MAKE MONEY AS AN AUTHOR WITHOUT SELLING A SINGLE BOOK!

Did you read the title right? Yes, I’m sure you did, but do you believe it?

This title is truer than most people realize. In fact, many authors make more money without selling their books.

There are very few authors who make a living at being an author; i.e. just selling their book to pay the bills. Most of them, especially in the nonfiction genre, really want people to read their book. BUT, the book is only a small part of being an author and, as stated, is not the money-maker most think it is.

There are many ways that authors can use the publication of their books to further their careers and expertise and make more money than relying solely on book sales.

Here is a list of three of some of the easiest ways to expand yourself and your income without a lot of upfront work. AND all are based solely on the fact that you are an author and have published a book.

The operative words here are “published a book," not sold a book. The selling part is incidental. Sure, being a best-selling author doesn’t hurt, but it is not the important factor here. So don’t let that stop you. The important part is that you have the credibility of being a published author.

Let’s get into how to make money without selling your book.

Remember, all these are part of your book, but they are more.

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Number one is creating an online course. That’s right. You literally turn your book into an online course. Many authors do this because it can increase income and credibility in two ways. You can put a discount code at the end of your book to allow people to purchase your course on the topic. This way they have the book and the course and feel like they are getting a great deal.

But that relies on selling the book, right? We’re here to talk about ways to make money from the book without selling the book, which leads us to another way to make money from the course. When advertising, talk about how the course being based on the book, but add information to the course that is not in the book. The course costs more, and you receive a larger return on investment with each course sold. The person buying the course knows they are getting the book content plus extras. Sure, they may eventually buy the book, but the course is where the money is made.

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Number two is getting booked for speaking engagements and podcast interviews. Being part of the speaking circuit gets you in front of your audience, and being able to pitch yourself as an author who’s published on the topic on which you will be speaking is your unique selling point. Speaking at conventions and company retreats and being on a variety of podcasts and live streams will help you get more offers to come and talk and make you more money. Sure, you don’t want to leave money on the table, so you will have copies of your book to sell at the in-person convention or such and you will promote it on the podcasts and live streams; but the bulk of the money will come from booking speaking engagements where you can yield thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars in the time it took you to write one chapter of your book.

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Number three is to become a mentor or a coach in the field or industry of your book. You know your content and are an expert in the field. Use this knowledge to help those who are just starting in the field to learn and gain confidence, knowing they are on the right track with your mentoring or coaching program. This avenue takes a little longer in the upfront timeline, but once it flows, it will continue to grow. Word of mouth is powerful, and the more people you reach, the more that will reach out to you.

Each of these is a great opportunity for authors to make money, and unfortunately, authors who think they will make all their money on selling books often ignore them.

But smart business people—and being an author is a business—know that you have to diversify and reach other avenues of income. This is exactly what you are doing here. You are using the foundation of the book content to diversify into other income avenues. You can do one of these or use them all in tandem to build on your success. You will reach even more people in your audience in less time, which will leave you time to write more books and find more ways to make money without selling those books!

Got a new idea for a book? Schedule your consultation call today!