An Arab-American organization once asked if Ron
Paul had prepared a special speech for them and he replied, "No, it's the same speech I give everywhere."
Not being a panderer or flatterer, he just explained his ideas to everyone. He wouldn't give the "here are all the goodies I plan to give you when in office" speech.
At the same time, though, I noticed he would emphasize certain themes in certain cases, to help his varying audiences understand his views more clearly.
Thus I saw a video of Dr. Paul addressing a Christian group in Iowa, in which he referred to 1 Samuel 8, where the people demand a king, and Samuel warns them of what a king will do to them. They demand one anyway.
Well, I speak to my two email lists a bit differently. When I talk to this group, since we have or are interested in having businesses, I want you to see the business angle of things.
For instance, you can
certainly write a book because it's a passion project for you. But on this list I want to make sure people understand the business benefits of a book (hence my email yesterday) in particular.
There's no arguing with that list I sent yesterday. The only issue is: the idea of writing a book seems overwhelming, or you keep running into roadblocks, or you don't know where to start, etc.
I can help you with all that.
But
first, let's add three more benefits to the list:
1. It pre-qualifies your customers
One of the biggest hidden benefits of a book is that it filters the people who come to you. Someone who has read your book already understands your philosophy, agrees with your basic approach, and knows how you think.
That means when they become a client or customer, you skip a huge amount of explanation and persuasion.
This is what Ben Settle means when he says the leads he gets when he appears on podcasts are of the highest quality -- they've already heard him speak for, say, a full hour, and they want more.
Same with a book. Consultants often say their best clients are readers of their book, because those clients already get it, so
to speak. The relationship starts several steps ahead of where it normally would.
The book doesn’t just bring you customers; it brings you better customers.
2. It creates what is sometimes called a "coordination point."
When you have a book, people suddenly have a shared reference point for
your ideas. So instead of saying, "Tom has some interesting thoughts about email marketing," they instead say, "You should read his book."
Your audience, customers, and colleagues can much more readily recommend you to others, since they have something concrete to point to.
3. With a book, you can more easily "make your own luck," a concept I've mentioned in previous
emails.
The more places your ideas exist, the more chances there are for the right person to encounter them. A book multiplies those opportunities because it can circulate in ways that other content rarely does:
*Someone buys it for a colleague.
*A podcast host reads it and invites you on.
*A conference organizer
sees it and asks you to speak.
*A CEO reads it on a plane and contacts you months later.
None of those opportunities were predictable or planned. But a book creates hundreds, even thousands of small entry points for those things to happen.