How Writing a Book Boosts Your Authority and Builds Your Personal Brand with Michelle J Raymond

If you've ever dreamed of writing a book to share your message and wisdom, this episode is for you.

Ever since age 13, I wanted to pen a book and it wasn't until decades later, in November 2022, did I realize that goal with the publishing of THE LINKEDIN BRANDING BOOK by #MichelleSquared with my co-author Michelle J Raymond.

That's why I'm excited to have her as this week's guest of Ask The Brand Therapist: Personal Branding Talk Show so we can share our strategies and stories so you can bring your "book baby" into the world.

We'll discuss:

• How to turn your idea into committed action
• The hardest and easiest parts of the process
• Why you need a long runway to promote vs write
• The beautiful benefits that far outweigh the headaches

And our hilarious stories you may or may not want to repeat.

LINKS
Connect with Michelle J Raymond on LinkedIn

Listen: The LinkedIn Branding Book Turns One: Our Best Tips & Takeaways (Plus Ones You Can't Avoid) Writing Your First Brand-Building Book

Learn: Book Marketing And Publishing Tips With #MichelleSquared

Michelle B Griffin is a thought leadership-focused personal brand and PR strategist and founder of Standout Women Media who positions established women experts and authors into visible industry authorities.

If you're ready to up-level, a powerful personal & PR brand foundation are key. Become clear, confident, and cohesive in your branding, positioning, messaging, LinkedIn, and PR strategy in 30 days with my Visible Brand Authority Accelerator™.

Learn more MichelleBGriffin.com

WORK WITH ME: Launch Your Authority Brand in 30 Days
SPEAKING: Thought Leadership & Empowerment for Women
MY NEW BOOK: Sign Up for VIP Updates (Oct 15, 2024)
READ MY BOOK: The LinkedIn Branding Book
JOIN: My LinkedIn Branding Community
LISTEN: The LinkedIn Branding Show
CONNECT: With Me on LinkedIn

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey, it's Michelle, just pop it in to give you a heads up on what this week's episode is all about. So I'm so excited to celebrate it's been a year since the LinkedIn branding book was published. Many of you who have just joined the podcast may or may not know that the show went on hiatus for a year, from July 2022 to July 2023. During that time, I was writing a book. I launched another podcast all about LinkedIn branding, and no, you don't have to put a podcast on hold. There are some other backstories If you go in previous episodes you'll see that but today I'm going to share with you all about writing a book.

Speaker 1: 0:40

Many of us have so many aspirations and dreams to write a book someday, whether it be fiction or nonfiction, sharing your message, your passion, your story, your expertise. So many of us want to do that, yet very few of us do. You know, when I was 13, I started pinning little books and then started dreaming about one day and it was a bucket list. Now, my goal for you on this show is to help you put yourself out there, whichever way you want or can, but a book is an excellent way to communicate what you do, share your expertise, build your authority and it's not as hard as you think. In fact, this episode is exactly the steps you need to get your mindset kick that imposter syndrome and really start taking action. So I know you'll enjoy this. It's just a fun candidate. What we learned, what we do over. And the beautiful thing is that on my sister podcast this same week, we have another episode all about building your brand and writing a book to do so. So I'll link in the show notes to that. Plus. There's another link I'll share. A year ago, after the book was published, in our big launch week, we went on another podcast and shared all of our best tips and strategies on book marketing and promotion. So if you're looking to someday write a book hopefully sooner than later this episode, plus the two in the show notes, will give you a really good jumpstart. If you have any questions about your book dream, reach out to me. I am here to help because that's essentially what got me out there, because I started talking to other people and got excited and got a path. So I know you'll enjoy today's episode.

Speaker 1: 2:21

Let's get to it. Hey, there, it's the brand therapist, michelle B Griffin, and welcome to your weekly personal brand therapy session. As a certified personal brand and PR strategist, speaker and author, I'm here to empower you to put yourself out there so you can find clarity, build visibility and grow your industry authority. I'm super excited you're here. Now let's get going with today's session. Welcome everybody to this week's session of Ask the Brand Therapist. I'm the brand therapist, michelle B Griffin, and today is a special treat. I have got someone all the way from Sydney, australia, someone I think you may know and someone I know Gosh, it's been three years now and we're here to tell you all about the power of building your personal brand with a book. So, without further ado, welcome to the show for, I think, the third time.

Speaker 2: 3:14

Michelle J Raymond, I'm like a friend of the show and there's nowhere else I'd rather be. I just use this as an excuse for us to talk, because apparently we don't talk enough.

Speaker 1: 3:26

Absolutely not. And for those who not I don't think there's many people, but for those who don't quite know you, let's tell everyone who you are again, what you do and who you do it for, and exactly why a book is going to be such a game changer, why it has been and why we're going to help people realize that's the case for them as well.

Speaker 2: 3:48

Yeah, absolutely so, michelle J Raymond. As you can tell, I'm here in Sydney, australia. That's the accent that everybody has come to know and apparently love. So I am a LinkedIn trainer and strategist for B2B businesses who are looking to create a dream team to smash their opposition income and win all of those opportunities on LinkedIn. So I've been doing this for around 10 years. Social selling on LinkedIn first became an author yeah, I can't believe it Two years ago and I have two books and I can't wait to share with your audience how they've changed things, what I love about it, maybe what scared me a little back in the beginning, and hopefully it encourages some of your listeners to potentially consider that everyone can write a book.

Speaker 1: 4:34

I have everything to writing the LinkedIn branding book, which we co-authored a year ago. This week, within a matter of days, it came out. I owe it all to you because you had been on that journey before and I saw all that you have done and really all the, as you said, changed the game. You've got so many opportunities. And let's give everyone a little bit of backstory. In December 2020, you and I met on a comment, so the power of comment is huge. We quickly hit it off. That first Zoom session. We were like three hours. It just went nuts From there. We collaborated, we did everything. We started what the LinkedIn, what was it called back then? The? Was it even the LinkedIn branding show?

Speaker 2: 5:14

It was Stand Up and Rise Up on LinkedIn in January 2022 as an audio show, michelle, that's right and the power of comments is the way that I got to write my first book as well. So I think for people there's going to be a lesson here. So how did that happen? First of all, what you always say to everyone be known for that one thing. So company pages is my thing that I'm known for. So from that I jumped onto a post two years ago or two and a half years ago and I had a contrarian opinion to the post about it was rubbish in company pages. And I was like no, you should really consider the value of company pages. Now in that post my comment was seen. So that post happened for a friend of mine who was in Vienna. And then it was seen by someone who had a podcast in Dubai, and so he was like Michelle, never heard anyone talk about company pages like that. How about you come on my podcast? And I was like, ok, then this is back at the very beginning of things for me.

Speaker 2: 6:16

And then that podcast was listened to by someone in New Zealand, lynette Johnston, who we jumped on a Zoom call. Michelle, not kidding, 15 minutes into our very first Zoom call, never really spoken to an interactive, before she says would you like to write a book with me. And here's how my brain went on the inside it went oh my God, what did this woman just ask me? Is she crazy? I don't know how to write a book. I've never written a book, is she? And it just that noise went off. But my mouth said, sure, I don't know what happens. But head said one thing, mouth said another. And I was so grateful to Lynette because she'd written her first book a year earlier and had spotted a gap in the market. So it's now the world's first and only book on company pages. So power of commenting leads to powerful collaborations, which you and I are the poster girls for this, I think.

Speaker 1: 7:08

Absolutely. Then we did the podcast and I said, Michelle, can we do a book on this? And because you were like the guide who went ahead, just as Lynette did for you, you felt comfortable enough to say yeah, and you helped me along, and that's the message I want to give everyone listening to this. So many of us have, and for me it was like 13. When I was in seventh grade, I just got.

Speaker 1: 7:29

I would pin these little things and I remember thinking one day I'm going to write a book and so many of us walk around most of our lives and never do it. And I can tell you it changed everything. For me, it was truly a bucket list, but it wasn't just for that. You and I had a premise and a goal of really wanting to help people get out on LinkedIn. For me, I was hidden and held back at least nine months in 2020, and it took everything and that was how we framed it. But for those who really want to build a personal brand or boost their personal brand, a book is everything.

Speaker 1: 8:04

So let's get into that today and, spoiler alert or maybe not spoiler alert our LinkedIn branding show tomorrow will have another topic, exactly like this. So I'm going to come back and link in the LinkedIn live version comments and then, of course, when this podcast goes live, I'll cross link to that and then shout out to our friend Brenda Miller, because I have included in those show notes. Our year ago we got in her show talking about the book promotion and marketing aspect. So we almost have you covered between all of this. But the main thing is getting out the gate, Michelle. Where does one start? I know you had a guide. Where does one start? Let's really help people, as we love to do, get out of their head and get on their way with this.

Speaker 2: 8:50

Yeah, I think for me. I remember you saying me back in the beginning when we were writing our book Michelle, we need to come up with a framework, and I was like I don't understand what's a framework? And after collaborating with you, that was something that I learned is an easy way for other people to understand what we do, probably naturally, without even thinking about it, it's become part of who we are, so we just think everybody else knows what we can do, and I think that's the curse. Of knowledge is a term that I heard recently and I say, yes, that's absolutely it. We think, because we know everything, that everybody else already knows everything on whatever this topic is.

Speaker 2: 9:28

But the truth is and we've seen this firsthand with the LinkedIn branding book when you go back and share about the lessons, for instance, that we'd learned in our own businesses and our own worlds for the last couple of years beforehand, that helped so many people who were us two years ago get started, get moving, get out into the game, and for me, that's the thing that really encourages me to get going. So, writing a book Now I'd say there's my way, there's your way, there's Lene's way. I don't think there's one right way to do a book is what I would have to put out there, because that's the thing that we discovered. Writing the book is that the system that Lene and I used and worked really well for us did not come across and work for the two of us. We had to find our own way, and so I think that's a lesson in itself, michelle. Do it your own way, and whatever that way is will be perfect, and I think for our little perfectionist friends that might be a good lesson out there.

Speaker 1: 10:33

Yeah, it's exactly right. And then bringing in also some mutual friends Brenda Miller, our friend and our who we do LinkedIn trifecta talks with, she wrote her book in 30 days. She took a course and got coached. There's people who do that. There's our friend, jillian Whitney, who decided she was going to do like a mini book to get her feet wet, and even since then I think last week or this week she has a second book out. So once you get that system going, you find your rhythm. Then you've got to get going, because for you and I it took about nine months. But, as we said in our podcast recording, we really started getting our mojo and really went to town on it about in what? 90 days, three months, yeah, so you could, I would say within a year's time. If you drag it out longer than that, I guess maybe if you have a published book with a publisher house, maybe that would be, but in our case a year's time is probably more than enough.

Speaker 2: 11:25

Yeah, For me, I think there's a balance between what's manageable, because it's not the only thing that we were doing during that time. We were both busy with clients, growing our business and the day to day runnings of those businesses, as well as maintaining our presence on LinkedIn and all the other things that we need to do to stay top of mind with other people, and from that perspective, I feel nine months to a year is realistic. I've seen people that say write a book in 30 days, 60 days, 90 days. I think if that's the only thing you had to do, it's entirely possible. I think if you have a lot of existing work and a lot of written work that you can refer back to, maybe that's possible. But, practically speaking, I think if you give yourself enough time, you don't end up as rushed, and that's maybe my motto for this year is focusing on one thing giving it enough time and making sure that it gets done, because I'm going to guess that there's lots and lots of books out there that are sitting in somebody's theoretical filing cabinet whether that's online or otherwise where no one got to finish it, and that's disappointing, and I think there's a lot of things that can come up.

Speaker 2: 12:46

I know for me in the first book that I wrote it was so hard to finish, michelle, because I got nervous. I got really nervous that what was about to happen was I was about to put all of my thoughts, my heart, my soul, all of the energy that I'd put out into the universe. And that's scary. I was worried. What will people think? The last chapter of Business Gold is about predictions for the future of company pages and I was like what if I get that wrong? What will people think? Will I do more damage? And, as it turns out, I had nothing to worry about yet again.

Speaker 1: 13:22

I'm glad you brought up imposter syndrome Today. I wrote a whole post about related to this topic and it's not for some people writing a book, it's other things just getting it on LinkedIn. But the word imposter syndrome crept up in a few of the comments and also the comments when I put this event out there. That's what holds most of us back. We wrote the LinkedIn branding book. We identified 30 fears and we actually talk about mindset imposter syndrome.

Speaker 1: 13:49

All that in the first section of our book, our framework. We have to get past that and I believe I said in our recording we had to think of our why, our picture? Who are we writing this book for? So that's my number one tip Set your parameters or guardrails. And why are you writing this? Who is this for? Really clear, who's it for, why is it matters and what is their outcome. So the days you're like, oh, I can't do this or I don't want to write, you've got to remember that one person you're writing for. And, michelle, when you think back to all the people in the last year through the show and the book and all the ones that reached out to us and told us how much they resonated with the book and our collective stories. Can you think of all those people would be deprived if we had said, oh, maybe not, we're not ready to put this out in the world?

Speaker 2: 14:38

It would literally bring me to tears, because there are the stories and the recommendations and posts that people did. I'll cherish them forever, like hands down. I know that the book that we wrote made a difference, not just to people on LinkedIn but even outside of that. Like I'll always remember Lois Cliff's message. It went beyond LinkedIn for her and shout out to Lois, if she happens to listen to this, because that touched me.

Speaker 2: 15:07

And you're right, there are so many days that you think why am I doing this? Imagine, remember what I kept saying to you, michelle. Just think it's just like being pregnant and you go through that whole process and it's uncomfortable and all that stuff happens, but when that baby arrives, no one cares about the stuff that happened beforehand. And I think writing a book even though I haven't had a baby, so maybe I can't use that analogy, writing a book is so that for me, is I forgot about all of the hard work. I forgot about the frustrations, the doubts, this imposter syndrome. All went out the window. The second, somebody said to me oh my God, you helped me, michelle and Michelle.

Speaker 1: 15:48

Oh, I've had three babies and I can tell you it's dead. On analogy, when you told me that, I repeated that in my brain all the time. When I was at midnight writing, because I didn't do it in the rest of the day, I was up at midnight. Michelle, no one remembers the labor pains, they just remember the cute baby and that stuck in my mind. So, yes, okay, we're moving along. Why you do it? Give yourself time Getting through that imposter syndrome.

Speaker 1: 16:13

I love that you brought up a framework. I just want to go back to that point because there's a lot of us out there who might already have a framework or point of view that you already are existing and using. You can just flip that into a book and it can really help you on so many levels. We'll talk about public relations and promotion, all that down the road, or they might be able to catch our next one, but having a framework existing already gives you a leg up on that. If you need to do a book and you want to do a book, let's also talk about it. Doesn't have to be long. Okay, there's a trend to short books and small books and all those things because people need to digest things fast. So just because you want to write a book does not mean it has to be three to four hundred pages. What was ours? Like 130 or something Very digestible?

Speaker 2: 16:59

Yeah, that's right and my other book was exactly the same. I think the book needs to be as long as the book needs to be and there's a kind of premise that for some people it's if I make it big it's better, because it's all about showing how much knowledge I know. And again, when you're clear, like you said, about who you're writing it for and why you're writing it. For us it was people back at the beginning. They don't need to be overwhelmed with four hundred pages of ideas, tips, strategies, of things they're not even doing. It would just become overwhelming.

Speaker 2: 17:33

So by having the target audience in mind, you can write to that. It might be different for someone that's an academic or a scholar that's targeting things at a completely different end of the scale. It might be a much bigger book, but I think you write the book that needs to be written for that audience. And again, it has to guide you with everything that you write, because you'll get stuck in your own head doing it for your own reasons and nobody else cares and they will just smell that from a mile away when they start reading. And they don't want to read about you. They want to read about how, what you've been through or what you know can help them get to where you are, and I think that's an important point to note.

Speaker 1: 18:14

Absolutely. I can remember many people reaching out saying thank you for making it. I read it with under two hours because we also wanted people to have applied learning and action, because I have many books and many of courses that I've never finished and I get excited when I read a new topic and I want to go and take action. So that's another thing. Keep it actionable and doable. You can always have second and follow up books to keep along the series. So, yes, that was another thing. Now, another thing is I think people realize that you almost need to start now if you ever think you want to write a book because you want to cultivate some kind of community or I hate the word followers, but we like community because that just makes the run may so much easier and people are excited about your journey. I think we only announced it 90 days out. I wouldn't even recommend it six months out or a year because people get so excited. So let's talk about the aspects of building your brand and a community and how the book ties into that.

Speaker 2: 19:17

Yeah, and I would also say that if you think that you're going to show up on LinkedIn after being silent for years and years and nobody's even aware of you, if you're going to pop up on stage and literally go, here's my book by my book, and you just pop out of nowhere, I can give you the very handy tip that's going to be completely ineffective. Linkedin takes time, and I'm sure that the other platforms do. If you're not paying for ads and things like that, that's not an option. So you have to start way before that, because people are going to buy that book because of the relationships you've built.

Speaker 2: 19:53

The brand you've built those foundational things that you always talk about, michelle, and remind us of is making sure that people know that. So when they have knowledge that the book's coming out, they're going to want to buy it. There's already going to be that need there and if we're not famous in other ways, then branding is the way that we get that attention and I think the landing sorry, the LinkedIn branding book for me just reaffirmed who we were for people and put that out in a different format, and I think that's the thing that people just go oh, my God, I can see your story in that, michelle, or Michelle Griffin. I can see your story in that, but they've already seen that story over a period of time, so it's not unfamiliar. It just expanded on what we talk about You're so right.

Speaker 1: 20:47

As I say, a personal brand is like compound interest Start now and you will just keep growing it, and that's why people really got excited. On our MichelleSquarecom website you can go and see the global Good Waller readers. So anytime someone would send us a picture of them holding the book. Sometimes even they're cute dogs and pets. They're on the global Good Waller readers and people just love that. So that's another thing.

Speaker 1: 21:10

Start building your runway now, really showing up in LinkedIn if this is your ideal audience and cultivate community, build relationships and nurture that, and then people are just going to rally behind you because you're right. You can't just show up one day. Here's my book and it's talking to invisible people. They don't know who you are Like. That doesn't make sense. So now this is again how to build a brand, how to write a book. Now is the time to start. So I love that, michelle, and it just keeps going on. So this is a perfect segue to the benefits of writing a book, how it's completely really boosted your brand. Now you have an extra, really game changing, because you have two books and, dare I say, maybe two and a half, because you're coming out next week. Tell everyone real quick about the new book.

Speaker 2: 21:57

Yeah, so we are up to the second edition of Business Gold, so so much has changed in company pages that we have come back again. And, michelle, you know me, I keep launching these things on my birthday, on or around, depending where you are in the world but ultimately we had to get back together and repeat the process to update it, to make sure that it was the best possible. Now, why did I do that? Because I've got a lot going on with my rebrand, as you do, and why did I want to add in the redoing business goal? Because of being known for one thing, because of creating authority by being an author and talking about this subject consistently, as I got the opportunity to speak at Social Media Marketing World in February, which is our opportunity, where we'll finally get to meet next year.

Speaker 2: 22:44

I can't believe it's actually happening, but I thought if I go there talking about company pages and this book isn't the best version of what I could put forward, then that would take away some of the experience or credibility of those people who may not have the resources to be able to work with me one-on-one, but a book is a really great way for a lot of company page admins to get started, and so I was starting to get to the point where so much had changed and a lot of that was me I'd changed and my business had changed and how I saw LinkedIn had changed in just two years and so we went back and refreshed that and I'm excited that is coming out next week. But I look at the LinkedIn branding book and that's more timeless. That's not something that I see needs to be updated frequently, because we have gone back to. These are the foundational steps that you always will have to follow, regardless of what changes on LinkedIn and having those things, and it is a celebration for me for these things to come out every year around my birthday.

Speaker 2: 23:51

I know we talk about doing these for authority and branding and that side of thing. That's your side of LinkedIn, for sure, but for me, I've got to tell you when I'm on a client call and they're talking about company pages and I go. I wrote the world's first and only book about it and I hold that one up and then I go and this is how you use company pages and build your employees personal brands. I wrote that book on it and then that just people on the other side sit back and go oh wow, if you wrote books on it, you must know what you're talking about. So it's that instant credibility which I am sure you have, the same experience on your side.

Speaker 1: 24:30

Absolutely. It just helps you get booked to get a more podcast, to speak people. It just raises your cloud the word author and authority, or synonymous, if you will, and it just that hard work. It was all worth it because now you're seeing, as an even more subject matter axis, a validation right. It's on Amazon, it's out there, it's a published, tangible thing that shows your expertise. So, yeah, and let's talk about now. We've both seen the benefits from it. But for those who are thinking I want to write a book, let's tell them how we use it real quick. And I know you just said discovery calls. But how else do you market that evergreen? So that's always around and people are synonymous with those books in you.

Speaker 2: 25:13

Michelle, can I confess something to your listeners? I've got to say this is the part where I've dropped the ball, if I look at what I could have should have done sometimes getting busy and all the other things that I'm juggling I haven't used these books to the full advantage that I know I could be, and this is something as I've been going through Operation Rebrand. I'm looking at everything and I realize that there are people in my LinkedIn community that don't even know that I wrote business goal, that probably don't even know that I have the LinkedIn branding book, and that is such a missed opportunity, not one that's gone forever. And again, I understand why it's happened and what's going on, but for me, I don't think I've even touched the surface of how I can use these books to help me grow my business, because that's what I'm interested in using them for. So I think there's so many easy ways that you can do this. Especially, I love LinkedIn. There's so many tools on there, whether it's newsletters, articles, posts, videos, linkedin lives, linkedin audio rooms where we could go and talk about this. It's on me to make those things happen.

Speaker 2: 26:27

What I think I did is I didn't schedule it into my content plan to make sure that I keep the book's top of mind and from that perspective, that's something, as I go into the new year, that I'm starting to think. You know what I spent? What did we spend? Nine months minimum making these things come to life, heart and soul. It's crazy to not share it with people because it's missing out on helping other people out there. It's probably not the answer you expected, but I think it shows people that I'm going to say it again. The thing that I'm learning as I grow in business is to have a strategy before you put the book out. I, me, I'm just dive in and get it done kind of person, but having a strategy for how you're going to market and promote that product and sell it while it's hot is something that you need to consider. It's not just about writing the book.

Speaker 1: 27:23

No, you can leverage that and you can do courses, you can do workshops, you can do events, products. There's endless things you can do. It should be an ecosystem, and I think we were very excited and I even probably fell off some part not keeping it consistent in my content strategy too, but I have been consistent, making it everywhere as far as the branding, but, yeah, the content, and then leveraging it for other products and workshops. It is now in one of my signature talks, so we can both have this. Even though we co-read, I want to talk about co-writing too. We both have this asset. And then we also created the workbook. Now, the workbook has been phenomenal too. I know I sprung it on you two or three weeks before we published and you wanted to kill me, but now you thank me. Let's talk about that.

Speaker 2: 28:16

That is true it was, and it was those last few weeks that the workbook all of a sudden popped out of nowhere. Michelle says, yes, we're going to do it. I'm like rocking in a corner, going. We haven't even got the other part finished yet. So I look at these things and I laugh. And we just got it done because you knew that this was going to take the book to another level. So I'm so grateful you did take the lead and we got that out there and I personally used it. So I know how fantastic it is.

Speaker 2: 28:45

And the thing that I always say to people, whenever anyone does training with me, my LinkedIn training I always give them a copy of the book because and I tell them, go to page 18, download the workbook. You are going to want to go and do the branding work before you start on LinkedIn and I talk about it and you talk about it in your own ways, and that's what I love about it is that we've both got together. I think there's probably a tale of caution that I don't think it would work with just anyone and everyone. I think there's potential for disaster if you end up trying to co-author with the wrong person or people, because there's lots of multi-author books, which I think are a cool way to get started. But I just imagine, like we were friends and there were ways that we realized that we just work so differently and I can only imagine, if you're not friends with someone and that happens, what the outcome is. But we were so committed to helping everyone else and that's the thing that drove us.

Speaker 2: 29:46

As you said, hold on to that. But yeah, for me, I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't a collaboration in both circumstances. I love the accountability of being accountable to someone else. It makes life easier for me. But there's so many other advantages. There were things that you saw and spoke about and wrote about that I would never have thought about things like that. So my knowledge expanded and that's the cool thing about going through this process. But yeah, it's not easy, but is it worth it? Oh, a thousand percent.

Speaker 1: 30:20

Yeah, a thousand million percent, and that's the thing. If I was going to bring in the idea of having a co-author, I think it's a good stepping stone, but you're right, you really do have to have a collaboration feeling, and the beautiful thing is we were not stepping into each other's toes. We have a collective vision, but we had different lanes of our business and the way we operate, so it's not like we're both on company pages and I know you and Lenea are and that worked out well, so that was a good thing too. If you want to write a book, a co-authorship or solo authorship is definitely ideal, so I wanted to bring all the aspects on the table.

Speaker 1: 30:57

But having some kind of like you said knowledge of this person in advance, I think is really important, because you learn a lot Like you and I, really as much as we are. So alike we're like will I do some things like wow, ok, so we had to get our groove on and it was like it all worked out. Definitely do your homework on. So, as we wrap up, what are some of the top level tips that we would give for today on Action Items, anything that you think we left out that should be top of mind and let's do this first, because I really want people to start thinking and doing, especially as a new year comes. Make that your truly, not a new year's resolution, a new year's. I'm doing it.

Speaker 2: 31:39

I think for me, start writing things down and taking notes, whether that's the frequently asked questions that you get from your community, what's coming up in the comments in your post. Start taking note of where the knowledge gaps are. Start taking note of what people really engage with and take value from. I think if you actually break this thing down into much smaller, bite-sized chunks, it's much easier. Think about what could be 10 or 12 chapter titles. What logical flow would you step through? Don't worry about any of the words. Don't worry about writing, just the topics. Keep it really simple. From that you could then just break it down into smaller bits to get sections written One chapter at a time.

Speaker 2: 32:25

Now my brain works that I don't like to write in order. It's crazy. If we've got 10 chapters and I am responsible for five, I won't go one, two, three, four, five. I might go four, three, two, one, five. Do what works for you. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to that.

Speaker 2: 32:45

I find it a bit tricky to plan these things, but I can also see the advantage of planning these things. It sounds crazy. How do you not plan a book? You know how my brain works. My brain's like just get in there and get it done. This is what I but collaborations. I think it's important to have that plan so that you all agree upfront where you're going. It's tricky, I think in hindsight, writing a collaborative book because you've realistically For us. We laugh now If I say the word whilst Michelle goes why are you writing that?

Speaker 2: 33:23

Because I had to write in US English. I had to make sure that our styles were very similar. You and I were writing the things that sounded the same. It didn't look like the book had two crazy different personalities. All of those kind of things need to be agreed upfront. Do the work upfront. The writing becomes the easy part. Shout out to our friend, joe Martin, who helped us self-publish on Amazon. If there's anybody that needs help with that, I'm always happy to connect people. Oh my God, if I think about it now, just break it down into much smaller bits and start planning. Just scribble it on a napkin, so to speak, and you'll be surprised what you can do.

Speaker 1: 34:02

Now I love that, Getting support, whether it is, like you said, talking to other people there's book coaches. It depends on your goals, your budget. All the time there's a lot of things, but get out of your brain and get doing it. I read a few books on Amazon that were very helpful. I actually talked to people. I talked to Brenda Mellor. I talked to a lot of people who had written books. They gave me tips, ideas on just the overall concept.

Speaker 1: 34:27

Here's the biggest tip of all writing is not hard. It is the organization and the simplification of your ideas that make sense and make it readable. It has to be something that is readable, because you can end up being a robot with all your information. It has to really be, in today's day and age, very readable and digestible. People need those stories and all that that really helps sell it. You'll get a flair for your ideas and stuff, but just get help, start taking action. Put a date on the calendar, maybe announce it and get it out there, because you all have a book in you. Look, if we can do it, you can do it. We are like Miss Planner and Miss Jump in the Deep End. If we can make that work, anybody can, right? Michelle.

Speaker 2: 35:16

Couldn't agree more. I honestly believe that there are so many ideas out there that are sitting on the proverbial shelf waiting to go out and help other people out in the community. If you are that person and you need some inspiration, some cheering on, some kick up the butt, whatever it is, reach out to Michelle and I. We'd love to inspire you and help you get on your way. Maybe some of our experience we can pay that forward and help you get started.

Speaker 1: 35:45

Absolutely. We are always here to lend support. That's pretty much what our Michelle Squared brand is all about. Michelle, thank you so much for waking up early on your side of the world to come talk about the power of a book for your personal brand. Congratulations on Business Gold 2.0. Tell us again where we can find you and all the things.

Speaker 2: 36:07

It is Friday, the 17th of November, here in Australia, which is the 16th of November in the US, which is the day before my birthday, because my birthday is on a Saturday this year, so I couldn't keep up the full tradition. I'm really excited to put it out there, because these are really things that I think when you're an author, you write them for other people, and these are my gifts to other people. It makes my work and the work that you do, michelle, makes it more accessible for our community, which is really important to us. I can't wait for these to just keep helping people, keep letting other people grow. Who knows, maybe one day they'll be on a podcast sharing the tips that we inspired them to write a book, and now they're paying it forward to someone else. That would be amazing.

Speaker 1: 36:51

Exactly Pay it for, like linear did to you, you did to me and hopefully continues. Where else can people find you, Michelle, if they want to check out more of what you do on your business side?

Speaker 2: 37:01

Yeah, always find me on LinkedIn, michelle J Raymond. As you've discovered just by this podcast, there's lots of Michelle's on the platform. The Michelle J Raymond is where you'll find me, but also go check out my YouTube channel at LinkedIn for B2B growth. I've got stacks of videos on there that will help people as well.

Speaker 1: 37:19

You have a really good podcast and a shout out to our Michellesquaredcom brand. You can go there, check out our book, our podcast, our community, the global good, waller readers. Then I'll link to our podcast tomorrow that drops all about books. That has a lot we didn't cover today, so I feel like it's going to be all around a lot Everything you need to know about two people who wrote a book or two in the last two years and hopefully you can do two. All right, everybody. That's it for today's session. Thank you so much for joining us. I'll be back next week, but until then, keep putting yourself out there. You have a brand to build, a message to share and people to impact. I'll catch you next week, take care. That's a wrap for today's brand therapy session. Are you ready to get visible and build your personal brand? Then head on over to the brandtherapistio and grab my free resources to get unstuck and get going today. Until next time, thanks for listening.