out totally by accident in 2004 with my debut book, Stand & Deliver: Political Activism, Leadership and Hip Hop Culture. I had been writing well-received commentaries for nearly 10 years years. However soon after the publication of my book, producers and journalists from major media outlets started calling me. They wanted me to talk about current event topics that were even remotely related to my book’s subject matter. I also was able to immediately and substantially increase my speaking fees, just because I was a published author.
I’m not going to argue that it’s a fair or accurate way to judge the credibility of a professional. What I will say is that is basically how the game is played. In a crowded marketplace, a book gives you a way to differentiate yourself from people who do similar work. A book is necessary tool for your financial survival. It’s similar to mandate for tenure-track professors: “Publish or perish.”
The general public perceives authors as: •a credible resource for industry news and trends
•highly knowledgeable about their topic matter
Here are some REAL life examples that speak to the power of the book:
Comedian and radio host, Steve Harvey became a relationship expert after the 2009 publication of his book, Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man. Harvey, who’s been divorced several times has nevertheless given out his advice on national television programs such as: Nightline, Good Morning America, Oprah and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Marianne Williamson became an internationally renowned spiritual teacher and lecturer with the 1991 publication of A Return to Love. A Return to Love is Williamson’s personal journey to enlightenment based on the principles of another book, A Course in Miracles.
David Bach catapulted to the A list of financial advisors with his 2004 book, The Automatic Millionaire . Prior to writing Automatic Millionaire, David Bach had been a senior vice president of Morgan Stanley and a partner of The Bach Group, an investment company founded by his father.
If you’re an entrepreneur and not a writer. It’s okay because you don’t have to Shakespeare to write an effective book. Your book also doesn’t have be an long tome. Moreover it doesn’t matter what field you’re in there are people (potential customers) who are interested in the information that you can provide.
Whether you’re a yoga instructor, nutritionist, therapist, marketing consultant, florist or dog trainer, you have more knowledge or insights about your field than the average person. It doesn’t matter that most topics can be researched online, your potential customers will pay you to deliver the answers to them.
If you are a writer, artist or innovator, you can use a book as the foundation of profitable business centered in your creative work.
So Here’s Some Next Steps:
- First, in the comments section below, tell me at least one topic that you could write about to attract customers to your work, product or service.
- Next, if this post gave you an “Aha! moment”, please share it via the retweet button below (or via your social media goodness of choice).
- Finally, if you’re getting interested some in-depth, 1-on-1 coaching on how to use a book to raise your public visibility and increase your income (and/or you’re curious to learn more), SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL LIST near the top of this page so you can get advance notification when it opens llater this month AND also early bird savings on it.
Step Into Your Greatness,
Yvonne
•more intelligent than the general population
by Yvonne Bynoe on August 15, 2010
1. Increasing Your Main Business. Writing a book will establish you as an expert in your field. As an expert, you can charge higher fees for your work, product or services. In many instances having a book can more than double your current rate. Additionally, a book is an inexpensive way to build a relationship with potential customers that can generate greater, long-term revenue.
2. Public Speaking. There is a good deal of money to be made in public speaking. Colleges, conferences, corporations, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and many other kinds of groups are always looking for experts to address their audiences. Being an author provides you with credibility which leads to the more lucrative speaking engagements. At well known speaker, you could earn upwards of $5000-7000 per appearance. I have personally made $5,000 for an hour speaking engagement.
3. Workshops. Similar to public speaking groups are always looking for experts to lead workshops. Again, authors are preferred because there is a belief that you’re extremely knowledgeable about your topic. Furthermore being an author provides you with the professional cache to promote and conduct your own workshops. Over the years I have participated in numerous workshops and break-out sessions at conferences.
4. Continuing Education . Most colleges and universities schools offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to students – professionals such as lawyers, accountants, nurses, lawyers, etc – for attending workshops and trainings. If you’ve written a book, you can be certified to provide CEUs, increasing your pool of clients. You can also get a position as an adjunct (part-time) professor as a means to attract more customers to your main business. You can only use your book as the basis for your course.
5. Consulting. A book is a tangible product that can attract the attention of large corporations and high-end entrepreneurs. You can also give your book to your clients as a bonus to your in-person consultation. In short, a book allows you to instantly increase your fees.
6. Coaching. Books are a fairly inexpensive way for someone to sample your theories and methodology. Readers frequently then want to work directly with you to implement the strategies contained in your book.
7. Public Relations. Your book is your ticket onto television, radio talk shows, podcasts, videocasts, and blogs. The media exposure that you receive from your book allows you to reach a wider audiences, which results in more business.
8. Non-Profit Organizations.You donate or sell your books in bulk (at a discount) to non-profit organizations for use in their fundraising campaigns. The group places your book in gift bags or sells them to raise funds. You are not only doing good, but your book is bound to find its way into the hands of high income donors and philanthrophists.
9. Repurpose Your Book.You can take your book and use all of it or excerpts in different formats. A few of the ways that you can repurpose your book include: producing an audiobook; creating an e-course; use chapters as blog posts; creating podcasts; or developing a homestudy program. Don’t worry about repeating your message because different people get their information in different places.
10. Guest Writing. Some authors invite other experts in the same or related fields to write guest chapters for their books. The main author then allows the guest authors to include information about their work, products or services. In this cooperative arrangement, you are introduced to the main author’s audience and may attracting some of new clients for your business.
You may also be able to use your expert status to write an article or column for an online or print publication (including prestiguous professional journals). Your article or column also exposes your work, product or service to a broader audience. I have been invited to write for numerous anthologies and have written several columns throughout my career. I have also written material for various for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
BTW…. If you found this information helpful, please leave a comment below. Thanks!
ALSO OF INTEREST
Audio Blog: “How To Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal that Sells (Even If You Self-Publish)
Audio Blog: How to Become a Well-Paid Writer, Artist or Other Type of Creative Worker
===========================
Photo Credit: WonderMike
