Trevor Crane is best known for his two best-selling books, “High Paying Clients” and “Big Money with Your Book…Without Selling a Single Copy.”

For over 15 years, Trevor has been brought in to help small business owners improve their marketing, increase their revenue, and make more sales.

Trevor typically works with entrepreneurs, consultants, coaches and speakers.

On the podcast, Trevor delves into his process for marketing books, which, in turn, serve to market your overall brand.

Why Write a Book in the First Place?

If you’re wondering why you should write a book when you’re an entrepreneur and not a writer, Trevor has some choice words for you. Those are authority, credibility, trust and desire.

Having a book will do wonders in attaching these valuable traits to your personal brand. Once you have these traits attached, your business will increase. Your book serves as one of your most important marketing tools.

Trevor uses the example of J.K. Rowling, guessing that she makes more money from selling butterbeer at Disneyland than from her actual books.

That’s the idea Trevor is pushing.

Your book doesn’t need to make a ton of money, but it boosts your reputation, which, in turn, makes you a lot of money.

The Beginnings of Launching an International Bestseller

From another person, Trevor learned of what he calls the “epic book launch.”

The first part of this is making the decision to market, which some creative people are hesitant to do. This is a decision you’re going to have to make for yourself, too. Nobody’s going to make it for you.

This personal marketing involves social media, email, text, audio or whatever else is available to you.

If you’re hesitant to market because you are solely focused on your message and feel guilty about making money, don’t be. Money is going to allow you to write more books and, of course, pay of the bills.

Besides, you’re putting a lot of money into writing and publishing your book, so you’ll want to make as much of that back as possible, right?

Marketing doesn’t have to wait until your book is ready for shelves, either. Trevor’s wife promoted her book when all she had was a sleeve, which she slid onto another book. She then presented this prototype at a speaking event as a new book and secured $35,000 of new business.

Once you have a cover, some details, and a release date, you can even put your book up on Amazon for pre-sale. You can also attach incentives for pre-ordering, such as a free t-shirt.

Adopting the Best Marketing Practices

One aspect of marketing that Trevor finds crucial is creating a two-way street, where the consumer can react back to your advances. This could be “if you like what you see, click here” or “if you like my message, please join my community.”

He calls this “direct marketing.”

While applying direct marketing, you can also bait consumers. Trevor uses the example of offering someone a free book, then asking them to visit his website.

Direct marketing is especially important when you have a platform to boost your signal. If you get on a podcast, you’re definitely going to want to have something to offer the audience and a directive to match.

A more “ninja” marketing approach, as Trevor puts it, involves marketing without people realizing it. This could be interviewing people about a subject for your book, then mentioning the book itself and when it releases.

Building up your release date is another marketing must. It seems simple, but people can sometimes be skittish about it. Think about movies or technology – the release date is highly anticipated and built up.

It’s also important to hold back a little bit. If people don’t want the e-reader edition, make sure they know when the paperback comes out. It builds anticipation, which strengthens their overall desire.

Don’t Forget About Post-Launch Marketing

Even after your book is released, you can still recreate the marketing buildup that led up to launch. This is due to paperback editions and e-reader editions. It’s essentially like releasing two other books. Everything starts over again.

Whether or not people are reading your book in its many forms is unimportant. Trevor admits to owning several Tony Robbins books that he’s never opened. Yet, he’s spent untold amounts of money attending Robbins’ seminars and programs.

After your book releases is a perfect time to do book signings, webinars, and other things that connect you directly with people.

Giving away your book for free as a promotion can also be effective.

In fact, a friend of Trevor’s did just that and grew a list of 15,000, who he then used to make offers to. After all, the book sales aren’t what this is about. It’s about growing your reputation and building an audience.

In his book, Trevor lists a number of different ways to market your own book, pre-launch and post-launch. These include, but are not limited to, audio/video programs, books, coaching and consulting, partnerships and joint ventures, mastermind membership programs, and many others.

Essentially, if you see an active microphone, make it yours.

Where Can You Learn More About Trevor?

Trevor Crane recently built a new app, which can be downloaded right now on your phone. The app includes marketing training and his podcast, among other things.

If you text Trevor to 36260, you can get a link to his book.

Trevor can also be found on the usual social media channels, including Twitter and LinkedIn.