Building a Business Around a Blog is Easier Than You Think | How ...

At the end of April, I began a series of posts about building a business around your blogged book. For a month, guest bloggers and I wrote about how you can have an attitude that allows you to take your book blogging to the next level, and what types of actions you can employ to go beyond the book and become an author expert who does more than just write and blog. In other words, I wrote about how to monetize both your blog and your book.

What does this mean? It means taking off your writer?s hat and putting on a business hat. It means doing things in addition to blogging your book, things like:

• speaking
• coaching or consulting
• offering webinars and telesminars
• producing workshops, classes, home-study courses, etc.
• writing short books, ebook, workbooks, white papers, etc.
• setting up membership sites
• providing related services
• and more?

However, I know from experience that trying to focus on building a business in this way can feel quite overwhelming. Sometimes just taking on the technology of blogging can seem like too much for a writer who simply wants to write. When you begin trying to build a business around your blogged book, you get confronted with all sorts of internet marketing technology that can seem even more difficult:

• PayPal buttons
• email systems
• autoresponders
• shopping carts
• membership sites
• splash pages

Ack! It can take hours to learn how to do one small thing. Really?I know this from experience. Who has time for that?

Over the last year or so, I?ve found myself quite stumped by some of this. In some cases, I?ve even been stopped in my tracks from moving forward with great ideas I have for products and services I?d like to offer as a way to build a larger business around my book. (I still plan to create and offer these, but it?s taking me longer because of the learning curve.)

In the past, however, I?ve actually plowed through with some less techie ways to enter what is called the expert industry and to build a business around my blogs and my blogged book. (Yes, I?ve even made some money.) And it?s not as difficult as you think?especially if you focus on the things you?re good at (like writing and talking).

Rather than concentrating on some of the more techie and overwhelming options involved in building a business around your blogged book, like membership sites, consider creating and selling from your blog one of these six products or services:

1. Short books : These are related books?(booklets, tips books, step books, ebooks, white papers, reports, workbooks, etc.) under 100 pages that people interested in your blogged book might purchase. If you aren?t done with the blogged book, maybe they will purchase one of these? in the meantime. Your blog readers will get to know you and trust you by purchasing one of these?possibly at a low price. You can then sell them your more expensive book later. You also can sell them at the back of the room when you speak.
2. Teleseminars and webinars: If you can talk or teach and know something about something, you can do a teleseminar. Webinars are a bit harder; they require creation of a PowerPoint presentation. These can be sold; yes, you can charge for them. (Of course, you do need someone to market these to?a mailing list or your vibrant and large blog readership or social networks.)
3. Courses and programs: You can combine short books and recorded teleseminars and webinars into programs you sell. This gets a bit techie given that you need a delivery system. I?ve done a bit of this without a full-blown delivery system over the years and am just now gearing up for a larger run at it.
4. Coaching and consulting: Easy schmeasy! Get on the phone. Talk to people. Answer their questions. Charge them for your time.
5. Speaking: Pretty simple if you aren?t overly shy. Takes a bit of practice. You don?t always get paid from the get go (sell those books and products) at the back of the room?) Decide what to speak about. Contact places that might want to hire a speaker who speaks on your topic.
6. Services related to your topic or expertise: Consider me?I?m a nonfiction book and article editor. I?m also a book proposal consultant and editor. I charge for these services. What services could you charge for?

In my next blog post I?ll discuss how you decide what types of activities you might want to take on as you decide how to build a business around your blog. Until then, consider joining me for my Writers Digest How to Build a Business Around Your Blog Boot Camp. It begins this Friday, August 21, 2012 with a webinar and then extends into Saturday when you?ll take what you learned during the webinar to create a rough draft of the business plan for your blog.I?ll provide you with special worksheets to help get your plans down on paper. You?ll identify what you know that makes you an expert. And you will identify short books and information products to create and sell that:

• support or establish your expert status
• promote your existing fiction and nonfiction books
• increase or develop revenue

Also on Saturday, you?ll get a chance to use a special message board to get your questions answered by moi for 2.5 hours as you create your business plan. Then, on Sunday you turn in a business plan and I?ll personally review it and send it back with comments. If you want this kind of personal help with your blogged book?or blog?business, you can sign up for the boot camp here. Hurry up, though. There were only 25 slots when it opened up, and more than half are now gone. So, claim your spot now!

Related posts:

1. Build a Business Around Your Blogged Book
2. Build Your Book Business on Your Passions and Strengths
3. Boost Your Publishing Business by Becoming a Speaker

Source: http://howtoblogabook.com/2012/08/21/building-a-business-around-a-blog-is-easier-than-you-think/

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