Monthly Archives: May 2017

SPS 005: Lessons Learned from The Secret, Chicken Soup, Abundance Now, and a Guinness World Record Setting Book with Lisa Nichols

Welcome to episode 5 of the Self-Publishing School podcast. Today, I am joined by Lisa Nichols, one of the world’s most requested motivational speakers. She is a media personality and corporate CEO whose global platform has reached and served nearly 30 million people. She has been featured on Oprah, The Today Show, The Steve Harvey Show, and on The Secret.

Lisa has six bestselling books including the New York Times Bestseller No Matter What and her seventh book Abundance Now was just released this January. I am so excited about this interview. Lisa is just hilarious. She is a bundle of energy and a whole lot of fun, and I know we are going to have an amazing interview.

Listen in to find out about guerilla marketing, creating hooks, overcoming fear, and so much more!

You can find Lisa here:

AbundanceNowOnline.com

@2motivate on Twitter

Lisa on Facebook

Show Notes:

[01:27] Lisa wanted to write a book as a way to inspire people while she was also doing other things like speaking.

[02:46] If you want your message to have the greatest impact a book should be in your path.

[03:44] How it took Lisa three and a half years to complete Chicken Soup for The African American Soul.

[06:26] How a book is about the message, not the writing and punctuation.

[07:43] No Matter What was Lisa’s first solo book.

[09:30] How Lisa’s English teacher told her she was the weakest writer she has ever met.

[10:38] Lisa’s grammar wasn’t strong, but her message was powerful.

[12:19] Pushing through the fear of writing a book after being in the Chicken Soup Series and the Secret.

[15:16] How Abundance Now is Lisa’s biggest book ever and her life’s work.

[16:24] How fear is present when you do big things, but we have to minimize the fear story.

[18:18] Lisa tries to get as creative and radical as possible with marketing. Guerilla marketing works.

[19:51] Study your market. Who will read the book and where do they gather?

[21:37] How Lisa sent a mass mailer out asking to speak at Churches and then organizations where her audience was.

[23:28] Making Abundance Now a movement and a moment. The new definition of abundance.

[26:40] Tempting readers to read your book by telling them what personal information is on certain highlighted pages.

[29:26] Books are about people and the message on the page.

[30:47] How to use current events in a book to open up a television opportunity.

[33:34] Always be creating a hook and speaking in a way to create your next opportunity when you do a television appearance.

[37:27] Getting that first opportunity to open the door for television shows. Start regional and work your way up. Put together a press release and media packet with video and give them a call.

[42:38] Lisa’s parting words about getting up every day and sharing our message.

Links and Resources:

AbundanceNowOnline.com

@2motivate on Twitter

Lisa on Facebook

self-publishingschool.com

Spsfreetraining.com

Chicken Soup for the African American Soul

No Matter What

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May 30, 2017 BY Chandler Bolt Read More ▸

SPS 004: How to Self-Publish Your Way to #1 on the Amazon & USA Today National Bestseller Lists with Ryan Levesque

Today, I am joined by Ryan Levesque the #1 National Best-Selling Author of the book ASK. In 2008, armed with a $450 laptop, an Ivy League background, and neuroscience he was able to launch a multi-million dollar online publishing business. He sold information and software products using what is now known as the ASK Formula.

Ryan has used the ASK Formula to help build several multi-million dollar businesses spread across 23 different industries. He has generated over 100 million dollars in sales. This breaks down to generating over 3 million leads with 170 thousand customers across 19 different markets. Ryan has been a busy guy because these numbers are just from the last 23 months.

I met Ryan last September at The Titans of Direct Response Event. Ryan has a background in copy and direct response which is a skill in and of itself. In this episode, we are going to focus on his book ASK. We are going to talk about a case study and how he launched the book. Then we are really diving into the monetizing portion and the survey funnel and different back-end products.

For all this and much more, listen in to this episode of the Self-Publishing School podcast!

You can find Ryan here:
Ask Method
Ryan Levesque
Ryan Levesque on LinkedIn
Ryan on Facebook

Show Notes

[02:25] How a book fits into Ryan’s big picture strategy. Being in the information industry Ryan wanted to expand what he was doing to mainstream products like books on Amazon.[03:37] How the process of writing a book took longer than Ryan had expected.[04:22] The way Ryan shared his story in the book and the ASK formula. He laid it on the line and held nothing back.[05:41] By telling everyone everything you know for free people will pay you to tell them everything again.[07:31] How an illness inspired Ryan to really look at his life and decide how he wanted to make an impact in the world.[07:55] ASK was called the single greatest marketing book since Breakthrough Advertising.[08:35] Don’t be tempted to hold information back in your book and create a tease for your product. Instead, put it all in the book.[12:25] How ASK came very close to being a New York Times Bestseller. Being in the How To category as opposed to the Business category had an effect.[14:36] Promotion and launch methods for ASK included creating an amazing product to enlist partners to help promote the book.[15:05] Cold traffic methods used included Facebook advertising, LinkedIn advertising, and they tested a few other things.[16:20] Be prepared for customer inquiries if you sell books on a prelaunch basis.[17:28] Getting great testimonials and telling a great story makes a huge difference in the success of the launch.[19:05] How Ryan and his wife took their business from nothing to $25,000 a month in 18 months.[19:43] Talking with people can help you decide if you really do have a great story.[20:45] Podcast interviews were another awesome tool for the launch and pre launch of ASK.[22:04] Ryan has someone who pitches his story to podcasters to get on their shows. Laddering up is a low-cost method to get guest spots.[25:39] Hitting the top of the list on launch week because of pre-launch sales.[30:14] How book buyers are more critical than information product buyers.[30:41] Fake reviews and planting reviews are the wrong paths to go down.[33:01] Trying to anticipate people’s objections to the book. By doing so, you will get counter one aspect of negative reviews.[39:44] Things that Ryan wishes he would have done differently around the monetization of the book such as more clarity about readers options.[43:10] Getting readers into your world without directly selling to them.[47:45] The biggest product that the book helped to sell was the software or the mastermind program, which were also the same offer because they came free with each other.[53:19] Trust created by being a #1 bestselling author is invaluable.[54:57] How running out of inventory can create a hit on your rankings. Out of stock protection can prevent this problem from having.[57:26] An unexpected result of the book is getting people to sign up for Ryan’s highest level mastermind group without Ryan even speaking to them.

Links and Resources:

Ask Method
Ryan Levesque
Ryan Levesque on LinkedIn
Ryan on Facebook
Breakthrough Advertising
ASK on Amazon

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May 23, 2017 BY Chandler Bolt Read More ▸

SPS 003: Using a Book to Sell More Software & Information Products with Russell Brunson

Today, I am joined by Russell Brunson. While wrestling at Boise State University, Russell started his first online company. Within a year of graduating, he had sold over a million dollars worth of products and services all from his basement.

For over 12 years now, Russell has been starting and scaling companies online. He owns a software company called ClickFunnels, a supplement company, and a coaching company. He is also one of the top super affiliates in the world. He created his company DotCom Secrets which is also the title of his book to help entrepreneurs around the world to start, promote, and grow their companies online.

Russell lives in Boise, ID with his wife Collette and their five children. In this interview, we are going to talk about why someone who owns a company and sold a million dollars worth of products chose to write a book. We are also going to talk about the launch of Russell’s book and the funnel process.

For all this and much more, listen in to this episode of the Self-Publishing School podcast!

You can find Russell here:

RussellBrunson.com

@RussellBrunsonHQ on Facebook

@RussellBrunson on Twitter

Russell Brunson on LinkedIn

Show Notes

[01:42]How Russell tried to write a book in the past and had false starts. In retrospect, he is glad he waited because he had so much more knowledge when he did start.

[04:30] What gave Russell the motivation to finally go all in and complete his book. A conversation with a friend finally prompted him to do the work.

[05:39]About the writing process and how it took about a year and how an event forced Russell to record everything chronologically.

[06:49] How one of the best things about writing a book is cutting things out that aren’t really needed.

[07:56]The business purpose of the book was to establish authority and lead generation, plus motivation and education for using ClickFunnels.

[10:20] About the marketing presales push and how the goal was to presale as many as possible. Russell gave away a Ferrari to whoever would sell the most books.

[12:14] Using the free book where the buyer only pays for shipping leads to sales.

[13:44] Other ways that Russell compensated his affiliates, and how he created a funnel that would sustain all of the cash and incentives to give away the books.

[15:41] How about a fifth of the books were sold by Russell and the rest were by affiliates and some of the different affiliate strategies.

[16:57] About doing radio and podcast interviews to promote the sale of the book along with direct mail and as many angles as possible.

[18:42] How Russell got started on the Internet. Including influences by Bill Glazer and Dan Kennedy.

[20:21] The way that Russell got Dan Kennedy to write the foreword of his book.

[21:06]How Russell was able to get Tony Robbins to create a blurb for the book.

[22:36] The most effective method for promoting his books was probably his own internal list and his affiliate strategy. He would ship gifts to his dream 100 affiliates.

[24:59] It’s possible to get addresses by contacting people on Facebook and sending them gifts in the mail.

[27:56] To get people to promote stuff you need to do cool things.

[28:14] Russell’s initial goal was 15,000 copies and he did better than he had hoped for.

[29:41] What the backend of the book giveaway looks like. 3 core funnels. Book launch funnel. On the order form there was an audiobook offer, an upsell for traffic course, and a webinar sales course.

[30:38] Funnel number 2 is an invite to a webinar, which sells one year access to ClickFunnels.

[31:53] 2 weeks later, there is an invite to a coaching program. Group, mastermind, or high-end coaching. The funnels lead to the large backend funnel.

[34:29] How Russell was able to sell the audio version of his book for $37.00 and trials of getting it recorded.

[37:49] He read the audiobook himself, mostly because he was short on time and he wanted it done right. It also helped with the editing.

[42:24] Russell has a script that teaches the perfect webinar. Figure out the 3 core things that your prospects think are right that are actually wrong.

[46:37] Find out a surprising way that Russell made money on the backend of his book, like a $100,000 coaching gig and t-shirts.

[48:56] How Russell’s business has improved and benefited from books and readers as customers.

[50:43] Don’t wait 10 years to write your first book and fill your book with value.

Links and Resources:

RussellBrunson.com

@RussellBrunsonHQ on Facebook

@RussellBrunson on Twitter

Russell Brunson on LinkedIn

self-publishingschool.com

Spsfreetraining.com

DotComSecrets.com

ClickFunnels.com

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May 9, 2017 BY Chandler Bolt Read More ▸

SPS 002: Using the One Thing & Time Blocking to Finally Write Your First Book with Jay Papasan

Today, I am joined by Jay Papasan, Vice President of Publishing at Keller Williams Realty, Inc. in Austin, Texas. This is a real estate franchise company with over 74,000 real estate agents operating across the US and Canada.

Jay has co-authored multiple bestsellers including The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, and The ONE Thing. Before co-authoring the bestselling real estate series with Gary Keller, Jay was an editor at HarperCollins where he worked on bestselling books such as Body For Life by Bill Phillips and Go For the Goal by Mia Hamm.

The ONE Thing is one of my top 5 books of all time. I have a lot of favorite books, but this one I constantly go back to and highly recommend. In fact, our entire company will be reading this book next month as required reading. Today, we will be talking about a lot of the principles from the book and how they apply to writing.

For all this and much more, listen in to this episode of the Self-Publishing School podcast!

You can find Jay here:

JayPapasan.com

Jay Papasan on LinkedIn

Jay Papasan on Facebook

@jaypapasan on Twitter

Show Notes

[01:53] How The ONE Thing has had the most impact on Jay’s life and how it is impactful for others.

[03:45] How Jay ended up working on his first book at Keller Williams by running into Gary Keller in the bathroom.

[05:04] Jay had actually worked on two of the books that Gary wanted to model for the real estate series.

[06:46] The process for outlining the first book and how Jay wrote the chapters.

[08:20] The toughest parts of writing the first book was keeping disciplined, because the novelty of writing wore off fast. Jay wrote discipline is freedom on the wall to help stay focused.

[10:11] How to feel confident and overcome imposter syndrome by powering through until things shifted.

[11:07] The biggest mistake made with the first book was self-publishing with an awful cover. They went cheap instead of taking the time to perfect the cover.

[13:44] The writing process of creating an outline and then handing it off to researchers for additional quotes, stories etc. so they wouldn’t have to go down the research rabbit hole before writing.

[16:26] Coming up with visuals before writing the chapter. Having a visual ready to go will help drive and organize the writing. Lists, graphics, underlines, etc.

[18:10] Time blocking every day to make sure they are writing every day. The most productive people make appointments with themselves.

[19:29] Creating habits by writing an intention statement that states, when and where you will do something, makes it three times more likely to get done.

[22:02] How to strengthen the discipline muscle to make time blocking a priority to get things done. Write first thing in the morning.

[29:08] Setting a time limit so that non-writing activities don’t bleed into early day writing time. Use a timer to put an artificial limit on these activities.

[31:21] Batching email and checking it only 3 times a day using a time limit and blocking off 18 to 20 days a month for writing. If a writing day is canceled, be sure to replace it.

[35:56] Building a bunker. Finding a place to be productive and away from distractions. Store provisions, meaning have what you need on hand and sweep for mines or turn your phone and distractions off. Enlist support by explaining why you shouldn’t be disturbed.

[41:52] Multitasking and switching have costs. The interruptions prevent us from going deep and staying on task. 28% of work time can be lost to reorientation time.

[46:23] How being distracted from a primary task can even prevent us from going back to the primary task.

[47:29] What the 4 thieves of productivity are. Inability to say no. Fear of chaos. Poor health habits. The environment does not support your goals.

[56:28] Advice for writing the first book. Do it for yourself and commit a certain amount of time to writing. Make it a ritual and form the writing habit.

Links and Resources:

JayPapasan.com

Jay Papasan on LinkedIn

Jay Papasan on Facebook

@jaypapasan on Twitter

self-publishingschool.com

Spsfreetraining.com

The Millionaire Real Estate Investor

The Millionaire Real Estate Agent

The ONE Thing

Time Blocking Mastery

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May 9, 2017 BY Chandler Bolt Read More ▸

SPS 001: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World with Your First Book, with Michael Hyatt

My guest today is Michael Hyatt, who is one of my favorite people in our space. He does things absolutely the right way and always works from a place of integrity and quality. You may recognize Michael as the author of the New York Times bestseller Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World and the coauthor of Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want.

In addition to being a highly successful author, Michael has worked in nearly every facet of book publishing in the 30 years since he began his career at Word Publishing (which was a part of Thomas Nelson) while a senior at Baylor University. Perhaps most notably, he played a large role at Thomas Nelson Publishers, which is the largest faith-based publisher in the world and is now part of HarperCollins. Michael was the company’s CEO from 2005 through 2011, and remained there as chairman until the company was sold in 2012.

Our conversation today includes Michael talking in detail about his experiences with the writing, publishing, and publicity processes. As you’ll learn here, his first book came very close to never being published, and only his own tenacity and persuasiveness saved it.

In addition, he’ll offer incredible value in the form of advice for anyone interested in writing or publishing a book. He explains, for example, why having your own platform is more important now than ever before. He also offers recommendations on topics such as starting with a blog (using social media instead is “like building a house on a rented lot”) and why you might want to rethink those gorgeous, image-filled emails to your mailing list.

For all this and much more, listen in to this episode of the Self-Publishing School podcast!

You can find Michael here:

michaelhyatt.com
Michael Hyatt on LinkedIn
@michaelhyatt on Facebook
@MichaelHyatt on Twitter
michaelhyatt on Instagram

Show Notes

[01:30] – Did Michael know that his book Platform would launch a whole arm of his business?[02:07] – Michael takes us back to the very first book he wrote, in 1997. He explains all the difficulties and struggles involved in both writing and publishing the book, and reveals that it came very close to not being published at all.[06:09] – How long a span of time did Michael’s 1,200 interviews on the book take place during? As he answers, he reveals the intensity of the publicity process.[08:22] – Michael explains what he means by going into “sales mode,” and shares some of what he did to publicize it and build his audience.[09:33]- We hear why Michael thinks his book went from something relatively few people were interested in to something that went on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies.[10:43] – Chandler zooms in on two things Michael has said: speaking in sound bites, and making the host sound good.[12:20] – We zoom back out to learn about Michael’s time at Thomas Nelson. He explains his experience in working in just about every facet of publishing. He then explains the dramatic change in publishing between 2006 and 2009.[15:18] – What are some of the biggest takeaways from that period that Michael now uses? He reveals that publishers now count on their authors’ platforms.[17:02] – Michael clarifies what he means by a “platform.”[18:40]- We learn more about platforms and how someone who’s just starting out can begin building their own platform. He recommends starting with a blog, and explains why.[21:44] – Michael talks about his audience-building methods he uses or recommends. He emphasizes the importance of having an email list, and creating an opt-in magnet.[25:50] – Does Michael think that the power of email is fading, or is it here to stay? In his answer, he discusses why he has recently switched from beautiful, HTML-based newsletters to text-based email without images.[27:30] – We hear what triggered all of the changes that Michael made a month ago.[28:35] – Michael takes a deeper dive into content and its creation. His blog is his workbench, he explains, and the ideas that work there make their way into other content such as his podcasts and books.[32:08] – What is Michael’s rhythm or process for creating content?[34:17] – Previously, Michael was more of a rhythmic writer; now it’s more system-based. He explains how his system functions.[37:01] – Michael’s content team has three people in addition to him. Here he explains his process for finding good people who stay for a long time.[40:23] – Because Michael came out of the world of book publishing (where every piece of content is assembled by a team), having a team help create his content feels natural to him.[43:11] – We learn what Michael recommends for someone who is just starting out and wants to get noticed by a publisher.[44:42] – In answer to the final question, Michael offers his parting tip for someone looking to publish their first book: write a book proposal for yourself. Not doing this is “like trying to build an addition onto your house without a blueprint,” he explains.[46:45] – Chandler has a free gift for listeners: a copy of Book Launch (FIND AND LINK THIS). To claim your copy, go to spsfreebook.com! (FIND AND LINK THIS)