I want to share a recent story with you because it’s instructional for many different reasons (especially if you have been putting off publishing a book for you and your business).
On January 31, 2020, I had the opportunity to speak at Julie Steinbacher’s, 2nd Annual Winter Conference for the National Alliance of Attorneys for Alzheimer’s Planning (N3AP) in Tempe, AZ. Julie is an elder law attorney who I have worked with for the past decade. She is successful and a very smart marketer.
My presentation was titled, The Preeminence of Being a Main Street Author, and during my talk I shared all the real reasons why professionals, like elder law attorneys, should publish a book to differentiate themselves and their practice.
My talk was well received by the audience and before leaving for home on Saturday, February 1, Julie pulled me aside and shared with me that she had main stage speaking opportunity at an upcoming conference for lawyers in four weeks.
This was a big opportunity for her to get the message out about N3AP but given the “speaking rules” of the event, she could not pitch anything. Instead, she could only suggest attendees visit her exhibit table.
She asked me what I thought could be done in order to identify those lawyers in the audience who could be suitable members for her membership program.
Without hesitation I suggested we craft a shook™ (short, helpful book) that described the opportunity of how adding Alzheimer’s disease and dementia planning to one’s elder law practice enables attorneys to help more people (therefore make more money).
We both agreed this was an ideal MESSAGE to MARKET match and offering a free copy of her book would not violate the event’s “no pitch rule.”
Given the tight timeline (four weeks), I was a bit hesitant, but Julie assured me she and her team could get it done with my guidance.
We got to work immediately and I am pleased to say that on Sunday, February 23, we received the printed copies of the resulting shook, Help More People & Make More Money.
In 22 days, we went from idea to printed copies of her brand-new book in hand. This 100-page shook can be read in an hour and it describes all the smart reasons why elder law attorneys should consider adding Alzheimer’s and dementia planning services to their mix.
It contains an excellent Foreword by one of her members and also includes several member success stories. It then connects how readers can do the same thing with the N3AP opportunity and invites readers to take advantage of a special trial membership invitation.
Julie now has a potent asset she can show during her speaking presentation and invite attendees to get a free copy of the book at the event. The title of the shook was designed to be wake people up and make a straight-forward promise.
We also devised a simple, three-question survey card attendees must fill out in order to get their free copy of the book. This will further help Julie identify potential members and allow segmented follow-up marketing.
Julie was so happy we were able to get this done, she posted this comment on Facebook, “So awesome! If anyone is considering working with Mike Capuzzi, you need to commit and say yes. For all the projects we have worked on I have never worked with a better partner. Get it done!!!!”
Congratulations to Julie and her team. I can’t wait to hear how the event goes and I will post an update in the future.
So, here are a few valuable takeaways to all this:
If you have the opportunity to speak at or be part of an event with potential ideal customers in attendance and you are looking for an effective way to identify them, creating a short, helpful book specifically for this audience is very smart.
No audience member is going to get excited about getting a business card or brochure, but a printed book with a relevant big idea/promise will motivate them to share their information in return for a copy.
It doesn’t have to take months to get your shook done. On average, it takes my clients 8–12 weeks to complete a shook, but as you can see with Julie’s example, it can be done a lot quicker if one wants it to.
If you use this strategy, make sure you create your own three-question survey form attendees must fill out to get a copy of the book at the event. Ask questions which will help you identify potential new customers.
Speed and ease-of-creation is the power of following the step-by-step book authoring formula I’ve shared in my shook, Main Street Author, which you can grab on Amazon.com here.
Finally, if Julie’s story inspires you to get your shook done now, schedule a Shook Strategy Session with me to brainstorm your ideas.
