I've worked with a lot of authors who are coaches or consultants, and many of them have a similar fear:

What if I put everything in my book and nobody needs to hire me anymore? Won't that tank my coaching business?

I totally get that.

You've spent years building your expertise. Your one-on-one clients pay you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars an hour. Your group coaching programs and courses require an investment that’s as much—if not more—than a monthly mortgage payment.

Why give it all away for $20?

Here's why.

Mike Michalowicz (author of Profit First and The Pumpkin Plan) spoke at the Nonfiction Writers Conference last week, and he articulated something that I’ve been trying to explain to clients for years.

Most of the people who read your book were never going to hire you in the first place. But they will do something much, much more powerful for you.

He said that for every 100 people who read your book, only 1 will seek you out.

That person is an expert seeker, who’s looking for someone (you!) to solve their problems for them.

The more you give that person, the more trust and rapport you'll build.

And because they’re looking to hire someone anyway, you could give away every secret in your playbook and they’ll still want to work with you.

The other 99 are DIYers. They're going to take your advice and implement it themselves, because that’s just how they roll.

Maybe they don’t have the money for your high-touch program. More likely, they’re not quite your target audience for those programs anyway.

But if your book still gave them value—transformative value—you know what they’re going to do?

Rave about it to their friends.

They’ll post about you, quote you, give your book as a gift. They’ll spread the word in ways no ad budget ever could, because word of mouth is so incredibly valuable.

If your book didn’t deliver value, they’ll DNF it and forget about it.

And if your book promised value but you held the best bits back in hopes of getting the DIYers to sign up for your program…well.

That’s a recipe for 1-star reviews.

So, is the answer to focus more on writing to the 1%? Maybe make that convert at 2%? 3%?

Nope.

The answer is write a book that’s genuinely transformative and insanely valuable.

Don’t hold back. Wring yourself dry. Leave all your expertise on the table, and give those 99% DIYers something to rave to their friends about.

Pretty soon, that book will be selling itself—and those 1% expert seekers will be lined up out your door.

Don't hold back.

Those of us for whom knowledge is our livelihood sometimes carry an unconscious scarcity around sharing what we know.

We’re worried about giving it all away, so we save the "good stuff" for clients.

And, yeah—when you’re developing a freebie, the whole point is to leave people wanting more so you can funnel them deeper into your world.

A book, on the other hand, is a different beast altogether.

Readers expect a book to be complete—not to be a teaser with a sales pitch at the end.

And the people who finish that book and still want more? Those are your people.

If you're working on a nonfiction book and want to make sure you're writing the kind that actually builds your business—not just fills a shelf—I'd love to talk.

​I have a few openings for book coaching clients right now, and helping authors figure out how to structure their expertise into a book that works is exactly what I do.

Hit reply and let's strategize. Tell me where you are with your book, and we'll figure out the next step together.

Talk soon,

Jessie

P.S. I’m not gonna lie, I was not prepared for how good last week’s Nonfiction Writers Conference was going to be!

I signed up for it before I went on a month-long vacation, and even though I was looking forward to it, I figured it would be like a lot of virtual conferences I've attended, where I’d show up for a few calls live, watch a few others on the replay, and generally just go about my day.

Instead, I was blown away by the level of the content, the enthusiasm of the speakers, and the opportunities to network. I ended up joining the Nonfiction Writers Association—I’ll definitely report back!