By Vikrant Shaurya, CEO of Authors On Mission, helping entrepreneurs and professionals write, publish and market their books.
Writing “The End” on your business strategy manuscript doesn’t actually mark the end. Rather, it’s the start of something more. It’s where your words can evolve from an art form to valuable intellectual property. Even without a flood of royalties, a book has latent potential. Rather than just competing in the saturated book market for minimal returns, you can capitalize on its intellectual worth many times.
There are surprising ways to make money from your book beyond book sales. These techniques can help you convert your ideas into consistent revenue streams, and they might even make conventional royalties appear like peanuts in comparison.
Strategy 1: Develop a proprietary coaching system.
The same procedure you outlined in your book can be monetized into another profitable product. Once packaged, you can offer emerging entrepreneurs a service they’ll pay for. For example, I worked with a business owner-coach who turned her signature system into a 12-week coaching program. She took a simple solution to her business problems and developed a six-figure yearly income, well above book royalties. And her customers are investing in a success system that works, not just information.
The business impact of this strategy can also be significant. While books may earn $1 to $2 per copy, coaching programs can often command $1,000 to $10,000 per client with higher profit margins.
To implement this strategy:
• Record your writing process and key systems that helped you achieve success.
• Split coaching into separate phases with concrete deliverables.
• Provide tiered pricing, ranging from self-study courses to individualized coaching.
• Focus on outcomes, not just information.
Strategy 2: Create micro-learning content.
Your book likely contains dozens of standalone concepts that could be ideal for today’s bite-sized content consumption habits. Many people don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to learning new things. By strategically repackaging your book’s insights into micro-content, you can meet this market demand while generating multiple revenue streams from your existing intellectual property.
Identify book sections that target specific audience pain points, possess actionable frameworks or systems, provide independent exercises or tests, or solve immediate problems without full book context. Then share these mini-lessons everywhere: LinkedIn posts, Instagram slides, YouTube shorts, TikTok videos and email newsletters. You can also make use of platforms like Teachable, Podia or even Substack.
These small learning packages create multiple ways for people to discover you while helping you bring in steady earnings.
Strategy 3: Leverage speaking engagements in unlikely industries.
I’ve found top speakers often charge $20,000 to $50,000 for speaking engagements. In my experience, many of the most lucrative speaking engagements, however, don’t originate from conventional speaking fee sources. These opportunities could be in niche markets where your expertise addresses specific business issues.
For instance, one may write a book about adaptive leadership for education conferences, only to discover that pharmaceutical firms are paying premium prices for knowledge on similar issues.
To tap into this income stream:
• Identify three related industries that could benefit from your insights.
• Research industry-specific conferences and their speaker selection process.
• Create customized pitches highlighting how your book’s concepts address industry challenges.
• Develop tiered speaking packages to maximize income.
Speaking gigs in niche industries can turn your expertise into high-paying presentations that could earn more in one day than months of book royalties.
Strategy 4: Launch a certification program.
If your book presents a unique methodology, certifying others to implement or teach your approach could significantly boost your impact and income. For example, leadership expert Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, created a team assessment tool based on his methodology.
To develop an effective certification program:
• List the key competencies necessary to carry out your methodology.
• Develop a systematic training program with definite evaluations.
• Provide ongoing requirements for certification.
• Build a community among certified professionals to boost retention.
The value is self-evident: Your credibility is boosted by association with experts, and you are building a revenue stream that scales.
Though book sales may fall off as time passes, these other channels can increase as you refine what you’re offering. Indeed, these methods build a network of income around your book. And the streams can nourish one another—speaking generates coaching clients; training programs disseminate your ideas; and mini-content draws people back to your book.
By creating this ecosystem, you provide several means for individuals to pay you for your knowledge, converting a single book into a business that could reward you handsomely for your knowledge.
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