Self Publishing Expert Jyotsna Ramachandran Joins Us On The Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Self Publishing With Jyotsna Ramachandran
Jyotsna Ramachandran is today’s guest joining us on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business podcast.
She is a lady who contacted me several years ago and appeared on the show after saying “I think that I should be on your show, because I am flexing the old hustle muscle everyday and doing it on my own terms too”
Well, she didn’t quite say that, but it doesn’t take much more for me to think, this is the kind of guest I want to talk to, so she came on the show.
This is a lady that like most of us got to a point in her life, when she looked at her job, and her personal situation and thought “I never want to be an employee again”
Which can be one of the greatest realisations for self development, and the worst.
You have the focus to take your life to where you want to be, but more often than not, you don’t have any idea how to do it.
And that is the case with todays guest who then tried out various businesses to find her thing.
She started a staff recruitment agency, became a franchisee of a chocolate brand, did freelance web designing, and none really hit the spot.
How The Dots Joined Up For Jyotsna
And interestingly from that point she is has transitioned again and is a now a bestselling author, book publisher, TEDx speaker, and is an international Author Success Coach who helps
coaches, trainers, speakers, and experts to build a super-profitable author funnel with the help of their book.
She has since the first appearance on the show founded Happy Self Publishing to help overwhelmed, yet purpose-driven authors experience a transformative journey of self-discovery through the process of publishing their book and amplifying their message.
So far, Jyotsna has helped over 400 authors from 35 different countries through her global publishing agency, Happy Self Publishing.
So is this now the thing that she has been looking for since first starting her entrepreneurial journey?
And secondly why is a book such a powerful statement for building authority of your personal brand?
Well lets find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Jyotsna Ramachandran
Show Highlights
During the show we discussed such weighty subjects with the Happy Self Publishing founder such as:
We share the balancing point of growing a business where the matching of your own personal confidence matches your earning potential.
Why the first thing to create a buzz launch of a podcast is creating the cover, so you can start publishing it long before the book gets completed.
JR reveals that self publishing a book is a brilliant way of adding value to your backend of your business by proving your worth time and time again.
And lastly……
We develop the author funnel concept so that people follow the steps within the pages of the book, and then follow you to your website.
How To Connect With Happy Self Publishing
Return To The Top Of Self Publishing With Jyotsna
If you enjoyed this episode of self publishing why not listen to some of our favourite podcast episodes such as Spike Ball Founder, Nick Ruiz, Dane Maxwell or the amazing Isha Uppalapati
Or if you prefer just pop over to our podcast archive for thousands of amazing episodes to choose from.
Full Transcription Of Jyotsna Ramachandran Interview
Intro [0:00]
Life shouldn’t be hard life should be a fun filled adventure every day. So now start joining up dots, tap into your talents, your skills, your God given gifts and tell your boss, you don’t deserve me. I’m out of here. It’s time for you to smash that alarm clock. And start getting the dream business and life you will, of course, are dreaming of. Let’s join your host, David Ralph from the back of his garden in the UK, or wherever he might be today with another jam packed episode of the number one hit podcast. Join Up Dots.
David Ralph [0:41]
Yes, hello there. Good morning to you. Good morning to you. Good morning to you and welcome to Join Up Dots. Thank you very much for being here. If you’ve been with us for many, many years, I appreciate you all. And if you’ve just come here for you know, the first time try, hopefully you can enjoy it. And you’re gonna get some entertainment, education as well as we try to inspire you to take that leap and start your own online business. Now, today’s guest is a lady who contacted me several years ago, and appeared on the show after saying I think that I should be on your show because I’m flexing the out hustle muscle every day and doing it on my own terms to Well, she she didn’t quite say that I was me. But it doesn’t take much more of me to think. Yeah, this is the kind of guests I want to talk to. So she came on the show. And when we had an on last time, she had got to a point in her life when she looked at her job and our personal situation and thought I never want to be an employee again, which can be one of the greatest realisations for self development. And also the worst, you have the focus to take your life to where you want it to be. But more often than not, you haven’t got a clue how to do it. And that was kind of the case with today’s guests who’ve been tried out various businesses to find her thing. She started a staff recruitment agency became a franchisee of a chocolate brand that did freelance web designing, and kind of none really hit the spot. Now from that point, she’s transitioned again is now a best selling author, a book publisher, a TEDx speaker, and he’s an international author success coach who helps coaches trainers, speakers, experts to build a super profitable author funnel with the help of their book. She has since the first appearance on the show founded happy self publishing to help overwhelmed yet purpose driven authors experience a transformative journey of self discovery, through the process of publishing their book and amplifying their message. And so far, she’s helped over 400 authors from 35 different countries through her global publishing agency. Happy self publishing. So is this now the thing that she has been looking for since first starting her entrepreneurial journey? And secondly, why is a book such a powerful statement for building authority of your personal brand? Well, let’s find out as we bring onto the show, to start joining up dots with the one and only Jyotsna Ramchandra, morning Jr.
Happy Self Publishing [3:07]
I’m doing great David thank you so much for having me on Join Up Dots yet gain.
David Ralph [3:13]
Yet again. And I’m gonna I’m gonna stick to Jr. You told me I can call you Jr. But you know, I I nailed your name deny that there was not one thing wrong with the way I said your name.
Happy Self Publishing [3:24]
It was just perfect.
David Ralph [3:26]
I’ve been practising. I’ve been practising for six years since the last time you came on the show. So let’s reference that because when we connected just before recording this one I said to you, when was the last time he was on the show? And you said six years and I thought bloody hell, six years? Um, life has changed a bit since then. So give me a couple of things to adjust to where you’re different now from where you were, then what what’s the difference in Jr. Now, compared to six years ago?
Happy Self Publishing [3:55]
I think life has changed a lot. When I came on your show. Six years ago, I had just written my book, job escape plan. And Fast. Fast forward to today. I have a publishing company. We’ve helped more than 500 authors in the last five years. And also I’ve transitioned from being self employed to being an entrepreneur. So I think that’s been a major transition.
David Ralph [4:20]
Now Was it a transition because I see this time and time again, where people have come on the show and what we’re doing at the moment, we’re inviting people back a second time. And it always seems to be about when they finally believed in themselves really believed in themselves was when things really started cooking on gas. And at the beginning, you’re trying your best you’re doing everything you’ve been told to do. You’re working at beings, but it’s not until that kind of switch when you kind of thing. Blood. Yeah, I’m good at this. But things start to really go your way. Have you had the same kind of realisation?
Happy Self Publishing [4:59]
Yes, I think the major turning point for me, David was after my book JavaScript plan became a bestseller. It got picked by websites like Inc as one of the best books of that year, when all these recognitions started coming towards me, that’s when people started noticing my work. A lot of my friends were were not in touch with me for years, started to message me and asked me, How did I manage to publish a book and they also started seeking my help to publish their books. This was very overwhelming for me, because I did not know that I was really good at it, I did not know that people would pay me money to help them become authors. So I think that was a big aha moment when a lot of people started reaching out to me to take my guidance and support to help them become authors. And that’s when I felt that my skills were worth getting paid for. And I could actually convert this skill into a business
David Ralph [5:55]
is interesting, isn’t it, because I still do a certain amount of podcast coaching. And I know that I start from a point where most people go, it’s easy, it’s easy to launch a podcast, I can do it myself. But obviously, the difference between running a podcast for 10 years, and just launching one is night and day. Now, the same goes with writing a book, people think they can write a book. And of course they can, but actually then marketing it, getting it on the right platforms, promoting it, getting people to buy, getting Amazon reviews, and all that kind of stuff. That’s a different world altogether, isn’t it?
Happy Self Publishing [6:34]
Absolutely, yes. So when it comes to launching the podcast, or writing the book, people can do it at different levels, like I know, podcasters, who just launch a show, they put up eight episodes, they’re happy about it, but they cannot sustain it. Whereas on the other hand, there are people like you who’ve been doing it for a decade. So there is a huge difference in the level at which you’re playing this game, right. The same applies for books as well, for some people, it’s just one of the important items on their bucket list. And as soon as it goes live on Amazon, their mission is accomplished, they don’t want anything else out of the book. So such books can be done on your own, you can just do your research on Google and YouTube and put a book together. Whereas there are other authors who are more aspirational. They want to use their book to promote their personal brand, to share their message with the world and create a bigger impact. And use the book as a central tool to attract a whole lot of other opportunities in their life, like TEDx stages, and things like that. So to have a book at that level, you definitely don’t want to be doing it yourself. It’s better to just get the help of experts who’ve been doing this for years, and just do the things that you’re really good at. So I think that’s the difference between doing everything on your own, and partnering with professionals to get this done.
David Ralph [7:55]
Because I’ve got a book out called podcasters mastery, the ability to define your celebrity by the power of your voice, and a guy came along and lovely guy. And he wanted to know how to podcasts, and he published books, and I said, Well, you do a book for me, I teach you how to how to podcast and do it for free. Now, afterwards, it was very much like Beige Book, David, you need to promote it. And I was very much like, hang on, I got the time or the inclination to do this. This is this is a big beast that I’ve got to tackle here to promote this. And so we didn’t exactly have a falling out. But it was certainly a juxtaposition between what he wanted from me and what I was about to deliver. And that is the thing that I think when it comes to getting a book to the top is the stumbling block where people go, Well, I can tell my friends to go and buy it. And I can tell but how do I get the ball rolling? So what would you suggest for people out there that have got this book in their head, and they are starting to get the manuscript written? What would be the first thing to get the ball rolling Jr.
Happy Self Publishing [8:59]
I think the very first thing is to get the cover designed, as soon as somebody is has decided that they want to write a book, they have already started making some progress with the manuscript, then I think it’s time to start the marketing even before one finishes their book. So the best way to create the buzz around the book launch is to first launch the book by just announcing that, hey, I’m coming up with this book, it’s going to be published in the next two months. Here is the first look. And boom, just upload the cover. So that would be the first announcement for the book. And that’s a great way to start building your launch team. I think that’s a good first step because the people who can resonate with that books topic or just your friends who genuinely want to help you will raise their hand and ask you how can they help you and then you bring them on into a group like a Facebook group or a whatsapp group and just start engaging with them and creating the bus so that later when you actually launch the book, all the supporters will be there to help you
David Ralph [10:00]
One of the things that I was very clear on on my book, and I’m going to ask you whether this is right or not, was, I looked at the amount of podcasting books out there. And I thought everyone’s teaching, you know, buy a microphone and main database and Dubai. And it was all about the kind of launch. And I thought, where where was the real power of a podcast, and the podcast is building your authority to convert audio content into sales. And effectively all podcasts are about selling, I don’t care who it is. But Okay, fair enough. There are some people out there that just do it for a hobby, because they’re interested in the content. But I think that it’s all about sales. Now, I went to a totally different position within that podcasting market, thinking that this is what people are looking for. Now, I argue with you is, is it what people are looking for, or should just stay what people expect? So when they come across in their flicking up and down Amazon, they just go, Oh, yeah, that’s a podcasting book. I just buy that? Should you go deep? Or should you just stay within the masses?
Happy Self Publishing [11:08]
I think you definitely need to go deep, because otherwise you cannot differentiate yourself from the noise that is out there already. And this is something that a lot of my clients asked me they when they say that, hey, I’m a coach, I really have this high level coaching programme, which is a year long. Now, if I write a book and give away all my secrets in the book, then who’s going to sign up for my coaching programme? This is a very common question. And I tell that if your book, which is like say, the E book is, say, $2.99, if that can be super valuable, and you are able to win the trust of your reader, there will be a sizable percentage of people who want to work with you one on one, they want to learn how can you customise the system for them and make it really personalised, they want that, you know, that personal access to you, and they want that accountability. And for that, they are willing to pay that $10,000 to work with you one on one. However, in order to attract that client who can pay you that $10,000, you need to make your book super valuable. So I think if the, if the book is packed with value, I think you’re earning the goodwill. And when people really can see that you know that you are coming from a place of genuinely serving them, not everybody is going to become your high paying client. But a small percentage of them will want to work with you at least they want to buy your online course, or join your membership community or do some kind of, you know, engagement with you. So to serve those people, it’s important that your book is loaded with value. So don’t hold back on the content, please be generous and share everything in a way that’s easy for people to consume. I’m not saying this, that, you know, whatever, you know, just put it together into the book because that could be overwhelming for the reader. Just give them enough content that it inspires, not just inspires them. But also give them a small bend, you know, they should be able to implement at least one principle from the book and get some result which inspires them to follow you. And then probably late or whenever they already they would want to work with you.
David Ralph [13:10]
I operate a top podcast Do you might know Jr. and prove that I literally get bombarded with people’s offering me three books where they want to come on the show. And they want to offer me a free book. And I generally say yes, because the more books I get in Join Up Dots headquarters, the better the audio is because it’s jam packed with books. But I would say 80% of them. For me, it is very few. Now I’m reading one at the moment. And the guest is going to come on the show. And it’s about Paul’s breathe and choose. And it’s a lifestyle book, but she’s amplified it with stories about her time with Steve Jobs, and her personal transformation. And it isn’t just an A to Zed of what to do to change your life is actually quite an interesting read as well. So I started reading is and I’ve got up to chapter four. And I’m thinking out, I generally like this, but some of them out there. They just tell you what they want to tell you and they don’t entertain as well. Is that a failure? Because I certainly see in podcasting where some podcasts are so educationally based, but they bore you they bore you that there’s got to be that blend of entertainment and also education as well I would have all
Happy Self Publishing [14:29]
I agree with you in this because I feel the book should be a good blend of both education and entertainment. And it also depends on the reader and as I usually tell my clients that you should define your target reader in your mind and write the book for that one person. But we don’t know if that person is right brained or left brained and the same person can be more inclined towards right brain at one point of time and the next day they could be left brain so by this What I mean is at some stage they just don’t want to hear your stories they just want you to list down the strategies that these are the seven steps you need to take launch your podcast or something like that but at the same time if you can share those personal anecdotes case studies real life stories that can be serving the person who at that moment wants some feed for the right brain and they don’t want to just have those strategies but they also want to hear the stories so i think having a mix of both will work really well because it also gives people straightforward instructions that these are the steps you need to take this is the how to and all of that but it also makes it more relatable more human when you actually add a lot of these stories around the book because if it’s only story then it’s a nice feel good book people will read it and they will not take action but if it’s only action packed then as you said it can just get too boring and people may not even finish it so it should be a good mix of both
David Ralph [15:59]
i agree with that we’re talking to jr from happy self publishing and we’ll be back with her after these words are you ready to start your own head podcast
Unknown Speaker [16:07]
then podcast is mastering from Join Up Dots is the solution podcast is mastering is the low cost podcasting course teaching you the steps to launch and grow an income producing global head podcast all in the easiest way possible if you are ready to get expert podcasting lessons at a price you can afford then podcasters mastery is the place to go head over to Join Up dots.com forward slash podcast is mastering that is Join Up dots.com forward slash podcast is mastering
David Ralph [16:40]
so jr we’re talking about building a book which is great but i want to spin it slightly and it’s all right to have a publishing company but when you’ve got people coming to you saying well i need your help and you are in that position where you think okay i’ve kind of done it myself but i don’t really know how to do it for other people how did you overcome that sort of self limiting thought process that we all have to go through
Happy Self Publishing [17:08]
right so initially i had very high standards for myself and i felt that i’m not really reached that level where i can help others but then after working with some business coaches and mentors i was able to overcome this self limiting belief where i felt that i need to be the number one to do something in any area of my life i used to think that i need to be the number one expert i need to be the go to person before i can start charging people for the services i provide but i realised that this concept of number one is very relative what i consider as number one may not be good enough for somebody else right and there are people at different levels there are people who are just starting out and they can’t spend more than $1,000 to put a book together whereas there is this other
Unknown Speaker [17:59]
huge
Happy Self Publishing [18:01]
companies see oh who doesn’t mind spending $100,000 in running a marketing campaign to reach the new york times bestseller so for these two different types of artists one particular company cannot serve both of them because their needs are different their goals are different therefore i felt that when i started the company five years ago i felt that with whatever i know i can just serve people who are just a few steps behind me i may not be able to serve the people who are already bestselling authors and they want a company for their next book maybe i don’t i don’t know enough to teach them and serve them but i can definitely serve people who are just starting out and who have no clue about how to get this done so with that mindset i think i had the i got the courage to get started from there i think with every year my confidence has increased my learnings while serving the clients have helped me to improve my standards as well my team members are also getting better and better so i make sure that every wednesday is a training day and they learn and they develop themselves only if they grow they get to continue with the company so i have very high standards for myself and my team members so today i saw with a different type of audience as compared to the people i served five years ago but i think i’m i’m just glad that i started at someplace and i’ve been able to grow from there
David Ralph [19:25]
now round of applause to that round of applause to the thing that i loved about vat was the fact and i was talking to a lady i’m building a business with a lady from wales called donna if you’re listening to this danavas is you and i were saying to her but people will pay even if you’re not that experience because you are an option for them you you put yourself in to that position where you can be like a conduit or their transformation a conduit you don’t have to know everything about it you don’t have to be a multiple best selling offer to help people publish books, you don’t have to have the hit podcast, to be able to teach people how to podcast, you only have to help people, four steps behind you not even four steps, maybe one or two. And you’re always ahead of your ideal client. Now, as you proceed through Jr, as you’re saying, you will get to the point where when you start, you might think that, you know, 200 pounds is a great win for you. And then you get to the point where people are offering you five grand and 10 grand. And if you’re like me, at that point, when my business increased to that, there was a bit of made up, oh, I don’t know if I can provide 10 grand a value. I don’t know if I can provide 30 grand, I’m proud of you. But you can because they believe in you more than you believe in yourself. They’re offering you the monetary rewards. And then you grow into that. And once you do that, you go Oh, actually, yeah, I can’t provide 30 grand a business. That’s my figure. Now, you move on further and further and further, don’t you?
Happy Self Publishing [21:01]
This is exactly what happened with me, David. Initially, when I started happening, self publishing, we started with cover design services for $99. And at that time, I was super happy with just that. But then as I wanted to grow my business, I kept asking myself, what else can I do? How can I add more value and more value. And then right now, our highest programme is called impact amplifier, where we serve these busy entrepreneurs who don’t even have the time to write their book on their own. So we have these handpicked Angel writers who can write the book for them. And then my marketing team would work at it, make it a bestseller. There are a whole lot of things around the book, it’s not just the book, it’s not just the cover or just the editing anymore. So five years back, I wouldn’t have imagined charging somebody, the kind of price we are charging right now. But then today, I feel that we have earned reach that level because we have also developed and we are just adding more value. So by just going back and asking our clients, what else do you guys need, they would come up with a lot of things that they need. So the first step is to check if I can learn and do this, if I can just try it on my own and get results and then serve them if I can’t. Now what I do is I look for other partners. Like for example, a client recently said that he wants to be on the USA Today bestseller charts. Now I am good at Amazon bestseller, but I haven’t done a USA Today myself. So I’m now partnering with another company who’s good at that. And the best part is what you know what, we also get to earn an affiliate income by just pointing my client to the in the right direction. So I think it’s not important that we should do everything on our own. We can also partner with other people who can add value to our clients.
David Ralph [22:43]
Now I remember now as you were talking about I won’t mention the name but the last time he was on the show you had a business partner, but I knew a lady. Okay. And you’re no longer with them. Wherever it didn’t go right or but it’s an interesting thing, isn’t it? We business partners, because I’ve had some in the early days, where I think I took them because I didn’t quite believe in myself to be able to do it. Now I’m looking for business partners that are ahead of me, that can sort of drag me on, do you remember sort of like thinking to yourself, oh, it’s too big for me, this person will be able to help me. But actually, when you’re working with them, you think Well, actually, I can do this myself.
Happy Self Publishing [23:26]
Yeah, I’m so glad that you took me back in time. So I’m super grateful to my initial business partner, because it was actually a different thing. I did not when go looking for a business partner. In fact, I didn’t even have this business idea. I went on her podcast, and she was the one who gave me a call the next day and said, You know what, what you’re doing is great. Let us put this together as a service. Because I know a lot of people who can be your clients, I’ll take care of the marketing, you take care of the operations. So that’s how we got started with a publishing company back in the day. And then this went well for a few months. But then what happened was I had a flood, a terrible one in my city. And I had no internet access for a week. And my business partner just freaked out because we did not have systems and processes in place so that the business can run even without me. So she had no clue what happened to me clients were coming in, she had to send refunds because she didn’t know where I was. And then when finally I got internet connection back, I realised that she had shut down the website. So I, you know, so that’s what happened. It was a great learning experience for both of us. After that she went on to do other wonderful things. And I then renamed the company as happy self publishing and started on my own, because I felt that there were certain things that we did not do well the first time, but I learned from that experience and I realised that from day one, we need to have certain systems in place so that the business is not dependent on one person. So that was my experience of CO founding a company.
David Ralph [25:00]
Because now I’m not as bothered about the knowledge people have as I do their personal drive. Because I look back on to the people but my head, I’d always done three times as much work by the time we met again. And it was always our I didn’t get a chance to do this, I didn’t get a chance to do that. And it used to drive me mental. So I being said, love to do this myself.
Happy Self Publishing [25:23]
Absolutely, I think if both the partners have an equal amount of drive, that would be great. Otherwise, I think the rules should be clearly defined. If one person cannot do 50% of the work, if they’re happy to do just say 20% of it, they should be happy to just take 20% of the profits as well.
David Ralph [25:40]
Now, when you are building a publishing business, somebody comes along. And once again, I’ll reference it to podcasting because I’m in podcasting a lot. And in online business, and I get people that connect with me that go, Oh, I really want to do this. And I say, right, what angle Do you want to do it? Well, I’ve got no idea. I’ve got no idea. It’s just something that I want to do. I imagine people like a podcast, see it, but other people are launching podcasts and books and stuff and think, Oh, I’m gonna miss out. And what do you do when they come to you? And I literally say, you tell me the book. You You tell me the book, and I do it.
Happy Self Publishing [26:18]
You mean now when it comes to engine writing?
David Ralph [26:22]
Yeah, I enjoy writing or when they haven’t got the idea, the concept themselves where they just want to have a book out with their name on and they look to you as giving them the permission to have the idea you give them the idea.
Happy Self Publishing [26:36]
Yeah, so we are now very picky about the client kind of clients we work with, because there’s a lot of difference between ghostwriting and Angel writing. So if you want just a book to be put together in a week’s time, it’s easy to just go online and hire a ghostwriter. They will do all the research, they will do all the writing and give you the book. But Angel writing is very different. In my opinion, David, when it comes to Angel writing, the author is like the captain of the ship, they have a vision, they have the idea they have the drive to serve their readers, all that they don’t have is the time to write it into a book, or they don’t have the skill because probably they are dyslexic, or something they can speak but they cannot ride. So because of these challenges, they just need support. So we only work with those kind of authors because I think the original idea should come from the author. And yes, we we have author coaches and all these people in our team who can facilitate that, they can help the author by asking them the right questions, and helping them create that book, topic and idea, but it has to come from the author. Therefore my suggestion to people is, if you have to do 10 things to grow your business, don’t it’s not necessary that the book should be the first thing, I would say that ideally, start your business and try to figure out a way to get your initial clients, it could be through your word of mouth or reference or by joining a Facebook group by starting your podcast, do something to establish yourself at least to a certain level and start producing results for your clients. Once you have a few case studies that you’re proud of, then think about writing a book. Because I feel if you just write a book with zero experience, the leverage you get out of it is not going to be that much. But if you’re already playing at a level where you’re helping a lot of people, then the book can help you to go take your business to the to an all new level is a part of a funnel, isn’t it? The book is and you hear sales funnels, and people get confused by sales funnels. And I must
David Ralph [28:44]
have been in the old days I did and I made them far too complicated. But basically at its highest level, it’s I’m going to prove myself, so but I make money on the back end. But you then seek me out. And when you said earlier and it really hit home to me was you can’t put too much of the crown jewels into the book. A lot of people go Oh yeah, if they buy my book, they’re not gonna hire me. Or if I buy my book, we’re not gonna do it. Nobody just wants the secret. So if the real top online guys out there, I read their books all the time, and it blows me away how much stuff they give away for nothing. They literally give away their whole business. And they always say Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it. People aren’t interested in learning from a book. The book is almost the start to sales funnel.
Happy Self Publishing [29:38]
Exactly. So the book, I call this the author funnel, because I think a new client who doesn’t otherwise know you first hears about you through your book, they may be looking for a solution. They will be typing out something on Amazon and then your book shows up and they look at some of the good reviews and they end up buying your book and reading it and that is the beginning of the relationships. So I think the like the first date has to be super impressive, right? It’s exactly the same case with the book, you need to give enough in your book. So people just fall in love with you. But then it shouldn’t stop with the book, The mistake a lot of entrepreneurs and generally authors make is they do a good job with the book. But then there is no connection between the book their business. And the problem with Amazon to Amazon is great for so many reasons. But the big problem is, you’re not going to know who is the person reading your book, even if you sell a million copies, you don’t know the name and emails of those people. So for you to bring them to your ecosystem, it’s important to have a lead magnet inside the book, I call it the reader magnet. So this can be anything that is of higher value, or it’s in connection with the book, it could be an action guide, it could be an assessment, it could be the audio version of the book, but something that can feel really valuable for the reader, which they don’t mind giving their name an email to download immediately. So that I think is a missing link. A lot of people miss this out. But if you have this, then you’re using the book to generate leads for your business. And then you can, you can see these people, following you on different places on social media, because you will be sending your latest podcast episode to them through email, you will be sending your latest youtube video to them, and all of that, so then they will get more and more value from you. So the conversation doesn’t end with the book, they continue to follow you and learn from you even outside the book. And then at the right time, if you’re able to just pitch your low ticket product, which could be a mini online course or something like that they will be willing to buy. And then also make sure you have something of higher value in your funnel, like your coaching or consulting or a done for you service so that a small percentage of them will upgrade themselves to, you know, to that service as well. I think that is the author funnel, it all starts with the book. But you need to ensure that people climb the ladder and upgrade themselves by having different things in the auto funnel.
David Ralph [32:01]
Yeah, well, one of the things that I do with my clients, now we talk about being at the top of the stairs, and throwing value downwards. And what I mean by by is, I think when you start a business, and I certainly did this, I created a low price product. And it almost stayed like that for a while because I couldn’t quite assess the next stage. And then the next stage. Now I say to people, right, what we’re going to do, we’re going to go to the top of the stairs, going to create your highest product you possibly can. And then even if you do it for free, then cascade down the value that you provided to somebody for free to the next stage down, and then look at that, and then do it to the next stage down. So every person at the lower level is looking at going, Ah, that’s what they’re getting in that product. That’s what I need, and will naturally be learned up what we call the value ladder. What do you think about that? jr?
Happy Self Publishing [32:58]
Yes, that’s exactly what I feel as well, I think it’s important to have that highest value product in mind. So that you’re giving people a chance to, you know, go for it. Otherwise, by just having a book, and $47 course, you’re not really going to be making a big impact. Because what I feel is when you only have a low ticket product, when people pay just 47 or $97, when they get busy, your course is the last thing that they’re going to be looking at, because there’s nothing much to lose. But when you have something of higher value, those are the people who really take action. And action takers are the ones who are going to make those that bigger impact to help you grow your business. And there’s as well. So it’s important to create that Super Value product right on top. But also give out a lot of this free stuff to your blog book, or whatever.
David Ralph [33:51]
What do you think about the putting yourself within the product? You know, I spend a lot of time having zoom calls with listeners who will, you know, just need my help. They want to say hello, whatever. And I never try to sell them at the time. And more often than not, I try to push them away, because I know that they’re not right at that time, whatever. But people often say to me, are you mad to be spending so much time trying to interact with listeners of the podcast, and I say to them without the listeners of the podcast, I haven’t got business, you know, it would be totally wrong for me. Jump back 10 years I was all up for everything being automated and just sitting there behind a website where people clicking buttons and buying stuff. But I don’t see that as a viable business. Now I feel that it has to be some kind of personal interaction, discuss Jr.
Happy Self Publishing [34:48]
I used to also think that you know, I should have this fully automated business where I don’t have to do a thing. My website and my sales pages will you know take care of everything that used to be My dream back in the day, but as I keep growing my business, and I keep learning from these super successful entrepreneurs, every one of them does the same thing that you do, they actually spend time with people, they actually spend time doing things that are not scalable, like speaking to, you know, followers, one on one and things like that. Because I think that is the differentiator between what I do and what’s already available through somebody else. Because that personal connection, that access to me, I think that is something that others cannot easily copy. Even if they do, they’re going to do it in their unique way. So that doesn’t take away my uniqueness. Whereas the thing totally productize everything that we do, then it’s going to be like a price competition between one company and the other. And I think I don’t think that’s a long term strategy. So it is important to invest in people, by people, I mean, your followers who are following you, and could be your clients in future, your clients who have already paid you money, so then have to be taken very good care of, and by another team members as well, before I would do all my interactions by email. But now, thanks to technology and stuff like zoom, I’ve overcome that belief. And now, I do all my calls via video. And that has made a massive difference, both in my company’s culture within my team, as well as the quality of client experience that we give to our clients.
David Ralph [36:30]
Yeah, I agree with this 100%. So if you could jump back in time and change something that you look back on, and you think, yeah, but that had nothing to do with the business that was just me holding it back. What would you do?
Happy Self Publishing [36:46]
I think if I had to go back in time, I will start investing in developing a team. Because Initially, I was against the concept of hiring people, I used to think that’s a huge commitment. Or what if I just want to go on a holiday a month, who’s gonna pay these team members, so that my limiting belief used to be that if I grow my business, I’m going to lose my freedom. So that was the kind of person I was, but after learning from a lot of successful people, I realised the true freedom comes in when your team has a system, which they follow, and that can run independently without having to do everything else. So I think investing in full time team members is something that I would, I would I should have started doing earlier. But I’m glad that I’m doing it now at least.
David Ralph [37:35]
Now I’ve got James who works with me, and he is my pa and booking manager, he asked for that title. I didn’t give it to him. And he, he’s, he’s a delight. He helps with so many of the little things. And I must admit, when he came through to me and said, Can I work for you? And I don’t want to full time when he said, Well, I just do it for task. And I went, yeah, going in, you can you can manage my booking, you can look at my book, and I was a bit worried that he was just going to get real rubbish guests in. And so what I did, I recorded my process of looking at guest pitches, and just spoke about being saying, Yeah, this person’s come through. I like this, because of this. I don’t like this because of that. But it’s not enough to make a show bang and, and blast it away. And that we had a few teething problems. But now he chooses as good guests as I do, you know, and I just have to do the last bit of making sure that I’m prepared and sort of rock up. And it was a pain, it was a pain, but I couldn’t quite get over the fact that I could just do it myself. So why pay somebody else?
Happy Self Publishing [38:45]
Exactly, I think are we as entrepreneurs believe that we have these superpowers, which is replaceable, nobody else can do it as good as us. And I used to have the same thing in my company. So I really like giving feedback on book titles and subtitles. And my team will always share the initial title that the client gives us. And then I give my feedback and try to make it workable for Amazon and just make it better, right. So I used to think this is something that only I can do in the company. But then as we started getting more and more clients, I was not able to devote so much time. And then one of my team members said that, hey, you know what, I think I can do this as well. But I but I did exactly what you did, I actually recorded my way of doing things. I used to think this is some very, this is some inner power, which I could not explain. But then I could actually go back and record this as steps. This is what I look at first. And this is what I go and look at other books. And this is how I, you know, come up with ideas. So I actually made this as a process. And now my team has access to that video. So the person who was interested in that she has actually understood this whole process and now she’s doing a better job than me.
David Ralph [39:59]
Yeah. And how works is that you can go over to say up work or a freelance site. And instead of hiring the person, you can give them the links to the video and say, This is what I’m looking for you to do. And then are you okay to do that afterwards, and then give them a trial period. And if I haven’t watched the videos when you don’t hire them, so it’s a good way of actually doing that the HR and the recruitment practice to grow your team. And I can’t ever imagine myself having more than maybe two or three people working for me. And certainly, I wouldn’t ever have a full time. Because there’s times when I close down my business, and I go away, and it runs an automatic pilot, and then I bring it back again. And so you can get past that mindset. Can’t you just say to people, look, there’s going to be six months a year, but I don’t need you, there’s going to be six months I do, but you’ll be paid by task.
Happy Self Publishing [40:54]
Exactly. I think as entrepreneurs, I think the biggest freedom that we should add is to decide the kind of lifestyle that we want and create the business to, to feed that lifestyle rather than becoming slaves to our business. I think your approach is great, David, because this is how you want to run your business. And you are creating everything else to support that. So I also agree that Upwork is a fantastic platform, I use that all the time to look for team members. And I also give them these actual tasks. A lot of people just look at their previous work and hire them. That’s, I think one thing you can do, but I think the better thing to do is to actually give them a task, let them just follow your instructions and do that actual thing. And that will actually help us to find the right team members.
David Ralph [41:42]
And if you do it that you say I will pay you based on results. My God, you lose a lot of interest. You know, the people that do come through, there you go, the ones that go, yeah, I can actually deliver those results. So be stringent be testing with your recruitment, don’t just think, Oh, I’m going to go for cheap. Go for, you know, expensive, but if they’re not upgrade, just get rid of them.
Happy Self Publishing [42:08]
Exactly. Because by going for the cheapest quoted person, we are actually going to lose money in the long run. Because if they don’t do their job, well, we are going to struggle in terms of the business revenue and the quality of the service we provide. And our clients will not refer new clients. So there’s a lot of bigger challenges to face when we hire people who don’t know their job.
David Ralph [42:31]
Yeah, brilliant. Well, I’m gonna play the words of somebody who didn’t know his job, and he knew everybody else’s job as well. Here’s Steve Jobs,
Steve Jobs [42:38]
Jobsof course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [43:13]
So when you look at it now, this is the second time you’ve heard this clip on the show. Does it still make sense to you to still look at it and go, Yeah, he’s bang on? Or do you have an opposing view now.
Happy Self Publishing [43:28]
So true. And I think even if I listened to this 10 years later, I’ll be able to Join Up Dots backwards. Because I think when I came on your show, I had no clue that I would be starting a publishing agency. Because back then, all I had was a staff recruitment agency, which I was planning to shut down. And I and I had written this book, right. But then because of that book, I started getting opportunities to speak on podcasts. Because of that, I met this lady who suggested me this business idea. And I started this with her. And then I had to independently pivot and start able to serve so many clients. And one of those clients was my husband, who also had a challenge, because he’s dyslexic, and he could not write his book, which he knew would want to help him grow his coaching business. And because of his dyslexic dyslexia, I was able to create my angel writing service for him. And that also helped me start this high end service for my clients. So if I actually look back, everything has happened for a reason. And I think everything happens perfectly at the right time. And at that time, it needs to look like a challenge or something we are struggling with. But years later, it all makes perfect sense. Yeah,
David Ralph [44:48]
I love that because I’m totally on to this at the moment that everything happens at the right time. And when you’re forcing it, forcing it forcing it you never get better. You’re better off just to walk away and let it go. But I didn’t, I just kept on pushing, pushing, pushing, but I wish I could go back in time and go, it’s too hard. This is too hard, it must mean it’s not working. Okay, what we’re gonna do now is do another journey that you’ve done before. And this is to send you back in time on the Sermon on the mic. But when you come on the show the second time, you don’t get to choose who you get to speak to. This time, I want you to go back and speak to the JR, who appeared on the show last time six years ago, I want you to travel back in time. And if you could speak to her, and give us some advice to get her to where you are now, what advice would it be? Well, we’re going to find out because I’m going to play the music just like before. And when it fades, this is your chance to talk. This is a sermon on the mic, part two.
Unknown Speaker [45:56]
This show does
Unknown Speaker [46:00]
the same man.
Happy Self Publishing [46:12]
Hey, jokes now, congratulations on writing your first book, you’ve done a great job by quitting your job and sharing your journey with others through your book job escape plan. But here’s the thing jokes Now, don’t get into the trap of self employment. Yes, it is good to fire your previous boss and become your own boss. But then you could be a horrible boss as compared to your previous boss. So it’s nice that you’re on your own, but just don’t bask in the glory of quitting your job, you need to look at the bigger picture and see how can you create something of value, which can be your legacy. And for you to do that you cannot try and do everything on your own. So please overcome your superhero syndrome, and be okay to accept help be okay to hire people who can take off things from your plate and help you grow your business. Don’t look at your work as an act of self employment, but look at your work as a true business that you can create which can make a massive impact on this world. So I’m happy that your preach so far jokes now. But just make sure that you know you really reach for greatness by not under estimating your skill and just go for which this guy jokes now just enjoy your freedom. But at the same time, also look at how can you really add value in other people’s lives? Take care.
David Ralph [47:36]
Jyotsna, what is the best way for the people out there listening to connect with you.
Happy Self Publishing [47:43]
I’ll give it this has been great. So the best way to reach out to me, for people who have already kind of started with their book, and they want to start probably checking out our website and seeing what how we can help them. The best place would be happy self publishing.com. The other set of people who are still thinking about writing a book, but they’re not sure what should be their next step, I have a boot camp that’s going to be a live five day boot camp inside my facebook group called Happy authors tribe. So I suggest you go check out happy self publishing.com forward slash tribe. That’s the place you need to go to connect to our Facebook group and enjoy our free five day boot camp.
David Ralph [48:24]
Right? Well, I have all the links on the show notes to make it as easy as possible to connect with Jon Snow. Thank you so much for spending time with us today. joining up those dots. And please come back again when you’ve got even more dots to join up. Because I do believe that by joining the dots and connecting our past is always always the best way to build our futures. Jyotsna, thank you so much.
Happy Self Publishing [48:46]
Thank you so much, David for this wonderful opportunity.
David Ralph [48:51]
So Jay AR or Jyotsna Rama Chandra and hopefully I said that again. Not brilliant, these names. But um, yeah, so she came on six years ago, you can jump back on to Join Up Dots and find her previous episode and hear how she’s personally grown. I could hear it big time. And it there is a personal growth, there is a personal growth in everything you do. And there’s always a time when you think I should be getting the rewards. But then you look back on it. She told me I deserved rewards I hadn’t put the time in I hadn’t grown my authority. I haven’t, you know, joined up my dots and really understood the process that makes success and success more often than not, is by doing stuff and then finding your way chipping through until you find the gold that you’re looking for all of you, all of you out there can have that gold and that’s what we do. So if anybody out there is looking forward to creating their own online business or even if they just you know, they want to get going but they don’t really no v angle connect with us happy to speak to you for half hour or so. And normally we can get the coax working in your brain to go off and then you can come back at another time to say
Unknown Speaker [49:58]
David,
David Ralph [49:59]
I’ve done it up created my own online business, and it was down to Join Up Dots. Until next time, I will see you again. Look after yourselves. Cheers, bye bye.
Unknown Speaker [50:10]
You ready to make a full time living online, check out the amazing Join Up Dots business coaching. Hello, my name is Alan. And I’ve just completed the excellent eight week course with David
Unknown Speaker [50:20]
before I started working with David, actually, I had no idea at all, where to start,
Unknown Speaker [50:26]
I had a lot of ideas about why I probably thought was going to be good business, David was able to help me through that though, to find that passion. Within literally minutes. We had, we had a business idea. And for the last seven weeks, we’ve been building on it and building on it. And the position I’m in now I don’t think I’ve ever got here
Unknown Speaker [50:46]
on my own because of the amount of information that David gives the structure. He’s got the full package here, and he explains it in a way that I can understand. His support is is phenomenal. I feel like this is the way business is supposed to work.
Unknown Speaker [51:01]
They’ve helped me understand. Okay, what were the next logical steps that I should do? How should How can I get this up and running. And so I would really recommend this as an excellent course helping you if you have an idea if you have no idea, really teasing that out and at some of the practicalities and steps to take to really launch your business whether as a full time job was a side hustle. So it was really excellent recommend it for anybody thinking about setting up their own business, or both. It’s an exaggeration to say David will totally save you years.
Unknown Speaker [51:30]
Thank you, David for your amazing help and support which keeps on going. And we certainly couldn’t be where we are today without you so you’re author.
David Ralph [51:41]
So if you would love to become my next success story and have your own life changing online business following my step by step system. fine tuned over many years to take away the effort and expense that others struggle with and come across to Join Up dots.com and book a free call with myself. Let’s get you live in easy life as it’s there waiting for you to get it that is Join Up dots.com
Unknown Speaker [52:04]
business coaching. That’s the end of Join Up Dots. You heard the conversation. Now it’s time for you to start taking massive action. yank up churn create your life easy only you live. Back again real soon. Join Up Dots Join Up Dots Join Up Dots Join Up Dots Joe jolina