HOW TO MAKE YOUR MEMOIR INTO

YOUR MONEYMAKER
I always tell people “You can’t make money from a book but you can make lots of
money from having a book.”

It’s true; we’ve had clients who now have a nice ornament to put on their shelves
and nothing more. And we have clients who have made hundreds of thousands of
dollars as a result of their books. In short, I’ve seen that a memoir can be a
memento or a moneymaker. So here’s how to make your memoir into the second
opBon:

1. Leverage the rela8onships you already have. Look at the people you know
through a new lens…a lens where you could support one another in your
respecBve goals. The best example I know of for this is my client Darren
Prince, who had built up decades of goodwill as a sports agent who never
asked for anything for himself during years of negoBaBng on behalf of his
clients. Once he had a book, he reached out to someone he’d known for
years and was able to score a six-figure spokesperson deal. The fact was: the
person who hired him looked at him in a new way—as a valuable asset—
once Darren was an author. If you’re thinking, “Well, I’m not a sports agent
and so I don’t know people who can hire me for fancy spokesperson deals,” I
encourage you to make a list of the people you know; go through your
address book, look at Facebook, do whatever you need to in order to inspire
your brain to look beyond the obvious. Then ask yourself: who do I know
who knows other people who I may be able to work with? Keep going from
there.
2. Brainstorm organiza8ons where you can speak and then figure out how to
make that visit into a news event. A great example of someone who did this
effecBvely is my friend Ryan Hampton, who made a list of all the
organizaBons he could find that aligned with his book topic and then
strategically reached out to each of them, telling them that if they ordered
copies of his book, he would speak for free. To incenBvize them, he thought
of ways he could make those events newsworthy and then contacted local
reporters to cover the visit, thereby bringing press to both him and the
organizaBon.

3. Launch a speaking career. Speaking of speaking, by far the most common

transiBon authors take into other work is speaking. Of course, this isn’t as
simple as publishing a book and waiBng for the speaking offers to roll in.
While we have a course on the exact steps to take, the most important thing
to keep in mind is that although it can be a slow build, speaking is one of
those careers where your fee can skyrocket once you have success. (Some
authors who are currently making a killing on the speaking circuit are Dorris
Kearns Goodwin, who nets $40K a gig and Tim Ferriss and Malcolm Gladwell,
who are each in the $50K+ range. While my books have led me to speaking
gigs, I get a mere $3-$5000, which is sBll great since speaking isn’t a priority
for me, but pennies compared to those others!)

4. Develop a coaching program. Most non-ficBon books display the author’s

knowledge about a topic. And the majority of authors share their
experiences because they want to help others who struggle or have
struggled with the same issues that they have. CreaBng a one-on-one or
group coaching program, either based on material in your book or simply on
the topic, provides an author not only an opportunity to help people on an
even deeper level but also a way to take a deeper dive into the topic
(possibly providing you with material for book two?) Example: among the
many products Happiness Project author Gretchen Rubin offers is a coaching
program for those who want to learn the method she breaks down in her
books.
5. Become a consultant. Want to take coaching to the next level (and possibly
get paid befer for it)? Consider offering consulBng services to companies
who could use whatever experBse you established with the book. (My book,
How to Publish a Bestselling Book, has led me to consult with clients ager
their book release in order to help them conBnue to use their book to grow
their profile and create new opportuniBes.)

6. Create a cer8fica8on program. If your coaching program is in full swing,

maybe you want to create a bunch of mini-me’s—or at least train other
people in what you’ve been teaching. Developing a curriculum and providing
cerBficaBon shouldn’t be hard if you have a thorough coaching program.
(Samantha Skelly, the author of Hungry for Happiness: One Woman's Journey
from Figh@ng Food to Finding Freedom, has the Hungry For Happiness
CerBficaBon Program, where she spends 10 months guiding parBcipants
through the process of learning her signature method so they can coach
others.)

7. Come up with a subscrip8on or monthly membership programs. The same

material you create for a coaching program can be used in a monthly
membership program. You can run these however you want—with videos
and worksheets you’ve created, with guest interviews, with in-person events
or with daily or weekly video check-ins. The main thing to remember is that
people abandon monthly programs that they don’t use so make this as
value-packed as possible (the more the group includes direct involvement
with you, the more value it’s going to have). A solid example: Gretchen
Rubin, who in addiBon to other offers—see above—also has a membership
program, The Happiness Project Experience.)
8. Offer events or retreats. We’re living in the day and age of event throwing
and your event can be anything from a workshop to a retreat to a weekly
gathering and it can be held at a cafe, theater, holisBc health center or
AirBnB (I’ve held events at all of them). Your programming can cover the
same material that your monthly programs and everything else does but
here’s the secret about gatherings: ogenBmes people are just aching to
connect with a like-minded community and thus the acBviBes mafer far less
than simply the fact that the event is happening. Looking for inspiraBon?
Daily Love author MasBn Kipp has held countless retreats over the years, in
places like Bali and Hawaii—as well as one-night events all over the world.

9. Create a mastermind. Plenty of authors are launching them—and with hegy

membership fees. Joe Polish runs two Genius Network groups (with a
$100,000 and $25,000 annual cost respecBvely)—and he’s not the only one.
The key to a mastermind is in its members: the price tag is the ulBmate
weeding out process, leaving members to network and do business with
those whose businesses are thriving. If you look at lists of the biggest—i.e.,
most expensive—mastermind groups out there, you’ll note that most of the
leaders are also authors. (Dean Grazioso, Brendon Bruchard, Jeff Walker,
Russell Brunson all have books and of course there’s Joe Polish, who co-
authored a book with me!)

10.Sell physical products. Selling an on-brand product can be a way to take your
experBse to another commercial level. James Swanwick, the author of The
30-Day No Alcohol Challenge: Your Simple Guide to Easily Reduce Or Quit
Alcohol, was doing well with his 30 Day No Alcohol Challenge program but
his career skyrocketed when he realized his experBse was in lifestyle and not
just quipng drinking and then started selling blue blocking glasses.
(Gretchen Rubin—again!—also offers a slew of merch.)
 11.Launch a podcast. Yes, there are a billion podcasts out there. But anyone
who tells you it’s too late to start one is lying (just look at what I have to say
on the topic here). If you’re looking for the next steps to get started,
consider taking my free class on it. One thing to keep in mind: podcasts are
very rarely a source of revenue; much like a book, they are a credibility
builder but they are even befer at providing an opportunity for people to
develop a “know, like and trust” factor with you and therefore support all
your other endeavors. And if you have ANY of the offerings above, your
podcast will absolutely bring in clients. Joanna Penn and Jeff Goins are
among the authors with podcasts that feed into their respecBve businesses.

Before you get overwhelmed remember step 1 is write/publish the book — and
I’m here to help with just that.

Check out our services and just fill out this form. If we’re a good fit, then we can
help you create the memoir that can be your moneymaker.