How writing a book is like hiring salespeople to work for you around the clock.
August 26, 2019 3 min read
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In this interview at ClickFunnels’ annual Funnel Hacking Live conference, Emily Richett sits down with goat farmer and online entrepreneur Dana Derricks to learn why books are a key tool to scale a business.
Derricks is a copywriter, author, marketing coach, and part-time goat farmer from Wisconsin who has mastered the art of book writing and using books as a marketing tool.
Here are Derricks’ top three pieces of advice on publishing and using books to market your business:
1. Don’t let just anyone help you publish.
Derricks warns against letting “fake people” help you publish a book. He says if someone hasn’t published a book themselves, you probably don’t want them telling you how to do it.
The book writing process also shouldn’t be a nightmare. Derricks warns about writing advice like only working on a book for 10 minutes per day. It’s bad advice because “you get 20 days in, and you’ve written maybe two chapters. You have to read the two chapters every time you start … [or] you’re going to repeat yourself.”
2. Let your book do the heavy lifting for your sales.
After you write a book that relates to your business, you can get serious results by placing it at the front end of your sales funnel.
Derricks explains why: “The book is the best salesperson on earth because it sells without selling. Plus, books work 24-7 and … you can get a million books out there. You can’t have a million salespeople.”
He adds that any entrepreneur looking to scale a business to millions in revenue, as he has, should start with a book.
3. Use your book to provide value to customers.
Whether you’re trying to sell your business directly to customers or pitching it to potential affiliates, offering a book is a great way to provide immediate value that draws people into your business and gets them interested in your other products.
Derricks eve offers his books for free sometimes, and he says he’s found this strategy particularly useful for affiliate marketing: “Plugging a book is so much easier, because it isn’t a pitch … the person promoting you is actually doing a favor to their audience by giving them a free thing. It’s awesome.”
Watch Richett’s full interview with Derricks above for more of his insight on books and marketing.
This article is from Entrepreneur.com
