Latest / The Daily Writer / An Introduction to The Profitable Writer: Grow Your Impact & Income with a Writing Business

Transcript

An Introduction to The Profitable Writer: Grow Your Impact & Income with a Writing Business · The Daily Writer

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, welcome to the Profitable Writer Podcast.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is the show that helps you grow your impact and income as a writer.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Kent Sanders, and I'm an author and ghostwriter.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, if you're looking at this episode in a podcast feed, you'll probably notice that it's absolutely not the first episode that you see there.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, there are well over a thousand episodes in the feed already, and that's because I've kept all the various iterations of my podcast in the same feed over the years.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this show, The Profitable Rider, is a bit of a pivot from my most recent show, The Daily Rider.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I launched the Daily Rider podcast back in November of 2020, and for three years I've done a daily show that's been a lot of fun to produce, and it's also helped a lot of people.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: So here on this introductory episode of the Profitable Rider podcast, sort of the new version of the show, I want to take a few minutes to share four things, and I'll phrase these four things as questions.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is what problem are we solving with this podcast?
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Number two is what is the profitable rider pathway?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll hear more about that in just a minute.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, who is the target audience for the profitable rider?
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And this is important, by the way, because I want you to feel like you're in the right place and that you resonate with what this show is all about.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Then finally, number four, what can you expect from this podcast?
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in with the first question, which is what problem are we solving?
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is a really important question anytime that you're creating a product, a service, or content, because it should be focused on helping people solve some kind of a problem.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: So even if you're writing fiction, fiction solves the problem of people being bored, of needing inspiration and great storytelling in their life.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: So even if you're creating stories, that's solving a very important problem that people have.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, over the last six months, I've had dozens of in-depth conversations with writers, and I wanted to get to the very bottom of a simple question.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that question is what is the main reason that many writers are not as successful as they would like to be?
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And as I had these very specific conversations for a very specific purpose, I took extensive notes and I noticed that several themes kept popping up over and over and over again.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: People kept telling me various versions of these statements.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: So let me share these with you.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: These are six or seven themes that I kept hearing over and over again as I talked with writers.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: One is that I hate marketing myself as a writer and I don't feel comfortable putting myself out there.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Another one is I'm an introvert and I get exhausted talking to people, but I know I need to grow my network.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Another one is I don't want to do only client work, I also want to make money with my own books and products and services.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Another one is I want to develop more streams of income and be more financially successful.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: The next one is I'm confused by all the conflicting advice I hear about building a writing business and I don't know where to get started.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Next one, I would enjoy what I do a lot more if it wasn't for the business and marketing side.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, I don't know how to find the right clients or raise my rates, and I hate selling.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So those are six or seven things that I kept hearing over and over again as I talked with writers, trying to figure out what are the main things that writers are struggling with.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: But yet when I started to zoom out and look at the bigger picture, I finally understood that all these writers were using slightly different words to say the same basic thing.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: So when I put all of these frustrations and obstacles and problems together, basically I boiled them down to one frustration that writers have, and here it is.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Most writers say something like this I wish I had a clear, simple pathway that would show me the exact steps I need to take to grow multiple streams of income over time, even if I'm an introvert and don't enjoy marketing, networking, or selling in the traditional way.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that, in essence, is the central problem that I'm trying to solve with the profitable rider.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it led me to developing the profitable rider pathway, which leads me to the obvious next question, which is what is the profitable rider pathway?
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: So the profitable rider pathway is a sequential nine-step system designed to give riders a clear, simple plan to help them achieve several things.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I've got five main things that this pathway is helping riders to achieve.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is building a proper foundation for your business.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, is creating a life and business on your terms and that fits your personality.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, is building a robust network of followers, fans, friends, collaborators, clients, and readers.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Number four is creating a life of financial independence and security.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, number five is creating a business that eventually gives you the freedom to only do work that you enjoy.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I consider that the true definition of creative freedom.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: When you only have to do work that you really enjoy.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm going to dive into the pathway in much more detail over time.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to hear a lot more about this, trust me.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: But here's the basic roadmap.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: I want to basically give you what these nine steps are so you have an idea of kind of what this pathway looks like.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: And again, we'll dive into this in a lot more depth in future episodes.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: But here we go.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: If I was going to title this, by the way, if I were going to create a book out of this, which I have, and you'll get to see what that is very soon, I would call it the Profitable Writer Pathway: Nine Steps to Grow Your Impact and Income with a Writing Business.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Now I've broken up these nine steps basically into three phases.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: So phase one is called business foundations.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: And there are three steps in the business foundations section of the pathway.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Step one is commit to the four fundamentals of a real writing business.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: And real stands for relationships, excellence, attitude, and leadership.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, R is all about building relationships with clients, customers, and colleagues.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: This is a very relationship-driven pathway.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, it's really all about relationships because business and life and creativity and writing are really all about the relationships.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's the relationship you have with yourself, with your readers, with your collaborators, with partners, with clients, and really anybody that you're interacting with.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the R in real writing business.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: E stands for excellence.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: And what we want to do is we want to continue growing in our craft, in our writing craft specifically.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: We want to keep becoming more and more excellent over time.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: So this means we need to work on our skills.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: We need to read a lot.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: We need to write a lot, and we need to become better and better at what we do over time.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: The A in real stands for attitude.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Specifically, I'm talking about your attitude toward business and toward marketing and sales and most of all, money.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: Money is an issue where a lot of people get hung up on, particularly with their money mindset and sort of being constricted by uh by a mentality, uh by like a small mentality or by a lack, what I would call a lack mentality.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a whole nother ball of wax, and we'll dive into that in future episodes.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: But the A in real stands for your attitude about money and business.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then the L in real stands for leadership.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: I want you as a writer to be a leader.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to be assertive and confident, and I want you to embrace the idea that you are a person who has value and worth and lots of cool things to add to the world and to the universe at large.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of writers sort of want to, you know, sort of slink off to the dark corner and do their thing and not really engage with people, but I want you to be a leader.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to embrace the idea and love the idea that you can influence other people and that you can have a really positive impact on their life.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: So that is step one.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: Commit to the four fundamentals of a real writing business, R-E-A-L writing business.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: Step two is I want you to build a writing and publishing habit.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's really, really hard to build a writing-based business if you don't have an ingrained habit and you don't enjoy writing and publishing your work.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I put publishing in there because a lot of people write, but they don't put it out anywhere.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to have the habit of a writing and um, I want you to have the habit of writing and publishing on a regular basis.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's really, really important.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Step three is treating yourself like a professional.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to show up in the world and influence others and build a successful business and relate with clients and that type of thing, then you need to appear like a professional.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: That means things like having a decent website, having a good headshot, uh, showing up to meetings on time, replying to emails in a timely manner, those kinds of things.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I know those kind of things seem obvious to a lot of people, but it's funny how often they actually don't take place, even with writers who who want to build a successful business.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, sometimes I'll uh we've all seen those people who are like, man, I wish people would take me some more seriously.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, Yeah, but when you get on Zoom calls, you look like you just got out of bed.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um you don't have a decent looking headshot, and uh your LinkedIn bio is all messed up and like you don't have a website and those kinds of things.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why phase one is all about business foundations.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Again, step one, commit to the four fundamentals of a real writing business.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Step two, build a writing and publishing habit, and step three is treating yourself like a professional.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you don't treat yourself as a professional, nobody else will.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: So that's phase one of the profitable writer pathway.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's all about business foundations.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in phase two of the pathway, we're gonna transition into client work.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before you sort of uh jump down my throat, some of you who are listening to this episode probably think, Kent, I don't want to do client work.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to build my own author platform.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: And we're gonna get to that.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: But again, this this whole pathway and really this podcast is about creating income and more success as a writer.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: And in my experience, the fastest way to create income as a writer is to do client work.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's how I got started, really creating much more substantial income than what I was making in my college teaching job.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I would encourage you to consider that as well.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean that everybody has to become a ghostwriter or an editor or a freelancer or that kind of thing.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: But if you really want to create more income more quickly as a writer, I really strongly suggest that you consider doing some type of client work.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why this is phase two in this profitable writer pathway.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now, just a little side note here, if you don't ever have any intentions of doing client work, then uh you probably can skip to phase three.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Although I think you're really still going to need steps five and six.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because doing client work for others, like ghostwriting, for example, that's what I do.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Ghostwriting for others and marketing yourself as a ghostwriter and building a ghostwriting business is not as different as you might think than creating your own writing business.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, they're very, very similar.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the big reasons why I'm such a huge proponent of doing client work is because all the things that you learn in building your own author platform, you can do that for clients.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: And all the things that you help clients do and the ways that you improve as a writer when you're doing things like editing or ghostwriting, those directly apply to the stuff that you're doing for yourself.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, a lot of writers sort of they want to have a hard separation between those things.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: And and some writers just sort of do the client work very begrudgingly, thinking, Oh, I just want to I want to stop doing this work for other people so I can just focus on my own stuff.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I I don't really want you to look at it that way.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to look at it as one holistic way that's all integrated.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, your your personal author platform might be very different than the kind of work that you do for clients, and that's totally cool.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that is partly how I approach it as well.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: However, I don't want you to see this as two separate boxes.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to see this as one single continuum that consists of different ways you can serve people.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, all of us, all of us have customers and clients.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, if you have people who buy your books, those are customers.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you have people you're editing your ghostwriting for, those are clients.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, these are all people that you're serving.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: You're just serving them in different ways.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: You have different offerings in your business that you can build up over time.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't want you to see this as like, well, I have the client work side of my life and then I have the author platform side of my life.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to really strongly encourage you to see this as one single continuum with different ways that you serve people.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that makes sense.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll dive into that more in future episodes.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: So phase two is doing client work.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh let's dive into the three steps that are a part of this.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: These are steps four, five, and six.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: So phase one is all about business foundations.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Phase two is all about client work.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: And step four in the whole pathway, again, we're in phase two, so this is step four.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: Each phase has three steps.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: Step four is you want to research, launch, and market your niche writing business.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: For me, as I mentioned, that's a ghostwriting.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: For you, that might be freelance writing or editing, or perhaps even something like graphic design or some very specialized type of writing that you do for clients, whatever that is, but you want to research, launch, and market your niche writing business.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, you've got to decide what you're gonna do.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: You can't just say, well, I'm a freelance writer.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you have to let people know what your areas of specialty are and the type of person that you want to write for.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: So now that I have done ghostwriting for a few years, full time, my I would I would market myself more these days as a business and memoir ghostwriter rather than just a generic ghostwriter.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: There's a million ghostwriters out there, but the more that you can specify what you do and who you do it for, the easier it is to explain that to people and also to connect with the right clients.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: So that is step four.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: Step five is you need to grow your 360-degree network of trusted partners and allies.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: So this is all about relationships and partnerships and allies and really growing those strong relationships with people because those are really, really critical.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I call it a 360-degree network because that means people basically above you, people beside you, and people behind you.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to say people below you because I don't look at it that way at all.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: These are just people who are behind you on the journey, maybe uh a year or two, or a few years, or a decade or something.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: So generally you're gonna have people in front of you, or you might say above you, who are sending you referrals.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: They're people further ahead on the journey, they're mentors, they're leaders, they're other authors who you enjoy, and they are helping you in various ways.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Then you have people around you and beside you that I would call colleagues or allies or trusted partners.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: For me, those are people like podcast guests.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: These are people who are like the editors that I work with, or graphic designers, or uh other publishing people who I have a close relationship with, and we work together on different client things.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: So there's all kinds of different partners and allies that you need as a writer who's building a business.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I also don't want you to forget about those people who are coming up behind you.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's really, really important for you to help other people be more successful.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is not just about you.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about you at all.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about me at all.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is about all of us and the ways that we are helping each other.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Because the more that we do that, the more we can become mutually successful.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: So as you grow in your expertise and your income and your business, I want you to always be thinking about people who are who are behind you in ways that you can help them.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, my goodness, I would I would not have a business today if it wasn't for a lot of people that I had a lot of help from.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't ever want us to get the impression that we are like a self-made man or a self-made woman.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: That is complete and utter nonsense.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: None of us is self-made.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: We've all had a lot of help from other people.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I always want, no matter what your level of success, you always need to be in the mode of looking around you and asking the question, who can I help?
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Who can I, you know, who is coming up behind me on this ladder of success?
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Who needs me to reach down and grab their hand and help pull them up?
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's the proper way to look at life and also business.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: So that is step five, growing your 360-degree network of trusted partners and allies.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Step six on the pathway is improving your systems for marketing, sales, and production.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Essentially, what we're talking about here is how do we run a more effective and efficient business?
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I'm in ghostwriting, that is my thing with clients.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, for the most part, I do some other things as well, but primarily I'm a ghostwriter.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: So when we're talking about production, I'm asking myself the question: how can I be more efficient and faster in my writing while also becoming more excellent?
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: When we're talking about marketing and sales, how can I reach out to the right kinds of clients to market myself as the perfect writer for them?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: And then when we have those conversations about sales or about them being interested in maybe hiring me, how can I do better with those conversations?
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: How can I sell in a way that's really effective, but that that is also really authentic and fits my personality?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I will tell you, I'll take a little 30-second side road here, is that I no longer sell myself.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: I actually don't believe in the concept.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't believe in the traditional concept of selling as the idea uh that you have to convince somebody to hire you.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think that is a completely wrong-headed notion.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't work, and nobody likes it.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to move past this idea that you have to convince anybody of anything.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Rather, what I think is way more effective and also way more fun is just trying to be helpful in having conversations with people.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever I get on a client call and they're talking to me about my ghostwriting business, I tell them up front that my job here is not to convince you of anything.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: I have no agenda other than trying to listen and trying to be helpful.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so basically, my initial sales call with their prospective ghostwriting client is just to ask some good questions and just to listen.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: I want to listen to their hopes and their dreams, and I want to listen to what their goals are for the book that they that we might be working on together.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: I want to hear how that book fits into their life and in their business and what it's going to help them achieve.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: And and of course, they always they always have questions they want to ask me, like how does the process work?
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, we always talk about pricing.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's always a part of the conversation, naturally.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: And um then we just kind of have a conversation, and that's basically it.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to get this idea out of your head, like you've got to become some crazy sales maven, and you've got to put it put all these strategies into practice to convince people and all this garbage.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's total nonsense.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, are there strategies and tactics that that are good?
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, of course, there are, but I think they should only be used in the context of trying to serve people and trying to genuinely help people and have having good conversations.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's how I approach it, and that's what you're going to hear more from me about as time goes on.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: So as we talk more about this pathway, phase one is business foundations, phase two is client work.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: Again, because client work is the fastest way to increase your income as a writer, and then phase three is all about author platform.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason is that I don't want you to get on the I don't want you to get into a place where all of your income for a long time is only coming from client work.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if that's really what you enjoy, for example, I have a uh I have a good friend who's a ghostwriter, and they don't have any books out there.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: All of their income, as far as I know, comes from ghostwriting.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: They're very, very successful.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: And there are some ghostwriters who just want to do that.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: And there are some editors and graphic designers and others who only want to do client work.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: They have no aspirations and no inclination of building an author platform.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's great if that's what you want.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: The whole concept here, and I want you to hear me very carefully about this.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, the whole concept here is that you are building a business that you want to build.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: You're building a business that fits what you want for your life, that fits your family, your schedule, your goals, your personality, and all that kind of stuff.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: So this pathway is really designed for people who want to have a robust business consisting of multiple streams of income over time.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's why both client work and building your own author platform are included in this.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I think this is the most fun way to build a writing business.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_00: It does take some time, but I like it because it means you're serving clients and getting paid to do that, but you're also kind of in the background a little bit, uh, you're taking a little bit of time.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Time to work on your own stuff as well.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why phase three is author platform.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive into the three steps in phase three here.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: Step seven is define your author brand and niche.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, this is very similar to when you're marketing yourself as a person doing client work.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: But as your client work grows and as you build up a part-time or full-time income with that, then you want to give some more time as you can to building your author platform.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to do the same thing for yourself that you do for clients in terms of when I talk to clients, I have to define what it is that I do and how I help them.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: You have to do the exact same thing for your own readers.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to define your author brand and your niche.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: For example, as an author, my brand right now is I teach people about writing and creativity.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: And with this podcast, I'm launching more into the business side.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's what my niche is.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's sort of what my author brand is.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_00: And that may change and grow over time, and it will, as you see, more things coming from me over the next two, three years.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: That author brand is going to expand and going to grow somewhat.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: But for the time being, my platform is basically based around teaching people how to build a writing business.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Also, it includes things like ghostwriting and podcasting and other things that are kind of bundled in with that because those are things that I do.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: But step seven is define your author brand and niche.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: You've got to help your readers understand what it is that you do and who you do it for.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: How are you helping them?
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Step eight is you're going to grow your author platform by becoming a recognized authority with consistent, high-quality content.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: That means you're going to be putting out things like books and blog posts and podcasts and other kinds of content.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: You're probably going to be a guest on podcasts.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: You might be doing a little bit of speaking.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: You might put out some courses, whatever that is.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh you're going to have an email you're going to have an email newsletter.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: That is an essential.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: So you're going to become an authority in your topic over time by putting out consistent, high-quality content.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: And as that grows, then you're going to go into step nine, which is creating multiple streams of income around your writing and your content.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: And as that grows, you're going to have money coming in from different sources.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually, the idea here is that you want to get to a place where you are only doing work that you like.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, you have creative freedom.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: You can do the type of client work and the amount of client work that you like, but you only have to do stuff that you like.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: You can only work on things in your own author platform business that you enjoy and that you feel like are profitable or lucrative.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: So the idea here is that you're getting your life and your business to a place that you want it to be like.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And you get to choose.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: That is the whole thing, is you get to choose.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: So that was kind of a long explanation of what the profitable writer pathway is, but hopefully that gives you a clear idea of what that's all about.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, I've got an I've got a short e-book coming on this.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's not quite ready yet, but it'll be ready for you soon, and that will actually be a free download.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: So the next uh couple weeks, you'll learn more about what that is and how to get that.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it goes into more depth into the pathway so you can kind of see it on paper.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: Or an ebook, whatever the case might be.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let's dive into question number three here, which is who is the target audience for the profitable writer?
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let me give you a few statements, and then this will help you to know if you are the ideal listener, reader, or audience member for the profitable rider.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Number one is you want to grow your income as a writer to either part-time or full-time income.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, you're tired of all the conflicting advice about how to make money as a writer, and you love a clear, direct pathway that tells you exactly what to do and exactly where you are on that journey.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, you feel a little bit intimidated by concepts like selling, marketing and networking, at least in the ways that it's been taught traditionally.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Number four, you love people, but you also get exhausted by all the Zoom calls, phone calls, emails, and social media.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: Number five, you don't just want to increase your income a little bit, you truly want to thrive financially so you can feel less stress, build a better future for your family, give more, and focus on the things that you do best.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then finally, number what number is this?
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Number six is you want to build multiple income streams around your writing and content.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: So if you relate to one or more of these statements, you, my friend, are in the right place.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, finally, let's dive into question number four as we sort of begin to wind down this episode.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: Question number four is what can you expect from the Profitable Writer Podcast?
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the format of this show is going to be two episodes a week, at least initially.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: Tuesdays will generally be a solo episode, very much like this one, probably shorter.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to explore a topic every Tuesday that helps you become more successful as a writer.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: And on Thursdays will feature interviews very much like I've been doing with the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_00: You'll hear from successful authors, literary agents, coaches, business leaders, creative minds, and a lot more.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I want to say that I'm so grateful that you're joining me for this podcasting journey.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: My greatest hope for you is that you can be successful beyond your wildest dreams as you build your author business and your career.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited about what lies ahead, and I will see you for Thursday's episode, which is an interview with PR expert Morgan Canclini Mitchell on the secrets of PR success, avoiding the biggest author mistakes, and book launch tactics.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's going to be a really, really fun episode, and I will make sure to see you on that one.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before I close up shop on today's episode, I want to give a huge thanks to our sponsors today.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: The first sponsor is Plotter.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you've heard me talk about Plotter before.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: They are the number one visual book planning software for writers that helps you plan books in the same way that you think.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: Plotter's intuitive visual interface allows plotting to be the creative process that it's supposed to be.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just for fiction writers.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_00: Plotter is a great tool for nonfiction authors, podcasters, speakers, and anybody creating content to organize their material and story points.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're ready to outline faster, get organized, and save loads of time in your writing, go to plotter.com, that's P L O T T R dot com to start your free 14-day trial.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: I also want to give a huge thanks to our other sponsor today, which is The Word Wizard.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you might have written a great book, but it's not ready for publication until it's been in the hands of a master editor.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why my friend Karen Hunsinger, also known as The Word Wizard, is the perfect partner to help you craft the highest quality book possible.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: A great editor doesn't just correct grammar and spelling, they also correct wordiness, shifts in tone and voice, overuse of particular words, and they also enhance transitions, clarity, and accuracy.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: I've worked with Karen on a lot of books, and I promise you she is your secret weapon for crafting an amazing book.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: So visit Karenhunsinger.com for a free sample edit.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: There's a link in the show notes, and I really hope that you'll check it out.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: As always, my friend, thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.