But you’ve done it. You’ve achieved something that the majority of business owners don’t – you have finished your book. 

Firstly, congratulations! Secondly, it’s completely understandable that by the time you hit publish, you are ready to relax and enjoy the spoils of your hard work. 

Yes, you’ve planned a spectacular launch that involves a flurry of PR and media interviews, but after that, there’s not that much to do, right? 

Right?

Ah, sadly, it doesn’t stop there…or at least it shouldn’t. 

Publishing a business book is an excellent core of work that you can repurpose into additional content that can extend your reach, increase your authority and get you more sales. 

So, we’re sharing the ultimate guide to repurposing your business book, including why and, more importantly, how you should do it. 

Why you should repurpose your book into further content

You’ve likely spent months or even years creating your masterpiece, formulating your ideas, structuring them and communicating them in the best way possible.

So, why would you now spend your time repurposing that book into further content?

Well, there are a good few reasons that we’d suggest using the content in your book to create more content (yup, we just love content here at Jammy). 

When you repurpose your business book, you help your potential readers learn about your unique methodology and ideas. You’ve already spent months or years putting your experiences, knowledge and learnings into something easy to understand, and you want to maximise that time. 

Helps you sell your other products and services

Remember, a business book is not like a fiction book – if you reveal the story in a fiction book, you’ve ruined the surprise! A business book is different because (typically) your book isn’t the only thing you sell – unless you’re perhaps Jay Baer or Seth Godin. So the more people that engage with your content, whether that be through your book, blog, social media or video, the more of your other core products and services you will sell. 

Ultimately, a business book is an amazing way to raise your profile and build brand awareness. And while it can be an income stream of its own, it can also be an amazing lead magnet to help you land higher-profile clients. 

So, you want to ensure that you’re making the most of the content and creating as many high-quality opportunities for people to come across it as possible. 

But what if people don’t buy the book because they’ve read the content?

It’s always the same argument!

Why would someone pay for something that you are giving away for free?

We don’t only hear this about books, people have been asking us the same thing about blogs for years. 

So let’s get that out the way first…

Content repurposing is about recycling and reusing the elements of your existing content to further its reach, and it’s the same when you are repurposing a business book. 

It’s not a case of sticking your entire book up on the internet for everyone to read for free. It’s about chopping it up, reworking it for a specific platform and presenting little pieces at the right time to potential readers. 

In fact, more than that, repurposing your book and showcasing how valuable your content is will expand its reach and entice people to buy the book. People will also pay for the ease of having everything in one place, especially if you’ve proven the value in additional content. 

There are tonnes of examples below from authors who have repurposed their content and still see fantastic sales. In fact, we can’t think of a single successful business book owner who hasn’t repurposed the content in some shape or form.

Think of someone like Steven Bartlett, he regularly shares learning and snippets from his book Happy Sexy Millionaire on his podcast. 

Does that mean no one who listens to his podcast buys his book?

No! Quite the opposite. And you don’t have to have a huge, worldwide platform to take advantage of this same strategy. 

But the question is, how can you repurpose your business book? (you know we like to give you practical advice).

1. Repurpose your business book into blog posts

The first thing that you can do is to turn the key points from your book into individual blog posts. 

It makes sense if you think about it! 

Blogging is all about answering your customer’s questions and showcasing your expertise. Not only can you use written content to break down some of the key components or methodologies in your book, but you can also answer some of the questions about why people should buy your book and integrate it directly into your sales process (as we did in this blog). 

An example of repurposing your book into a blog post

When it comes to examples, the OG of content marketing, Marcus Sheridan, is the master at this. He takes the key methodology from his book, They Ask, You Answer and integrates it into multiple blog posts. This article actually breaks down how to get started with They Ask, You Answer, and breaks down what the first six months look like. 

That might seem mad to some people, as arguably you could read a selection of these articles, and some others on the website, and successfully implement TAYA without ever having to read the book. But the chances are that these articles will pique your interest encouraging you to buy the book and get stuck into the learnings in a more in-depth format ie. the book. 

Get more rankings and traffic when you repurpose to blog posts

A well-written article (or articles) will be teaming with keywords, and as part of a larger SEO strategy, it can help you gain additional organic traffic to your website – expanding your audience and potential customers. This is especially important if you don’t have a huge existing audience and are relying on people finding you organically. 

In addition, you can promote your book within the blog post, in a space where you know people will be interested in the concepts and methodology you are exploring in the book. And it’s a space where you can promote the book and remind people to purchase without being too sales-y. 

2. Repurpose your book into video

If you fancy yourself the next Steven Spielberg, then you can turn the camera on yourself and turn key aspects of your book into videos. 

Okay! It definitely doesn’t have to be the next Jurassic Park. Simple informative videos can be extremely successful in boosting your authority and making you more relatable and trustworthy to the reader. 

Remember, you have already done so much hard work by making sense of everything you know and presenting it in an easy-to-understand way – so get more for your time and create a video to spread your message. 

An example of repurposing your book into a video

Looking for some examples of people who use video really well to promote the concepts and methodologies in their books?

Simon Sinek has one of the most popular business books of all time, yet he still breaks down the concepts into YouTube shorts (and has an entire TED on the same topic). If he can create videos and do prolific talks on the topic of his book while still making sales, then so can you. 

Another example is entrepreneur Alex Hormozi, who breaks down his favourite chapter from his book – one that he thinks is the most fundamental to success. Again, yes, people could take their learnings from this short video and utilise them in their own marketing. But the chances are if it piques their interest, they are going to watch more videos or consume more content and hopefully go on to buy the book. 

Again, creating videos alongside a strong SEO strategy can help you increase the organic traffic to your website and introduce your new business book to new audiences. 

Short-form content (under sixty seconds) for YouTube shorts, Instagram reels or TikTok work incredibly well for this. Remember, YouTube and TikTok are search engines! In fact, for the first time ever, TikTok has overtaken Google’s 15-year streak as the world’s biggest search engine. 

3. Repurpose into a quiz

Who doesn’t love a quiz?

We’re not talking about finding out what Harry Potter house you would be in (Ravenclaw, FYI)—but using quizzes in a fun and interactive way to learn more about potential customers and understand their pain points. 

It allows you to test someone’s knowledge and consolidate the learning about whatever you teach in your business book. 

Plus, using software like ScoreApp allows you to present an action plan based on the answers (and email it to them in a practical and actionable PDF format). This also has the added bonus of giving you access to their email, which means you no longer have to rely on making that sale directly from your content. You can nurture the relationship and educate them via email before encouraging them to buy the book (or other products or services).

An example of repurposing your book into a quiz

A brilliant example of this is Phil Calvert, who has a quiz, based on their best-selling book on embracing AI as financial advisers. The quiz helps users understand if their Financial Planning business is ready to embrace and implement AI in their practice – giving them a personalised AI IQ score along with tips on how to improve it. It’s the perfect way to educate professionals on their readiness for AI and offer them ways to improve (one of which is buying the book). 

We love this video from Phil Calvert on why he uses a quiz to help repurpose the content from his book. 

4. Repurpose into podcast scripts

Podcasts continue to grow in popularity, with 464.7 million podcast listeners globally in 2023. It’s a great way to take the key principles of your book and tailor them in a way that makes them accessible to your niche (or not-so-niche) audience. 

Listening to podcasts can be integrated into users’ lives, no matter what they are doing – whether they are cleaning, working or driving. 

Breaking down your business book into a podcast can allow you to build even stronger relationships with your book readers, and consistently remind people about your book without being sales-y. It also offers you the opportunity to get your book in front of a new audience, especially if you have guests that could increase your reach. 

Plus, modern podcasts are often recorded and then syndicated across all the normal podcast platforms so they can be viewed as well as listened to. This offers an opportunity to visually promote your book (as well as via audio).

An example of repurposing your book into a podcast

Someone who does this amazingly is Steven Bartlett on his podcast Diary of a CEO, to promote his book of the same name. Not only does he use his entire podcast as a platform to promote his ethos and interview specialists which are referenced in his latest book. But he also has some podcasts where he talks specifically about some of the key points that come up in his book.

Although a lot of what is covered in the book will have been mentioned on the podcasts, he’s confident that if people like the podcast, they’ll love the book. 

5. Repurpose into a webinar or masterclass

Does your business book have a methodology that would benefit from on-demand, practical training?

If so, then a webinar or masterclass could be the perfect way to repurpose the content from your business book.

A webinar will usually take place over about an hour, so there’s no way you can cover the entire book. But it does allow you to cover the key points or go into depth on a specific methodology and then sell the book at the end as a deeper dive into everything you’ve talked about. 

Plus, a webinar is a great way to get feedback and allow people to ask questions, which helps to build stronger relationships. 

And one thing that we love is that you can capture leads, so you can send follow-ups to sell your business book or additional services. 

An example of repurposing your book into a podcast

One person who does this is Daniel Priestley, who runs a KPI web class based on his book Key Person of Influence book. 

6. Repurpose into checklists or worksheets

We love a content add-on that provides additional practical value, and a checklist or a worksheet does just that. 

It’s a great way to make your book more actionable, especially if it can be used as people are reading your book. And it leads people by the hand, motivating them to implement your teachings and not just read about them. 

And this is ultimately what you want. You want people to action your book and put your teachings into practice. Not only will it help you with positive reviews, but it will help to potentially sell further products and services. 

An example of repurposing your book into a checklist or workbook

This is something that Bryony Thoms does with her companion workbooks that have been designed to be used alongside her book Watertight Thinking. And as a little bit of a throwback, she also has a quiz, and other resources on her website that help you figure out if you have the marketing foundations to support a healthy sales flow. 

7. Repurpose into a course or certification

Everyone loves a certification to test and showcase their skills, and repurposing your business book into a course or certification is a great way to ensure that your methodologies are being practically applied. 

You can repurpose your book into an in-depth course that helps people really dig into and apply what you teach in their own circumstances.

This would usually be sold as an upsell, which increases profit and offers cross-selling opportunities (some people might find you through the book, others the course). 

Plus, it makes sense, especially if you have a unique methodology that people can apply in their business. And it’s a low-cost introduction to buying future products and services. 

An example of repurposing your book into a course 

Building a Story Brand is one of the masters when it comes to this, with an online accreditation to become ‘certified’. They also have some checklists and worksheets as additional add-ons to add value to the course and book. 

Another is a self-help guide for copywriters by Dan Nelken which started as a book and was turned into an online course. The course touches on the same concepts but adds a lot more depth to the topics. 

Ready to repurpose your business book?

Writing a book can be a relentless, tiring, yet thoroughly rewarding experience. And while many people quit promoting once they’ve hit publish, now is the time to make the most of the hard work you’ve already put in and repurpose. 

There are multiple ways to repurpose your content, and while we’d recommend you do them all if you can – doing any is a good start. 

Generally speaking, it gives you the opportunity to reach more people, introduce them to your expertise and even has the potential for upsells. 

If you’d like to know more about how we can repurpose your business book into further content (such as blog posts or videos) get in touch with us just here. 

Lyndsay Cambridge

Owner at Jammy Digital, Digital Marketing Specialist and Writer of Young-Adult Fiction.

jammydigital.com

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