Did you know that most books sell only 250 copies? With all the hype nowadays around becoming a “bestselling” author, I know this can be a spirit crusher. But guess what, you don’t have to be on the NY Bestseller list in order to be financially successful with your book. With a solid plan and a clear understanding of your long-term goals, your book can propel you to success.

Why a book?

To put it plainly, we live in a world that appreciates and glorifies authors. Mention you are an author and by many, you are instantly viewed as an expert in your field. Why? Because 1) who would take the time to compile, write and edit their thoughts on a particular matter if they didn’t have something important to say? And 2) You have published a book! You achieved a goal that over 75% of the U.S. Population say they want to achieve! So while we may not fully understand the instant prestige that comes with being an author, you must use it to your advantage.

Below I’m going to provide the stories of two fictional business owners who use books to launch or grow their businesses.

Sally with Events Your Way

Sally works full time as an accountant but wants to start her own business. For the past 3 years, she has helped friends and family organize small events and even occasionally handles larger events for her church. She’s good at it and would love to do it full-time, but can’t figure out how to jumpstart her business quickly. To advertise and build high-level clientele, Sally writes and distributes an e-book “45 ideas to Liven Your Next Corporate Event.” In this book, Sally gives away some of her best ideas for planners who are tired of dreary annual company picnics, fundraisers and the like. Her creative ideas help to increase revenue and decrease boredom.

Sally makes a list of 100 organizations and companies she would like to work for and distributes the e-book for free to appropriate individuals who could benefit. (A detailed process on how to identify potential clients is found in The Self-Publishing System, space is limited here). Out of this list, she gets 4 new clients who hire her to organize their next event at an average of $4,000 per client. Sally continues to share her e-book in professional groups on Linked-in, event planning groups, and with bloggers. Within 3 months, she has a small and growing clientele, all from a book she gave away for free.

Khalil – A Professional Vendor

For the past 45 years, Khalil has made his living purchasing and selling jewelry, clothing and other goods at street fairs, markets and events. Though exciting and lucrative, he is aging and lugging goods around has become more difficult. Khalil wants to expand his business and add additional streams of revenue by teaching other new vendors his many tricks of the trade. Khalil writes, “Full-Time Living, Part-Time Working” which shows vendors how to purchase, display and sell their products quickly. Khalil sells the book for $15 while vending and at places he purchased his products. He also creates a weekend course for vendors who want to fast-track their own vending businesses. The price for this is $249 and the curriculum is taken directly from his book. Khalil also offers one-on-one and group coaching for 6 months to 1 year for people who need additional support and want to grow their businesses super-fast. The cost for this is $297 a month. With his knowledge, Khalil has effectively transitioned from vending 100% to vending 20% and sharing his unique knowledge 80% of the time. Much better for his knees and NO, his book is not a best seller!

Can you see it?

These are just two examples, but I hope you get an idea of how YOU can use your book to grow or launch your business. You don’t need to sell a million copies to be successful. And yes, this works for many fiction authors as well.

Can you see the vision for yourself? Drop a comment below if you have an idea of your own!