In yesterday’s post, I showed you a comparatively quick, easy and inexpensive way to self-publish your own fitness book.

Today I want to show you how to maximize local distribution of your book – leveraging it to grow your fitness business.

Here we go…

Your Book = Media Appearances

I’m kind of a news junkie. I got the habit back in the day when I wrote political fund raising copy and it’s just stuck with me. Plus, I like to stay informed – I like to know what’s going on. If you watch any of the cable news shows, you’ll notice that a large percentage of the guests are promoting their books.

As authors, they have a point of view to talk about, authority and credibility.

Of course, you don’t just see these authors on news shows. They’re also on shows like Oprah. Anywhere they can get an audience and sell books. It’s quid pro quo: the show needs content/newsworthiness/entertainment/POV and the author wants to sell books.

So the author goes on a “book tour.”

Can you do the same in your city – a local book tour?

The answer is…of course.

You’ve got dozens of local network TV, local cable TV, and radio stations that all need to fill air time. And they love local stories.

Having your own book, particularly on a hot topic such as weight loss/fitness/health, puts you in-demand.

That’s just one of many ways to promote your book locally, attain local celebrity status and explode your client-getting and money-making.

How about a couple more?

Your Book = Speaking Gigs

There are dozens, if not hundreds of associations in your city. You’d love to get speaking gigs at these places, right? Maybe you’ve even tried and not gotten much of a response.

Having a published book changes the dynamic and makes you a much, much more attractive speaker.

Same goes for women’s groups, civic groups, MeetUp.com groups – every group imaginable.

You are a dramatically more attractive speaker to them when you’re a published author.

And just sending a copy of your book along with a cover letter offering your services as a speaker will land you a heck of a lot more gigs than if you didn’t have a book.

Your book gives you instant authority, celebrity, credibility…gravitas!

It makes you an in-demand speaker.

And we already know that public speaking is one of the fastest and most powerful ways to grow your business. Combine public speaking with being an author and you’ve got the magic formula.

Also, and this is important, when you land media appearances and speaking gigs because of your book, you have something very specific to discuss…your book! And you have something very specific to sell…your book!

And what is your book, really?

The ultimate fitness marketing tool. That’s what.

When your fitness book is created to be a strategic fitness marketing tool as I discussed yesterday (and there are plenty of examples you can follow, like all of Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. books) few things can sell your services better.

Your Book And Retail Distribution

Book stores are great, and it should be a goal to get book store distribution.

But it’s not the first place to go. Book stores are so competitive.

Here’s a better alternative.

Pay close attention…

Align yourself with a great local charity in your city and set it up so that $3 (or whatever) from every sale goes to the charity.

And then prominently state that on the cover of your book, naming the charity and including their logo (with permission).

Now you’ve got a great “reason why” to enlist the support of ALL the local retailers/business owners, not just book stores.

Get yourself some of those inexpensive plastic counter-top displays that hold a half-dozen books and start talking to local business owners (does not have to just be retailers – in fact I’d start with business owners who serve your ideal client, like chiropractors, massage, spas, etc.).

Show them the book, tell them about the fund raising for charity and ask them if they’ll display your book for sale on their counter.

Here are some rough numbers: If the book costs you $4 to produce with a service like LuLu, then maybe your charge $10 for the book at retail. $3 goes to charity, $3 goes to business owner, $4 goes back to you to cover your costs.

The business owner isn’t going to make much from the sale of your book. But that’s okay…because he/she is doing a service for the local community by helping support charity, while also providing a great book with information that helps his/her customers.

Sure, not every business owner will do it, but so what? If you can get 2 or 3 out of every 5 to say yes, within a month or so you could have 50 or more local businesses selling your book to their local customers.

You won’t move a ton of books, but that doesn’t matter a bit. You’re only breaking even on the books anyway (you may even go negative a buck or two – again, so what – it’s still one of the cheapest way to buy clients – and everyone buys their clients). Retail sales are meaningless as revenue generators anyway. It’s all about the positioning and the lead generation. Because every person who buys your book is a great prospect for your services.

Keep in mind that what I’m talking about here is a marketplace domination STRATEGY. This is 100X more powerful than tactical marketing. Is there work involved? Yes, no doubt. Is it worth it? Absolutely. But only for those who are ultra-serious about marketplace domination. You can’t do this half-assed and expect positive results.

You need to go all-in.

But going all-in is the ‘ultimate’ success formula anyway. Toe-in-the-water never gets it done.

I could go on about this, but I think you get the point.

Two final notes, and they’re VERY important:

1. The cover art and title of your book are critical. Lots of thought needs to go into those elements.

2. You’ve probably noticed (if you’re a real fitness marketing maniac) that all the top direct response folks who write books make an irresistible offer of some sort that is prominently advertised on the cover of their books (again, I refer you to Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. books as example). You absolutely must do this…because the strategy is lead generation, after all!

If you’d be interested in learning more about this strategy, possibly via a live webinar training event, let me know in the comments below. If there’s enough interest, we can probably put something together.

Also, if you liked these posts – if this resonated with you – let me know by commenting below. And by all means, if you have an idea to add, please share it so everyone else can benefit.

Be a fitness marketing maniac,
Eric Ruth