Promote and Sell Your Book Through Podcasting | Rodney Miles

Many authors have turned to podcast guesting to promote and sell their books. Sadly, most see little to no book sales from their guesting efforts. But, this doesn't have to be the case for you! In this episode, Rodney Miles shares 7 strategies that will make your book work for you through podcast guesting instead of the other way around. Get ready to start driving book sales and buzz through podcast guesting!

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE: HTTPS://PODMATCH.COM/EP/326

Chapters

00:00 The Power of Podcasting for Authors
02:49 Creating a Successful Book
06:11 Being a Great Podcast Guest
07:37 Converting Listeners into Clients
09:04 Effective Book Marketing Strategies

Takeaways

Podcasting is a powerful tool for book promotion.
A well-crafted book can lead to significant consulting opportunities.
Authors should focus on helping hosts during podcast appearances.
Genuine passion for your book enhances your podcast presence.
Infrastructure is key; direct traffic to your own website.
Professional editing and a great cover are essential for credibility.
Engaging book covers set the right expectations for readers.
Creating related products from your book can expand your offerings.
Clear calls to action are crucial for converting interest into action.
Books should work for you, not the other way around.

MORE FROM THIS EPISODE: HTTPS://PODMATCH.COM/EP/326

Chapters

• 0:00 The Power of Podcasting for Authors
• 2:49 Creating a Successful Book
• 6:11 Being a Great Podcast Guest
• 7:37 Converting Listeners into Clients
• 9:04 Effective Book Marketing Strategies

Transcript

0:01

You're listening to Podcasting Made Simple. Matt, a client of mine, an IT consultant, wrote a book and posted it for free on his website before he published it. That night, he was out with his wife and someone was blowing up his phone, which he ignored being date night. So he's probably still married. In the morning when he officially began his workday, that same number was calling again, but this time he took the call. It was someone looking for a consultant. who found his book on his website the night before, read it, loved it, and in a short, easy phone call that morning, signed up for a $10,000 consulting package. Hi, my name is Rodney Miles. Are you an author, a new author, thinking of promoting your book by going on podcasts? Good. Books plus podcasts make booms. Books for business, when done right, can recoup or turn a profit over all expenses involved in creating and publishing a book, sometimes as quickly as hours or even before the book is published. Just like in Matt's example. Today, being a guest on multiple podcasts is even better than celebrity endorsements. Podcasting is arguably the number one tactic to promote you and your book according to authors and publicists. Very recently, another client, Nick, shared with me the program his publicist had a plan for him. Now, we hired this publicist because she had handled the campaign for another friend of his who wrote a similar book. For the first author, she had him on a 100 podcasts as a guest. That was a core of her publicity campaign and his book took off. In fact, he's on his third successful book now and charges arms and legs for his consulting and appearances. When you promote your book, You're at the same time finding a market for your other products and services. So your book is a great tip of the spear that funnels or leads to graduated ladder of services you offer. And it so often starts with your book and they find you on a podcast. And there are best practices with your book for business. In this short video, we'll cover a sampling of those best practices, enough of them to really help with what you're trying to do. Assuming you're trying to raise your rates. or start or boost a speaking career or a consulting career, or maybe you're taking a regional success, national or international. If you're looking to scale your business, if you're looking to spread awareness and engage and build a community. Also, if you're trying to memorialize a vivid vision for your company. So here are some kick butt tips you can use right away to publish and promote a book that will make a boom. Part one, create. You want to craft a successful book and that might not mean sales necessarily. It means a book that achieves the goals you have for it, the purpose you wrote the book in the first place. Tip number one, read customer reviews of competitor books. I learned this from author Chris Fox, who writes for authors as well as his science fiction. And in customer reviews, good or bad, you get to see what reader expectations actually are. where comparable books miss and where they succeed. Tip number two, start with a great hook. In non-fiction, this is often just a question that hits on the pain the reader's trying to fix. And it's ideally a question the reader will say yes to. Or you can start and maybe erase, as they say, or in the middle, throw them right into the action. I started a chapter in one of my books with, I'm doing better these days. And that sucks you right into the action. Think of all the great teasers at the start of every episode of Breaking Bad or any good movie. Tip three, use common, easy language. Do not try to impress. That comes through and it stinks. When in doubt, use what word a reader would probably expect or they would use themselves. Don't try to impress with language unless it's very natural to you and truly part of your own voice. This will keep expectations met, especially when you're speaking on a podcast. or when you're on stage or even in your interactions with people one-on-one. Tip four, perfect your credibility cues. It's the little things. Now, the first talk I ever gave from stage was in 2015 at a conference in Irvine and my talk was titled, The Secret of Self-Publishing. Well, the secret, the whole secret was to not look self-published. That's still the secret. That still means professional editing, a professional cover. a great book description, but you want to go further. example, instead of putting your name as the publisher, this is just one little way to do this. Create a logo, a simple logo or a publishing imprint for your publishing house. Now you don't have to actually form up a publishing house, but some do. In one case, for example, on a children's book I helped with called Fred and Roger Go to the Moon, we came up with Lucas Books as an imprint. And the logo was a monster truck because that's what the little boy who the author had written this book for really loved. Tip five for your book for business. Leave it all on the field. Please don't put just enough information in your book to think you're leading the reader to want more business card books, get horrible soul crushing reviews. And it's been proven that if you put it all in there without holding back, your readers will love you. They will pay you to get on stage and say just what they just read in your book. Think of rock bands with hits. They have to play that same song every night, right? The do-it-yourselfers out there, they'll be grateful and they'll recommend you. Everyone else will seek you out for help. Tip number six. Once done, read your book as a reader, not a writer. Now this simple reframing of your perspective can make a big difference in how you experience your own book. Run through it with the eyes of a reader. It can be a revealing experience actually. That's part one, create. Part two, converse. There's a few tips for being a great guest on podcasts. Tip number seven, don't pitch your book on the show. Focus on helping your host, the person in front of you. Generally, they let you mention it at the end of the show and also mentioned how to get in touch with you, but On the show genuinely help the host, the person in front of you with your answers and consult them with care. By the end of the show, the right people listening or watching will wonder if you have a book and they'll be excited when they find out that you do. Tip number eight, love your book. It's not unicorns and rainbows to say that your author tone is part of what's called the Pygmalion effect. Your regard for your book shines through when you talk about it. and it shines through when you talk about what you do. I have a client right now. She cries every time we reach a milestone in the process. She's so happy and excited about becoming an author for the first time. Now you don't have to cry, but if you genuinely craft your book so that you love it, it really comes out when you talk about it and that will carry through and shine through when you're a guest on podcasts. Part three, convert. Tip number nine, have ready infrastructure. You're creating your own traffic. So please do not send people to Amazon or somewhere else. Send them to your website instead, but make sure you have a site that clearly guides visitors up your ladder of services. Mark Dawson, his homepage, very successful independent author. His homepage is basically a squeeze page that offers you a Mark Dawson starter library for signing up for emails. It's an irresistible offer with simple navigation on the site. And ideally you're going to want to sell directly from your website for a host of reasons. But if you are only published through Amazon, guess who you work for. Work for yourself. Sell from your website directly and sell wide through all major retailers for the credibility of it if you're doing a business book. Tip 10. Make your book effective even if people don't read it. Now many won't and they will sign up with you anyway. Early in my career, I helped with a book on finance and retirement and the author laughed about it. He said, no one really reads my book. He said, just they're seeing that I have the book and that it looks professional. got him speaking and consulting work. So in that light, here are a few bonus tips that make it effective, even when not read or fully read. 11, you want to carefully craft your basics. Now by basics, mean professional editing, a great cover. compelling book description, great keywords, and targeted categories. Of these basics, let's look at your cover for a moment though. Unless your book is already a timeless classic, here are some powerful tips not everyone uses. Expectations by a large role in a successful book cover in many ways. In fact, that's the first step to getting good and avoiding bad reviews, meeting reader expectations. So your cover has to do four things. It has to look professional, set the right expectations, engage and entice, and be loved by you, the author. Now many leave that last one out, but it's just the same as loving your book. And if your cover does not seem to fit in your genre, your book has two strikes against it already. Let's also look at a few of what they call priors in neuroscience when it comes to your book cover. Writing along the top of your cover, for example, it's generally expected that when you see writing up there, it's either a great review, an endorsement or it's a bestseller announcement or achievement. So put one of those up there or leave space for it when you design for when you do have one of those things to put up there. But it's not hard to get an advanced review and put something like that up there. When readers just see the writing there, it has a positive effect. It creates credibility. It's social proof. It creates confidence. Tip 12, teach your book to walk. Once you've professionally published and you can do that on your own for free if you choose. when you know how, you'll want at least 15 Amazon reviews and you want to get sales started before you start using your book too much. And sometimes even before officially launching it, 15 reviews is what Amazon considers retail ready. And it lifts your book out of that one zero is a ghost town, but one to 10 is the friends and family review category range. And sales will start Amazon looking at your book and considering promoting you for free. Even with what's called a soft launch where it simply goes live, it's attainable. Tip 13, be fruitful and multiply. All you now need do is lay the table of contents on its side and you have a course curriculum. You have a series of blog posts. You have talking points for guest appearances on podcasts and from your book, create related products, possibly even new services you can provide. Tip 14. Come up with a kick butt call to action. As Alex Hormosi says, make it so good people feel stupid saying no. Ask yourself what result you want your book to have. If people read it and like it or just by seeing it, is it for them to sign up for emails? Is it for them to sign up for intro calls? Make it clear by actually telling them what to do. Go here, visit today. People respond to clear instructions and sometimes they need them. Tip 15. put a call to action in the front matter as well as in the back. Even potential readers can see this because online retailers offer a look inside feature where they share the first 10 % of your book online to help sell it. So I hope these tips start you on your way to enjoying a successful book, one that you'll love discussing with hosts on podcasts and one that does not fail to convert. This is putting your book to work for you rather than working. for your book, make it the right tool for the right job and get the most from all your hard work. Remember books plus podcasts make booms. So go get them and congratulations. Many never get this far. A published book and a powerful way to promote it. Good luck. Thank you so much. more episodes, please visit podmatch.com forward slash episodes. Thank you so much for listening. Hey, Alex here. I wanted to give you a gift as a way of saying thank you for staying around until the end of this episode. I put together a list of five things that you can read in less than five minutes that will help you level up as a podcast host, guest, or agency. To see the five things with no email address required, please visit podmatch.com forward slash free. Thanks again for listening. I hope these five things serve you well.