It’s no secret that expert recognition provides a strong advantage for getting the upper hand on the competition.
This is especially true for business owners in competitive fields like real estate, health and wellness, home services, legal, financial – or really just about any other competitive consulting or professional services field.
Hello, I’m Frank Felker. Welcome to this presentation (play video above) on what you need to know about generating leads and positioning yourself as an expert with your own book.
Like many successful business owners, you’ve probably spent a lot of time and marketing dollars on SEO, pay per click, Facebook ads, et cetera. While these are effective strategies for generating traffic, they’re really just part of the marketing equation because they’re only focused on getting prospects to find you.
And one thing that I know with traditional online marketing is wherever they find you, they will also find your competition.
What so many business owners and even marketing consultants, neglect is the other equally important part of the equation, getting prospects to choose you.
The fact is most people have no idea how to pick a real estate agent, chiropractor, accountant, or attorney. They don’t know what skills, knowledge, experience to look for, and they’re not sure how to tell if you’re even able or competent to help them.
But one thing they do know is they want to work with an expert. And when prospects see you as the expert, it makes it easy for them to choose you over the competition, even if it may cost them more.
One of the most powerful and proven ways to create instant credibility, trust, and expert positioning is to be the author of your own book.
A book instantly conveys the message that you’re knowledgeable, capable, and competent in yourself and your topic, and it establishes you as the subject matter expert in your field.
So I know what you’re thinking. You think that writing a book is beyond your reach. Well, guess what? So do your competitors. That’s why having your own book is such a powerful way to stand out from your competition. You see, writing a book is something that very few actually accomplish. In fact, most of the population thinks it’s something that they could never achieve. They get overwhelmed just thinking about how to begin, and that’s when most people start looking for excuses to quit before they even start. Maybe you feel the same way too. It’s certainly understandable because writing a book the traditional way can be a frustrating, expensive and time-consuming process. But what if there’s a better way?
Let me ask you a question. If I could show you a fast, simple and affordable way to create your own book that would make you stand out from the competition, generate prequalified leads, get more referrals and position you as the subject matter expert in your field.
Can you think of any reason that you wouldn’t want to hear about it? Well, good, because that’s exactly what I’m about to share with you.
The ask the expert method is the fastest and easiest way to create your own book that will generate prequalified leads position you as that subject matter expert in your field.
Even if you’re not a writer. By the time I’m finished with this presentation, you’re going to have a clear understanding and vision of exactly how powerful and ask the expert lead magnet book can be. But right now you probably have a lot of questions like what is an ask the expert lead magnet book? Well, and ask the expert lead magnet book is concise and easy to read. It short 50 to 80 pages in a Q&A format. It’s small, just four and a quarter by six and seven-eighths, what’s called a pocket book, that can easily slip into a purse or pocket.
It’s very customer-focused and it answers the questions that your perfect prospect wants to ask questions. They may be afraid to ask and even some questions they don’t know to ask.
Don’t books have to be three to 400 pages long to be taken seriously?
Well, that’s a big misconception that prevents a lot of smart people from even thinking about writing a book. You definitely don’t have to write a 400 page the complete guide to book that covers everything you do to be recognized as an expert. Let’s take for example the bestselling book, the Art of War. This ancient Chinese military classic established its author General Sun Tzu as one of the most brilliant military strategists and tacticians in history. Many successful CEOs, entrepreneurs, politicians, and sports giants consider this one of the most valuable books in their library and it’s only 64 pages long.
How can it be so powerful at only 64 pages? Because it’s concise, focused and results-driven.
As online and digital media has advanced, the attention span of consumers has rapidly declined. And if you look around, you’ll notice how the business and entertainment worlds are catering to this shorter digital attention span. Take TED talks, for example. This popular platform hosts live speeches by top influencers and experts from science and technology, business, entertainment, and global issues. Doesn’t matter if you’re Elon Musk, Sheryl Sandberg or even the pope. Stage time for every speaker is limited to 18 minutes Max.
Amazon, the world’s number one bookstore has bestseller categories dedicated to books that take 15 minutes, 30 60 and 90 minutes or less to read. These are just a few examples of how today’s thought leaders are taking advantage of the opportunity to get their message heard by practicing the art of brevity. And that’s why less is more when it comes to creating and ask the expert lead magnet book.
So why are ask the expert books in question and answer format?
Well, while it might make your fifth grade grammar teacher cringe, presenting your content in a conversational style allows the reader to connect with your message because it feels like you’re talking directly to them one on one and answering direct questions that are on your prospect’s minds in a short two or three paragraph bite-sized chunk makes the content easier to digest and remember. And because your answers are based on your unique experiences, your book will be unique, allowing your voice and personality to shine through.
Now you may be thinking, I’m really busy. Well, I even have time to write a book. Well, let me ask you this. Would you have time to sit down with your perfect prospect to answer their most pressing questions, educate them on your process and describe what they could look forward to if they chose to work with you? Of course you would! And that’s how long it takes to create the content for your ask the expert lead magnet book.
Look at it this way with an ask the expert lead magnet book. It’s really not a question of how much time it will take. It’s really about how much time you will save because once your book is complete, you can put it to work by starting conversations with dozens, hundreds, and even thousands of prospects on your behalf.
What if I’m not a good writer?
What makes the ask the expert lead magnet book writing formula completely different from any other book writing system is that you don’t need to be a great or even a good writer to produce a quality book that actually helps the reader. We do it using a very simple but powerful strategy.
You see, conversations are a big part of success in business. Just answering your prospective customers’ common questions, addressing the common myths and misconceptions they have and warning them about common mistakes and potential pitfalls that occur plays a powerful role in turning those prospects into customers.
So following a specially designed format, I sit down with you to record a note, stress 60-minute version of that conversation, which becomes the core content of your ask the expert lead magnet book. It’s that simple. In fact, you don’t really need to write at all, not in the traditional sense. See, we’re not writing a textbook or a pure Pulitzer Prize winning novel. We’re simply helping your potential customers make the decision to choose you by positioning you as the educator and advocate for their success.
One question that I have found a lot of people have in their minds, but maybe they’re afraid to actually ask is:
Am I really qualified to call myself an expert?
Well, one of the biggest myths is that an expert is someone who knows everything there is to know about their field or their industry, and the fact is that such a person just doesn’t exist. The good news is that being seen as an expert isn’t about trying to convince people that you’re the best in the world or know everything about what you do.
It’s really this simple. If you can genuinely help your customers and you are willing to share your knowledge onto your customers, you’re an expert. What the ask the expert lead magnet book system does is completely remove the need for you to try and convince anyone that you’re the expert. This formula is designed to allow you to be an educator and an advocate for the success of your prospects. And when you’re seen as an educator and advocate for the success of your prospects, you never have to call yourself the expert because you’ve made it easy for others to see you as that.
So I want you to take a second and think about something for me. If I were to ask you, are you an expert? You might feel very uncomfortable answering. Yes, I’m an expert, right? Even if you do think you know quite a bit about your industry, it’s just something that most people are uncomfortable acknowledging. But how would you feel if instead I was to ask you, are you an educator and an advocate for the success of your customers? Would you raise your hand and confidently and proudly say yes, absolutely. I’m an educator and an advocate for the success of my customers. Well, if that’s you, then I would certainly consider you qualified to be the author of an ask the expert lead magnet book.
Well, how do I decide what my book should be about?
Your book topic should focus on a specific type of customer that you help and how you help them.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they try to write an expert positioning business book is they make the content focused on themselves almost to the point that it reads more like a resume because they’re trying so hard to convince the reader that they are the expert. Instead, the ask the expert lead magnet book allows you to be the educator and advocate for the success of the reader by focusing on the problem that you help them solve or the outcome that you help them achieve.
One of the first things I do with a new ask. The expert lead magnet book author is determine the perfect topic for their book.
So you may be thinking, can I make money from selling my book?
Well, while your ask the expert lead magnet book will certainly be valuable enough to put a price tag on. It would be extremely shortsighted to make that your strategy for generating revenue from your book.
This is very important to keep in mind the ask the expert lead magnet system is not about creating a book for you to sell. It’s about creating a book that sells you. One of the most valuable aspects of an ask the expert lead magnet book is that it’s so easy and affordable to give away. That’s right. Give it away.
The expert positioning the prequalified leads, the branding opportunities and the referrals created by giving your books away will produce far more income and produce it a lot faster than any royalties that you might collect from trying to sell copies.
Think of your ask the expert lead magnet book as the ultimate business card, but unlike regular business cards and flyers or brochures that generally end up in the trash, your book will have a much higher perceived value, especially when there’s a price tag right there on the cover.
Your ultimate business card is going to be easy to give away and your customers are also more likely to put a small book in their purse or their laptop bag to read or to give to a friend that could benefit from the information as well. Besides being easier and more profitable, giving your book away is a lot more fun too.
And the size of your ask the expert lead magnet books makes them extremely affordable and easy to keep several copies on you at all times to hand out whenever the opportunity presents itself.
How can my book generate referrals?
Well, a customer selling you to other customers or word of mouth marketing is the most powerful promotion of all one, which no advertising can replace. A book enables that word of mouth better than almost any other marketing. And keep in mind that your ask the expert lead magnet book isn’t meant to make the sale for you, right?
It’s meant to be the handshake and the conversation starter that leads to an opportunity for the sales process to happen. If your book provides valuable, easy to understand information, then you’ve made your terms, phrases and ideas easy for people to share with others. They’ll want to talk about your book at a cocktail party or networking event or to anyone they know who has the problem that your book solves. Why? Because it makes them look better and that’s how word of mouth marketing works.
So how can I use my book to get more exposure for my business?
Well, thanks to celebrity entrepreneurs like Dave Ramsay, Dr Oz, Lori Greiner and many others. Having a book not only positions you as the subject matter expert, it can even put you in the category of celebrity for your professional niche in the mind of your potential customers, even if they’ve never read your book. That’s just how powerful having your own book can be.
Marketing legend Dan Kennedy is famously quoted as saying, the simple truth is if you aren’t deliberately, systematically and methodically establishing yourself as a recognized authority, you’re asleep at the wheel. Ignoring what is fueling the entire economy around you.
Your book can open doors to being invited to speak as a subject matter expert in your field.
If you don’t have much experience speaking, start with contacting local meetups, networking events, chambers of commerce and trade shows that would be interested in your topic and offer to speak for free. Organizers of these events are always looking for guest speakers and having an expert author is an easy choice for them, especially if that author has a free book to give away to their attendees.
Being an author also makes it easier for reporters and journalists to interview and quote you in their stories, especially local news reporters.
They’re always looking for sources and subject matter experts. You can send them a copy of your book and let them know that you’re available if they ever need a comment or a quote from a subject matter expert on your topic.
Radio show and podcast host love having authors as guests as well because it makes them look good.
You know, please welcome the author of, once again, the credibility that comes with being the author of a book instantly identifies you as a subject matter expert on your topic and in turn makes you an attractive guest for many hosts.
So how much does it cost to write and publish a book?
Well, for a traditional business book, you would either need to hire a ghostwriter or plan to spend 100 to 200 hours on the writing process yourself. And that’s just for the writing. You’d still have the expense of editing, formatting, cover design, and setting up the publishing. This can all easily add up to 15 to $30,000 and that’s before you even print your first copy to giveaway.
Now let’s compare that to an ask the expert lead magnet book. It’s based on your recorded conversation, so there’s no writing required. The whole process only takes about three to five hours of your time. And my team manages the entire project. Everything is handled in one place so you don’t have to spend time trying to find service providers or manage to the complicated process yourself. My team handles the book creation, the editing, the formatting, the cover design, the publishing services, and we also provide you with the first 100 copies of your boat, all for a very affordable flat fee of $2,500. You can also order additional copies of your book for $3 to $3.50 cents each depending on its length.
Most business owners are shocked at how small the investment is versus the return. In fact, most only need to generate a few clients to completely cover the cost because once your book is complete, you can put it to work by starting that same conversation with dozens, hundreds, even thousands of prospects on your behalf.
And because this is a marketing expense for your business, it’s tax-deductible.
Now, let me give you a disclaimer. I’m not a CPA and this is not tax advice, so definitely check with your tax professional, but I’m pretty certain that they’ll agree at this point.
You may be thinking, how does this book creation process actually work?
Well, I use a proven five-step process that quickly moves from our first interview session to getting you your first box of books to hand out to prospects in about eight weeks. Step one of the book creation process begins with a 30- to 60-minute phone call where we’ll gather information about you and your business.
We’ll define the target reader and the topic for your book based on the specific type of customer you help, the biggest fears, myths, misconceptions and mistakes that commonly face and the solution that you provide. We’ll also go over book cover options and information that will be needed for the about the author page and your book. After that call, based on our conversation, I’ll put together a list of the most common questions on your prospect’s mind and I’ll send you those questions along with some notes and possible bullet points that we can address. You’re free to adjust or add to the list if there’s specific questions that you’d like to address in your book.
Now for step two, we’ll schedule a low stress 60 minute recorded conversation. This is where I’m going to guide you through addressing the topic and the questions that we put together during step one and I’ll be asking you these questions from the voice of your prospect so you’ll just be speaking to me as though you were doing an actual consultation with a prospective customer.
Again, it’s really about just being the educator and advocate for that prospect and addressing their concerns. Step three is where I take over the most tedious tasks of the content creation process for you. Our recorded conversation will be transcribed and that transcript will be edited for clarity and readability. You’ll get a digital proof of your book cover and an editable copy of your manuscript. As you read through the manuscript. You can reword anything you want or you can approve it just as it is.
So for step four, once the final edits are made, you’ll receive a physical copy of your book in the mail and we can make sure that there’s no final adjustments or edits that need to be made once you give your final approval. And the book is ready to print. We move on to step five. After you’ve approved the physical proof of your book, I’ll ship out your first hundred copies. I’ll also email you a special link where you can purchase additional copies of your book. There’s no minimum purchase required.
So you see by eliminating the need for you to do all the technical and time-consuming stuff, you will have your own quality book that can help bring in new customers and opportunities with just a few hours of your time.
Before I go, I want to thank you for letting me share this information with you today. If you feel you’re truly an educator and an advocate for the success of your customers, I’d like to give you a free copy of my as the expert lead magnet book and answer any questions that you may have about creating one of your own. Just give me a call at 703-982-0984 or email me at frank@digitalmediapositioning.com.
