How This Single Book Turned Into A $1.4 Billion Empire
I have a question for you…
When you hear: “the most successful non-fiction book of all-time”
…which book comes to mind (besides the Bible)?
Is it a classic like How to Win Friends & Influence People…
A historic book like Meditations or The Art of War…
Or a modern hit like The 4 Hour Work Week…
…maybe something else?
According to the numbers, the most successful nonfiction book in history (financially) is none of the above.
This book has not only stayed in the bestseller charts for over two decades… but it has also earned more than $1,400,000,000 (and counting…).
That’s right… BILLION.
Let me restate that: $1.4 BILLION FROM A BOOK.
Do I have your attention yet. 😉
So what’s this book?
Well, you’ve probably heard of it before…
But you likely haven’t seen the full picture.
The most successful nonfiction book of all time is Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”
Now, the real question is… how did he do it?
That’s exactly what you’ll discover in this post.
But first, a word of warning:
If you’re content with selling a few copies of your book each day…
Or you’re simply looking to make a quick $100 in self-publishing…
Or you’re not interested in turning your message into a full-time income…
Then this post is not for you.
Now, on the other hand…
If you’re tired of selling a few books here and there…
You’re ready to explode your brand and get your message to the masses…
And you’re ready to turn your book into a real business with lasting impact…
Then keep reading.
Because here’s the thing: Stephen Covey didn’t write The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People with the dream of simply selling a few thousand copies, or even becoming a bestselling author.
Don’t get me wrong… both of these things are nice.
But, the real reason Mr. Covey wrote this unforgettable book is because he recognized its power as a tool for rapid and tremendous business growth.
And this is the big idea: Your book is not simply a book. Instead, your book is the catalyst to the booming business you’ve been dreaming of.
So how can you follow in Mr. Covey’s footsteps and leverage your book in the way he leveraged The 7 Habits?
First, you must shift your way of thinking when it comes to the earning potential of your book…
This Is Where Most Self-Published Authors Get It Wrong:
They Think Book Royalties Are The “End All Be All”
Now, let me ask you another question…
Do you think Mr. Covey built a billion dollar empire on book royalties alone?
Of course not… that’s a lot of books.
But this is the common myth so many new authors buy in to: The idea that you can get rich off of book royalties alone.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. Just look at the average numbers:
- The average book earns only $1.12 in royalties per sale…
- Only 3,000 copies are sold in a book’s lifetime (…and that’s being generous)
- Knowing this, a book’s earning potential caps out at just $3,360 – lifetime…
Plus, today’s self-publishing marketplace is more crowded than ever. And this trend is only growing.
Here’s the scary reality:
- More than 12 new books are published to Amazon every hour…
- Hudreds of thousands of authors are publishing on Amazon…
- As of this writing, Amazon is home to over 3.4M self-published books…
What does this mean for you?
It means your book’s already-tiny earning potential is being crushed more and more each day… which only further supports the notion that book royalties are pennies.
Now, I know what you’re thinking:
“Wow, Austin… this is a lot of doom-and-gloom.
If this is the reality, why even bother publishing my book?”
And that’s a great question.
But remember: You’re not publishing your book to just to make a few hundred bucks on the side… you’re publishing your book to create an evergreen tool to explode your business.
Here’s a look at how my book impacted my business:
In other words, you’re following in the footsteps of the late, great Stephen Covey.
So, you now understand that book royalties are not the goal. It’s time to dig a little deeper… just how do you use your book to grow your business?
The Book-To-Business Strategy Is Grounded In
The ONE Commonality Shared By Nearly All Millionaires
You see, here’s the sad truth:
The average American has 7 streams of debt to every 1 stream of income.
Mortgage payments…
Credit cards…
Car loans…
…the list goes on and on.
But the average millionaire has 7 streams of income. Seven!
Residual income…
Rental properties…
A salary…
…again, the list goes on and on.
Now, here’s the best part about all this: You can turn your book into more than 30 different streams of income (more on this later).
Just imagine this – very realistic – scenario:
- You write your book in the next 30 days.
- Then, you create a digital course on the topics and ideas in your book. Let’s say this takes you another 30 days.
- Next, you launch a one-on-one, coaching service. You can have this running in 10 minutes.
That’s an additional three streams of income you can create within the next 60 days.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not. Here’s how Stephen Covey did it with The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
More Books: Stephen Covey leveraged the success of The 7 Habits into a series of multiple other books, including workbooks, sequels, and niche-specific books.
Price: $4.99 to $29.95
Workshops: Covey’s business, FranklinCovey, hosts online workshops covering far too many topics to list here. But, the content of these workshops are all based on the content of his books, with more practical and actionable advice and strategies.
Here are a few examples:
Price: $399.00. Don’t believe me? Check this out:
Certification Programs: FranklinCovey offers certification programs, where you can go through a weekend training and become a Certified FranklinCovey “Facilitator.
The price? Well, this information isn’t available online without contacting a FranklinCovey representative…
But according to this forum, the cost of becoming certified is upwards of $2,000.
Yup, that’s right. Three streams of income created from just one book.
Now, combine FranklinCovey’s multiple offers to just a few of the core “From 6 To 7 Figures: The 6-Step Approach” pillars, such as:
- Great positioning
- Specific, well-researched targeting
- Multiple offerings on the backend of the business
The result? A billion dollar empire created in the span of just 2.5 decades.
And to help really drive this point home (yes… it’s that important), take a look at how Robert Kiyosaki used this same strategy with his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad:
More Books: Like Covey, Kiyosaki leveraged his initial success into a series of books, including workbooks and sequels.
Price: ~ $14.99
Workshops: Kiyosaki and team host a number of workshops, ranging from free, online webinars to paid, in-person 3-day seminars.
The price tag of Kiyosaki’s in-person seminars? They start at $797.
Coaching: Like Covey, Kioysaki has built a program where people can get certified in his teachings and become approved “Coaches.” These coaches are then commissioned to work with interested students. Here’s an example of Kiyosaki’s landing page for this service:
Price: Kiyosaki doesn’t reveal the price of his high-end coaching on his website…
But, after some digging around, you’ll discover this program is not cheap. In fact, according to some past students, it costs anywhere from $4,000 to $10,000.
Just like our pal Mr. Covey, Robert Kiyosaki understood the everlasting power found within a book. As a result, Kiyosaki has built a $80,000,000 in just 2 decades… and it all started with his book.
Now, I can continue page after page with more examples, but I think you get the idea. 🙂
And I’m also willing to bet your head is spinning right now with all the possibilities.
This is a good thing!
Because the truth is, all these possibilities aren’t too far off from where you are now.
You simply have to be more strategic than everyone else, then put in the time and work on the front end, so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor on the back end.
If you do it right, amazing things are possible for you. I’m living proof of that, as are many of our 6-Figure Author students.
The key point is this: Your book can be the driving force behind enormous business growth.
What got you to your first six figures WILL NOT get you from 6 to 7 figures!
But there’s one more critical lesson Mr. Covey can teach us…
Get this wrong, and it doesn’t matter how well you write your book, or how many offers you make to your audience.
The Last Lesson From Covey’s Success Is THE Most Important…
Ignore This & Prepare For Brutally Slow Growth
Before I share this last lesson with you, you need to understand the “Pareto Principle.”
Another name for this is the “80/20 Rule.” You may or may not have heard of it. If you haven’t, here’s the idea…
In all aspects of life and business, 20% of the inputs produce 80% of the results.
For example:
- 20% of freeways hold 80% of traffic
- 20% of customers produce 80% of revenue
- 20% of authors make 80% of the money
Well, being the “highly effective” person he was (…pun intended), Covey recognized his business was subject to the 80/20 Rule.
Covey realized 80% of his earnings were coming from a small segment in the market… his “20%.”
This market segment was corporations.
Corporations have deep pockets.
You see, normal people like you and me bought Covey’s stuff. But corporations starting buying his stuff (and his time), too.
And who has a higher willingness to pay? Exactly. Corporations.
So, Covey began creating trainings, seminars, and special workshops specifically for corporations.
In short, he used the 80/20 Rule to identify his most profitable buyers and activities. And here’s this last crucial lesson: Go where the money is!
You must identify your most profitable 20%. Then, “double down” on this group and create products and services specifically for this segment of the market.
For example, I have a friend with a very successful marketing business.
And one reason why it’s so successful is because he only serves physical therapists.
Why? Well, he found PTs were generating 80% of his revenues. So, he “doubled down” and began exclusively creating trainings for PTs. And his business has never grown quicker.
This is exactly what Covey did with his methods and corporations.
You see, 99% of the entrepreneurs I work with don’t realize their own value… they don’t focus on the top 20%.
The result? They work too hard, for too little… earning only a portion of what’s possible. But once they implement the strategies outlined in my From 6 To 7 Figures: The 6-Step Approach, they experience massive breakthroughs.
But these breakthroughs are only possible once you take a second to reflect on your business.
So, the question you need to ask yourself is: Who’s giving me 80% of my earnings?
Then, “double down” on this segment and create products and services specifically for these customers.
We’ve covered a lot of ground, so let’s recap…
Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits Isn’t Just A Book…
It’s The Ultimate Growth Hack!
Remember, royalties are pennies.
The real money, the lasting impact, the undying legacy… is a direct result of turning your book into a business by leveraging it into multiple streams of income.
And the key piece in this strategy is finding your customers with the money and servicing them as best you can.
By now, you realize the limitless potential of your book…
…but you have a lot of unanswered questions, don’t you?
I’d know, because I had them too.
You see, I only discovered this “book-to-business” strategy a few short years ago.
But after months of planning and preparation, I created a system and put it through the ultimate test. And what happened?
I rose from obscurity to a leading authority in the cut-throat personal finance space in just 30 days… and made $106,127 in the process.
Then I tested this system over, and over, and over again…
…and the results grew more and more impressive.
After realizing this system flat out works for anyone who wants to explode their business, I packaged my years of experience into my flagship program, From 6 To 7 Figures: The 6-Step Approach.
(…because that’s exactly what you’ll become after following this proven formula).
If you’re still reading this, you need to watch a special training I created for you. From 6 To 7 Figures: The 6-Step Approach… and shows you exactly how New York Times and first-time authors use this strategy to create massive success… such as:
- Earning over $250k in royalties from ONE book…
- Earning $44k “on the side” of a full-time job in one week!
- Turning a “dead” book into over $500k…
From 6 To 7 Figures: The 6-Step Approach
To your success,
Austin G. Netzley
Founder, Epic Launch