2057 – How to Turn Your Book into a Business Magnet with Big Impact Books’ Melanie Herschorn

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1:05With us right now, Melanie Hirshhorn. Melanie, you are the founder and CEO of Big Impact Books. You're found on the web at yourbigimpactbook.com. Melanie, it's great to have you. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. Yeah. Well, give us an overview of the work you do and how and who you work with in regards to all things books. Okay. It is literally all things book. I mean, our favorite people to work with are attorneys, wealth advisors, business owners who really have that expertise, but they want to build their reputation and really solidify their thought leadership. And so you really can do that with a book.

1:50However, Josh, I'm going to tell you that a book in and of itself doesn't do anything. It's how you market the book as well. I feel like I'm preaching to the choir here. So we help them write, publish, and promote the book. It's an all-in-one, one-and-done situation. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, obviously, having a book that no one really knows about or reads or sees, it's kind of like a tree falling in the woods and no one able to hear it. Did it really fall? Well, we think so. So what, and again, I'm sure there are so many authors that could have had such a bigger impact in the world. I mean, you put all of this effort into creating this book, and then it's there.

2:37And it's, again, can kind of feel like a little bit of a booby prize if it doesn't do anything. So would you mind maybe just taking us through, you know, the early stages of like when we're thinking about writing a book, you know, maybe some of those decision makers or decision making, you know, elements or some of the strategy that we might want to think about at the very beginning of this journey. What would you generally recommend to someone that's considering writing a book today? So figure out why you're writing this book before you put pen to paper, metaphorically speaking, of course, because if you have a book that's just like, oh, I just feel like writing a book for the sake of writing a book, that's great.

3:27But if you wanted to really build your business and your brand, then you want to have the end in mind. Am I going to write this book so that I can send it out to potential clients and it is going to generate lots and lots of business for me? Am I going to use this book as a lever to get me on stages that would otherwise be closed? Or maybe I'm going to use this book to get on really great podcasts like this one. So that's how you want to begin with the end in mind. And then go easy on yourself because you're going to sit there staring at a cursor that's blinking and go, I don't know what to say, but you do.

4:05So some things that you can think about, what are the 10 or so questions that people always ask you? What's your sales call like? What are those questions? Start there. And when you have a plan and an outline, it is so much easier to follow than if you just start tap, tap, tapping away. Yeah. Yeah. So do you have books at all lost their luster or, you know, is there anything just from a, I don't know, here we are at the very end of 2024. How might strategy or how might have things changed today versus, say, five years ago? Well, books will never lose their luster. The printing press was invented in what, 1485 or something, and we're still printing books to this day.

5:00So that's not going to change. But how we publish does, has changed, I should say. So five years ago, people were reluctant to quote unquote self-publish because that meant they weren't legitimate. But today, you know, I'm an independent publisher, so I help clients publish under their own imprint. imprint. And then guess what? You have your own publishing imprint and that just builds your brand further. So that stigma is long gone. Yeah. And so from a strategy standpoint, you know, again, I think back in the day, you know, there was this idea that, oh my gosh, I'm going to work with a publisher.

5:41And then, you know, my greatest dreams are going to come true because I'm going going to see my book on the shelf at a bookstore. And then, you know, everything amazing will happen in my life. Sorry if I'm being a little over the top. No, you're right. These are the things we were fed. Yeah. True. So, yeah. So, tell me more about the very common ways that authors are leveraging their book to make that impact in the world, obviously to grow and scale business and accomplish everything that they wanted in life? Yeah. So I know of an author who wrote a whole book and published it and she only printed 12 copies ever.

6:28She sent all 12 copies to potential clients and made hundreds of thousands of dollars. So it really depends what your goal is. If this is a legacy piece because you want to have your children and their children and their children know then that's great that's whatever it is whatever you're doing it for just keep that in mind as you as you start but in you know in terms of what you were saying about the big publishing house you know picking you out of obscurity and making your dreams come true that doesn't happen anymore and and so you know I think in this day and age we are people who like to do things for ourselves.

7:07We are self-sufficient. We have online businesses. So we too can publish our books under our own imprints and make a big impact. That's why I call it big impact books. Yeah, I did there. In fact, even my book is called Make a Big Impact with Your Book. So I believe that you can when you publish under your own imprint. And the thing is that I like to say I'm the pioneer of integrity in the publishing industry because there is a lot of predatory behavior. I fell prey to it as well. I was with a hybrid publisher and I left the money there and I said, forget it. I don't trust this process. And I went and I did it myself.

7:48So if anything, what I would love to be there for your listeners is the person to dispel the myths and to say, you know what, there are a lot of things that you can do and a lot of things that people are going to try to sell you, but you don't need to do them all. Yeah. Yeah. So do leaders, do people read books or how can we manage our expectations on consumption? Yes. People not only read books, but then they buy the audio book of the same book that they purchased so that they can drive or exercise and listen to the same book they're reading with their eyes later in the day. So books are not going away.

8:33But in terms of managing expectations, unless your name is JK Rowling, you are not going to get rich on book sales. I just got a royalty check for$8 and I got really excited. So you're not going to get rich on book sales, but you can definitely leverage your book to build your business as soon as, as long as you're being strategic, you know, sending it out as a lead magnet for potential clients and stuff like that. Yeah. How do you, and of course, you had mentioned the audio book. So, you know, creating just the print version or the Kindle version is one part of it. I know another big part that I am a huge fan of is supplementary materials.

9:26Like if you're going to produce the book, how can you get the book to come off the page and what sort of interactive guides and SOPs and checklists and other things can you give away? can you create a video series to accompany the book? You know, obviously you'd mentioned the audio version of it, but I think these are, I like them, you know? And, you know, if there's, I'm listening or reading a book and says, hey, guess what? We have a bunch of free resources for you at the website. I love engaging there, grabbing those things, interacting with the author. It's far better in my opinion than, you know, me being a raving fan, but not doing anything about that.

10:06So I just, again, just kind of speaking from a consumer standpoint. Absolutely. And when you think of all the things you can create from your book, you can create programs and courses. And just like you said, you know, when somebody buys a book, you send them to a website for free supplemental information, and then you grab their email address in the process. So now you know who bought your book and you have brought them into your ecosystem. So you can then potentially warm them up as a lead. Yeah. So tell me about your process when you're working with somebody like, what is that journey? So it's a 12 month long process.

10:53And I, you know, I firmly believe that there is no such thing as cookie cutter anything that would work. I believe you have to individualize and customize for each author. So we say that, you know, anywhere from three months to nine months, you will have a published book depends on where you come to us. If you've written everything and it just needs a little bit of tweaking, then we can get the book published faster. But if you come with an idea, then it could take six to nine months. So I am helping you craft this book to the best it can possibly be. And then we're getting it edited and we're doing the interior and the cover and then we're publishing it.

11:37And then all the exciting marketing that comes with that, you know, sending a press release, doing a bestseller campaign, doing a book launch, but then also thinking long term. So we're doing a podcast tour way past the time that you have actually launched the book. Because so often, you know, there's that rocket ship effect, right? So people are like, the launch, launch, launch, boom, nothing happens. They fall into the ocean because they haven't planned for past the day of publication. And so we make sure to do that with you. Yeah. Melanie, I know that you provide a lot of resources. And I think you've got some resources on your website as well.

12:16It's yourbigimpactbook.com. Before we talk about that, and that's going to be the next, there's a preview of the next question. I want you to talk about your book, Make a Big Impact with Your Book. It's a book about making a big impact with your book, but it's got tons of positive reviews on it. Melanie, who should be reading this book and what would you expect the transformation to take place? And by the way, I should point out, obviously your book is on Amazon. You can find it through your website, your big impact, big impact book.com. But you do have like a Kindle version of it, Kindle Unlimited and so forth.

12:58But do you mind sharing again about the transformation from this book? Sure. What the book aims to do is to inspire you to think beyond the publishing. So it gives you suggestions of how to take your book and really make it work for you because your book is a treasure trove of content. We just have to mine it and then put it out there in the right ways. So it's part inspirational, part, you know, my backstory, and then a lot of what to do to make your book really have long-term success. Yeah. Yeah. And again, that's all available at your website, yourbigimpactbook.com. And I know you've got other resources as well.

13:37Yes. So we have the Ultimate Book Marketing Checklist, which is available there, and you can grab that. And it really kind of preps you of what to expect, because the number one thing I hear from people when they come to me is, I don't know what I don't know. And for a lot of people, that's scary. And for me, I say, well, you're in the right place because I'm going to teach you. And that's very important. Yeah. So when somebody goes to your website, what would you recommend they click on? What should they do? How do they engage? You know, you may or may not be a fit for everybody. Do you mind maybe just sharing, you know, a little bit about like, who's a great fit for you?

14:16Maybe who might not be quite ready? Absolutely. So it is a time commitment and it is also a monetary commitment. to publish a book with all this guidance and all this marketing. So if you have been in business for five years, you know where you're going, you are ready to step into that thought leadership piece, and you want to have that book that acts as your credibility on steroids, then that is the great time to really consider it. And you can actually just book a call with me at any time. I'm just at meetmelanie.vip. Excellent. All right. Again, Melanie Hirshhorn, your website, yourbigimpactbook.com.

15:06You can get the book. It's called Make a Big Impact with Your Book. That's at the same website. But Melanie, it's been a great conversation. Congratulations on your impact and success. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you.

15:25Thanks for listening to the Thoughtful Entrepreneur Show. If you are a thoughtful business owner or professional who would like to be on this daily program, please visit upmyinfluence.com and click on podcast. We believe that every person has a message that can positively impact the world. We love our community who listens and shares our program every day. Together, we are empowering one another as thoughtful leaders. And as I mentioned at the beginning of this program, if you're looking for introductions to partners, investors, influencers, and clients, I have had private conversations with over 2000 leaders asking them where their best business comes from.

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