Many of my clients ask me when they will start making the money back that they put into publishing and marketing their nonfiction books, and the truth is that it may take a while. Realistically, making money from your book will likely come from sources other than sales. And that’s good! Below I’ll tell you why, and give you some ideas for leveraging your book to grow your income.
Book Sales Aren’t the Answer, Especially Not in the Short Term
Everyone wants to be a best-seller, right? Well, that would be fabulous of course. But the biggest benefits you can get from publishing a nonfiction book don’t come from sales revenue. Of course, if your book is a best-seller and you start making money from your book by the truckload, that’s pretty fantastic too. But you shouldn’t feel disheartened if you’re not a millionaire overnight. Thinking of your book as a long term investment is a good place to start.
Making Money from Your Book Will Likely Come in the Form of Opportunity
What can you do to make the money back that you’ve invested into publishing and marketing your book though? Many things! Writing and publishing a nonfiction book can help establish yourself as an expert. It gives you clout. It can launch your status as a thought leader. Once you’ve written a book on your topic, your experience, or your industry, you are that much closer to achieving expert status. It lends you credibility, in other words.
Your Book as a Glorified Business Card
If you’re an entrepreneur or aspiring thought leader, writing and publishing a book can be used as part of your larger branding goals. And just like having a business card, your book can be an invitation to contact you. It is a reminder of who you are and what you do.
Your book is not only an advertisement for you, it is a product. So sometimes you have to give away samples to sell yourself! It’s not about making money from your book directly, but leveraging it to open up a world of opportunities.
Ideas for giving away your book that can result in bigger opportunities and profit potential:
- Give copies of your book away at conferences, workshops and other industry events.
- Share it with colleagues and invite them to pass it on to others.
- Add it to your media kit and send it to potential reviewers, or to spark interest from media outlets.
- Run promotions and giveaways on your author platforms or social media.
- Offer free copies as a reader magnet.
- Gift them to organizations related to your industry.
- Use one book as a freebie to promote your other books.
- If you teach a webinar, or host a speaking event, give your book away to attendees.
There are So Many Ways to Leverage Your Book to Grow Your Income
Handing out all of those free books, establishing a solid brand, and marketing yourself as an expert has a pay off. You will find yourself with more opportunities to grow your income in ways beyond making money from your book directly. Your book can be used as a tool to get more attention.
So use the fact that you are an expert in your industry to:
- Get media coverage
- Speak at events and conferences
- Create new business partnerships and collaborations
- Teach courses
All of these opportunities can be lucrative! And the more you do these things the more attention you’ll get. You just have to be willing to put yourself out there and take advantage of the opportunities that come your way.
Book Sales as a Long-Tail Strategy
Remember, making money from your book may not happen overnight but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If you think of your book as part of building your brand and a long-term marketing strategy, there is less pressure to make sales directly from your book.
Also, if you’re familiar with long-tail strategy, you’ll know that selling a little of multiple things is easier than selling a lot of one thing. So, if you have knowledge to share, then keep writing books! In the publishing industry it’s known that writing more than one book will actually increase the sales of your previous books. In other words, every book you write and publish is an advertisement for your other books.
Keep in mind that in the future you can always write sequels, publish new editions, and expand your market to sell more books too!
Making Money from Your Book Sales isn’t the Biggest Benefit of Publishing
Are you starting to see how book sales from just one book could pale in comparison to the other benefits? Opportunities can be evergreen. The sales from a single book may not be your ticket to success, but it can be the beginning of your journey.
I’ve only covered a few of the ideas and possibilities for leveraging your book to grow your income and your brand. There are many more ways of making money from your book beyond direct sales. You’ll likely find these as you grow. Writing and publishing a book is a huge accomplishment and you can absolutely take advantage of all of the benefits of doing so.
