Home > Blog > Podcast > 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 TwitterRussell 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.
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