Build Your Author Brand by Monetizing What You Know

Writing a nonfiction book helps you create an author brand. However, the book is just the beginning of your brand-building activities. Once you are a published author, it’s time to showcase your subject matter expertise and create a variety of revenue streams that grow both your business and brand. You do this by monetizing your knowledge.

If you’ve amassed enough knowledge to write a book, you also have the knowledge to build your brand and income by helping others reach their goals. In addition to encouraging them to read your book, you can do this in three ways:

1. Tell others how to do it.
2. Coach others how to do it.
3. Do it for them.

Tell Others How to Do It

I love the concept that knowledge is power and have spent a lifetime learning how to do things for myself.

I assumed that everyone else in my niche was like me. I thought my readers wanted to understand the process entirely and make their own decisions about what steps were best for them. That was not always true. Sometimes, they just wanted to be told what to do.

How you communicate knowledge and information to your audience is a personal choice, but you have many options. These include blogging, podcasting, videos, PDF downloads, ebooks, books, audiobooks, presentations, webinars, conferences, courses, and live events.

Your audience has different learning styles, so your content delivery should include visual, auditory, and written versions. Doing so helps you reach a broader audience. Varying the length of your content also ensures it can be consumed within your audience’s available timeframe.

I intentionally developed my How Travel Writers Self-Publish podcast around 10- and 20-minute episodes to maximize the places my audience would listen to it. On my blog, I create a mixture of long and short articles on related topics to appeal to readers’ attention spans.

Coach Others How to Do It

Some people either don’t want to take the time to self-learn, or they don’t have that the motivation to read, watch, or listen to your content. That’s when coaching comes into play.

When I started offering Content Marketing and Social Media freelance services, I didn’t want to end up creating and scheduling tweets for multiple clients. Instead, I helped them create a strategic plan aligned with their niche, which empowered them to create and schedule their content.

I used my project management and training skills to develop a plan they could manage and own. This “teach a man to fish” approach helped clients overcome the strategic hurdles standing in their way.

Whether they lacked the organization skills or confidence to create their own plan, didn’t really matter. With coaching, they had somebody on hand to offer direction and inspiration to achieve their business goals.

There are multiple ways to structure coaching groups based on how comfortable you are within different sized groups. You can offer:

• 1:1 mentorship
• Small group coaching
• Large group coaching

You also have the option of varying the support timeframe by providing:

• A one-time event
• A specific number of mentor sessions
• A limited period of support (e.g., a month, a quarter, or a year)
• Ongoing support

There are numerous options for hosting your content that allow you to create connections with your participants:

• Host content on your website and use Skype or another video conferencing services to schedule your face-to-face or small-group
• Present content via a webinar or live event and include a Q&A session.
• Host an online course on sites like Thinkific, Udemy, and Teachable, and use their community features to create a dialog with your students.

Do It For Them

There’s a third group of people who either don’t have the time or patience to learn new skills or would rather pay somebody to do it for them. These

are the people who can help you build a flourishing freelancing business.

Before somebody engages your services, they need to see that you have the expertise to do a professional job. You can provide this proof with an active blog or social media community, publishing a book on a related topic or technique, or undertaking public speaking engagements at industry conferences and events.

Building Blocks to Grow Your Nonfiction Author Brand and Business

As a nonfiction author, there are multiple ways to leverage your expertise so you can help your audience. A nonfiction book is a crucial part of your brand’s foundation. And, as a nonfiction author, your options for continued branding and monetization of your knowledge are almost limitless. Combine any of the activities above to create revenue streams, increase book sales, and help your audience know who you are and how you can help.

Use your knowledge to empower others. Choose content sharing techniques you enjoy and the level of support you’re excited to provide. Then watch your brand awareness grow along with your book sales and revenue streams.

How do you use your knowledge to educate and inspire your audience? Tell us in the comments section below.

About the Author

Jay Artale abandoned her corporate career to become a digital nomad and full-time writer. She’s an avid blogger and a nonfiction author helping travel writers and travel bloggers achieve their self-publishing goals. Join her at Birds of a Feather Press where she shares tips, advice, and inspiration to writers with an independent spirit.