The Great Big Publishing Lie…

When I wrote my first book for a big name publishing house, I foolishly believed that the book would sell tons of copies and I’d see my book featured in bookstores all around the world. I also believed that my publisher would market my book for me and help me make it a best-seller. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way that that’s not how the book business works for the majority of new authors.

More importantly, I learned the most valuable lesson that I never expected. You don’t write a business or industry book to sell millions of copies. You write it to drive sales and leads for your business.

The Real Reasons To Write A Book…

• To instantly build credibility for your business or brand. The kind of credibility only the few top people in your industry get
• To create a massive flow of sales and leads allowing you to never pay for advertising ever again
• To change the way your business actively seeks out new customers. That’s right, they find you now
• To see the look on your future customer’s face when you pull out a print copy of your book and hand it to them
• To get invited to speak at premiere industry events where you can spread the word about your business and create powerful partnerships that can change your fortune overnight

How My Books Have Changed My Life & Business?

Right before I was about to launch my first book I sought advice from many best-selling authors in my industry. I wanted to gain their knowledge and experience. They all told me that I should have realistic expectations about selling copies of my book. But they also told me that I should immediately increase my consulting fees by three times what I was already charging. They were right.

The day my book came out I increased my consulting fees by 300%. Guess what happened? I got three times the business. All because of the power of the book and the credibility it had given me in my area of expertise.

So I thought to myself, “I should write more books.” Since then I’ve written seven books that I’ve self-published through Amazon. These books have now been downloaded over 10,000 times collectively in just a few months. Wow.

And here’s the best part. Every single one of those downloads is a potential new customer for my consulting and coaching and training businesses and products. Think about it. I’ve put a big business card that promotes who I am and what I do into the hands of over 10,000 potential customers! Because of this, I don’t have to pay for advertising anymore. Heck, I don’t even have to really work to get leads anymore. Why? Because they come to me!

People read my books and then follow the call to action messages and links back to my websites where they sign up for my email lists, download other books, and purchase my products and services.

So why can’t you do this? You can! If you know a lot about something, you can write a book, and you can do the exact same thing I’m doing right now.

Join Us: How To Write A Book Training Course (Starting May 17th, 8pm est)

The training is four-week program that will help you figure out what type of book to write and how to use it to meet your goals. It’s a combination of live training and group participation, and only requires about an hour of your time every week. At the end of this training you will walk away with a solid plan for your book, including:

• Why should I write a book?
• What kind of book should I write?
• What should my book title be?
• How to create an amazing book cover?
• How am I going to publish & distribute my book?
• How do I use the book for generating sales and leads for my business?
• How to use my book to get a better job?
• How to write a book fast?
• How to convert my book for print and digital sales?
• How do I launch & market my book?
• How to turn my blog into a book?
• How do I get reviews?
• What resources can I tap into to help me promote my book?
• Much, much more

To enroll in the course and find more information, click here. To become an affiliate, register here.

The trap of trying to emulate other people’s successes.

The trap of spending so much time looking at what others have done that you don’t do anything on your own. Otherwise known as paralysis by analysis.

The trap of changing YOUR brilliant idea because you saw someone else do it differently successfully.

I’ve written about this before in my post here.

There’s a severe disadvantage when you have too much influence. Sure, having smart and successful people around you is VERY important. However, when you begin to let their influence overwhelm your gut ideas and thoughts and shape your direction, you’re in trouble.

That’s where I was in 2010. I had a massive circle of smart, influential people guiding me. Believe me, they helped, a lot! But after a while I realized that I was letting them guide me too much. I saw their success and tried to emulate it, instead of sticking with my gut and moving forward on what I really wanted to do.

There’s the trap. You listen and watch successful people, and you want to be like them, so you try to do what they do… but when you do that, you never truly innovate, or create something that you believe is the right thing to do.

The reason that every single one of those success stories “made it” is because they took THEIR idea and stuck with it. They didn’t copy someone else. They didn’t break down someone else’s business model and improve it. They innovated and believed and stuck with their plan.

You’re going to feel the urge to jump into the trap at some point, but believe me, I’ve done it, it isn’t the answer.

Also, check out my post about the things you DON’T have to do.

Because I refuse to lie to people. I’m not going to create a product that promises you can make your book a “best-seller” and you can make millions from it, because you probably won’t/can’t. Very few authors will be able to do that. But there are twenty “gurus” behind me who will sell you that rubbish. Most of us will have amazing levels of success and do very well with our books, but we’re not going to be the next huge overnight success story.

Because I refuse to lie and tell you that you can make money overnight. I will not create a “system” that you can “push an easy button” and never have to work and make millions from. It doesn’t exist.

Because I don’t work or travel for business all the time. I refuse to let my children grow up with me being gone. I refuse to work weekends when I can be with them instead to help them grow up to be amazing people.

Because I really don’t care about “being rich” monetarily. Money makes things easier. Money creates choices. Money does not create happiness directly.

Because trying to become “rich” is a trap that stops you from living your life the way you want to live it. It’s great to be motivated and want to be wealthy, but to what end?

All of my books are free today only. Grab a copy of each one for your Kindle or Kindle app here.

So far my books have been downloaded over 30,000 times on Amazon. Please enjoy, and consider writing a review on Amazon when you’re done? Also, go ahead and share this post via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or any other way you wish. Thank you.

Note: You DO NOT have to have a Kindle to view the books. Did you know you can download a Kindle app for free on your phone, or iPad, or even your Mac or PC. Yep, free! You could be reading books in minutes.

Ever wanted to write and market a book? As I said in my guest post, The Secret to Overnight Book Marketing Success, it’s not that easy.

Having overnight success of your book would be like winning the lottery; the odds aren’t great to say the least. Just like in life and in business, there are a very few select group of people who “hit the winning ticket” by accident or luck. As I wrote in my book Business Around a Lifestyle, Volume 1, “Some people are born into money and success. Some just get lucky. The rest of us, well, we all have to work to get where we want to be.” So you want to be a successful author? Stop believing that you can somehow do it overnight or that you’re going to hit the lottery. You’re not.

Over at the Author Marketing Club (free membership), we’ve been quietly compiling a kick-butt resource center full of free educational training videos about how to write, market and sell books. Check it out here.

You can watch videos on:

• The Reasons Why You’re Not Selling Any Books
• How To Launch Your Book Like An Internet Marketer
• Book Reviews – How To Get Them & Why They Matter
• How To Crowdfund Your Next Book
• How To Upload A Book To Amazon Tutorial
• The New Rules of Self-Publishing Webinar Replay

In your quest to be the best at what you do goes; are you doing it wrong?

If the client doesn’t say to you after every interaction, “Wow, thank you”… You’re doing it wrong.

If the reader doesn’t share your content with someone else without you asking… You’re doing it wrong.

If someone doesn’t understand what it is you do or how you can help them immediately… You’re doing it wrong.

If your intent is “get over” or meet “your” goals before the customer… You’re doing it wrong.

If you’re not creating an emotion in your marketing that creates a reaction… You’re doing it wrong.

Stop doing it wrong. Got another one to add? Leave it in the comments.

I put together another book trailer, but this time for my book Write A F*$%’ing Book Already – The Insider’s Guide To Increasing Your Sales & Improving Your Career With A Book. If you are interested in a book trailer for your upcoming book, check out my book marketing firm Digital Book Launch.

Quickly, a couple of stats. Using Amazon as my main delivery vehicle, the book has been downloaded over 9,000 times and has become a best-seller in the reference category a few times over. If you ever wanted to write a book, then this book is for you.

In every person’s life there will be moments when they don’t feel like they can win. It happens. The truth is that the only way to win is to keep on trying.

You’re going to feel down sometimes. It’s going to feel like you can’t win, and nothing works, and your “big moment of success” isn’t going to happen.

It’s natural. We ALL get that way. You are no different. In fact, that’s probably where you are right now. You keep wondering why you haven’t reached the success you think you should have. You get down on yourself for not “winning”. Then you give up.

You know what I do when I feel that way? I keep on trying. I keep on creating value. I keep on busting my butt. I keep on finding ways to be remarkable.

You want to win? Quit pitying yourself and get back on the horse and try harder. It’s the ONLY way to win.

Don’t settle. Don’t let depression drag you down. Don’t let others tell you you can’t do it. Don’t deter from your plan.

You want it? Keep on trying and don’t let your brain tell you you can’t do it. You can. Win!

If you’re writing a book or already have a book out there, you need to find ways to market that book if you expect to make sales. That’s why so many authors search Google for book marketing tips. Self-publishing is powerful, but it’s also very hard to do. Here are some resources that you can use as an author to market your books more effectively.

Author Marketing Club – The Author Marketing Club is a free book marketing resource for authors. It provides tips and tricks and education and training about how to market your books.

Digital Book Launch – Digital Book Launch is a groundbreaking book marketing agency designed for new and existing authors who want to sell more books.

VIDEO TUTORIALS (free membership required)

• Webinar Replay: How To Launch Your Book Like An Internet Marketer
• Webinar Replay: Book Reviews – How To Get Them & Why They Matter
• Webinar Replay: How To Crowdfund You Next Book
• Video: How To Upload A Book To Amazon Tutorial
• Video: The New Rules of Self-Publishing Webinar Replay

BOOK CREATION RESOURCES

• Pressbooks.com – Pressbooks is a free service that is built on the WordPress platform that allows you to easily convert your Word book manuscript into a finished epub file that you can upload to Amazon.

BOOK MARKETING RESOURCES

• Aweber Email Marketing – The best email list service in the wolrd! Super cheap to start with. Build your book marketing list.
• Free Landing Page Templates – Use these free templates to create your book landing page.
• Squidoo Lens: Going FREE! Kindle eBook Promotional Campaigns for Authors.
• Squidoo Lens: Publicity For Writers & Authors
• Squidoo Lens: 5 Great Ways To Promote Your Books Online
• Squidoo Lens: 5 Great Ways To Promote Your Books Online
• Squidoo Lens: Self-Publishing Checklist

I’ve got three of my books up for free for the next day or so. Remember, you don’t have to have a Kindle to read digital books. You just grab a Kindle reading app for your PC, Mac, or phone, whatever.

So go ahead, grab one of my free books today.