Candice
Nadine, welcome to Nothing but the Words!
Nadine
Yes, I'm excited to be here!
Candice
I'm so happy to have you here. So I mentioned in your intro that you are a marketing expert—you have a particular focus on books, but that you also use spirit-led marketing strategies across your business. Can you share a little bit about what that means?
Nadine
Definitely. So spirit-led, basically is we all have an inner voice and inner guidance, and I believe if you're called to something in life and in business, God has given you divine direction. And what happens is sometimes we lean to external voices, like expert-led, coach-led, and what those people tell you what you should be doing to market and promote your book, your business, or your brand. And that's actually not the way that God designed it, right? God designed it in a way that allows you to stand out in a way that really highlights who you are as a person, and what makes you spark, you know? So He really designs your strategy that way. So you really have to go inner before you go outer, and that's what being spirit-led when it comes to marketing your book, marketing your business, or even marketing your brand, is all about. What is that inner guidance that you're receiving and really being okay with it being different than what the expert said, being different than what the coach said, or even being different than what your industry is doing.
So it takes a little bit of courage, sometimes, to be honest, to be spirit-led, because it means you're showing up differently than most people. If you think—I always love to think about things from biblical perspective—so if you think about some of the stories in the Bible, the way that God told people to do things like walk around the wall seven times, logically didn't make sense, right? But they were obedient in doing it, and they got the result. So when it comes to being spirit-led, it's being obedient to what your inner voice is telling you, regardless of how crazy it may seem or sound, and that's actually where you find the most success. And that's what being spirit-led looks like when it comes to marketing and marketing your book.
Candice
That's so fascinating to me because you meant that it takes courage sometimes.
Nadine
Yep.
Candice
And what I see, sometimes with my own clients, but just even in the online marketing space in particular, is a lot of the same. And so you almost don't know who's posting what or saying what, because it all looks and sounds the same.
Nadine
Exactly.
Candice
Maybe people are doing that out of fear, because they want to feel safe in copying someone else's marketing strategies.
Nadine
Exactly. And I believe when it comes to marketing, it's kind of like a fingerprint, right? We all have a unique and different fingerprint, and I feel your marketing strategy and how you show up should be the same way like a unique fingerprint. So Candice may be amazing on camera and bubbly and have super energy, where someone else they turn on the camera and they shrink, they don't have the energy. They're not bubbly. It just means that's not their method, that's not their chosen marketing method. Maybe they're great on audio, where they don't have to turn on and have so much energy. So it really is about finding your unique fingerprint in your marketing, and really staying true to that, and not staying true to the trends, not staying true to what's popular, or not staying true to, oh, I made a million dollars on webinars, so you should too, right? No, that's not where we're going. It really is about uniquely being yourself and showing up in a way that God is calling you to show up based on your unique design.
Candice
I have to confess that I fell for a lot of that, especially when I started like, "It's working for this person. I should do that too," and honestly, until I really started focusing on what felt right to me and what I felt really called to do, it didn't work for me.
Nadine
Exactly! And that's the thing. That business where someone is making a million dollars on webinars—yes, it has worked for them, but that's their business, right? It's not your business. What is the Success Path God has created for you? What is that unique, divine, you know, path that God has created for you? Maybe it's master classes—and I'll give you an example, Candice, a real life example. And there's nothing wrong with trying things out, right?
So a couple years ago, I said I'm going to try three different marketing methods. I'm going to do a masterclass, I'm going to do a webinar, and I'm going to do a workshop. So I did all three in the span of, I want to say, six months or 90 days, I can't remember. And afterwards, I sat and I reflected, I went inward, and I said, what gave me the most joy? What really filled me up? What gave me that spark when I did it? And what I realized from doing all three different marketing methods, because sometimes we have to test it out, is that the workshops method worked best for me because I invited people into a Zoom Room, and I just really shine when I'm able to be in a group of people. It feels like we're in the room together and we're having conversation where, with the webinars, I felt like I was talking towards people. I was just talking to a screen. And even if I had engagement like in the comment section, I'm not good at multitasking.
So to look at the comments and say, "Oh, Susan, thank you for your comment," and then focus on the content was too much for me and my personality. So in going through all three marketing methods, the masterclass, the webinar, and the workshop, I found what worked best for me, my design, my personality, was that workshop. So that could be the million dollar path for me is the workshop, but the million dollar path for Candice is the webinar, right? So that is where the issue is. When we're looking at the guru the expert and the person who did the million dollars, the one way, that's not necessarily your way.
Candice
Oh that makes perfect sense. And I've experimented with so many things. So tell me how, if you're working with a client, say maybe their book is not quite done and they're ramping up their marketing because I pray that y'all are thinking about marketing before you publish. How do you help them get out of their own way and tap into their unique fingerprint for marketing?
Nadine
Yeah, well, the biggest step I say, Candice, that I have found is everyone wants to market and promote. People all have good intentions, "I want to market my book," "I want to get the word out there," But nobody has a plan. Nobody has something written down. So I would advise the first step is write the vision and make it plain. Let's write it down as to what you need to be doing consistently to market your business, I mean, to market your book.
So what is that before plan? Before you even publish the book, and it's out there in the world, behind the scenes. You know, we've all seen those posts with, "Hey, I'm thinking about my book cover. What do you think of this type of book cover?" You're getting people drawn into the behind the scenes experience as you create the book and build the book. So there's certain things you can be doing to market and promote your book before it's ever published. There's things that you do when it's published. And here's the big kicker, what I find is that a lot of times people launch their book and then it's ghosts. It's like they just get through the publishing and birthing and launching, and they don't consistently market the book. So it really is all three phases before, during, and after you've birthed the book and creating something that is written down, that you can read, that your team can read, that whoever helps you with your marketing effort can refer to, makes the biggest difference when it comes to marketing.
Candice
That makes perfect sense to me. And you used this word twice, consistency, or consistently, and I find that some of my clients, they already come with a pretty deep marketing background because they're business owners, but others, they haven't marketed a lot of products before. And they don't really know what that consistency looks like in terms of time and effort and energy. How would you describe how often they should be showing up to market their book?
Nadine
So that, again, is unique too, right? Everyone has different schedules, everyone has different responsibilities, everyone has different ways that they need to show up in life. So I don't dictate. I've heard people say, "you need to post on social media at least once a day. You have to, you have to, you have to." I don't do that because it's all about your unique blueprint. So what I do with my clients is we decide what uniquely makes sense for you to consistently show up, right? Because if you go and follow experts and gurus that say, oh, every day, then you start posting every day, then you start feeling overwhelmed and you can't keep up with it, then you feel like you failed, right? Because it was never the way that you were designed to show up. You were designed to show up maybe once a week, right? And give so much value in the once a week that you show up that people are blown away by that value that you provide once a week.
So I would say it's unique to the individual. But once you create the plan, you write the plan, now you have to consistently show up with what you have written down. And that is the key thing. Once you've made a decision that, "based on my lifestyle, based on how I can show up, even energy-wise, you know, how I can show up in my energy and be my best, once a week is really what's going to cut it for me." Then making sure you are showing up consistently. If you have like game day, like Faith Friday, you're showing up for every Faith Friday, you know, Wisdom Wednesday, you're showing up for every Wisdom Wednesday. So that's how you can really be consistent and not be overwhelmed and get burnt out.
Candice
Yeah, I think your philosophy for marketing and mine for writing are so much in alignment because I tell my clients, "it's about consistency, not frequency." And you do have to have the plan. If you have a great plan, a great outline, and a schedule for writing, you don't have to- great if you can write every day. I applaud you. I think it's fantastic because it allows you to stay in the world of your book and not get distracted, but not everyone can do that. So if you can only write on Sundays. Just make sure you write on Sundays. You can get there. You're going to get to the goal either way.
Nadine
One caveat I would add, Candice, is that you do have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, because sometimes we want to stay in our comfort zone and say, "I'm comfortable doing it once a month."
Candice
That's true! That's true!
Nadine
But that's not really going to cut it right? So let's not just be comfortable. Push yourself a little bit and say, "Oh, I can, you know, do this, you know, consistently every week, it's a little bit of a stretch. It's a little bit outside of my comfort zone, but I know that I can do it." So making sure that you do that. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone, but also be realistic in the way that you can show up.
Candice
I totally agree with you, because it is just one part of your life and just one part of your business. You have all the other things that you have to deal with. One of the things that you talk about is using both online and offline strategies. And I know when we are in the online business world, we can sometimes forget about offline. Can you talk about why you do both and kind of how you do that with your clients?
Nadine
Yeah, definitely. Some of the most powerful things you can do a lot of times is offline. The reason why I say that is because in person, like in-person networking and having those connections with individuals, in person can be powerful, right? So I make an effort and an intention, especially since we're post-pandemic. During the pandemic, you know, we were staying away from the in-person, but we're past that now. So now that we're able to get out and meet people and network, I try and go to at least two networking events in person to make those in-person connections.
So whatever that may look like for you. Some people are involved in referral groups, where they show up consistently every week, like the BNI's of the world. So whether they have a virtual BNI where they go online and they connect with people, or it's an in person BNI. Really having a mix of what can I do in-person and what can I do online consistently to show up so people are aware of me, aware of my work, my book. So what would that look like for you?
Sometimes, when we have a mind just set on online, you're missing like a whole opportunity to reach people locally, and make those connections. And I'll give you an example. When I first moved to Atlanta, I didn't really know anyone in Atlanta. I made a decision that I was moving to Atlanta and I had just started my business, right? Crazy.
Candice
Yeah, that's a lot.
Nadine
Spirit-led but crazy on the outside. So I left my hometown of South Florida in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, went to Atlanta, started my business, and I knew that I had to be intentional about building relationships and making connections, so I networked—and you can do this in Atlanta—morning, noon and night. Like Candice knows.
Candice
Yeah.
Nadine
There's an opportunity to network like a brunch in the morning, lunch in the daytime, and then some afternoon or evening networking events. So I consistently did that offline portion to build my business, to make sure that I'm making those relationships and building those connections. And to be honest, to this day, a lot of the relationships I believe, Candice and I met offline at a networking event initially.
Candice
We did!
Nadine
So a lot of the connections I still have today and that benefit my business today was based on that offline networking that I did when I first moved to Atlanta. Started really building my business through offline. So it's a balance of both, not just focusing just on online, but what are my offline opportunities? And not just focusing offline, but really understanding the opportunity that's available to us online, and connecting with people online.
Candice
Oh, gosh. So you just hit a nerve with me, because I have not been doing that enough in 2024. Right before you and I got on, I was talking to one of my friends, Karen Crompton. She's a story coach. She's a fantastic story coach, book editor, etc, and we met at an event. She lives in Connecticut, but we met at an event here in Atlanta that she had come for. So you're right, like, I mean, six years later, we're still accountability partners. We still, you know, support each other in our businesses, and you just called me out. So thank you for that. *laughs*
Nadine
It's super powerful so don't ignore it. Don't ignore the offline. You know, make sure you're doing both.
Candice
You're so right, and I need to make sure that I do more of that. Now, some of my clients online and offline again. Some of them are, like, powerful business people. They know how to market they know how to talk about their stuff. Some of them are great in business. They're just a little bit quieter about it. And they worry a lot about talking too much about their books. They worry that they are, you know, posting too much about it. I can see on your face that you don't agree with that. *laughs*
Nadine
*laughs* I have one of those faces where it just shows I'm trying to really tailor my face but that never works.
Candice
If you're listening to the audio, go look at the YouTube, because Nadine does not have a poker face right now. But honestly, some of I've had clients say to me, especially those who are newer in business, "listen, I feel like I'm telling people about my book all the time." And they're not, because I follow them on social media. So what are your thoughts about that?
Nadine
Here's the reality of it. There's something called the algorithm, and with the algorithm, it limits the amount of people that see your content to very little, right? It's actually like less than 5% so if you have like, 1000 followers, less than 5% are actually seeing your content. It also depends on the time of the day as to who's going to actually see your content. So someone that sees it on Monday might not see it on Tuesday, versus sees it on Wednesday. So you can never post or promote enough. There's always opportunity to do more, because we are dealing with the algorithm, because so many of the people that we're connected to don't see our content. So I would say, never be afraid to post as much as you feel led and as many times as you feel led, because a lot of times people are not seeing it.
And here's the other caveat, too, when it comes to marketing, people are so busy nowadays. Back in the day, I remember they used to say six to seven touch points. They have to see a message six to seven times before they even remember it, before they even think twice about it. You have to have six or seven touch points. Now it's gone up to I think the last thing I heard was 12. They have to see the message 12 times before they even remember before it even resonates. So you have a responsibility to post as much as you can, because not only are you finding the algorithm of only showing a small percentage of your audience, but you're also battling people not having the attention span that they used to have back in the day. So just based on those two facts, algorithm and attention, you can't post enough.
Candice
Whew! I can play that for my group coaching program over and over and over, because I'm telling you, there's certain people that—and part of it is, you know, the reserved nature of certain people so I don't say that to, you know, make fun of anybody. It's just that I believe deeply in their books, right? I'm excited about their books. And if I'm scrolling through your social media and I can see like you're posting once a week about your book, and you're wondering why it's not moving your sales. Well, if 1000 people follow you and only what? 50 people even saw the post, Monday, and then a different 50 saw it on Tuesday, so they're not getting the repeated message, yeah, they're not really- you think that people are seeing it and they're not, is what it really is.
Nadine
Yeah, exactly. So always think about you're fighting that algorithm when it comes to online, and you're fighting people's attention span, so you need to consistently post.
Candice
But that goes back to your point about why offline is also so important, because you can't totally rely on online to just do the job for you.
Nadine
Yep, absolutely. Offline, I feel is more of the relationship building, you know? You make those connections and then someone says, "oh, you know, you can come to my event and promote your book." So you're making those offline connections which allows you to collaborate, allows you to reach different audiences, allows you to create partnerships. There's so many things that you can do when you build those relationships offline that will help you to promote your book even online! Yeah, when you make build those relationships,
Candice
A lot of my clients want—you just mentioned coming to events and talking about your book—a lot of my clients really want to use speaking as a way to build their business, but also as a way to sell more books. What's your take on that?
Nadine
I think it's perfect. I think speaking on different platforms is always a great way to spread the message of your book. So I think when it comes to the approach of speaking, it's always about the topic of your book. So say, for example, the topic of your book. is, I don't know, worry. How to overcome worrying. So, you're always approaching, you know, I want to share with your audience about five key steps or five key ways that they can overcome worrying. And then your book is a resource or reference or a point of allowing them to go deeper. So it's always approaching people as to what the message is from your book and how you can be a resource and a help for that particular audience.
So I always 110% agree that speaking is one of the best avenues and ways to sell books, but it's the approach. Some people say, "Oh, I have a book ABC, and I want to come on your podcast to talk about ABC," but I want to talk about more, like the message of the book. And then, yes, the book is going to be a resource. Yes, a book is going to be something that you point people to in order to go deeper. But I'm not interested in you just coming on my podcast to push your book. I'm interested in you coming on my podcast to help people who are struggling with worrying, right? It just so happens your book topic is about helping people overcome worrying. So that's what I would say about that approach.
Candice
Yeah, there's a way to pitch people where it's not all about you and all about your book. Yeah, it's about how you can serve their audience, and your book happens to be a resource.
Nadine
Exactly: a tool! People always want tools and resources and even a way to go deeper, because on a stage or in a podcast, it's limited. There's only a certain amount of time that you can talk about that topic. So it's offering people a tool, a resource and a way to go deeper, to get more help on that topic when you mention your book.
Candice
That brings me to a good point, because you talk about that as being one part of what you're offering people. So when you're looking at your clients, because some of your clients are there working with you to promote their books, but some have a whole business also. So, what are some ways you see a book sort of fitting into someone's overall marketing plan for their whole business?
Nadine
Yeah, a lot of times people are using books as lead generation, right? So they create a book which then leads people into their business. And then that business may be selling a course, it may be selling coaching, there may be a program, there may be an event. There's so many paths and avenues that one book can help lead more business into your business. So a book nowadays, a lot of times, business owners are looking at that as lead generation for their business and for a bigger item. Whether that bigger item is a course that's the same topic as the book, whether that big item is a coaching program that's the same topic as the book, or if it's a live event, a conference or a summit that you put on every year about that topic. That book now is a lead generation to push people into those other avenues of your business.
Candice
Yeah, I think that's one of the most effective things I've seen. My clients who books have been really successful in terms of helping their business grow, that's what they've done. They've used the book to bring more people into their pipeline, into their funnels, and into their businesses, clients and customers.
Nadine
Exactly, yep, definitely.
Candice
It definitely works. So you have published multiple books of your own and I want to talk to you about one in particular, which I'm hope I get the title right, "The Best Marketing Planner" is that right?
Nadine
It's perfect, yes that's the title!
Candice
I'm not that great with titles. I can remember a lot of stuff, but names I'm pretty good with, but titles I don't know why, do not stick in my head that well so I'm proud of myself for that. But tell us a little bit about that and about your journey in writing and publishing and marketing it.
Nadine
Yeah, definitely. So "The Best Marketing Planner" was actually my first book. And just like we talked about lead generation for your business, I heard people say, "if you have a certain method, and you're using that method on more than one person, and you're continuously talking about that method in your one on one coaching or in your groups, it's that same method you're always repeating, put it in a book. So that way, even if you're not around, someone can experience your method. Someone can go through your system. Someone can go through your signature way of doing business."
So the best is actually an acronym, and I put that method in a planner, and B.E.S.T stands for blogging, email, social, and text. So people can actually engage in the book and create their plan around those things when they create the best marketing planner. So the path to creating the book was like, okay, I have a methodology. I have a way that people can use and let me put that in a book, but not just put it in a book, but publish it so that people then have the ability to purchase it. And also, if I want to give a book away, you know, as a part of my coaching program, or for my clients, I have a published book that I can give them. So that was the actual process of me deciding, okay, I'm going to take the step and become an author, and my first book being that publishing off my actual method that I teach my clients.
Candice
So a lot of people are afraid to do that, Nadine. They're afraid to put their signature process in a book, because they think, well, if it's in a book, why would anyone come and work with me if they can just use the book? You obviously did not have that worry. Tell me why not?
Nadine
Because it goes back to- there's always levels to it. If someone wants to go deeper and get support, then that's the avenue to go into your business. "Okay, now I understand what her best marketing method is, but now I need help with it," right? "How can I go deeper?" So then that's an opportunity for them to get the handholding. Whether that's through a course or a program. So I would say that wouldn't be the right mindset to say, like, Woh, they won't come to me because they have a book." No, they'll come to you more because now they've been introduced to your method, they've been introduced to your system, but they want help with it. They want to go deeper with it. They want support with it. So that's why now all roads lead to you, the person who created the method, to now allow them to go deeper, to get the support, to get the help. To be honest, a lot of people struggle with just doing things on their own. They need the accountability, they need the coaching, they need the guidance. So a book is always the first step. But if they want to go deeper and get better results, stepping into a community, stepping into coaching, stepping into content in the form of a course, allows you to go deeper and get better results.
Candice
Yeah, I think if we—I love books, obviously my heart belongs to books—but I think if we could learn everything we ever needed and do it and apply it through books, most of us wouldn't be in business, right? Like there would be plenty- you'd just go to the library, you just go to the bookstore and learn how to do everything you want. But part of it is also the mentality and the mindset behind it, and it's hard to get out of your own way without the right coach or expert there to make you feel like you have a safety net, some support where you can get actual feedback from this person. I could buy all the books on marketing. And the truth is, I'm not a marketing expert. I would rather have a marketing expert I can turn to and say, "Am I doing this right? Because…"
Nadine
Exactly yeah. And even community like, if I think about some of the books that I purchased in the communities around it, like "Atomic Habits." You know, there's like people actually go through "Purpose Driven Life" by recording. It's like people actually will come together as a community to go through the content, to get support, to get accountability and to help with execution and implementation. So there's always an opportunity to go deeper. And that path to going deeper could be through coaching, it could be through a course, or it could be through community, like you just all go through it together, and then you get exchange insights and like, oh, well, how are you going to implement this piece? So I kind of look at it through the different paths, and community is one aspect, to have an accountability partner, a course to go deeper and, like we said, coaching. Actually having that expert holding your hand or being a part of their program.
Candice
Yeah I just cheered for those who are watching the video when you said Rick Warren, because I used to go to his church.
Nadine
"Purpose Driven Life" was one of the most powerful books I've read. I probably have my top 5 or top 10 that I've read like several times. And I think "Purpose Driven Life" is in in that top for sure. Yeah, "Think and Grow Rich". "Think and Grow Rich" is another one.
Candice
Yeah "Purpose Driven Life" was huge for me. And just like the community, which is what you mentioned, that they created with that church was a place where it was such a—I mean, it's in South Orange County, where the population is not that diverse—but when you got to the church, it was because it attracted all different kinds of people that, you know, he was able to build a community around. And that book actually really served the church, because the money went back to the church. So, you know, the same way, you can use your book to build a business, he used it to help build his church. Yeah, so that's that's available to you, no matter whether you're in a non-profit area, you have your own church. I do have clients that have their own church, and they're building their own churches, and they're building, you know, these wonderful communities around their churches, and they're using their books also to bring more people into that community.
Nadine
Yeah that's a perfect example, right there, exactly, with "Purpose Driven Life." And then you were talking another book that came up is "Boundaries". I read that earlier this year, by Henry Cloud. That also allows you to have like, a series, like, there's boundaries for teenagers, boundaries in marriage, boundaries in like, you know… So creating that community around a specific niche also can really help when it comes to creating—like, I could have a best planner for CEOs, a best planner for creatives, best planner… Yeah, look at me throwing out some ideas for myself already.
Candice
Get those books out there!
Nadine
Yeah, we'll niche it down to a specific group of people.
Candice
But it's very true. I mean, one of my clients, she did a personal finance book for college students, and then she did one for women, and then she did one for men, like people who are beyond college age. And each of those books built on the same principles, but she just tweaked them so that they really focused and niched down to the audience in that book. She didn't have to create everything out of whole cloth. It's the same principles, and she brought them to that niche. And of course, her marketing was niched down to those people for each book.
Nadine
Exactly. So then you look for group, groups that talk to youth, or groups that are for men, and you know, it's tailored to that audience. So, you know, I hope you guys are paying attention when you listen, because we're just throwing some gems at you. If you already have a methodology or system or something, that you have a way to actually niche it down and sell to different types of groups and even create a series in your book. So if you already have a business book, like I have "The Best Marketing Planner", I can niche it down and create a series within that and sell more books that way.
Candice
Yeah, I love that idea. I love it. And I love it when I see people do it, because it really is… I mean, people want to feel like you're talking to them. So the more specific you can be, the more they feel like you're talking to them. So that works incredibly well.
Nadine
And you know the irony of that, Candice, a lot of people fear niching down.
Candice
Oh yeah.
Nadine
It's actually a mindset that's the opposite. They feel like if they do niche down, they lose people, because now they're calling out men, they're calling out teenagers. And then what about people who aren't men? What about people who aren't teenagers? They don't really understand. And this is one of the quotes in my planner. My quote, that I quote in the planner is that "the riches are in the niches," right? It's something we probably all heard before, but it's a fact, so if you actually narrow it down, that's when people can raise their hand and say, "Oh, I'm a man."
Candice
"That's me!"
Nadine
"Well, I'm a teenager," "I'm a woman. Let me pick that book up!" So the mindset shift is really to move away from “your eliminating people” to “your attracting people.”
Candice
Yeah, and it's interesting, because, I mean—and I was, I was there, so I'm not, like, mocking anyone. I used to feel the same way, like afraid to identify who I'm talking to, because what if someone else thinks I'm not talking to them? I've been there. And it's the same when you're writing your book, right? You need to be talking to a particular category of people, because if you're trying to talk to everybody, you can't tweak your message, direct your message in a specific enough way that really anyone's gonna connect to.
Nadine
Exactly.
Candice
I mean, I mostly talk to women like with you see me talking it seems like she works with women, but I've had some- that hasn't stopped men from working with me. I've still attracted some amazing male clients, and they have been great because it's a whole different energy than the women who I also love working with, but it's nice that they still come to work with me, even though, if you see my messaging, it tends to seem like it's mostly for women, because that's who I target. But it hasn't stopped me from having some men come into my world to work with me as well.
Nadine
Yeah and I think the amazing thing about that is, like, when people are just attracted to you. Who you are, how you're showing up, your energy, they kind of disregard the fact that you said, "Oh, I'm just for women." Or, you know, well, you don't say "just," but, "I'm for women". They're like, "I want to work with her." It does not matter that most of her clients are women. It does not matter that she works mainly with kids. I like her energy. I like her vibe. I feel she's the one that can help me, you know, get to the next level. So people will be attracted to you based on how you're being versus, oh, she's niched down to this particular group, so I can't work with her.
Candice
Exactly. I think that there's just such a desire to succeed that you can get a kind of a blind spot about thinking, well, if I could just sell to everybody, then it's going to be okay. And the truth is, your book, probably, almost anyone could learn something from your book. It doesn't matter what your book is about, almost anyone could learn something from it. But your book isn't for everyone. So focus on who really can benefit from it.
Nadine
Exactly. Definitely.
Candice
So if you were talking to someone who's just setting out to write their book, they're just, in the idea phase, they're getting ready to write their book, and they were saying, "Nadine, What's marketing going to be like? Where should I start? What's the one thing I need to make sure that I do in this process?" What's the one tip you would give them to really be focused and make sure they succeed in getting their book out to the right readers?
Nadine
Yeah, I think I love starting with the why. You heard Simon Sinek, say, "start with the why." What is the intent? What is the purpose? Why are you writing this book? If you keep that in your heart, it gives you the motivation, the courage, the ability to move forward with everything that you need to do to market and promote your book.
So if your intent is to make the biggest impact, if your intent is to make a difference, if your intent is to change somebody's life, you have to keep that in the forefront in order to do the marketing—in order to put the effort in. So really stay in tune with your intent and the impact that you're trying to make. It's not really about you, it's about the people that you're going to help. So I think once you focus less on yourself and more on the people that this book will help and the reason why you want to write the book, then marketing it and promoting it and getting the word out there is motivating for you. It's like, "I need to reach more people. More people need to overcome this. More people need to know about this method." So I think that, to me, is probably the first step, as you're even writing the book. Making sure that you're clear on that intent—your why, your purpose—and really understanding that it's not about you, it's about those people that you're going to help at the end of the day.
Candice
That's a fantastic message that is so much in alignment with what I tell people. If you can take the focus—you do need to know what you want from the book—but if you can take the focus off of you and really focus on who those people are that you're serving and what you want them to get out of it, it's going to inform your writing, it's going to inform your marketing, everything, and it'll make it all so much easier.
Nadine
Exactly, yeah. It's one of the foundational pieces—I talk about Five Foundational Pieces, purpose being one of them, vision, mission, calling, and core message. So really focusing on those foundational pieces as you write the book, after you've written the book and you've launched it, and then after it's launched. Because we always want to focus on all three stages, pre, during and after.
Candice
Yeah, it's so easy to get to launch, and you just have put in so much work at this point, and you launch, and now you're tired. You're just tired.
Nadine
You're tired! Yeah, I honestly, Candice, feel a gap in the market. I feel like so many people put their energy, time, and effort towards the launch. It's like, they birth the baby, and then they forget to raise the baby.
Candice
*laughs*
Nadine
The baby's born, and you, like, left the baby in the stroller. And like, "Okay, I'm done here." No, that's actually kids. Now you have to feed the baby. Now the baby has to grow. So it really is a gap in the market. It's not just about launching and getting the book out there. Now it's about stewarding that message and reaching more people and doing the marketing and promoting. That's the beginning, not the end, right?
Candice
But that's actually, like, such a beautiful thing, because what that means is that this book that you've taken, you know, sometimes, for some people, a couple of years, to write and publish, to get out into the world. You're not just done with it. And it's not just done with you after you launch. You're there for each other. It's there to serve you, and you're there to promote it, hopefully for years beyond the time.
Nadine
Yeah! It's a legacy. It really is because look who we're talking about and thinking about. One of the books I mentioned on my top 10 of all time impactful books is "Think and Grow Rich".
Candice
Yeah.
Nadine
"Think and Grow Rich" was written, I want to say I don't even know the time frame when it was written . . .
Candice
Yeah, maybe the 40s? I don't know a long time ago.
Nadine
That popped into to my head too. So I want to say it was the 40s. I'm not sure, but the principles in that book remain true. And it still remains, you know, a well sought after, well read book. How many years, decades later, right? The the biggest best seller as we know the Bible, right? The Bible continues to sell.
Candice
Correct.
Nadine
It's a top seller every single year, you know. So it really is generational. It's legacy. It's impactful. There's so many other words that I can think of when it comes to the power of your book and the message that your book has for the people.
Candice
So before I let you go, tell people exactly how you can help authors who want to get their book out there. How do you serve those people?
Nadine
Yeah, so I think I mentioned before, like, the gap that I find when it comes to any book, any business or any brand, is not having a written plan. So how I serve is showing up to decrease that gap where it's not just like, "oh yeah, I need to do these things to market and promote my book," but you actually have a written plan. You actually have a calendar, you actually have a schedule. It eliminates overwhelm, it eliminates frustration. There's so many things that it eliminates when you have a plan.
So my role really is to step in to co-create that plan with you. Let's talk about what needs to happen for the next 90 days to make sure you're consistently marketing and promoting your book. Really getting clear on your foundational pieces, you know, making sure that you have your vision, your mission, your core message, because we're going to lead with your core message. You know, making sure that we know exactly what we're putting in content-wise. What are you putting on social media? What is that leading to, you know, having a flow for your marketing? So I really help my clients to get that clarity when it comes to marketing their book. I help them to have something written down that they can then run with it. Whether it's running by themselves or getting support in executing it. That is really my role. That is really my sweet spot. It really is helping them to strategize what their marketing and promoting needs to look like, and actually having a plan that's written down to then execute and conquer.
Candice
Yeah, that plan is huge. It makes such a big difference. So where can they find you if they would like to find out more about your services and more about what you do. Where can people find you?
Nadine
Yeah, the best place is my website. So it's my name, nadinemullings.com so that is the hub for everything that I do. So that will be the best place to connect with me. I also have a special offer for your audience if they want to learn two powerful ways to market and promote their book, they can go to nadinemullings.com/power and that will allow them to get to the download about two powerful ways to market their book.
Candice
We'll put all of that in the show notes so people can come and find you and get some help with marketing the book that they put so much effort into writing and publishing and bringing into the world. Nadine I so appreciate this. I have learned a lot, and I have been nudged to do the things that I know I should be doing. *laughs*
Nadine
*laughs* That is what I'm here for, those nudges.
Candice
Thank you so much. I so appreciate you coming on.
Nadine
Yeah, you're welcome. Thank you so much for the opportunity to serve your audience and to have a conversation with you. That's always a great thing.
Candice
It's my pleasure. Thanks for listening to Nothing but the Words.