Revenue Writers Podcast

with Chris Stanley

For people who turn words into wealth. www.minibook.news

  1. Why People Aren’t Buying from You Yet + How to Save 50% on the First Ever Smart Book

    Jan 5

    Why People Aren’t Buying from You Yet + How to Save 50% on the First Ever Smart Book

    Hey Revenue Writers, We are 3 days away from Mini Book Flywheel officially being released on Amazon. (I know you all have read the original drafts months ago) But this manuscript has been overhauled, massively changed, for the better. The editor I worked with, Blaise, is top notch at making this book finally make sense. The book is now broken into two parts, PART 1: The 3 Reasons Your Business is Still ForgettablePART 2: 4 Qualities of Memorable Businesses and How to Create them with a Mini Book Flywheel One thing I realized a day before finalizing the manuscript was… the big problem we all face. Belief Breakdown. In the book I describe it like this, “Let me guess: You’ve tried to grow your business by building sales funnels, running promotions, creating content, or spinning up new offers every month… But nothing seems to stick. You feel like you’re doing everything right, but no one remembers you. You’ve got the skill. You’ve got the heart. But your business? Still invisible. That’s what I call the Belief Breakdown. You know you can help people, but the market doesn’t believe you yet.” The book tackles three symptoms of Belief Breakdown in Part 1.1. Credibility Crisis - no trust (That’s the chapter in this post)2. Tornado Trap - no momentum3. Identity Invisibility - no memory All 3 of those lead and are a result of Belief Breakdown. Heads Up - Why You Might Want to Buy the eBook I mentioned it previously, but I’m launching Mini Book Flywheel as the first ever Smart Book. This will be a book that is interactive, integrated, inspiration, and informational all on one screen. Problem is… I can’t do that inside of Amazon. I’ll be selling the Smart Book separate form Amazon but anyone that buys the Amazon eBook (or already pre-ordered it) will have a code in the book to save 50% off the Smart Book edition. So if you haven’t reserved your copy of Mini Book Flywheel you’ll see a huge savings for the Smart Book. Alright, here is this weeks finalized chapter, audiobook, and video that I’ll be using inside the Smart Book. The Credibility Crisis “No one trusts you.” That’s how I felt in 2017. I was six months into my online business, helping independent insurance adjusters learn how to inspect damaged vehicles. People in my space that were on LinkedIn didn’t like it. I had a lot of haters and doubters. “Who are YOU to give advice?” “What’s your adjuster license number?” “Have you even done this job?” “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” One CEO even tried to gently deliver what he thought was an obvious truth: “Listen, I don’t think you can make a living doing this.” He proposed a different path for my life. Each comment cut deeper than I expected. My confidence? Shattered. I was having a Credibility Crisis and it’s the first problem most of us face in our businesses. It’s the first fracture in the Belief Breakdown: when people don’t trust you yet, belief can’t begin to form. Luckily, I was hard-headed enough to keep talking anyway. I launched the Independent Adjuster Podcast. I rolled out courses and offers, even though most of them flopped. The only progress I made was when I answered questions one-on-one for anyone who asked. That took time and didn’t make me any money. But it gave me exactly the raw material that I needed: it told me what questions people needed answers to. So I used those questions to write The Independent Adjuster’s Playbook, a Mini Book that would ultimately turn my business around. That first year, I only made $25,000 and by almost anyone’s honest assessment, I probably should have quit. But then something strange happened. People said, “I’ve been listening to you for months and finally had the money to buy.” Industry leaders started asking for my opinion and advice. Other companies in our space began calling me “The Auto Guy.” Now, 8+ years later, people still buy my $5,000+ certification and say, “I’ve been on your email list for years. I’m finally ready.” At some point it dawned on me that by writing the Independent Adjusters Playbook, I had something I could build my business around. I had a Belief Flywheel. All of the energy that I had put into the business finally had a place to go in the book. That book started the flywheel turning, and now it just keeps turning on its own, energizing my business even when I’m not actively promoting it. That’s what makes a flywheel so powerful. Flywheels are almost as old as human history. Ancient Egyptian potters used them for throwing ceramics: they realized that if you start a big heavy wheel turning, it will keep spinning while you’re working on your pot. It stores the energy in movement so you can use it later. In a car it works the same way. The starter motor engages the flywheel to turn the engine from a dead stop. Once the engine fires, the flywheel’s stored momentum helps keep everything rotating smoothly so the engine doesn’t stall when the car is at a stand still. When you’re dealing with the credibility crisis, you’re like the starter turning the flywheel. The results don’t show up right away. But once the flywheel starts turning, it keeps people in your orbit. It’s a gravity field that pulls someone from stranger, to subscriber, to superfan. It’s a belief loop that spins until someone says, “I trust you. Let’s go.” That’s when the machine really takes off. I didn’t set out to build a Belief Flywheel. But I’m glad I didn’t quit in those early days when everything felt impossible. Because the flywheel grew. Stripe Revenue: 2017 → $23,000 2018 → $51,000 2019 → $141,000 2020 → $266,000 2022 → $500,000 2023 → $750,000 It was slow. It was messy. It was invisible. Until it wasn’t. That’s the power of a flywheel. It compounds belief until the momentum becomes unstoppable. Escaping the Credibility Crisis A Credibility Crisis doesn’t kill your business because you’re wrong. It kills your business because you quit before people have time to believe. I almost quit, but I didn’t. Kept spinning. Kept publishing. Kept showing up. Kept putting my energy into the flywheel. That’s what turns strangers into believers. Doubters into buyers. Lurkers into lifelong customers. And in our world, belief is the difference between a business that thrives and one that dies. Because belief creates reputation. Reputation creates revenue. And revenue builds the business you were born to lead. It doesn’t matter what kind of business you are in, you need belief. Belief in you. Belief in your product. Belief in your category. Because if people believe you can help them, they’ll remember you, and turn to you for help when they need it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minibook.news/subscribe

    6 min
  2. 12/29/2025

    First Look at the First Ever Smart Book + Introduction Chapter

    Hey Revenue Writers, Hope your Christmas was AMAZING. I’ve been steadily working to make Mini Book Flywheel the very first ever Smart Book. You can see the screenshot below of what I’ve created so you don’t have to switch screens or stop listening to switch from reading the text, to filling out the workbook, to talking with the AI version of me (Coach) so you can speed up the time from inspiration to implementation in your business. See some examples of what it looks like below. Scrolled down further…. (Workbook Selected) A Smart Book combines text, audio, video, workbook, and AI all in one screen so implementation is easy. My goal is to make Mini Book Flywheel not for readers, but for users. For people to apply the principles and change their business and lives. How I’m Building the Smart Book I won’t give away too many secrets yet, but the goal for me is to make YOU (founding members of this Substack) to be able to create a Smart Book just like me as soon as I release my own. I won’t have a separate platform you have to pay monthly or that you have to post your Smart Book too. (not yet, maybe one day I’ll offer it if its helpful) I’ve built it in a way that makes implementation of a Smart Book work ANYWHERE, on any platform, for anyone. So you aren’t held hostage to me or anyone else to develop your own Smart Book. Why You Might Want to Create a Smart Book and Not Just an Ebook or Physical Book Smart Books are a new type of product. While people expect to pay $10 or less for an eBook a Smart Book provides interaction and integration as well as inspiration and information. This means you can charge more for it. While I’m the guinea pig (I’ll share results as I have them) I’ll be publishing an eBook & physical book on Amazon but inside it upselling to a Smart Book for 10x the cost. It’s closer to the value people would see in a course. (but in my mind more helpful and freaking different!) This isn’t watch hours of videos, it’s listen/read the book and apply it with help from an AI trained on this immediately on the same page. It’s flush it out in real time without getting distracted. The value of getting the 95% of people who read a nonfiction book but don’t do anything, to move and get a result with your book, is INFINITELY more valuable than an eBook. Alright, I’m excited, but I’ll talk with you all later, for now enjoy the video/audio of the Introduction that I’m using in the Smart Book. Enjoy the first chapter of Mini Book Flywheel. Happy spinning. Introduction: From Forgotten to Unforgettable For the last few years, I’ve run my business from a sailboat, writing on the deck, anchored in the Florida Keys, kids splashing in the water nearby. The business generates over $700K a year in revenue, and I work fewer hours than ever, supported by a small, high-performing team. Sounds like a dream, right? But here’s the truth: this didn’t happen because of ads, funnels, or some secret sales hack. It happened because of one tiny, powerful, almost-overlooked idea… A flywheel. And at the center of that flywheel? A Mini Book. I accidentally became what I call a Revenue Writer. A Revenue Writer is someone who uses writing as the primary engine of their business. Not a dancing monkey on Tiktok or someone walking the endless content treadmill to chase likes or build an audience, but a writer who uses writing to create trust, clarify a point of view, and of course generate, revenue through belief instead of pressure. When I first published The Independent Adjuster’s Playbook, which was my first ever Mini Book, in 2017, I wasn’t focused on trying to build a brand or become an authority. I wasn’t trying to become a Revenue Writer. I was just trying to answer the same questions people kept asking me that I was sick of repeating. But something unexpected happened: that little book became the gravitational center of everything else. People started calling me “The Auto Guy.” Partners referred clients without incentives. Sales started coming in weeks, months, even years after they’d heard my offer. And I stopped chasing attention…because attention started chasing me. That’s when I realized what I’d accidentally built: A Flywheel. The Problem Let me guess: You’ve tried to grow your business by building sales funnels, running promotions, creating content, or spinning up new offers every month… But nothing seems to stick. You feel like you’re doing everything right, but no one remembers you. You’ve got the skill. You’ve got the heart. But your business? Still invisible. That’s what I call the Credibility Crisis. You know you can help people, but the market doesn’t believe you yet. And in a world flooded with fake gurus and funnel bros, your audience is skeptical and they should be. Sales funnels try to extract value. But Flywheels? They create belief. They create value. And when you use a Mini Book as the center of your flywheel, everything changes. The Promise: Build a Brand People Remember (Even When You’re Not Around) This book is the sixth part of my Mini Book Revenue Series, a framework for turning your ideas into a full-stack business. Here’s the formula to create a Revenue Machine through being a Revenue Writer: * Your Niche is the chassis * Your Mini Book is the engine * Marketing is the transmission * Products are the wheels * Your Brand is the body * Community is the fuel * Metrics are the dashboard This book focuses on the body, your brand, and how to make it unforgettable by creating a flywheel, specifically, a Belief Flywheel built on a Mini Book. I’ll show you how to build a business that keeps growing, even when you’re offline. Even when you’re on a sailboat (or wherever your dream life takes you). What You’ll Learn In this book, you’ll learn: * Why sales funnels only work when trust already exists * The difference between funnels and flywheels, and why one disappears fast while the other compounds for years * How to position your Mini Book as the core of your category, not just a piece of content * The 3 types of Revenue Writers and how each can use a Mini Book to build belief * How to use your book to create a Mini Book Flywheel that spins out content, conversations, and customers * Why Mini Books are the clearest, fastest way to define your POV, name your category, and make your business unforgettable What to Expect This book is short. It’s actionable. It’s not just about writing, it’s about building. The first part of the book is diagnosing where you are stuck at. Each chapter in the second part of the book tackles one an aspect of your flywheel and gives you tools to start applying it right away. This isn’t theory. It’s a blueprint. And I know it works because I’ve built my entire business on it. If you’ve ever felt invisible… If your content gets ignored… If your sales depend on constant output and hustle… Then this book will give you something better: a system that builds belief and revenue over time and a brand people trust, even when you’re not in the room. Let’s get your flywheel spinning. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minibook.news/subscribe

    6 min
  3. 08/29/2025

    Book Series: Why I’ll Take 333 Raving Fans Over 1,430 Readers Any Day

    This is a chapter from Mini Book Money: How to Turn 10,000 Words Into $10,000+ which releases September 8th on Amazon. In this chapter, I’m taking on one of the biggest traps holding authors back: the Big Book Bottleneck. Most authors never finish their book, or worse, finish it and still struggle to earn. Why? Because they bet everything on one big book that takes too long to write, too long to sell, and doesn’t give readers a reason to stick around. Instead, I’ll show you how to flip the model using the Mini Book Momentum Method, a smarter way to write, publish, and profit. We’ll do the math, show you how to build a profitable book series, and walk through how I earned over $10K from slow-selling titles by turning one big idea into a modular book business. Mini Book Revenue Writers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. What You’ll Learn: * Why big books stall progress and kill momentum * How to break one book into a five-part series readers love * The strategy that helped me earn $14K from midlist books alone * How to structure, price, and launch a Mini Book series that scales with your readers * A step-by-step system for stacking revenue and increasing lifetime value Mini Book Series Blueprint: * Book 1: Introduce the roadmap and open the loop * Books 2–5: Solve specific problems, build trust, and keep readers moving * Expand: Use each book as a launchpad for products, coaching, and services Pricing Strategy Breakdown: * Roadmap Book: $0.99–$2.99 to build trust and momentum * Follow-Up Books: $4.99–$9.99 to maximize revenue per reader * Why selling 333 readers five books at $9.99 each is smarter than chasing 1,400 new readers for one book Enjoy! Chris Stanley Mini Book Revenue Writers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minibook.news/subscribe

    11 min
  4. 08/21/2025

    Audiobooks: Turning Your Voice into a $10K Audio Opportunity

    This is a chapter from Mini Book Money: How to Turn 10,000 Words Into $10,000+ which releases September 8th on Amazon.  Audio books turning your voice into a $10,000 audio opportunity. People read books, but they live inside audio. Text is skimmable. But audio is immersive. If you're not giving people a way to listen, you're leaving money on the table. An audio book turns passive readers into active buyers because hearing your voice builds trust in a way. Text never can. It's the difference between someone flipping through pages and someone spending hours with you in their ears. If you don't have an audio book, you are invisible to 50% of your potential audience. While traditional book readership has slowed, audio books are gaining traction. It is a $5 billion industry and demand continues to rise. People are busier than ever and audio allows them to consume content while driving, working out, or doing daily tasks. If you already have a manuscript recording, an audiobook adds an additional revenue stream. Audiobooks also enhance your credibility when customers see ebook, paperback, hardback, and audiobook options on your Amazon page. They perceive you as a professional having an audiobook listed alongside your book signals to potential buyers that your content is well developed beyond credibility. Audiobooks JI meaningful revenue. Many authors overlook this opportunity, but those who capitalize on it are able to significantly increase their earnings. How to record and package your audio book. You can record and distribute your audio book yourself or hire a narrator. Find a way Voices allows you to self-publish your audiobooks. Much like Amazon, KDP does for books, they distribute your audiobook to major platforms, including Audible, Spotify, apple Books, and other retailers. As the author, your role is to produce and edit the audiobook while find a way handles distribution. Some platforms such as Audible through a CX requires exclusivity in exchange for higher royalties. However, non-exclusive distribution allows you to sell your audiobook on your own website, giving you more control over your pricing. Options for recording. Recording your own audio book can create a stronger connection with listeners. If a customer hears your voice in an audio book and later interacts with you through coaching courses or live events, they feel like they already know you. This increases trust and makes them more likely to buy from you. Again, DIY, recording, setup, microphone, sure. And Preamp or Road Wireless. Go two. That is what I'm using right now. This setup is about 150 to $400, depending on the mic you choose. Software Descrip $30 a month. Recording tips read slower than usual. Audio books sound better when paced naturally, and people can speed 'em up if they want. If you make a mistake, pause and restart the line. The script will mark it as a retake. Simplifying editing. Turn off background noise like air conditioners or fans before recording. Use script's studio sound feature to enhance focal quality record one chapter at a time as separate files. This makes editing easier and prevents data loss. Treat audio book recording as a final edit of your book. Fix any errors you find while reading aloud. Hiring a narrator. If you prefer not to record your audio book, you can hire a professional narrator. Narrators typically charge between 150 to $400 per finished hour because many books are shorter. Your total cost will range from about 150 to $600. Find a way Voices has a built-in marketplace for professional narrators, making the process simple. Hiring a narrator is a good option if you want a polished recording. Without the time commitment of a DIY production. Using AI as a narrator, AI generated narration is becoming more common. Audible offers AI generated narration through KDP, but to me the quality is inconsistent. If you choose ai, consider using 11 labs, which provides higher quality text to speech conversion. AI narration can be a cost-effective option, but it lacks the personal connection of a human voice. If you plan to use your audiobook as a relationship building tool, recording it yourself is probably the better choice. Pricing strategies on Audible. Amazon's audio book service and the big boy of the industry. Authors cannot control pricing. I'm gonna say that again on Audible. Amazon's audio book service authors cannot control pricing, but we can sell it in other ways. Audible sets prices based on audio book length, which often results in your mini audio book price being. Under $5. This makes it difficult to generate substantial revenue. Unless you have high sales volume outside of Audible, you have more flexibility. Selling audiobooks directly allows you to set a price that aligns with your revenue goals. For a niche nonfiction book, I found $20 is a sweet spot for an audio book. It is inexpensive enough to be obtainable. But premium enough to be valued. Plus, it is desirable enough to get someone to pull the trigger so they can get the information quicker than reading. When you combine your audio book with your existing book, exciting things start to happen. The 10 K mini audio book Playbook. When I launched the independent adjusters playbook, I earned $2,000 in the first week, largely because of the audio book. I used a simple sales funnel to increase the average order value. Here's how the funnel worked. One free plus shipping offer. I offered a free physical copy of the book at the customer's paid $7 for shipping, two audiobook upsell. During checkout, I offered an audiobook and ebook bundle for $20. This gave buyers immediate access to the content while they waited for the physical book final upsell. After checkout, I introduced an additional product bundle priced at $40. This provided deeper resources related to the books topic. By the end of the first week, 100 customers had purchased through this funnel, and the average order value was $20. If I continued running this system, I'd have easily surpassed $10,000 in audiobook sales within the year. This approach can be replicated if handling physical book shipping is a challenge. Focus on digital bundles. Instead, offer an ebook plus audiobook package for 20 to $30 on your website. Since Find A Way Voices allows non-exclusive distribution, you can sell audiobooks at a higher price outside of Audible volume. Play the 10 K mini audiobook funnel if you want a step-by-step system for selling audiobooks at a higher price. Here's a proven approach, one. Offer a free chapter. Let the potential buyer listen to the first chapter of your audiobook for free. Two, sell the audiobook and ebook bundle. Price it at 20 to $30 on your website, and add an upsell. Offer some kind of digital product download course for an additional 40 to a hundred dollars a checkout. You'll find out more about these product types in the rest of this book. This method increases the average order value while making the audio book. Part of your broader business offerings, high ticket play, $99 audiobook funnel. Instead of just selling an audiobook, you could also sell access to you by bundling it with a one hour consultation call for $99. Here's why this works. They hear your voice twice in the audiobook and on the call building instant trust. You position yourself as an expert. Not just an author. The call delivers value while naturally leading to higher ticket coaching or services. Set it up with a simple landing page. Deliver the audio book immediately and let them book the call through something like Calendly. If just 100 people buy, that's a $9,900 in revenue, plus the potential for long-term clients. At the end of your consultation, you offer them ongoing services for your coaching product or service with a simple call to action. Would you like to keep working together to accomplish this? Because you've already proven you know your stuff, they know your thinking, and this call helps 'em decide if they like working with you. If your goal is to sell higher ticket services, start treating your audiobook like a front end sales tool. Remember, think differently. Most authors just sell books, but revenue writers build businesses. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minibook.news/subscribe

    10 min
  5. 08/07/2025

    The First $10K Book Strategy (Audiobook + Guide Inside)

    This is Chapter 1 of Mini Book Money: How to Turn 10,000 Words into $10,000. (releases September 8th on Amazon) Why Your Book is More Than Just a Book Books are one of the fastest ways to establish credibility, build authority, and generate revenue. Ebooks provide a low-barrier entry point for customers, making them an ideal first step into your world. But digital isn’t the only game. Physical books increase legitimacy, attract serious buyers, and boost revenue. With Amazon KDP and print-on-demand services, you can offer both digital and physical formats without holding inventory or managing logistics. Many authors leave money on the table by ignoring paperback and hardcover editions. How to Write a Mini Book in 7 Days My top 3 most popular books (out of my 28) were written in less than a week. You already have life experience and knowledge that can help others. Combine that with a 10,000-word manuscript, and you have a Mini Book. That Mini Book lays the foundation for a six-figure business. Here’s how to get it done in seven days. Day 1: Set the Foundation * Title, Subtitle, and Cover – Your title is your hook. Make it clear and compelling. * Power Promise – What transformation are you promising? * Outline Your Book – Choose a structure and fill in your key points. * The W’s Method – Turn questions into chapters. * Answer – Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How about your topic. * Each question becomes a chapter, making your book clear and structured. * Perfect for explaining concepts, frameworks, or industries. * The Sequential Method – Step-by-step simplicity. * Break down your process into a clear, logical sequence. * Each step is a chapter, plus any must-know info before they start. * Ideal for guides, how-to books, and systems that require execution. * The 10 Problems Method – Solve what matters most. * List the 10 biggest problems your audience faces. * Each chapter delivers the solution to one of those problems. * Great for coaches, consultants, and industry experts looking to showcase authority. * Add 3 Points Per Chapter & 3 Sub Points Per Point Which outline method fits your book best? Pick one, and you’re already halfway there. By the end of Day 1, you should have a working title, a strong promise, and a fully structured outline. Days 2-6: Write 1,500 Words Per Day * Stick to 1,000-1,500 words per day to reach 10,000 words in a week. * Each day, write one full chapter, using: * The 3 Key Points per Chapter Method – Keeps content clear and digestible. * Sub-Points for Clarity – Stories, frameworks, and actionable takeaways. If you follow this process, you will have a nearly complete draft by the end of Day 6. Day 7: Finish & Polish * Complete missing sections and smooth transitions. * Light editing – Don’t aim for perfection. Focus on clarity and flow. * Use AI tools – Copy and paste one chapter at a time into ChatGPT for a quick spellcheck and basic editing. * Add a Lead Magnet – Ensure your book includes a call-to-action that leads readers to your next step (download, course, bonus, etc.). At the end of Day 7, your book is written. Now, you can refine it, but the hardest part, writing, is done. If you need more detailed breakdown on how to do these steps I wrote an entire mini book about my outlining and writing process called Mini Book Writing that'll walk you through every step of the writing process. Publishing & Creating a Physical Book Once your 10,000-word manuscript is ready, it takes less than an hour to publish it to Amazon. When publishing through Amazon KDP, always create all available formats, ebook, paperback, and hardback, to maximize revenue. The paperback and hardback versions are simple to set up. KDP allows you to copy over your digital details, upload a different size cover, and in minutes, your physical edition is ready for review. Pro Move: Choose categories where the #1 book sells fewer than 20 copies per day. If you can reach Amazon Best-Seller status, promoting your book becomes 10X easier. If you need help with the details of publishing your book to Amazon's KDP you can grab my book, Mini Book Publishing which has screenshots and step by step instructions for the entire process. Pricing – $10k MINI BOOK PLAN Most authors price their books too low and wonder why they never make money. If you want to hit $10K from a single book, you need to price it inside Amazon’s sweet spot where you get maximum royalties and premium buyers. If you price too low, you’ll need thousands of sales to hit that number. But when you price strategically, a fraction of that gets you there. THE 3-TIER AMAZON PRICING STRATEGY 1. LOW-TICKET ($0 - $2.99) – LEAD GENERATION * Best for: Getting new buyers in the door and building an audience. * Ebook: Free - $2.99 (great for Kindle promotions). * Paperback: $4.99 - $9.99 (impulse buy pricing). * Why it works: This strategy helps boost Amazon visibility and reviews, but it won’t generate real revenue alone. 2. MID-TICKET ($3.99 - $9.99 for ebooks, $9.99 - $14.99 for paperbacks) – AUTHORITY BUILDER * Best for: Balancing sales volume and profit. * Ebook: $3.99 - $9.99 (Amazon’s highest 70% royalty rate). * Paperback: $9.99 - $14.99 (optimal pricing for nonfiction buyers). * Why it works: Keeps the book affordable while still bringing in solid revenue. 3. HIGH-TICKET ($9.99+ for ebooks, $15.99 - $99.99 for paperbacks) – PREMIUM NICHE PLAY * Best for: Manuals, industry-specific books, and premium knowledge. * Ebook: $9.99 (Amazon’s cap for 70% royalties). * Paperback: $15.99 - $99.99 (higher perceived value). * Why it works: Pricing higher attracts serious buyers and positions your book as a must-have resource, not just another cheap read. HOW I MADE $14,000 FROM ONE BOOK ON AMAZON When I wrote The Auto Adjuster's Playbook, I didn’t just throw another book on Amazon and hope it sold. I built it as a manual for my students, the exact information they needed when they were on the job and didn’t have access to me. This information many had to spend thousands of dollars to learn inside of our coaching program. Because I knew this book had tremendous value, I priced it at a premium: * Ebook: $9.99 (highest price for Amazon’s 70% royalty). * Paperback: $24.99 (priced as a serious, must-have resource). Over five years, that one book made me $14,000+ in passive royalties. That’s just from book sales. The real money came from students who read it and then signed up for my coaching and courses. This is why pricing strategically matters. If I had priced it at $0.99 for the ebook, I would have needed 10X the sales to make the same amount. THE 1,000 SALES PLAN – HOW TO PREDICTABLY EARN $10K+ Hitting $10K+ from one book is just math. (numbers are for physical books) * 1,000 copies at $9.99 = $10,000+ * 500 copies at $19.99 = $10,000 * 250 copies at $39.99 = $10,000 Higher pricing means you need fewer buyers to hit your revenue goal. If you sell to a niche audience first, you don’t need huge volume to make real money. WHY THIS WORKS & WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU Most authors think of a book as the product. Revenue Writers see books as an engine for wealth. Pricing high tells buyers this book is valuable. If you sell a book for $0.99, people assume it’s not worth much. But when it’s priced at $9.99+? It becomes a real asset. When you step onto the Revenue Track with your Mini Book, you’re not just another author, you’re an authority. A higher price isn’t just about making more money per sale, it’s about positioning you as the go-to expert in your field. Your book becomes part of your business strategy. Instead of treating your book as a one-time sale, position it as a lead-in to bigger opportunities. Also, Amazon punishes low pricing. If your ebook is priced below $2.99, Amazon only pays you 35% royalties, meaning a $0.99 book earns you just $0.35 per sale. To hit $10,000, you’d need to sell a staggering 28,571 copies. But if you price at $9.99, Amazon pays you 70% royalties ($6.99 per sale) and now you only need 1,431 buyers to reach the same $10K. Fewer sales, more profit, smarter strategy. If you follow this, your book won’t just make $10K+ in royalties, but your mini book will become a revenue-generating asset. Now, if you want a faster path to $10k, let’s talk about models that take less time but still generate serious revenue. Let’s keep going. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minibook.news/subscribe

    11 min
  6. 08/04/2025

    The Fork in the Road: Hobby Author or Revenue Writer? (Free Audiobook)

    Hey Revenue Writers, We are about 1 month away from the launch of my next book, Mini Book Money: How to Turn 10,000 Words into $10,000. (releases September 8th on Amazon) I wanted to record an audiobook and give it away to you all, before the book ever came out. I’ll be releasing it chapter by chapter here. I hope this helps you begin to see how you can generate income from your ideas faster and in more ways than you ever thought possible. Enjoy! Mini Book Money: Introduction The Revenue Track – Why Your Mini Book is the Key to Everything Most authors never make money. They write a book, hope it sells, and wonder why it doesn’t. A book is not the goal. It is the tool. Your Mini Book is the entry point to the Revenue Track, the path that turns readers into customers and customers into a thriving business. Most people approach book writing as a hobby. That is why most authors sell fewer than 200 copies. Revenue Writers see books differently. A Mini Book is not where things end. It is where things begin. The difference between hobby authors and Revenue Writers is simple. The hobbyist sells books. The Revenue Writer turns words into wealth. Hobby Track vs. Revenue Track This is not a book for those looking to dabble. Most authors get stuck in the Hobby Track. They write books, hope they will sell, and wonder why they do not. Their dream of being a serious author quickly burns out. But it does not have to be that way. This book is for those who want the Revenue Track, a way to generate serious income from their books and business. You are not just an author. You are not just a creator. You are a Revenue Writer, someone who turns words into wealth using the Revenue Track. Knowing how to navigate those turns to cross the finish line and generate substantial amounts of income is the goal of every Revenue Writer. Revenue Track Your Mini Book is the starting line, the fastest and simplest way to get on the Revenue Track. Once you publish it, you are in motion. You have a revenue engine. You simply need to guide your readers around the Revenue Track and turn their attention into business revenue. There are four key turns that take your ideal readers from interested to paying customers funding your dreams. Turn 1 – The Credibility Climb No one cares yet. Your Mini Book makes them care. Turn 2 – The Attention Arc You got their attention. Now you have to keep it. Turn 3 – The Loyalty Loop A book sale is not the goal. A customer loyal to you and your ideas are. Turn 4 – The Outcome Obstacle No results means no referrals. Help them win, and they will fund your business. Turn 1 – The Credibility Climb When you start a business, you have no credibility, no audience, and no trust. Nobody cares that you are posting about being a coach, launching a service, or offering expertise on LinkedIn or Facebook. And if we are honest, they are right not to care. You have to prove you have something to offer. This huge climb to being credible is the first turn in the Revenue Track. A Mini Book positions you as an expert instantly. People trust books. Even a short Mini Book separates you from the endless crowd of self-proclaimed gurus, experts, or coaches. Your Mini Book gives you authority. It opens doors to press opportunities, podcast invites, and speaking gigs. Your Mini Book is your credibility shortcut. Without it, you are just another person with an opinion. Turn 2 – The Attention Arc Most authors write a book and disappear. They miss their opportunity to turn that book into long-term momentum. Attention is a form of currency. If you are not holding it, you are losing it. Your book creates credibility. But it is on you to convert that credibility into lasting attention. A Mini Book can be used to generate email signups, build a following, create content, and form lasting relationships. Readers do not just buy books. They are buying into your ideas. They want more of you. Your book launch is a flash-in-the-pan moment. Your job is to turn that into an email list of excited people, which is the beginning of a movement. Turn 3 – The Loyalty Loop Most authors only make money from book sales. This is a massive mistake. I have generated $47,565 in book royalties over the past seven years. My business revenue in the same period is over $3,000,000. That is the difference between simply having a book and having a business. Many aspiring nonfiction authors fail to navigate this turn and lose customers after the book sale. Your job is to have offers for products so good they hang on for the ride. You go beyond books. You create courses, coaching, memberships, digital products, and more. Once people trust you and your ideas, they will buy from you again and again. The key is giving them a way to build relationships with you beyond the book. A book reader can become a lifelong customer. Turn 4 – The Outcome Obstacle Selling a product is not enough. To fully navigate the Revenue Track, you have to help your customers get real results. If your audience does not win, neither do you. They will not keep buying from you. They will not refer people to you. This is the Outcome Obstacle, the final challenge in turning a book into a six-figure business. You jump the gap by solving real problems for real people. Your book should start their journey toward transformation. Your products, services, and courses help them reach the final destination. The more people you help, the bigger your business grows. Results lead to referrals. Referrals lead to revenue. Here is the Fork in the Road Right now, you have two choices. 1. Stay on the Hobby Track Keep writing, hoping, and waiting for things to change. They will not. 2. Get on the Revenue Track Write your Mini Book, launch it, and start monetizing it immediately with the system inside this book. My Big Promise By the end of this book, you will be able to take your 10,000-word Mini Book and turn it into ten different $10,000 products, products that can scale to $100,000 and beyond. Each chapter covers a specific monetization model including books, courses, coaching, services, and digital products. You will get product breakdowns, information on how to create each one quickly, pricing insights to reach $10,000, and case studies showing real-world results. Final Challenge: Are You Ready? You are standing at a fork in the road. One path leads to frustration, wasted effort, and a book that collects dust. The other leads to momentum, revenue, and a business built on your ideas. This book is your roadmap. Let’s go. Make sure if you want to get the rest of the audiobook you are subscribed. If you want to pre-order the Kindle version while it’s discounted click HERE. ($2.99 during pre-order $4.99+ after it releases) Physical versions of teh book will release with the ebook on September 8th. Are you excited about Mini Book Money? Let me know in the chat. What are you most excited to learn about? TABLE OF CONTENTS * Books: The $10K Book Formula * Audiobooks: Turning Your Voice into a $10K Audio Opportunity * Book Series: Why I’ll Take 333 Raving Fans Over 1,430 Readers Any Day * Digital Downloads: The $10K Digital Product Playbook—How Mini Books Print Money Beyond the Page * Coaching: The $2.99 Book That Built a $3M Coaching Business * Services: Make 10x More Doing the Same Thing You’re Already Doing * Course: How to Sell Courses Without a Giant Audience * Events: Real-Time Revenue Machines That Produce $10K+ * Premium Newsletter: The Revenue Writer’s Advance * The Culture Codex: Where Your Book Becomes a Movement This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minibook.news/subscribe

    9 min
  7. How to Know If Your Book Title Is Too Broad

    07/11/2025

    How to Know If Your Book Title Is Too Broad

    Most first-time authors make this mistake:They write a book that sounds helpful… but feels like it’s for everyone. And when it’s for everyone, no one buys. In this episode, Chris breaks down how to test whether your title and subtitle are too broad — and how to dial in your book so the right readers know instantly it was written for them. He shares real-world examples, frameworks for refining your niche, and why being specific is what unlocks real revenue from your writing. Whether you’re writing your first Mini Book or already have a draft, this episode will sharpen your thinking and help your book sell itself to the right people. Mini Book Revenue Writers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. TRANSCRIPTION  Hey, revenue writers. Welcome back to the Revenue Writers Podcast. This is your host, Chris Stanley, and today we're gonna talk about how to know when your title and subtitle is too broad, not specific enough. I got this question, uh, via substack through a message. Uh, someone was sharing me their completed book, which was awesome. I was so excited to see it and asked me my thoughts. So me being me, I gave my honest opinion, uh, the subtitle and title together. We're both compelling. It was about productivity, um, but it didn't speak to productivity for whom. And so I asked the question, you know, I'm excited to read your book. I'll have time to go through it later, but who is it for specifically? 'cause right off the bat, I don't think it's for me because it doesn't say it's for me. Um, and he said, well, it's for anyone who wants to be more productive. And so I think that's the key right there is if you can say it's for anyone who. Wants to, and it basically applies to everybody. I mean, productivity's a big thing, right? Like everybody wants to experience more love. Everyone wants to be better at what they do. Everyone wants to make more money. So when you're in these categories of everyone, you have to start getting specific about who it's for. Um, you know, even in my writing, I'm not saying Here's how to write a book. I'm saying, here's how to write a mini book to make money, revenue. Right. I am not just saying to write a memoir. I'm not saying to write a fiction book. I'm not even saying to write a normal nonfiction book. I'm saying to write a mini book. So if you're not interested in writing mini books, you're probably not gonna pick up my book, right? Like there's just, I'm eliminating 99% of the planet. 'cause most people who even wanna write a book don't think they wanna write a mini book. So they're either picking it up outta curiosity or, or they're picking it up 'cause they want to write a mini book. So let's go, uh, to some instances where maybe you wouldn't have to dive in deeper, uh, to specifics, let's say. Um. You know, uh, the Big Backyard is the title and it's, uh, gardening in Your Backyard, how to Garden in Your Backyard or something is the subtitle. Well, now we've niched it down just within the title and subtitle. We said. This is where someone who wants to garden, not someone who wants to garden anywhere, not someone who even wants to do raised bed gardening specifically, but if somebody wants to do it in their backyard, it might include raised bed gardens. It might include. Row gardens, it may include all sorts of different things, but it's specifically talking to someone who lives in a home and has a backyard garden and is interested in gardening. That title and subtitle in itself is zeroing in on the audience, and that's doing the hard work for you of finding the right people versus if you're like, how to grow plants. Too general, right? That's just too general. Too many people wanna grow plants, uh, but who You need to get a little more specific, especially with mini books. They're designed to be laser focused. But let's go back to our productivity author. So maybe he's really wanting to hit CEOs or maybe he's wanting to hit, uh, stay at home dads, we're trying to figure out how to do the laundry, uh, pick up the kids from school. And, uh, build a side business, right? Two very, very different clientele there. Two very different readers. Maybe it's for, um, a pastor. Maybe it's for a, a woman teacher, right? It's for teachers who want to be more productive. You will sell nine times outta 10, unless you already have a big audience. You will sell more books and find more good clients, assuming you have a backend set up for coaching or products and, uh, courses. If you get that laser focused productivity for teachers, right, because they know it's exactly for them and there's not a ton of books exactly for them. So you might not sell tens of thousands right away, but you could sell hundreds if not thousands, and out of those, most of them will likely be great candidates. For your products and business. And so as revenue writers, that's what we're looking for. We're not looking for the masses. We're looking for the right people to come into our business to find us to where we are, one of the few, if not the only solution for them of how to solve their problem for their specific niche in situation, and that we have a business that further serves them. That's how you write revenue, right? It, that's that process. That is the play here. Okay, so I hope that helps you guys. If you're interested in learning more about being a revenue writer, head over to mini book news. That will take you to my Substack, and there is free and premium content there that you can explore, including all the podcast episodes. I hope to see you over there and come ask your questions there. We'd be happy to answer 'em. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minibook.news/subscribe

    5 min
  8. The Creator’s Advantage: Write Once, Ramble Forever

    07/08/2025

    The Creator’s Advantage: Write Once, Ramble Forever

    What if your ideas could evolve like software, instantly, modularly, and on demand? In this episode of the Revenue Writers Podcast, I’m joined again by the Category Pirates 🏴‍☠️ as we dive deeper into the category they created: Mini Books, short, belief-driven books built for modern thought leadership. We unpack: * Why Mini Books are more than marketing, they’re over-the-air updates for your point of view * What motorcycles, music superfans, and book buyers have in common * Why the best creators aren’t competing, they’re expanding their readers’ quiver * How writing small helps you think big, faster Whether you're a CEO, category designer, or just trying to build authority in a noisy world, this episode will shift how you think about content, culture, and belief. Mini Book Revenue Writers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Learn how to write, publish, and scale your business with your own mini books. TRANSCRIPT  Hey, revenue writers. Welcome back to the Revenue Writers Podcast. This is your host, Chris Stanley, and today we're gonna pick back up on the conversation with category Pirates. Um, as they're talking about the category they helped create called mini books. Now I might be called the mini book guy 'cause I talk about it all the time, but they're the ones who actually invented it. Created it. And so we're gonna pick up right where we left off at the last conversation about over-the-air software updates and also how to, . Embrace some of the things that many of us avoid. So check out the episode. Hope you enjoy it.  What the mini book actually is for us is, um, it's over the air software updates right in, in the same way that your Tesla will just get, oh, it's better now, right? It just came all the air and it's updated and this and that. Like a lot of the ideas that we have, um, you know, some would say. I know that Christopher has talked about this beforehand, but when you have an over there update, new category, science, new case study, a new framework for how to approach it and this and that new application, then it's like, oh, it's so much better of a, of a thing. And to your point, when we know kind of the signal from our supers like you, um, it's 'cause we've seen it in other medium where, you know, if you, you know, Christopher loves music. It's not uncommon for music lovers to own the same song in multiple formats and the like, right? Sure. You want the live version? You want the live version at the Alma combo in 1968, and then you want the next live version at Wimbley Stadium in 1987 and you know, et cetera, et cetera. If you talk to pick your band, pink Floyd, Jay-Z, uh, van Halen. Um, uh, Taylor Swift, uh, any musician from any era, they're super fans, super consumers are gonna, are gonna buy it multiple times. The other funny thing about it that's interesting, and Ed Eddie, in his work around super consumers discovered that a super of one is a super of nine. That is to say people who are enthusiastic about one thing are often enthusiastic about similar adjacent things we've recently written about and had on the podcast. Um, the founders and creators of Janus Motorcycles, and they create a new category of motorcycle called lightweight motorcycle. Their bikes are radically different. They're very vintage looking. They're brand, they're new and modern, but very vintage. They're radically analog. There's no digital technology on a whatsoever. There will be no CarPlay integrations. They're, and they're pieces of art, and they go slow. They're the opposite of where most of the industry has gone. They further category designed a new category of motorcycle riding experience to describe why you wanted a a, a Janssen lightweight motorcycle. And they called that rambling. They even wrote a mini book about it. The The Rambler's Companion Guide or The Companion Guide to Rambling, something like that. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend it Anyway. Here's my point. At one point the Janus guys thought, are we, are we like attacking Harley or are we attacking, you know, Suzuki or Honda or whoever? And of course they realized the super one is a super of nine. And just like guitar players will have multiple different styles of electric guitar, you'll have a hollow body, you'll have a hard body, you'll have a this, you'll have a, that. You'll have an acoustic guitar, you, you might have multiple types of acoustic guitars, different woods, et cetera, et cetera. And so what they realized was, no, no, no, no, no. We're not attacking anything. We love motorcycles. We just are particularly passionate about this new category of motorcycle. And so they talk about adding a Janus to your quiver. And so this is a very powerful idea, I think, for writers, because making your. Work available in a different way and allowing yourself to be part of a cornucopia of experience that people are gonna have. You know, we recently had Seth Godin on the podcast. This is the first time he's ever been on the podcast. And, um, uh, I told some friends and, and the like, and some said, well, why would you have him on? Isn't he a competitor to what you guys do? And, and I literally laughed out loud. I said, there is nobody in the world. Who's doing quality work around marketing, branding, entrepreneurship, building companies, innovation, et cetera, whether it's startups major, who we are competing against, we respect Seth. Some things we don't agree on, some things, whatever. None of it matters. We couldn't be more excited to promote him. And so that's the other thing about this, which is. You, you open yourself up to serving your reader. Mini Book Revenue Writers is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minibook.news/subscribe

    5 min

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