HER EMPIRE BUILDER PODCAST

HELPING YOU TO SHARE YOUR GIFTS WITH THE WORLD

Join business coach Tina Tower as she explore's how to build your empire by packaging your expertise into online courses, speaking, content, podcasting and credibility.

Tina has over 14 years of experience in starting, building and selling companies, she's a speaker, teacher, mumma and traveller. She's unapologetic about living an intentionally big life and if you want too, this show is designed to show you many different options to help you gain clarity over YOUR version of awesome.

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Show Transcription: 

Ep170 Creating a Commercial Ecosystem for Your Book

Welcome to Her Empire Builder podcast. Ah [sighs], I hope you're fabulous.

I know people listen to podcasts in all different places but I always think before I hit record and go, thousands of people are listening to this and you could be walking, you could be on a plane, you could be driving your car, you could be running, like, so many different things. So, wherever you are, and whatever you are doing today, thank you for listening to Her Empire Builder podcast.

My goal is always to bring you as much value as possible and today is one of my faves. I feel like I say that all the time [laughs] but let's be honest, we do a podcast because, you know, we like to talk about the things that we're talking about. So I go to America tomorrow, this episode is coming out next week, so I'm recording this seven days before it drops. You know, it's got to, it's 3:20pm in the afternoon. The kids will be home in 40 minutes, so I'm like, okay, I've got to do this. It's been one of those days where, you know, when you're going on a trip, and you've got to get everything sorted and everything cleared so that you can really be present when you're away? It's one of those days that I've gone, oh yeah, I've got to record next week's podcast. It's just got pushed back and back and back, and so I decided, instead of rushing it, that I would leave it until the end of today. Now I'm nice and comfy. I've got my trackies on. I’ve got my egg boots, I've got my jumper, and I’m all cosy here ready to talk to you about the commercial ecosystem of your book.

So this is the fourth episode in the series on if you're writing a book to try and help you with that, because it's something that I get asked very regularly. I know that it's not applicable to everyone. Not everyone's going to write books, but if you are going to write a book, oh, this is one of the most overlooked parts, and I tell you what, it will give you more impact and make you so much more money than anything else that you do. So, if you've got a book coming out, or you plan to within, like, the next five years, listen on my friend [laughs], because I'm going to give you enough tips in this episode that can make you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Let's get to it.

Hi friend. I'm Tina Tower, Business Strategist and digital online empire builder. I've been in business since I was 20 years old and I've since built and sold four businesses. I started in the world of online courses in 2017 and grew to a seven figure annual turnover in just under two years. To say I love the game of business is an understatement. I'm a world traveller, a mama, a wife, a best selling author and I love the freedom that we have to create the business and life that we want to live. It takes courage to break the rules and shake things up and do it your way. Through Her Empire Builder I share my experience and bring you lessons from some of the world's best to help you dream big, plan well and take massive action. It is absolutely possible to run a thriving, growing business that positively impacts the world and have a beautiful personal life without hustling and working yourself into exhaustion. I want that for you. Let's enjoy the journey my friend.

So in online business, we always talk about our ascension model, right? So, we've got the different levels of the customer journey. For me, I have, like, level one, which is free content. So, things like the podcast that you're listening to right now, the lead magnets that we have on our website, when I'm speaking at different things. Like, that's kind of, like, you know, you're listening, you may not be on my email list, maybe you are. Social media is the same, like, it's kind of out there. You know, we're kind of friends, but we haven't actually connected. We haven't gone to that next level yet.

So then, from there, you know, the normal ascension model in an online business is to then get people to subscribe to your email list. After that, as we know, email lists are one of the most valuable assets that you have in your business. You know, it gives you a chance to have a relationship, to connect, to get to know people, and for people to get to know you, so that by the time you come around to launching something, they know, like and trust you enough to go, if the product is right for them, then they're in. That's it, that they're good to go.

So with the ascension model, a book, oh my gosh, you throw a book into the mix of that, and it is one of the most complimentary things that you can put into your commercial ecosystem. So if you're an online course creator, which I know most people that listen to this podcast are, you may have low cost items and you may have, you know, a high cost program that's like your signature course; you may have a membership. For me, obviously I have Her Empire Builder membership, but it's a big thing for people to jump straight into a high priced program if they don't know you enough yet. Like, they don't know about you, and they're not sure whether you're credible, and they're like, you know, I like what they're putting down but I don't know whether I'm ready to part with my $1,000 yet. So putting a book into that mix, there is something [sighs] so credible about a book, because you've got to have a lot of gal to write it and to put it out there.

A lot of people have the dream to write a book, but it is quite, you know, it's quite an undertaking [laughs], which if you've got to the end of these four episodes, you know the amount of effort that is required, but also, it is permanent. Having that permanence out there, I mean, I know when we're recording online courses, you know, if module eight becomes out of date, we can just jump in and rerecord it, or if there's something that I don't like, or I've changed my mind on something, because as humans we grow and we evolve, and our belief system that we have right now will hopefully, if we've got growth mindset and we're open to new possibilities, will hopefully be, like, a little bit different to what it was in five years time, in ten years time. Your book is, like, locked. It’s there as a reflection of who you are at the time that you wrote that and the knowledge that you held at that time. So I think, you know, when you've got the courage to be able to put that out into the world, it's a massive thing and people know that.

So when it comes to a book, one thing that I got told, oh, right at the beginning. So, I did, if you're in Australia there is a lady called Valerie Khoo who I reckon is, like, one of the original course creators in Australia. She is fantabulous and she has a company called the Australian Writers Centre. Even if you are in the US, or wherever you are in the world, I would jump on to her courses. She has so many short courses on writing and I actually did her How to Write a Business Book course in, I want to say 2008, 2009. Anyway, a long time ago [laughs] and my first book I didn't write until 2019. So it was a long time ago but I remember there she said, because it really stuck with me when she said it, and she was talking about, you know, when you're at different events and different things. Now, this was a long time ago, granted, so people were giving out business cards, you know. Now it’s, look me up on TikTok [laughs], whatever the equivalent is. I don't know, I don't do that stuff anymore. What are the, what are the cool kids doing? I don't know, but it's certainly not business cards, but I remember her saying, you know, people get a business card, they go home, and they chuck it all in the bin but if you go to an event, and you've written a book recently, and you've got, like,10 books that you can give to people that you connect with, people are not tossing a book in the bin. They're putting that on their shelf. There's something un-binable about a book.

So books have staying power and if I look at my bookshelf right now, I mean, behind me, I have books and books and books. If you've seen any of my videos, you know about my rainbow bookcase and a lot of them I've had for 20 plus years. So when you write a book, it gives you this massive credibility, and it stays. So that's where all of it comes from in going, you know, people can access what you've got for $20, $30, then they've got that there.

So I will say some books are more commercial than others. So when I wrote One Life, One Life I didn't write with my commercial ecosystem in mind. I wrote that book because, well because I really just wanted to write that book. It really pissed me off how many people I talked to that were saying they couldn't build the business they wanted because they had young kids, or they couldn't build the business that they wanted because they had a traumatic childhood, or they couldn't build the business that they wanted because they didn't come from money. I was like, oh my gosh, like, yes, we all start from different areas and I am very lucky that I grew up in Sydney, which, you know, is filled with opportunity, even when you start behind the eight ball, but I really wanted to show that you actually can. You can create the life of your dreams. It does take longer for some people depending on where you're starting at but if you ask for help, and you seek help, and you learn and you grow, then you definitely can do that, and that was my point with One Life. I had just sold my business and so I was on like this cathartic journey [laughs] into who do I want to be when I grow up, but when I went to write my second one, I looked at Million Dollar Micro Business and was, like, okay, how can I make this commercially viable, because my first book cost me a lot of money. So I spent about $60,000 in producing that and we ended up breaking even. Like, we've earned back the money that we put in, but for so much effort [sighs], I want to do more than breakeven you guys.

So I looked at Million Dollar Micro Business and was like, how can this fit into the commercial ecosystem that we have? I knew that with courses, most people, if you're wanting to learn how to do a course, it's really hard to find something for under $1,000. If you can, it's often a bit, you know, crappy mccrap crap. So, I was looking at that and going, it's very inaccessible for people. If you're, you know, you've got a job and you want to start a side hustle, or you've got a corporate job and you want to do that, or you're a stay at home mum and you want to start something, then $1,000 is quite a significant investment to get up. I have learnt, nearly everything that I know has started with a book. So many of the things that have shaped my belief, that have changed my habits in business, that have done a refresh, started from a book for $20. Like, it's mind blowing and I wanted to contribute that back to the world.

So I wanted to go, my programs all are for people that already have their business kind of sorted. You know, they're already previously had a business or they've got some business knowledge. I don't go to the very, very beginning and so that was a gap in my commercial ecosystem and I was like, do I want to do a course? Not really. What I can do is do a book for it. So that was the beginning one and what a book does is, it has massive, massive reach. So for an example, I do about $1.6 to $1.8 million a year in my business and from that, you know, that's only serving, like, 1,000 customers. So there's, there's not that much volume to be able to get that, whereas with my book, we've just reached 10,000 copies of the book sold. So because of the lower price point, it can go far throughout the world and have that much bigger impact, which will then fit beautifully into my ascension model.

So from that, what we got was, we've had about 500 people take my starter level course, Idea to Launch, straight off the back of the book. Now how we have done that, and this is what I want you to keep top of your mind when you're writing your book, is how does it fit into your ascension model? When people are reading your book, they're going to either hate it or love it, right [laughs]? I mean, sometimes you're indifferent, but I know when I'm reading books, it either really gels with me and I'm like, this, this is where I'm at right now, frickin love this, I want to explore more. You know, the one I just read, it's on my desk still, is Power by Kemi Nekvapil. Oh my gosh, what a boss woman. Now I read that and was, like, I've now got her speaking at our retreat next month, I’m like, how can I do more work with her? She's incredible. Like, I want everything that she's putting down. That's how powerful a book is. Then there's other books that I will read, like, the first chapter and go, oh, I want to throw it at the wall [laughs]. This is not where I'm at right now, and that's okay, because the investment is low.

When a book is a winner, winner, chicken dinner, they're going to want to take that next step with you so you want to make that as easy as possible. So all throughout your book you want to be going, what are the resources that you can include that can take that experience further than the book? So thinking that most people are reading a book, you know, they're sitting on their own, or they're, they're using Audible. Audible sales are off the hook at the moment so they're not really being able to, like take notes, like people used to. I mean, I write all through my books, but a lot of people want to have things that go with it. So all throughout Million Dollar Micro Business, if you've got a copy of it, you know this and now you'll take note of it and go, oh wow, she does that a lot. Every single chapter, there are different things. Say I'm doing an exercise on fear setting, or an exercise on mapping out your course, or an exercise on personal brand, there is a resource sheet that goes with that. So that is all in a workbook and people can go to milliondollarmicrobusiness.com and get a copy of that workbook.

Now what that does, is then on that downloads page, they put in their name, their email address, and they go through to the full resources page. Now the resources page has not only the workbook but also anything else that I think will help people in their journey. So it's got links to other people's courses, links to our filming equipment and software resources, and all of these different things, most of which are affiliate links so they also make money as well. Then we've got that relationship going. So once people opt in, they're then on my email list so I can start going, hey, how are you going wth your course? Have you got that up and running? Are you ready for the next one? Then when I do my launches, those people are going, you know, if they're enjoying it, and they're liking it, and they're ready to take that next step, they’re there, they're ready to go.

So that's really, that's really the crux of it is going, having those beautiful invitations throughout your book that you can circle back into that downloads page, and then going, okay, what can you do after that to maximise that opportunity? So going, now, I'm not a fan of spam, and yes, you could say that people have opted in so it's not spam, but I think that, um [pauses], you don't want death by email. People will have different theories on this. I like a nurture sequence of three, max. So when people first opt in, so say they're opting in and they've just read your book, you might have an introduction, one; Hey, I'm Tina, how are you going? Nice to meet you. This is a little bit about me. Here's different things. I'm so happy that you're part of my world. So that's the first one; we’re not selling anything, we're just saying, hi, I see you, I appreciate you, hello. Then the second one, you may start to introduce, like, a customer story in going, these are the types of people that usually work with me, see if you can see yourself in this kind of thing, these are the results that you can expect when you can work with me, here's a little bit about that. Then the third one is, if you want to take the next step, here's ways you can work with me, otherwise you'll get a weekly newsletter.

That's how it can continue on and that works really beautifully. You know, it's not a hard sell. It's not, like [giggles], death by email, it's really just going, here's the different things and making it easy so that if someone does want to take that next step with you, it's all readily available there. So you want to have your email sequences all mapped out so that as soon as people opt in, you can say, okay, if they've opted into that one, this is the sequence that they're going on. Just making sure though, especially if you're using Kajabi you can do this really easily, that you're tagging them so that if they are already on your database they're not getting that email sequence. Email sequences go really wrong when someone has been on your list for years, and you send them an email saying, hi, nice to meet you, then it's like, what? Don’t they know? We already are friends. So you want to make sure that you've got, you know, those things, those stipulations on your automations, to make sure that you are not emailing people like that. So you want to do that.

You want to tag the purchasers of your book so that you can send them special offers. So when I do a launch, for example, I'll send a separate email to the people that have opted in through Million Dollar Micro Business because I know they already have that knowledge. So they've already read that, they've already got that base, they've already got that foundation, I have more of an idea of where they're up to in their business journey, and can then go, hey, I know this is going to be the right next step for you, if you're ready to level up, do you want to do it? So knowing exactly what your ascension model is, and that's it.

I mean, it's not rocket science, I think [laughs], but I can't believe how many people don't do it. I mean, I have searched far and wide. There's been books that I have read, and have searched far and wide going, how can I take the next step with this person? How can I get the resources for this? I want to go deeper, is there a cost that they offer?…and I can't find it. So make it easy for your customer and know that when you write your book, you may not make much money out of the book. There is a very, very small percentage of people that actually get wealthy from writing a book. Where you do create that wealth is by having it in a beautiful, seamless, automated ascension model, so that people who are reading the book, if they like what you're putting down, it's very easy to take that next step. Then they go into that ascension model and can keep going deeper as they develop.

So some are more commercial than others. Like, I know that, you know, in business, it's really easy. If you're writing a business book, it's really easy to do that ascension model going in. A little bit harder if you're in other ones, but, I mean, one of our Her Empire Builder members, Ali Young, who's been on our podcast before as well, her books just come out, Work. Mamma. Life., and she's done the same thing. You know, she knew, because of Her Empire Builder obviously and me going, Ali, don't forget [laughs], that she's got in there all of those digital downloads. So then she launched her membership and is going off with that, because then people can see, well, I really like her theory on parenting, I really like her theory on being a working mum, I really like her vibe. She's going to create this really great community. So they know that already and can then go and take that next step. So commercially, it just makes it this beautiful ecosystem, because it can then seamlessly all fit into each other.

So that's it. That concludes our four episodes around getting your book out in the world. I hope they have been hugely helpful. If they have please let me know on Insta @tina_tower. I would love for you to share any resources that you've created, or especially your book idea. Hopefully, it's given you a little bit of inspiration and made it a little bit easier for you with that journey. I love books, I hope that's come across. I really don't think there's enough of them in the world. I know that so many women that I talk to that want to write a book and they're like, you know, there's a similar book on this. Nobody is you. You have such a unique view on everything that makes it so special and the world needs what you've got. I think it's such a beautiful pursuit in life to be able to be brave enough to take what you know, to distil it, to articulate it and to put it there in print, with no other goal other than helping other people and serving them and letting that impact happen. So I wish you all the best in your book writing journey and I can not wait to walk into a store and see your beautiful book staring back at me. Have the best day.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Her Empire Builder. If you loved it, please share it on Instagram for your friends and be sure to tag me @tina_tower so I can say thank you and if you really want to deliver me smiles, you can pop a review on Apple podcasts. I would love to hear from you so if you have any questions at all, email me at [email protected] and if you would like to work with me further, all of the free resources and my courses can be found at tinatower.com. Now I truly hope this podcast gives you so much value and you can use it to dream big, plan well and take massive action in building your very own empire that's just for you. Have the greatest day.