Five Steps to Turn Readers into Revenue

Most authors think the best way to get paid to write is by focusing on book sales. They promote their books to their list hoping that enough people will buy it to result in an ROI. They’ll market to their Facebook followers, friends and family, and email list. But here’s what most book experts won’t tell you… that approach rarely works. If you really want to turn readers into revenue, forget about your list.

Scary, we know, but lists are where leads go to die.

To help you discover how to get paid to write in a way that doesn’t rely on book sales, here are five steps to turn readers into revenue,

Step One: Use Your Book to Reach Other People’s Audiences

Instead, view your book as a tool for reaching other people’s audiences. There are many businesses, organizations, and professionals out there who already have an engaged following. Doctors, lawyers, boutique owners, non-profits – they have email lists, events, and customers in the door each day.

Reach out to these leaders who have existing audiences. Offer to provide value to their followers at no cost to them. Propose speaking at an event, writing a guest post, or contributing an article about the core message in your book. Make it easy for them to say yes.

The key is positioning it as a win-win-win. It’s a win for the audience owner because you make them look good by providing free expertise. It’s a win for you because you get to spread your message to a tailored group. And it’s a win for the audience because they get your book content for free and the chance to fix a problem they’ve been facing.

When you present to these established groups tied to your book’s message, make sure to offer free copies of your book in exchange for contact information. This becomes your lead list to nurture relationships over time.

It’s far easier to give away books than sell them upfront in these situations. And you’ll find audiences are very receptive to a free gift that helps them, instead of a product pitch.

Step Two: Collect Leads by Giving Your Book Away

When you present to these new groups tied to your book topic, ensure you have a clear call-to-action set up. Make it easy for interested audience members to sign up to receive their free book.

Some simple ways to do this include having sign-up sheets at your talk, a link to a landing page in your slide deck, or a quick online form they can fill out on their phones. You may also have physical books on hand to give away immediately to those willing to share their contact information on the spot.

The specific lead capture method doesn’t matter too much. What matters is that you make the offer of a free book conditional upon getting their email address or some other way to follow up with them. This contact information is far more valuable to you than a single book sale.

Why? Because your book itself likely won’t generate much revenue. You’ll make the real money by nurturing ongoing relationships with readers over time. If you can consistently give away 500 books per month, you can probably build a million dollar business. This volume gets your work in front of enough eyeballs to get paid to write.

But to nurture those relationships that convert readers into paying customers, you need a way to contact them! So focus on seamlessly collecting lead information in exchange for your free books.

Once you have someone’s email address, name, or phone number, you can provide ongoing value that earns their trust. You can learn about their unique problems. And eventually, you’ll have the opportunity to make targeted offers to those most interested in going further with you.

View those free books not as giveaways, but as lead magnets. Use them to supercharge your audience building beyond just what your own list allows. Then stay tuned for crafting the perfect follow up sequence.

Step Three: Nurture Relationships Without Being a Nudge

Now you have a fresh list of hot leads interested in your message. So what’s next?

It’s time to nurture relationships with these readers to build trust and awareness of how you can serve them further. Many authors fail to realize it takes an extended nurturing period before readers convert into paying customers. You must steadily provide value before asking for the sale.

The best way to nurture is to establish an ongoing channel for sharing bite-sized content with your leads. This could be through email, social media, text messaging, or whatever communication channel works best.

Over time, share valuable tips, behind-the-scenes stories, real-world examples, case studies, and other useful nuggets readers won’t find in your book. Provide enough free advice to demonstrate you’re the real deal. But don’t overwhelm them with a constant barrage of content. Keep each message short, simple and helpful.

The key is to build mindshare in the background by consistently demonstrating your expertise. Earn reader trust by being a source of solutions for their problems, not just more pitches.

Occasionally, as appropriate, you can weave in a soft offer to continue the conversation. This might be a link to get on your calendar or learn more about working together. But keep outright promotional messages to no more than 15 percent of your total outreach.

The more value you deliver for free, the more likely hot leads will convert down the line. In essence, you’re warming up the audience by providing extreme clarity on who you help and how specifically you can solve their pain points.

Step Four: Listen Deeply to Prospects on Sales Calls

You’ve nurtured relationships, provided a ton of value, and occasionally marketed your services. Now some of your hottest leads are stepping up and booking time on your calendar. Congratulations – this means they’re serious about exploring how you might be able to help them.

But before you launch into a sales pitch, it’s absolutely critical that you listen deeply first. Listening to prospects shows you care more about helping them than simply getting paid to write. Shift your mindset from presentation mode to discovery mode. Rather than scanning for opportunities to promote your offers, completely focus on identifying what readers need from you.

The best way to do this is asking quality questions and listening intently to the answers. Get prospects opening up about why they wanted to talk, what problems they face, and what results they want. Resist the urge to interrupt or provide immediate solutions. Your job is to be fully present and probe for deeper understanding of frustrations.

You might ask things like:

• What challenges are you running into related to [book topic]?
• What originally attracted you to connect with me?
• Help me understand why this is important to you right now.
• Walk me through a typical day dealing with [problem from book].

The more prospects feel heard, the better you can tailor your responses. So keep asking follow-up questions until you feel you have an intimate grasp of their unique situation and the outcomes they desire.

Listening builds enormous trust and goodwill before you ever get to pitching. It shows you genuinely care about providing value versus just making a sale. This patience and clarity will pay dividends in conversion rates when you eventually make recommendations.

Step Five: Make Targeted Offers That Solve Prospects’ Actual Problems

Now you’re ready to present an offer. This is your chance to convert readers into paying customers.

But first, re-confirm you fully grasp the prospect’s problem and desired outcome. Repeat back to them what you heard in your own words, then ask them to validate if you have it right. You might say something like:

“What I’ve heard is that you’re struggling with [core frustration], and the main result you want is [solution]. Have I understood your situation correctly?”

If they say yes, perfect. You have confirmation the offer you craft next directly ties to the challenge described. If they respond no, dig deeper until you lock down an accurate summary.

With the green light to proceed, tailor a recommendation focused on getting them the specific outcome they want.lead with the end benefit first, then describe your process second. Make it crystal clear how your solution nets their desired result.

Avoid the rookie mistake of pitching services that don’t actually match what this unique prospect said. Just because your offerings work for some clients doesn’t mean they’ll be a fit here. Lead with resonant messaging tied to the explicit needs stated.

Following this formula – deeply listening, confirming the prospect’s problem, then tailoring your offer accordingly – is the best way to convert readers into buyers. They’ll appreciate you took the time to match them with the right solution instead of a one-size-fits all sales pitch.

Get Paid to Write: Turning Readers into Revenue

Shift your mindset away from using a book just to make sales on copies. Instead, view it as a lead generation tool for tapping into new audiences and nurturing ongoing relationships over time. Give away free books, listen intently to prospect needs, then craft tailored solutions. This blueprint allows you to provide extreme value first, setting you up for targeted offers that result in sales.

Now get out there, follow this sequence, and discover how rewarding it can be to get paid to write and impact lives.