I’m halfway done reading Profit First by Mike Michalowicz.
It shows you to manage your money so you never have one of those “holy crap where’d it all go!?”
Until now, my entire financial system has been “Hope I spend less than I make and brace myself before checking my bank account.” So it’s nice to have some control over it. I recommend you check it out — it’s great for freelancers/entrepreneurs who make income in spurts.
But I ain’t here to talk finance.
While I was reading the book, I noticed something interesting.
Something that could come in handy if you plan to write a badass book of your own. (They’re incredible lead magnets and do wonders for your authority. I’m working on mine.)
Almost anytime the author made a point, he’d then back it up with a story of a client who had success using the exact thing he just talked about. And he’d include quotes to bring the story to life.
For example, he’d talked about the importance of trying to cut 10% off of your business expenses. Then he shared the story of a guy who owned a minor league team that became a heck of a lot more profitable by doing that.
If you have a bunch of case studies already done, you can then sprinkle them through your book. So you back up everything you say with proof it works.
Because it’s not enough to say it worked for you. People gotta see it working for 2-3+ others to know it’s no fluke.
As I thought about it, I realized some of the top business and personal development books ever do this. Books like:
– Think and Grow Rich
– Breakthrough Advertising
– Anything by Gladwell or Caldini
One of my favorites…and loaded with case studies
They all sprinkle real-life stories throughout to prove their points.
Then you’ve got books like Ask Method by Ryan Levesque. It has a whole section of case studies at the end. So people can see “Oooohh maybe this can work for anyone.”
Or Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula, which is littered with links that send you to the full versions of the case studies on his site.
Now here’s the cool part:
If you already had a handful of case done, your book is already written!
All you have to do is slap them together and put a cover on that sucker.
You can even throw in a subtitle like: “9 Real Life stories of busy moms who built thriving businesses using Pinterest.” (Or whatever.)
Then, you’ve got a book to promote.
Which you can also use as leverage to get on podcasts.
And give away cheap to that audience so they love you.
And if you follow the tips on my site, you’ll hit them with success stories that:
1) Target them and their specific fears/barriers/dreams
2) Teach them useful stuff they can use (so it’s not just another “fluffy marketing book”. The world doesn’t need any more of those.)
Do all that, and your newfound readers will want to hear more from you.
They’ll trust you. And may even feel the urge to share your book with people they care about.
If you need help getting those case studies ready, shoot me an email: [email protected]
See ya on the best-sellers list.