How to Turn Your Book Into Lasting Revenue Streams with Karlyn Ankrom

You launched the book. Now what?!

In this episode of the Author's Edge, host Allison Lane talks with content strategist Karlyn Ankrom about what actually makes a book keep working after launch. Not for vanity. For legacy. And for revenue.

If you’re an expert, professor, physician, leader, or author, you’re going to get the same predictable asks. Can I pick your brain? Can I ask you a quick question? Do you have a resource?

This conversation shows you how to prepare for that attention. And how to turn interest into income without giving nonstop free guidance.

You’ll learn how to treat your book and your message like an asset.

What you’ll learn:

• How to keep your message alive after launch 
• How your bite-sized content builds trust and authority 
• Making your expertise easy to access and easy to buy 
• Avoid the free Caesar-salad consult trap 
• Create a sustainable content strategy that fits your life

Connect with Allison on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonlanelit/

Get the guide: 7 Shifts to Build Real Authority 

Connect with Karlyn: 

- website: https://ohsnapsocial.com/

- on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karlynankrom/

Timestamps: 

00:00 Welcome to The Author's Edge

00:21 The Reality After Book Launch

01:40 Keeping Your Message Alive

03:09 Building Trust and Engagement

04:00 Monetizing Your Expertise

05:14 Leveraging Social Media

07:02 Practical Content Strategies

11:12 The Importance of Simplicity

16:39 Steps to Turn Your Message into Revenue

21:42 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

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Transcript

Allison 1:17

Welcome back to the Author's Edge. I am your host, Allison Lane. And I am here for you because I know that your writing is getting into the world, your message is getting into the world. And then, you realize that you expect your book launch to be the finish line. Ta-da, the book is out. Now, you can go back to your real life. No, because then reality hits. The real opportunity shows up. After the book is out in the world, whether it's three days or three years. And that is when your message starts working on your behalf, or it can start working, bringing in the right readers and opening doors, and creating income streams that stack on top of your current income. So, whether your book is out or maybe you have a newsletter, or you're doing some speaking. If you know how to treat your message like an asset, not an exhausting side project you can turn that demand into a revenue stream instead of a dream. that's exactly why I wanted Karlyn Ankrom here today. Karlyn, thank you for joining me and for bringing this reality and opportunity to all the authors and the experts out there who say, I have something to share. And then, they load up this burden on themselves. as soon as the book is out, they're like, Ugh, now I can go back to real life. But we want to keep their message live after launch. What tends to determine whether a book or even an effort, say like a TEDx continues working for someone, or it quietly fades?

Karlyn 3:13

Honestly, first of all, I think you hit it right on the head is you are the factor that continues to propel your book, your talk forward, right? It's very easy to be like, ah, it's here and I'm done. But it's going back to why you wrote the book, why you got on that stage? What's the reason? chances are we have a business that is linked to it, tied to it. And we can't forget that we wrote that book for a reason. It could be legacy, which is all fine and well, I love that because same. But we also have to think about it from a business perspective. I don't want anyone's book to become an expensive business card. after the confetti settles, you can absolutely celebrate, but continue to move it forward. Grab some pieces of content from your book, from your talk. Continue to build your personal brand out so you're visible because it's less about showing, look at me, look at me. I have a book. But really leaning into that thought leadership that's within the pages of the book.

Allison 4:14

I think people think, oh, now I just need to convince people to buy the book. No one wants to be convinced of anything or sold to because PU, it smells. Yeah. It stinks. And maybe they don't want to read the whole book, but maybe they do want to watch the shorts from your TEDx talk.

Karlyn 4:33

Yes.

Allison 4:34

So, why do you get to decide how they intake things? I like an appetizer before the entree. Yeah. Give me like a little tapas I don't want the whole book yet. Or I'm not ready to join your coaching program. I do want something bite-sized. Once your message, let's call it your message.'cause it might be a newsletter, it might be your TEDx talk, it might be an in-person, panel you were on the asks that come to you are pretty predictable.

Karlyn 5:07

Yes.

Allison 5:07

And they start like this, I'd love to pick your brain. Whatever you have done, they will want to pick your brain on how you got there.

Karlyn 5:16

Yeah.

Allison 5:17

Even when your book is a legacy project or a memoir and you think I don't want to start a business. But do you want to spend an afternoon talking to a stranger who is picking your brain and they offered to take you to lunch? Is it worth that Caesar salad? that you know you're going to get?'cause it sounds good, but no it's not. Because that's an you could have been napping or with your family, or anything, raking leaves would be better.

Karlyn 5:45

Yeah.

Allison 5:46

Than talking to a stranger about something that really they should be paying for'cause they're not your friend. So you don't have to do that for them. You do have to expect it. This is never a shock to me especially memoirs, they say, do I need something on my website? If people want to get in touch, maybe I can just give them my email address. Are you going to be electronic pen pals with these people? No. Then no, you don't do that. You do need to expect that this is going to happen'cause it happens to every single one of my clients.

Karlyn 6:22

Yeah.

Allison 6:22

And they are flabbergasted every single time. I can't believe somebody wants to talk to me. Why? They want what you did.

Karlyn 6:30

Yeah. And I think it's building trust online, right? Those bite-sized pieces allows you to build trust. And I also think that opens doors when you see these people in person, that they feel like they already know you, but they really don't. They know bite-sized versions of you. But I love the opportunity that social media provides us in giving us the platforms to create these bite-sized pieces of content to get people to know you, to get people to buy your book, to get into your program. They're going to go with the person that feels most relatable to them and where they are at in their journey. And the more transparent you can be with that. And I'm going to say a little bit more vulnerable. That's a really scary word for a lot of US professionals out there. But there's this layer that you can have transparency, but still hold people at a distance. And I think social media provides that opportunity for us to lean into that and build a trust along the way before we go in for that buy my thing.

Allison 7:30

You certainly can. You've already established yourself. You're already a big effing deal. In the world, right? But maybe you wrote a memoir about becoming like a weekend adventurer. People want to ask you questions about that. You're not going to do that on a Tuesday. You're at work. Maybe you want to run a workshop on the weekend rather than I have the Caesar salad with a stranger.

Karlyn 7:56

Yeah.

Allison 7:56

But you need to charge people for that, even though that is your passion. Even though you feel like it's giving back. It's also your time and people don't actually show up when you give things for free.

Karlyn 8:10

That's so true.

Allison 8:11

Because what you're saying is this isn't worth that much. So, come if you feel like it. No. This is exactly why I have a guide that helps you shift what you're doing to build real authority so that you can show up bigger. And that you can get that at lanelit.com/authority. But once you are doing those things, after the book or after the speech that you just gave, people will want your insights. They will also ask do you have any recommendations on this or where should I go to learn how to do the thing? You got to put those things in place. Authors don't expect that wave of attention and then they don't often have a system to turn that interest into income. So, how would you direct them to prepare for this and avoid giving nonstop free guidance?

Karlyn 9:18

Yes. And one thing that you just mentioned that I have a interesting story around is if you're on stage, people come up to you after and they're like, do you have a resource? Is there a book on this? And you're like. Did you not just listen to me talk for 10 minutes? But the thing that I've been seeing from more of the academic type of author is, they are missing the moments where they can softball pitch their book in their talks. And it's so easy, you could literally say something and I just did this with one of my clients who's a sleep scientist, which is super cool. He told me this story. Karlyn, I have three people come up to me after my talk and ask me if there was a book recommendation. He's like, I wrote the book. And I was like, you're not soft pitching it. You're not saying, in my book, I go deeper on this concept. In my chapter four, I talk all about this in my book. And then, he was not having any type of anything at the end to say, I have a book. And in his bio when he was getting his introduction, it didn't mention his book. So, I say all this to say, you as an author, which we all are as we're listening to it as Allison so kindly gave us permission to call ourselves. You have to do yourself a service and make sure people know that you're an author. Every facet of your life. So, it's not enough to just be like, and we're launched and I'm going back into my cocoon where I came from. No, it's there to continue to serve and serve. But you have to tell people that it exists and remind them over and over again that it does so that you can continue to build the authority. it's such a wasted opportunity for those of us that are listening who are on stages regularly, who have books, who have programs like mention it as you are speaking.

Allison 11:08

If you're speaking, hopefully the book sale is part of your speaking. And everyone in the room walks away with the book.

Karlyn 11:18

Yes.

Allison 11:18

That's the dream. But the thing is, a lot of people are like, they don't want to have to read the book.

Karlyn 11:24

That's true.

Allison 11:24

They want something interactive. So, for sure, mention the book, but you can also mention the resource that you give on your website. Yeah. That comes with the$200 training. Yep. Live training that you give once a month. When people can put it on their schedule and they know that you are going to be there. It's a priority'cause they know that it's really a gift by them, for them.

Karlyn 11:57

Yeah.

Allison 11:57

And it's not homework.

Karlyn 11:59

That's exactly why my program is the way it is too. Like I want authors to show up. They set aside their dedicated calendar time because I know these people. there's no time for homework. Show up, get the work done. it's a value add to them because they set aside that time. And so, as authors, Amplify your give to people because a lot of people that I believe you serve and I serve are very like heart-centered folks who really want to make a difference in this beautiful, crazy, lovely, fantastic world that we're all living in.

Allison 12:29

If you are not being your very best marketing director, that. No one's going to do it for you. So, emphasize the good that results from you doing what you do in the world, You have to expect that people want from you the thing that makes things easy for them.

Karlyn 12:50

Yes.

Allison 12:51

So, if it's not a book, maybe it's a video that you record. Using Loom, which is free. loom.com is free. And you just talk to the camera and you explain, your three step process. And a video that can be digested in four to five minutes.

Karlyn 13:13

sometimes you've got to try them all to figure out what your audience actually resonates with. Because there's so many different ways that you can propel your message forward. It's just like knowing your audience, like inside and out, and knowing those pain points and being able to offer them a solution. Some authors say, I don't want to brag about me. And I'm like, hold on. Let's reframe that. You're not bragging. You're leading. You're sharing your expertise. You are always operating in service to the people who need the solutions, the products, the insights that you have. Your content ultimately has to help someone avoid that mistake or look at a situation differently or improve their day or their sleep. you're offering kind of these stepping stones of support. Most authors aren't afraid of posting, they're afraid of the judgment.

Allison 14:07

They do say I don't want people to think that I'm saying that I'm the foremost expert. No one thinks that. But no one's going to think anything if you don't actually get out there and share what you know. Yeah. In order to share what you know, you might have to be on a podcast or on a stage, or posting on social. Because no one is going to come and knock on your door. That it's too hard. Why would you make people hunt for you and beg you to then share. They're not going to do it. No. But a lot of experts feel like my work is out there. And if people want to find it. You're going to make them hunt like a treasure hunt in some white paper somewhere.

Karlyn 14:49

in my experience with clients is just they're so smart and experts at their thing that they overthink the simple tasks. This is why I teach a simple system to get them out of their head, to help them create content at scale that's repurposing their insights and their brilliance already. So, it sounds like them. When giving the system, when given the tools, They will do the work in order to show up and be of service to their clients. I made it my mission to make it as simple as possible so they don't get too in their head.

Allison 15:22

Anytime I've taken a course and somebody says, now this'll help you think about and consider what free resource you provide. No. But most people don't want to become an expert in what your lead magnet is going to be. Because they revolt to these marketing terms.

Karlyn 15:42

Yeah.

Allison 15:43

A lead magnet. I don't want to be tricking people into giving me their email address. If they don't give you your email address, how do you think you're going to deliver the thing that they've asked you for?

Karlyn 15:54

Yep.

Allison 15:55

It's convenient for them that you email it to them. Or worse, you're going to make someone copy and paste something from your website page. Which a lot of people think I'll just put it on the page. That way they'll have it. Here's why that doesn't work. Because most people look at your website using their phone. Have you ever tried to copy and paste something from your phone what are you going to do? Copy and paste it and put it like a text message to yourself.

Karlyn 16:27

It's tough.

Allison 16:28

You're not being thoughtful and compassionate and kind when you say it's out there.

Karlyn 16:34

Yeah.

Allison 16:34

No. You're trying to serve, but then you're making it my job to copy and paste

Karlyn 16:39

Make it easy for people to connect with you. Make it easy for people to do business with you, to talk to you with intention. And to book a call with you if that's a goal of yours, to buy your book. Make it easy for people. Because we're going into your point, Allison, like 151 directions at all times with our phone, with our computers, with our iPads, with people in the car, you're on an airplane. There's so much sensory going on every single day. the internet is an added piece of the brilliant, yet very noisy spaces that we're in every day. So, you're doing your audience a solid, by making it easy for them.

Allison 17:17

This is when you think about how can I make everything easy. You know how you like to make things easy. And Karlyn, you have even a way of building content that works whether your book is brand new, or three years old, or your book isn't out yet, but you've been told by your publisher or your marketing coach, AKA Me. Yeah. You need to be active before the TEDx is launched because people need to already be followed. Bought in. They need to already know and trust you. Which means that you need to be providing value. So, can you talk us through the content system that you have that works whether or not you're building your platform, or you're building it more, or it's after your book is out?

Karlyn 18:08

Yes, so the content system is really three steps. One, it is doing a quick audit. It's like, where am I at right now? How is my content performing? Is it performing the way that I need it to perform in order to meet X goal? The next is the strategy, you really have to get clear. You have to understand what is the point of all of this. What's the goal there? Is it to get more speaking gigs? Is it to get more people to your website to fill out a form in order to get your freebie thing? Is it to have more conversations? Is it to get more connections? Then, the third is implementation. Creating the content at scale so that you don't feel like you have to Go out and get like an expensive agency to do the content for you. You can simply create a strategy that then aligns with the goals that you have and the time that you are willing to spend to create the content to get it out there. We teach that content development piece. Which can be a mix depending on your book and your business and where that bridge exists between the two. So you're creating content at scale, whether it's one post a week, three posts a week on LinkedIn specifically. We also talk about Instagram, but it's Audit strategy, implement. That's that system. The biggest hurdle for many of my clients, both within my agency and in my program. It's just I don't want to look silly, I don't want to look desperate. No one is out here telling you have to. And if you're hearing people say that, then you're not looking at the right people.

Allison 19:35

There are a lot of people out there who want to teach you how to be a great salesperson, but you don't need those skills. It's okay yeah. And to say, I'm, I don't want to become an expert in all of that too. I don't want to become an expert digital marketer. No. I'm going to trust someone like you, or someone like me, to give me only the tools I need to make this happen so I can get back to the thing that I do full time. There's not room for you to also run a business become a brand. you do want your book to sell. Yeah. You do want to make sure that when you're speaking at South by Southwest, that people don't look at you like, who are you? South by Southwest. has people vote for what submissions they want to see. And that's part of South by Southwest's marketing plan. they ask people to vote on what would you like to see. And people have to know you then. Before they even get to see your presentation or your talk.

Karlyn 20:41

I have a client that she came to me, she was just propping up her brand because she wanted. Her to get her book published, like traditional published. And she met with a literary agent. And the literary agent, of course was like, you don't have enough followers, you don't have enough engagement. You don't really have a brand. Come to me when you have all those things. So, her PR agency referred me and we were chatting and she's like, I just want this strategy for my social media and my digital marketing as a whole to be sustainable. I said, what does that mean? She's like, I want it to feel easy. I was like, yes. Great. And I said, do you feel comfortable on camera? She goes, yeah, I do. I said, that's great. And she started just doing on Instagram'cause her audience is like Gen Zers. She's a university professor in human sexuality. So, you can imagine very niche, very specific, very controversial in platforms right now when people weren't talking about that. And her goal was to get over the stigma around sex education, et cetera. So, she started with me. We made her strategy, so simple, carousel posts on Instagram and reels. Period. That's it. We were repurposed her Psychology Today, articles as carousels. I found trends. She started with trends now. She makes her own talk to camera expertise with like props and all the things. she's grown her following in the past three years, 80,000 on TikTok, and I think she's at 30,000 on Instagram. She has a book deal. It's coming out next year. So, she's really getting that momentum going and because we made it simple. I didn't tell her a bunch of stuff that she didn't need to know. And when she was like shiny object over here, I was like, and that's not the goal. The goal is to grow your following in order for publishers to pay attention to you so you can get a book deal and get your message out there to the world. That's the goal. She's like, right, thanks. Just getting us back to eyes on our own paper.

Allison 22:32

There is definitely a reason why you don't need to learn all the things It's overwhelming because you could spend all your time. Learning. You don't need to do that. Karlyn knows all the options and she'll make you pick three That's why when you go to a restaurant, they just put out the like specials And it's just three things'cause they know that you'll probably choose one of the things that they just put for you. Because no one wants to read the entire freaking menu. If an author wanted to turn their message into meaningful revenue starting this month, what's the first practical step they should take today?

Karlyn 23:11

Tell people that you have something for them. And if you're like, that feels scary you can always share an experience that someone else had for you. If you're like, I don't want to tell people that I have a cool thing, then have other people tell them that you have a cool thing. you can do it in a way that feels authentic to you.

Allison 23:30

If an author wanted to turn their message into a meaningful revenue stream starting this month, what's the first practical step they should take?

Karlyn 23:41

I think the biggest thing that they can do is pick one thing, one slice of your message that you can teach fast. One chapter, one story, one method, one transformation story. And if they want more of you, ask them to engage in your comments. You could even ask them like, what problem can I help you solve today? What challenge are you having with your sleep? Giving them that opportunity to feel heard by you is the same thing as the pick your brain moment. But you also have to be there to reply to them.

Allison 24:17

Exactly. But you do need to take the first step. So, I urge you, take the first step. Take Karlyn's advice, decide one way that you can offer people a resource that feels comfortable and easy for you. If it's posting once a week, awesome sauce. If you're going to write down the resources that you think people don't know about, but should and distribute that from your website. Great. You're just doing people a solid for sure. You can work with Karlyn. You can work with me, if you're launching your book. For sure, reach out because my bestseller Launch School is highly effective and will get you where you need to go with very clear steps'cause you don't need to be an expert in anything other than what you're doing. Karlyn, where should people reach you?

Karlyn 25:15

Definitely, I hang out most on LinkedIn, so you can find me there. connect with me there. if your book is launched and out there and you're like holding it and you're like, it's here. What do I do now? Let's talk.

Allison 25:25

Yeah. It's the way. What do I do now? Like. It's been out for two years. Like it's not over. No, your book is new to the person who finds it today.

Karlyn 25:34

It's definitely not the finish line.