Steve Chou is a service provider, blogger, podcaster, and coach. He’s now additionally a e book writer with the discharge in Could of “The Household First Entrepreneur,” his HarperCollins title on enterprise, freedom, and priorities.
That is Chou’s third look on the podcast. In 2020 he mentioned Bumblebee Linens, his osCommerce retailer. In 2022 he described his choice for frugal dwelling regardless of having achieved monetary success.
On this interview, Chou addresses the method of publishing and selling his e book, now a Wall Avenue Journal bestseller. Your entire audio of our dialog is embedded beneath. The transcript is edited for size and readability.
Eric Bandholz: Inform us about your e book.
Steve Chou: It’s referred to as “The Household First Entrepreneur.” It’s about my values and prioritizing life in order that the enterprise doesn’t run you, and you’ve got the liberty to do no matter you need and spend time with who you need.
It’s at all times been a bucket-list merchandise to jot down a e book. That’s largely why I did it. It’s not a cash play. I dreamed of taking my children to a Barnes & Noble and displaying my e book on the shelf. I did that two weeks in the past.
By way of enterprise and technique, hitting a bestseller listing immediately provides credibility. Exterior of that, it’s a fairly good lead generator for the rest you do. Should you promote a course, digital product, or membership, people can discover you that means. It’s a low-cost means for them to be taught extra about your work.
I received a e book deal, so I used to be given an advance. The method took a 12 months. I put collectively a proposal, which was round 50 pages. It had projections on what number of books I might promote. It had an overview of the e book and included a pattern chapter. It was a variety of work to place that factor collectively.
I had interviewed many bestselling authors on my podcast, so I hit them up and requested how I might get a e book deal. One in all my buddies, Jeff Goins, was dabbling with a book-in-a-box service, basically a e book guide. I employed him, and he coached me by way of your complete course of.
I wished to go the historically revealed route — primarily for ego causes. I pitched to eight to 10 publishers akin to Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, and Penguin. You hop on a Zoom name, meet the personnel there, and see should you get alongside. Then you definately set a date when all of the publishers bid on what to pay you prematurely to jot down the e book. You have a look at all of the provides and choose one. I went with HarperCollins — they gave a six-figure advance, which was the very best.
I get a 15% lower on arduous copy gross sales and 25% for ebooks and Audible. I gained’t make greater than the six-figure advance till the gross sales exceed that quantity, which might be tens of hundreds of books.
Should you’re doing it for the cash, self-publishing is finest since you get to maintain all of the proceeds. Whenever you go historically revealed, that carries with it some status. Plus, it’s a lot simpler to hit a bestseller listing.
The publishing enterprise is like enterprise capital. Publishers spend money on a bunch of writers, they usually want just one James Clear [“Atomic Habits”] or one Mark Manson [“The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”] to make their enterprise for the following 10 years. “Atomic Habits” sells round 22,000 copies each week. It’s unattainable to knock that man off The Wall Avenue Journal’s bestselling enterprise books listing.
Bandholz: How does somebody produce the following “Atomic Habits”?
Chou: Step one is the launch. You need to promote a bunch of books rapidly to hit a bestseller listing. I had a three-prong assault. I reached out to people who had sponsored me and requested them to do a bulk e book purchase for his or her viewers. Finally, it’s important to get books into the palms of actual folks. If you wish to promote hundreds of books by launch, you might have an enormous viewers or leverage others. Most of the books I bought had been from contacts who purchased in bulk and distributed them at no cost to their viewers.
My e book launch coach suggested me to go on 200 podcasts. I requested him what the largest bang for my buck could be with out sacrificing 200 hours of my time, and he advised me to do a variety of good bonuses for my very own viewers, get firms to do bulk buys, after which go on at the very least the heavy-hitting podcasts — the ten or 20 which have gigantic audiences. That’s basically what I did.
I interviewed as lots of the massive podcasters alone podcast as potential and promoted the heck out of something they wished to promote. When it got here time for my e book to launch, I hit up all of them and stated, “Hey, bear in mind me? I used to be questioning should you’d be keen to have me in your present. I’ve a e book popping out.” Virtually all of them stated sure. It’s a networking play.
The majority buys and bonuses ended up transferring probably the most books. I provided three bonuses with the acquisition of the e book. One was a three-day workshop on learn how to get began with print-on-demand, which I take into account a gateway to ecommerce. Then I had a two-day seminar on learn how to get began and generate income with running a blog, YouTube-ing, and podcasting, that are three issues I do. Then I provided a six-week “Household First” problem, the place I stay stream in a personal Fb group to assist everybody with their facet hustles.
Should you go the historically revealed route, you should have an viewers. You gained’t get a e book deal except you might have a following, whether or not or not it’s on YouTube or podcasting, in case you have an intensive e mail listing. After I utilized, I feel my YouTube channel was nonetheless fairly small. I feel it was 90,000 subscribers. I had been podcasting for a very long time. I had an e mail listing of 100,000, plus my weblog.
Bandholz: Listeners would possibly recall your two companies. Bumblebee is an internet retailer promoting handkerchiefs. My Spouse Stop Her Job is a media and coaching website. Have you ever seen a gross sales elevate with these?
Chou: Undoubtedly for My Spouse Stop Her Job. For Bumblebee, I don’t suppose so. We promote handkerchiefs. What are the probabilities that somebody desires a handkerchief? Fairly low.
I plan on making the e book a part of my general advertising and marketing technique as a result of I’ve a novel message in comparison with all the opposite make-money-online guys. It’s a strategy to differentiate myself, and having made The Wall Avenue Journal bestseller listing provides credibility to every part I do.
I need to keep on that listing for the long term. Nevertheless it takes time. I need to go on a variety of podcasts and make folks conscious of my e book, and hopefully, down the road, it turns into a family e book, like “The 4-Hour Workweek” or “Wealthy Dad Poor Dad.”
Bandholz: The place can folks purchase your e book?
Chou: Go to TheFamilyFirstEntrepreneur.com. To be taught extra about what I do, go to MyWifeQuitHerJob.com. In case you are getting married, I’ll hook you up with some handkerchiefs at BumblebeeLinens.com.
