In the last few posts I have been stressing the importance of creating a comfortable living from your “right livelihood.” I have talked about How to Become a Well-Paid Writer, Artist or Other Type of Creative Worker and I provided you with 10 Ways to Make Money & Increase Sales By Writing a Book. Today I’m going to discuss how to attract more and higher paying clients for your work, product or service.
One of the best ways to boost your income and attract more customers is to become known as an expert in your field. Experts command higher fees for their work, product or service because they are perceived as being worth the additional cost. Experts are routinely asked to give keynote addresses or to facilitate workshops at conferences and events sponsored by universities, corporations, professional organizations and government entities. Experts can become well-paid consultants to corporations and high-end entrepreneurs. Experts are routinely sought out by the media for interviews and to weigh in on issues related to their topic.
I found this out totally by accident in 2004 with my debut book, Stand & Deliver: Political Activism, Leadership and Hip Hop Culture. I had been writing well-received commentaries for nearly 10 years years. However soon after the publication of my book, producers and journalists from major media outlets started calling me. They wanted me to talk about current event topics that were even remotely related to my book’s subject matter. I also was able to immediately and substantially increase my speaking fees, just because I was a published author.
I’m not going to argue that it’s a fair or accurate way to judge the credibility of a professional. What I will say is that is basically how the game is played. In a crowded marketplace, a book gives you a way to differentiate yourself from people who do similar work. A book is necessary tool for your financial survival. It’s similar to mandate for tenure-track professors: “Publish or perish.”
•highly knowledgeable about their topic matter
Here are some REAL life examples that speak to the power of the book:
Comedian and radio host, Steve Harvey became a relationship expert after the 2009 publication of his book, Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man. Harvey, who’s been divorced several times has nevertheless given out his advice on national television programs such as: Nightline, Good Morning America, Oprah and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Marianne Williamson became an internationally renowned spiritual teacher and lecturer with the 1991 publication of A Return to Love. A Return to Love is Williamson’s personal journey to enlightenment based on the principles of another book, A Course in Miracles.
David Bach catapulted to the A list of financial advisors with his 2004 book, The Automatic Millionaire . Prior to writing Automatic Millionaire, David Bach had been a senior vice president of Morgan Stanley and a partner of The Bach Group, an investment company founded by his father.
If you’re an entrepreneur and not a writer. It’s okay because you don’t have to Shakespeare to write an effective book. Your book also doesn’t have be an long tome. Moreover it doesn’t matter what field you’re in there are people (potential customers) who are interested in the information that you can provide.
Whether you’re a yoga instructor, nutritionist, therapist, marketing consultant, florist or dog trainer, you have more knowledge or insights about your field than the average person. It doesn’t matter that most topics can be researched online, your potential customers will pay you to deliver the answers to them.
If you are a writer, artist or innovator, you can use a book as the foundation of profitable business centered in your creative work.
So Here’s Some Next Steps:
- First, in the comments section below, tell me at least one topic that you could write about to attract customers to your work, product or service.
- Next, if this post gave you an “Aha! moment”, please share it via the retweet button below (or via your social media goodness of choice).
- Finally, if you’re getting interested some in-depth, 1-on-1 coaching on how to use a book to raise your public visibility and increase your income (and/or you’re curious to learn more), SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL LIST near the top of this page so you can get advance notification when it opens llater this month AND also early bird savings on it.
•more intelligent than the general population
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