Chapter 20 ("Future You Will Thank You") is a spoken YouTube chapter by Julie Broad about treating your book as ongoing currency rather than a one-time sales event. Using a Dr. Seuss anecdote to open, Broad argues that book marketing is a long journey with ups and downs, and that authors should look beyond immediate sales because books can open doors—consulting deals, speaking tours, TED talks, endorsements—and create lasting influence. She gives named examples (Martin Holland, Lorea Martinez, Robert Bell, Carol Sanford), prescribes daily, consistent promotion actions (ads, media, social, outreach, speaking, metadata and sales tactics), and ends with a call-to-action to keep promoting, use the book to build platform, and contact Book Launchers for help.
Chapters
Chapter 20 future youe will thank you. When I left my job at RealNet Canada years ago to pursue real estate full time, my co worker Connie gave me the book oh, the Places yous'll go by Dr. Seuss. It seemed like a funny gift at the time, but I've reread the book so many times I can't even count. It's full of memorable lessons and quotes that can also be applied to the experience of marketing a book. Consider fame. You'll be famous, as famous can be with everyone watching you win on tv. Except when they don't, because sometimes they won't. And will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed. 98¼ percent guaranteed. Book marketing is a long journey full of twists and turns. You won't always know where to go. You won't always see the light. You'll do things that work and many that don't. I hope you now know that the most important aspect of marketing your book is looking beyond your sales numbers. Your book is currency. It is a tool, a vehicle to bigger and better things for you and your career, your business and your reach as an influencer. A business and a brand. While I hope your book sells well and you're thrilled, all is not lost if it doesn't. Even before you publish and market your book, the process of writing it helps you to hone your message. You can go on to repurpose that content to work for you in new ways, creating new income streams and new ways to grow your platform. I've seen this in action with my book Self Publish and Succeed, and we've seen it time and time again at Book Launchers with the success of our clients. Look at Martin Holland, whose book the Profit Problem netted him a six figure consulting deal from one of his readers. Education consultant Lorea Martinez's book on social emotional learning, Teaching with the Heart and Mind, put her in the perfect position to reach out to her network. She lined up workshops around the country using her book as a curriculum for teachers and educators. Or Robert Bell. After his book Blow the Lid off came out, he pitched himself to TED Global Ideas to do a talk that dovetailed with the book's content. His presentation has more than 2 million views. Carol Sanford, another author, has been endorsed by Tom Peters and he's even writing the foreword for her next book, no More Gold Stars. That's amazing. For these authors, their books made amazing career defining success possible. As important, many authors say the greatest results of their book release are the emails they get from people who thank them because their books made a difference in their lives. You don't have to sell a million books to make that kind of impact. Maybe your goal as an author was to be known as a thought leader or to build a business as a speaker, and now your book has put you on that path. Along the way, remember that changing lives is fulfilling in a way that no dollar figure ever is. As you ride the emotional rollercoaster that is your author life, remember what it is you want your book to do for you. Where do you want to be in 5 years or 10? How can your book help you get there? And what consistent actions can you take to market your book on an ongoing basis to get that ball rolling and keep it rolling? Because that is really the kicker. You're not done promoting your book. Ever. The moment you stop putting your book out where new people can discover it through ads, promos, media appearances, social media, and more is the moment it fades off into the distance. You may be sick of promoting it, but but every day there is a new person or many people who hasn't heard of you yet and could use your book if only they knew about it. If you think your book is going to sell itself, I'm here to tell you it's not. Some authors have big hits out of the gate, but they've worked for years or even decades to build an audience before their book launched. Many authors experienced the true wins years after their book came out. Whether your book sells or you're not hitting your goals yet, the missing piece is author action. Keep your big picture goal in mind and do something every day that moves you one step closer to achieving it. If your most important goal is to start a speaking career, use the credibility your book gives you and the content you've worked so hard to curate to land your first speaking engagements. Record them, learn from them, and pitch yourself for many more. Grow a speaking career Send your book to every organization at which you've ever spoken, along with a nice letter about your new content. You can even let them know your rates are going up now that you have this new piece of expertise. As you negotiate contracts. Boost your event fee by offering to have them buy copies of your book for attendees. Build your platform. Use your book to land media appearances, podcast interviews, and guest articles. Having a link to a free download so you get email addresses and run ads that sell your book directly to readers so you get email contact information. Become a known and recognized expert in your industry. Network with all the organizations, companies, and people who have credibility in your industry. Leverage them for endorsements promotions and other opportunities to get in front of their audiences. Create that know like and trust feeling on podcasts, video streams, and industry events. Leverage your book to do all of this, whether that involves giving the book away for free, sharing its content, or using media and awards to gain attention. Sell books. Make sure you've got your metadata on point. Run ebook sales, Amazon ads, bookbub features and CHIRP submissions, and consider promotions in newsletters. Find a way to sell directly in person and online and as you build your platform, consistently solicit reviews. Of course, that is an overly simplified list of what we've covered in this giant book on marketing, but it's easy to see how you can find one thing to do every day to move yourself closer to your goal. If you do that every day, five days a week, you'll have done 260 things to move your marketing forward in a year. Imagine even if that was outreach to one person a day, you will absolutely uncover some opportunities. Unless you're book bombing. Marketing your book is something you have to keep doing. There's simply no way around it. Remember, it's your book, baby, and you must nurture and care for it so it grows up big and strong and you don't have to do it alone. Flip to the back of this book for more information about what book launchers can do for you, your book, and your author platform and how to get in touch with us. After you have posted a review of this book, please give us a call, drop us an email, or head over to our YouTube channel. I am excited to hear from you, even if it's just to tell me how something you learned in this book helped you. Along the way, you worked long and hard to make your book the best possible version of itself, a calling card that opens doors for you into a future you may not have even dreamed of. Now it's up to you to position this invaluable resource of yours for maximum success. Keep driving for it. When you reach one goal, set the next one even higher. I know you can do it, and I can't wait to see where you go from here. We made it. Thanks for watching or listening or both. There's acknowledgments and an author note still to come.
