S. 2 Ep. 38 – Credibility Marketing: Strategies To Gain Clients, Referrals & Revenue

Taylorr: Welcome to another episode of Technically Speaking, we’re your host Taylorr and Austin, and in today’s episode, we’re talking about how you can leverage a book to gain more clients, get more referrals and be an instant source of credibility in your industry. Now, look, I know nothing I just said there seems like news, but it’s impressive to see after talking with thousands of speakers, coaches, consultants, who are also authors, what happens when they write a book. 

Write a book, they have a really successful launch; maybe they get it as an Amazon bestseller because they had a really well-structured launch party, and then their intentions are to sell a hundred thousand copies of the thing and that’s it. And the reality is, that’s just not how it works, nor should a book be used that way; a book should be used as a credibility vehicle, something that lands you the best and biggest clients that you could only dream of. 

And in this episode, we’re inviting on Michael DeLon, president and founder of Paperback Expert, and he specializes in speech-to-writing book writing, basically, where you can sit down with him and his team over a period of 24, 1-hour sessions, and based on interviews, they’ll write a book, writing your voice, building your credibility in your industry. And we brought him on not only to talk about that process but to talk about what happens after you have the book, because what we learned in this call is a lot of the time people end up writing a book, and then it doesn’t perform the way they want it to perform. 

And it isn’t being leveraged at all in their marketing or when they go to write a second book, those books don’t fit into the mix of the previous books, and there’s just so much to learn about the process of writing a book, getting it out there in the hands of your buyers and being established truly as the expert in your field. And Michael unpacks, all of this for us along with his journey, and it was such an insightful episode, Austin and I learned so much about the book writing process and not only that, but how to leverage it once you have it in your hands. 

So, even if you have a book already, I can entice you enough to listen to this episode and really internalize what it means to have a book that leverages you and shows your industry, that you are the most credible expert in your niche. So, without further ado, let’s go ahead and dive into this thing. As always, we hope you like this one and stick around until the end for some awesome resources. See you in there. No. Alright. Wow, guys. Unfortunately, you guys just didn’t see this as we started the show, but I just totally biffed the first take of this in 15 seconds. So, welcome to Technically Speaking, Michael, it is incredible to have you here today.

Michael: Hey, Taylorr, thank you for having me, it’s going to be fun. Austin, it’s going to be great to dialogue and banter.

Austin: Oh, man, I’m so excited. This is such a good topic too. For all of you listeners that have been interested in writing a book or writing another book or making better use of the book that you have, this is going to be a really important episode, so I’m excited. Thank you for sharing your time with us today.

Michael: Oh, right on, man. I love it. This is one of the most fun things I get to do every day is just talk about book creation, credibility, marketing, helping business owners grow, so thanks for having me.

Taylorr: Yeah, totally.

Austin: For sure.

Taylorr: So, we like to do our research, Michael, ahead of our shows and kind of dig in, and we kind of found some pretty, no, but we found some previous episodes of your podcast that you record and things. And it sounded like prior to kind of getting into the book world, you were kind of at a dead-end job, you claim, quote-unquote, an escape from prison, basically. I just have so many questions and I think many people can relate here. So, what happened?

Michael: So, yeah, I’ll give you the long version in a really short period of time. So, my wife and I were with a ministry to families for almost a decade, God used it to change our marriage, and so I climbed the corporate ladder, I was on the leadership team, then they started going through corporate reorganizations. Remember the day, after the third reorganization, I looked up and my name was no longer on the leadership team, so they started shuffling me around the ministry to do different things, and that was my two-year prison term, because I was in jobs that I hated at a ministry that I loved. 

And after two years I talked to my wife and I prayed, I said, God, I have to get out of this place. And he says, what do you want to do? I said, I want to go help small business owners with marketing, because they hate it and I love it. So, I have a background in marketing and advertising things. So, he said, go. So, on January 1st, 2013, I escaped prison and found easy street, guys. I started my own company, became an entrepreneur.

Taylorr: Easy Street. Isn’t that the case? Wow.

Michael: Oh, man, it was nuts.

Austin: Wow.

Michael: So, let me extend that a little bit more and it’ll lead into what we’re talking about. So, I’m a marketing guy; I went out, I had one client, helped him break through some barriers. He’d refer me to you, Taylorr, I’d come out, we’d have a meeting about your business. And in that meeting somewhere, you’d say, Michael, what have you done in the last few years? I’d say, well, I’ve helped build marriages and families at family life. And you’d say, oh, that’s so awesome, Michael, way to go, oh, look at the time. I have another meeting coming up, let’s keep our conversation going. And you would usher me out the door, and that kept happening, I wasn’t getting clients, because you saw me as a ministry guy. 

So, I went to my church one day, paced the hallways back and forth, cried out to God, said, how do I help him, Lord? And God gave me the idea to put all my strategies in a book. And so, I published my book on marketing in 2013. Then, Taylorr, I’d call you, I’d set a meeting with you, I’d mail a copy of my book to you, and I’d walk into your office about a week later. And there it was, my book was on your desk, dog-eared, highlighted, and underlined. You’d read my book. And in that meeting, you’d say, now, Michael, in your book, you said, how do you help me do that? And you’d hire me. 

I started gaining clients. I thought, man, this is really cool, why don’t business owners do this to grow their business? Well, it’s challenging to do it, so we created a process to help speakers, authors, entrepreneurs create a book without writing a word, and then we teach them how to use that book to grow their business. So, that’s my really long story of escaping prison, but that’s how I got into doing what I do now.

Austin: Wow man. So, you chased what worked for you and then helped other people do it, this was an experiential learning experience, it sounds like.

Michael: Oh, without question. Yeah. And through the 10 years that I’ve been doing this experiential, I feel like a pinball, right, in the machine, bing, bing, bing, bing. I have reinvented my company no less than a dozen times, because today, it is nothing like it was back then. And it’s just come through iterations and learning what the market needs and realizing for the first few years, I’d publish your book, and Austin, you’d come to me and say, Michael, my book, it’s on Amazon. 

What do I do with it? How do I get clients with it? Because my clients are not experts in marketing, they’re speakers, they’re authors, they’re attorneys, or financial advisors; they’re great at what they do, they don’t understand the marketing components of it. So, that’s why we combine book publishing and marketing strategy to help people do it, but totally, I’ve been around the pinball machine a few times.

Austin: Well, that’s a good thing. I think that it speaks to the willingness to just do the thing that gets the results for the people you’re looking for. Because as business owners, right, it’s really easy to fall into this trap that we do this specific thing and, okay, there are instances where that’s probably going to remain the truth. If you’re a roofer, you’re probably going to keep putting roofs on houses, so I don’t mean to oversimplify here, but if the outcome that we’re chasing, well, actually I’m doubling back on this for a second here, right? 

If the outcome that we’re chasing is a house that stays dry on the inside, then the way that the roof gets built can change based on the optimal thing for building roofs at that point. So anyway, this is totally a tangent, but I see that you followed that train of thought for yourself, and, obviously, it worked

Michael: Well, absolutely. Yeah. And even a roofer has to be thinking about the gutters, right? And the downspouts and the things that are around the house and leakproof and there are lots of other things we can add to serve our client and how do we do that?

Austin: Yeah. Well, I just found your next keynote for you. So, there you go, Michael.

Taylorr: There you go, it’s on the table.

Michael: That’s awesome.

Austin: Look, I want to unpack a whole bunch of what you just said. I think the thing that stood out when I was researching sort of your offer, is this idea of reinventing the book writing process. And just now you mentioned something that caught my ears and that’s how to author a book without writing a single word. Did I hear you say that?

Michael: You did, yeah.

Austin: Okay.

Michael: That’s what we tell people.

Taylorr: Be attractive.

Austin: Help me understand.

Michael: I position myself as a book publisher for small business owners, right? And at the same time, I will tell you, never write a book. And what I mean by that is, don’t sit down in front of your computer and start typing. Okay. Because it’s slow, you self-edit, you’ll type a sentence or two and say, no, that’s not right. And you’ll backspace, backspace. And it’ll just take you too long. So, my audience, they’re experts at what they do, they’re not writers, they’re thought leaders, they’re speakers, they’re communicators. 

So, use the dictate function on your Microsoft Word or Google docs, or work with us where we have writers interview you and have conversations because you can talk about your topic all day long. Our job is to structure it into a great outline and a great story, so you speak to write your book with us, and then our writer actually does the writing of your book, but it’s in your words, your tone, your voice, your message, because it’s your book. So, we have a process that eliminates all of the barriers to creating a book. 

And we do everything for you except provide content for your book. Because I’m not you, I’m not the expert; you’re bringing the content, but it’s through a conversation, just like if you’re on-stage speaking, or if you’re talking with a prospect about what you do, we just translate that into the pages of your book. But we tell people, never write a book because it’s much too laborious, speak to write your book, get your content out of your head onto paper, and then you can edit what’s there so much faster, plus, when you type and when you speak, you’re using different parts of your brain, you communicate differently. 

And I want to capture your speaking, so that when somebody reads your book, they’re hearing you, so when they listen to your podcast or they watch a video, or they’re on a zoom call with you, you’re going to say some of the same phrases that they read in your book. And they’re going to say, this is the same person, right? They might not articulate that, but it’s like the waves of the ocean versus the current. The current’s much stronger. And when you’re consistent in your messaging, in your communication, you start pulling people into your world and there’s a level of credibility that’s gained by doing that. Does that make sense?

Austin: Yeah.

Taylorr: Wow. I just feel you unlocked something for me, I’ve always been frustrated because I feel like when I get onto a call or on a podcast or I’m talking to the webinar on stage, I feel so much more eloquent, I have my stuff together, than if I try and sit down and write something out, you know? In my head I was like, that should be the same function, right? It’s just saying what is in my head, but on writing, so the fact that that’s two different parts of your brain, I had no idea, you just blew my mind there. That’s crazy. Okay. Wow. Nice.

Austin: On that train of thought though, it seems, and I’m just putting myself in the shoes of somebody that would be getting into business on this type of project. Structuring your thoughts initially, I know you mentioned that you help with that and that must be critical, because I word vomit, I just talk, and so I imagine it’s difficult to take the rambles and turn them into something cohesive, right?

Michael: Well, it can be, and it’s a lot like giving a speech, a keynote speech, right? Do you just say, okay, I’ll be there on Tuesday and I’m just going to get on stage and vomit?

Taylorr: I hope not.

Michael: No, you build an outline. So, one of our processes is, what we call the brain dump. We want to get all the stuff out of your head onto paper and then we’re going to say, okay, what are the things you want to talk about first, second, third? What’s the process you walk through with a client? What is unique about you? That becomes chapter titles and the flow of the book. Then we take the brain dump and see where it all fits. So, you always, always, always start with an outline, and once you have an outline with bullet points and stories you want to share, then you can come back and then speak to write your book.

Taylorr: I could imagine that’s a pretty emotional journey too, for some people, trying to work through all of that and then kind of double back on things and maybe feel, I’m just trying to put myself in the shoes of kind of going through that experience. I can feel after I got it all out there, I’d be like, well, is this going to be valuable? Should I be writing about something else? Do I need to come up with new models or new ideas? I think this is kind of where a lot of just entrepreneurs, generally, will go, as I have it right now in my head, is that enough?

Michael: Right. Yeah. And I get that all the time talking with prospects. And that’s the value of having a third party, a writer, guiding you through it, because you’re so close. It’s like me with, I’m a marketing guy, right? I have three marketing coaches from my business, because I am too close to my business to make good decisions for my business. If you’re writing your book, you’re too close to it, you’re going to self-doubt, you’re going to stop and you’re going to elongate the process. That’s why you need a professional to guide you through the process and say, you know what? That’s good. 

Austin, that one’s too deep; let’s not go that deep in your book. And this point is probably made better over here or let’s just drop that one totally. Because making a book is a lot like making a movie, you’re going to shoot a lot of videos. And a lot of it’s going to hit the editing floor, very similar in a book. But the thing is, people are interested in your story, I’ve had so many clients come to me, and we do their book, but before we do it, we get their background, their story. And I’ll say, have you ever told anybody that? No, who’d be interested in that? I’m like, about everybody. It’s like my prison escape story, right?

Taylorr: Yeah.

Michael: It connects with people. And so, we had an attorney who went to college on a baseball scholarship, he was going to go to the pros, threw his arm out, and killed his baseball career. He graduated, became a personal injury attorney. And as he helps people who are in accidents and get surgeries and get rehabilitation. And I said, have you ever told anybody your story of all that? And he’s like, no. We’re going to. So, we created his branding, his strategy, and the book title was, When Life Throws You a Curveball.

Taylorr: Wow. Nice.

Michael: Going from his pitching to his story, to their story. And it resonates. Now, he can compete against the big dogs through his story. Everybody has that story to tell. They just don’t see how it connects with their audience. That’s what we help our authors do.

Austin: Oh. So valuable. I was just thinking like, that’s the secret sauce right there. We have it within us already. And it reminds me of the function of a coach, it sounds like you’re really coaching your clients through this, because they have what they need inside them already. It’s just about getting that out of them and helping them recognize the different components and see how the dots get connected, that totally makes sense.

Michael: Yeah. And I’m glad you said it because that’s exactly what we do, and I’ll talk to some people and they’ll say, well, I’m going to go and do the outline and start writing my book, then I’ll come to you. I’ll say, please don’t please.

Taylorr: Don’t do that. Yeah, we’re going to do it anyway.

Michael: It’s going to take me more time and effort and everything, it’ll probably cost you more money. Let us coach you through it, we don’t call ourselves that, but, yeah, let us guide you through it. Creating a book is like walking into a dark room that you’ve never been in before. You don’t know where the furniture is, you don’t know where the light switch is, it’s a scary experience. Fortunately, we’ve been in that room about a thousand times. We know where everything is, just take my hand and let me guide you through the process, and it’s going to be so simple for you. That’s the approach we take.

Taylorr: Yeah, for sure. I love that. Austin and I talk about this all the time, just kind of the concept of a thought leader of a coach, a guide, it’s kind of like, I don’t know for those listening. Austin and I probably play too many video games, but sometimes when you’re in a game, you have a map, but you don’t have access to the entire map yet, you kind of have to explore it and you need a guide, basically, to tell you where to go, and then you unlock different portions of it and things become much clear. To your point, we’re just so close to the situation that it’d be impossible to go alone at it, and plus, you would take a lot longer, it’d be a lot scarier, and you’d fall down a lot more. 

So, that makes perfect sense. I do have a question though, because you’ve been talking about how it would take longer to write a book, obviously, and I’ve seen this; Austin, I don’t know how many times you’ve seen this too, but be like, I’m going to write a book. You check in next year, how’d that book go? Still writing it. You check in six months later, you done yet? Nope, not done yet, but I’m getting to it. It’s really kind of extended, but they also have five other books in their head on the back burner, things get muddy. 

So, how long does it, generally, take, I know this might be a loaded question, but from your experience, when you work with an expert like yourself, how long does that process usually take to unfold?

Michael: Yeah. Great question. It takes on the client’s perspective, on your timeframe, it will take less than 24 clock hours for you.

Taylorr: Wow.

Michael: It will take us hundreds of hours over about a seven to a nine-month period of time to get your book fully created. It’s about a 150-page book, because you don’t want to write a brochure and you don’t want to write War and Peace.

Taylorr: Right.

Michael: Right. You want a book that has thump factor, but something somebody can read in a couple of hours

Taylorr: Thump factor.

Michael: Yeah. It’s totally doable. And we do it in a series of 60 to 90-minute conversations with you. So, you can put it in your calendar and every Tuesday at three, you’re going to talk to your writer and you’re going to get another chapter or two done. And what happens is, it has that built-in accountability and between calls, guess what? You really don’t have to do a lot of work because you have everything in you, the outline’s already done, you’re just showing up going, oh, yeah, we’re talking about this today. Alright. Boom. And the writer’s there to guide you the entire process. 

It gets it done and off your, because here’s our thing. An imperfect published book is better than a perfect unpublished book. And, to me, we get stuck in the, it’s not quite right yet. I don’t care.

Austin: You heard it here first, folks. Yeah, no, done not perfect is a real thing.

Michael: Yeah.

Austin: Let’s speak to the reasons that somebody would write a book, because I think you come at this from a perspective and steer me from the rocks, if I’m incorrect about this. But primarily, that the book becomes a source of credibility, trust-building, and the no, like, and trust factor, the book helps with that. And I think some people see the value in that and that may be the primary cause; I think there are a lot of people that just see the book writing process, primarily, as a revenue generator, in terms of selling individual copies. So, can you speak to maybe the differences in terms of why somebody would want one objective over another or where there may be an opportunity for both?

Michael: Yeah. If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur or speaker and your name’s not Steven King, you’re not going to get rich selling your book on Amazon. Okay.

Austin: Truth.

Michael: Here’s the reality. Being a published author is important, not to sell copies. I tell my clients and we have strategies to give your book away to as many people as you can, because you want to be a resource. You want to be a household name. Does anybody know, Tony Robbins? Have you ever heard of Tony Robbins?

Austin: Oh, yeah. I think maybe once.

Taylorr: Once or twice.

Michael: Why? 35 years ago, he was a no-name doing seminars, making people walk on fire; until he published his book, Unlimited Power. That book made him a household name, then he built a billion-dollar company on top of it, right? Simon Sinek. Everybody knows Simon, everybody loves Simon, he did this Ted talk. Great. Do you know where he makes his money? He published a book called, ‘Start With Why.’ He got paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to speak. And that’s where he makes his money; not by selling copies, he sells his ideas through his book to get speaking opportunities, okay. 

So, understand, it’s not about book sales, it’s about positioning yourself as the authority, the thought leader in the eyes of your audience, in their mind. I call most business owners, most speakers, coffee beans. Now, I love coffee, I’m drinking coffee. If you pour coffee beans onto the table in front of you, they all look the same, they all smell the same. Speakers, authors entrepreneurs; if you look like and sound like you’re competition, you’re a coffee bean, and you’re not giving me a reason to choose you. Your book positions you differently, it gives you an authoritative topic from which to speak, and it gives you a multitude of ways to speak about topics in your book. 

And so, when you’re on a podcast, you can say, you know what? Guys, did you know in chapter three of my book, I talked about the importance of direct mail? And here’s how you can do direct mail. Do you see what I just did there? In chapter three of my book, so I dropped the seed that I’m an author without saying, look at me. It doesn’t matter. What matters is the seed that gets planted in your mind. How about reaching out to a new prospect that you want to meet, or a center of influence who could send you business. How are you going to do that? Social media, let’s connect on LinkedIn, right? How about putting your book in a big gold envelope? Mailing it to them. If you got that in the mail, would you open that?

Taylorr: Of course, the first thing in my mail. I wouldn’t even come into the house.

Austin: I wouldn’t even make it back to the house. I’d be opening it at the mailbox.

Taylorr: Yeah, right there.

Michael: Seriously. So, you open that up and it’s a copy of your book. It’s signed to you, it has a nice little note and then you follow up in a couple of days and say, hey, I’m the guy who sent you that big gold envelope, did it get there? Or did the mailman lose it? Yeah, no, I’ve been wondering, who are you? Why are you sending me that thing? I just want to have a great conversation and see how I could serve you. And it starts a relationship and that’s what’s missing in today’s marketing. Everything’s data, data, data and social media this and whatever. We’ve lost the relationship. And so, we teach our clients how to build relationships and do marketing in an old-fashioned way that is really super powerful.

Taylorr: Yeah. I can’t wait to talk more about that, I’m a huge fan of old-fashioned marketing in the modern world, because no one does it, so we’ll definitely unpack that, we might even have to have a whole long segment on that subject alone. But I can feel some people, let’s take a look at folks, maybe who haven’t written a book yet. I’ll actually even speak from my own perspective because I think maybe some of our listeners can relate. I see so many books out there and I’m a marketer myself, books are the oldest form of marketing in existence, it feels like at least. 

Every topic seems to have been discussed, every idea seems to have been shared, my imposter syndrome kicks in as what value could I add to create a book? And is it actually useful since there are already topics stuff out there? Can you help me sort through that issue?

Michael: Absolutely. Yeah. So, at the end of the day, your audience is going to choose you, more than what you do. Okay. So, if they’re looking for a speaker, there are probably 30 speakers who can speak on a topic, right? Why are they choosing you? Because at your website, you have a book on your website that you’ve written, that speaks to what they’re interested in at some level, but it also tells your unique story. I was on a call yesterday with a speaker out of Canada, and he’s the first man in history to run a marathon with somebody else’s heart and lungs.

Taylorr: Holy cow.

Michael: Now, do you think that’s going to capture my attention and move me in his direction? Yeah. He had a transplant years ago, he’s won multiple marathons and things, but I thought, that’s amazing. And so, his book, Resilience. Ties into his presentation of resilience and how I can help your company and your team have greater resilience, make more money and it all comes from his story. That’s how you differentiate yourself. He has a unique story; you have a unique story, Taylorr, how do you tell that and differentiate it to the needs of your audience? It doesn’t matter if there are 6,000 books just like it on the same topic on Amazon. 

You’re on Amazon for credibility purposes; I want to drive people to your website where you get to have a conversation in a vacuum. You’re the only one they’re talking to get them to opt-in by giving them a free copy. Now, through email marketing, oh, yes, it still works. You can build a relationship and link them to a podcast, link them to videos, link them to trainings, right? Own them, win their heart, you’ll get their mind. We make decisions emotionally first; we back it up with logic. Look at most marketing, how do they do it? Logic first.

Taylorr: Logic first.

Michael: Backward. Always reach the heart first; you do that through your story. So, it doesn’t matter if there are 10 million books on your topic, you have a unique approach.

Taylorr: Wow.

Austin: Well, can’t argue with that really.

Taylorr: I’m writing a book. So, I’ll hit you up, Michael.

Austin: Alright, Taylorr.

Taylorr: We know who to call.

Austin: Yeah, for sure.

Taylorr: Sold.

Austin: So, why a book? This question is rattling in the back of my head, right? Aren’t there other ways that you can demonstrate authority like you would with a book?

Michael: Yeah. There are different credibility platforms, right? Podcasting is a credibility platform, having your video channel is a platform, having a blog, right? Newsletter. Those are all platforms. The difference between that and a book is twofold. One, the barrier to entry is much higher for a book. Lots of people have podcasts, but not a lot of people have books, because it’s hard to do a book, okay. And number two, in our culture, experts have books, experts are on media; it’s what happens in the mind of our audience. 

And so, when you’re trying to elevate credibility, there’s really no better way than to have your book, then you can get featured on TV, you can get featured on podcast interviews, you can get featured on videos, right? Because you’re the author of dot, dot, dot, those two words, author of, or even better, bestselling author of, that captures my mind. That’s why in our programs, we promote you to be an Amazon bestselling author because of the credibility that brings in the mind of your audience. This is where marketing’s battle is fought is in the mind, how people think about you. 

Remember when I escaped from prison, and I couldn’t get a client? They saw me; they thought of me as a ministry guy, as soon as they got a copy of my book, I instantly became an expert in marketing. Nothing else changed in my life, except I put my thoughts in a book. That’s what changed my life and my business. That’s what we help our clients experience.

Taylorr: Nice.

Austin: So, it’s really a perception behind having a book, it’s that people perceive the book as much higher value, quote-unquote, than a podcast.

Michael: Well, yeah, seriously. Alright, let’s just get really real. Seth Godin, Simon Sinek, Dave Ramsey, are they really that much smarter than all of us? No, they have a message that they communicate really well on multiple platforms, but what put them on the map, every time you look at them, is a book. How many books does Seth Goldin have? They write one, then they write another, then they write another, but it’s their speaking fees that pay the bills.

Taylorr: Probably a reason for that. Yeah. Right.

Michael: It really is.

Taylorr: Wow. Okay. So, Michael, I get the feeling, and we have to touch on this because time goes by so fast. So, I get the feeling that ‘build it and they will come,’ does not apply to writing a book.

Michael: Yeah. That’s great. It does not. Yeah.

Taylorr: Okay, that’s unfortunate. I just want it to be easy; I thought we were on easy street, Michael, what the heck, man?

Michael: That’s right. Yeah. Yeah.

Taylorr: Okay. So, you write the book, now we have to market the thing. You have a blueprint; how do we pull that off?

Michael: Yeah. We have a credibility game plan that we teach our clients, and we give them, to say, okay, now that you have a clear message, that’s number one. Now that you have credible media behind you, how are you going to consistently market your book? Let’s look at your business, because every business markets differently and what kind of lead generation are you doing to get people to your website? So, let’s put your book on your website, give them a free copy of the PDF. 

The thank-you page comes up and says, hey, thanks for requesting a free copy of my book, it’s going to be in your inbox in a couple of minutes. Can I just mail you a copy for free? Just tell me where to mail it and I will get it in the mail; it doesn’t cost you a penny, because you want to underline this in dog-ear. I want it to be a resource for you, just tell me where to go. We have found that 40% of the people who opt-in for free, for the e-book, request the physical copy. Now, that’s important because now I have all of their information. 

Now, I could send their book, now I can send thank-yous, I can send postcards, I can send invitations, right? I can market to them offline because all of your competitors see what you’re doing online, they don’t see what’s going through the mail. I’m a big direct mail fan, when it’s done right. So, that’s one aspect. I teach a gifting system, where we send physical food gifts in the mail to people because they’re going to open it and have a package of chocolate-covered pretzels or cashews or chocolate-covered espresso beans when I went to espresso my thanks for having the conversation with me.

Taylorr: Wow, well done.

Michael: We teach all of these systems that we give to our clients, and they all build credibility because nobody markets this way. And that’s the beauty of it, because just publishing a book and putting it on Amazon, yippy-skippy, you and about 10 million other people, nobody’s going to find you. Unless you’re marketing properly and putting it in your email signature. Putting it on your website has credibility, but again, it’s about building the relationship. And that’s why in our process, we help you create a podcast, if you don’t have one and we interview you on every chapter of your book, because we want your audience to experience you, because they’re going to buy you and it’s going to separate you from all of your competitors. 

Do these simple things, but unfortunately, not many people teach these simple things. So, that’s why we combine book publishing with credibility marketing, all in one package, to help our clients put themselves in a position to be seen as the expert and then market that way as well.

Austin: It makes total sense to me; I just think about it from my own perspective and specifically around this, direct mail is probably the best example since it is the one you referenced, but people just, you’re right that they don’t do it. I think there’s this sense that it’s outdated or something, and, well, depending on the definition of that, maybe that’s true, but it gives us this huge opening, because not everybody’s doing it, we don’t just throw stuff away trend anymore, if we get something in the mail, it’s probably pretty important. 

Yeah. I’m not going to tell the Gary Vaynerchuk story here, Mike, I could tell you it offline, because I’ve told it about 15 times on this podcast, but the benefit that we have as small business owners is that we have the opportunity to scale the unscalable, to do the things that a huge brand can’t or wouldn’t. And so, for this specific instance, a handwritten card signed with your name directly to them in a book in the mail, nobody can do that, except somebody that takes the time to genuinely connect with somebody they think they can help with. 

So, I just think that the perception, speaking back to that point of getting that from a decision maker’s perspective is really strong, I think it really would make you stand out.

Michael: Well, it does. So, let’s just put this in context. You’re a speaker; you’re wanting to get into a corporation to speak. You mail them a copy of your book. Number one, you do a print newsletter every month and you mail it to them every month.

Austin: Wow, sweet.

Michael: You send them a gift in the mail, a food gift every month, now they have three physical touches from you. You put them on your email, you do LinkedIn, you reach out to them. Do you think over a period of two or three or four months doing that they might notice you and say, this guy is really cooling his perspective, or I need to at least talk with him? Do you think it would give you the conversation? And in what kind of an investment does it take to do that? Well, a little bit of money and a system that operates to make it all happen automat

ically. I know you guys are big on systems, I love that about you. I’m big on systems. We give systems to our clients and its step-by-step guides, how do you make that happen? And it’s just not rocket science, but it’s reaching that emotion and I assure you, dude, I get texts all the time from my clients and prospects, with pictures of the food gift that I sent them. And the little note, and they’re like, thanks, my kids love the M&Ms. I’m a household name. Their family loves me.

Austin: Yes. That’s a lot.

Taylor: That is how it’s done. Gold. Michael, my goodness. I feel like I’ve learned so much. I feel like the way I think about this has changed; I feel the way I understand writing a book has changed. Tremendous value. Thank you.

Michael: Thank you. Oh, you’re welcome.

Taylorr: So much for unpacking all of this, we’re definitely going to have to have some deep-dive sessions I feel, if you’re down for round two.

Michael: I would love it.

Taylorr: Awesome. Yeah. So, okay, as you know, you’ve provided a ton of value here, so if somebody wants to learn more, what are you working on right now? How do they get in touch with you, fill them in?

Michael: Yep. paperbackexpert.com, that’s our website, that’s the hub of all things Michael. We have free trainings there, practical ways to do that gifting process. It’s in the training section, it’s absolutely free, go watch it, it’s about 25 minutes. I have multiple trainings there. You can check with me, you can get it on social media; it’s all there, paperbackexpert.com.

Taylorr: Boom. Alright, guys.

Austin: Bam, I can’t believe you had that domain available.

Taylorr: It’s in the show notes, go click. I know. Beautiful, right? Marketing, right? Nailed it. So, click the link, go check Michael out. And, guys, if you like this episode, definitely rate it, subscribe to it, like it. If you want more awesome resources like this, go to speakerflow.com/resources.

Outro: Thanks for tuning in today. Check the show notes for more info and see you next time. Latah.