Ray Brehm's Blog, page 21
September 3, 2021
What Never To Do When Reaching Out To An Influencer
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
Never assume you know how someone will react when you reach out.
I love telling this story, though it is embarrassing.
When I first wanted to connect with Derek Doepker, I figured the easiest way to do it would be to friend him on Facebook.
But it felt scary.
What if he rejected me, or worse, ignored me?
I recall hovering my mouse over the friend button for about 20 minutes, inventing all different kinds of outcomes in my mind.
Then I decided to wait.
I waited another 24 hours to get up the guts to use that very unobtrusive way to connect.
The result?
He accepted the friendship in minutes.
I have had similar experiences reaching out to people on email.
I would say, _my name is Ray Brehm and seem to travel in the same circles as you._
Many times the response was a friendly…
_”I know who you are. Sure, let’s chat!”_
Yet, human nature tells us to be scared and let our minds run rampant with the worst-case scenarios.
The truth is, when I was a young and single man, just asking a woman for a phone number was a traumatic experience.
Most people are very nice when you reach out, and even if they aren’t, at least you know not to put them up on a pedestal anymore.
Fast forward to yesterday, and Derek gave a free training session to my audience about audiobooks.
The day before, I presented something to his audience.
It is hard to describe how wrong your negative mind can steer you.
You just have to reach out, no reason to hesitate.
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
P.S. Derek’s audiobook training was excellent, and the replay is up in case you missed it.
https://bestsellersecrets.com/audiobooksreplayray [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/h3ToODpv...]
He also offers a paid training, where you can look over his shoulder and get the exact settings to record your own audiobooks.
In fact, he gave all the attendees a $200 off coupon for that training in the free session today. You can grab that coupon from the replay if you like what you see. The replay will be up through Sunday.
By the way, one of the next things I did when I was connecting with Derek was send him a testimonial about his course (because it is superb). And later, when I asked him to let me interview him, he remembered it.
September 1, 2021
The First Time Is The Charm
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
Every author has that first book.
The one they cringe at, and prefer if nobody reads.
It doesn’t feel that way when you write it.
But write a couple more books, and that first one starts to feel slightly embarrassing.
And that is a good thing.
That means you are getting better at your craft.
Getting to your second attempt is one of the best things you can do in any endeavor.
Which makes _the first time the charm._
You make tremendous progress when you complete that first version of anything…
* Your book * Your virtual summit * Your first opt-in page * Your first course * Your first coaching call
Not only do you improve your skills, you learn some things along the way.
It has been that way with my first book, my first summit, my first webinar, my first email outreach to an influencer.
They say _if you don’t look back on the things you were doing a year ago and cringe; you aren’t moving forward fast enough._
When I recorded my first audiobook, I learned a ton of things.
I learned how to use Audacity, the different things you have to do to pass Amazon’s ACX requirements, and how to make my written book better (reading it aloud will do that).
Another very important thing I learned later was, it takes almost as much effort on my part to hire a narrator as it does to record and produce the audiobook myself.
With a narrator, you still have to review all the tracks, and potentially update things in your book, and then review the tracks again.
I will still hire narrators in the future, but not because I think it will save me time.
Mostly because I like professional voices for some of my books.
This is something I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t taken action on that first audiobook.
The whole reason I did know was because I attended Derek Doepker’s training _Audiobooks for Every Author._
He makes the whole audiobook process easy to understand.
The training is free tomorrow.
https://bestsellersecrets.com/audiobooksray [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/nH94sY2v...]
Just remember, _the first time is the charm._
See you there!
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
August 31, 2021
Producing Audiobooks on a Limited Budget
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
Imagine getting into kindle publishing in the early days… before it was swamped with competition.
That’s a bit what the audiobook market is like now.
Tons of buyers, but not as many authors to compete with.
There is a challenge though…
_How do you actually turn your book into an audiobook?_
… especially if you don’t want to spend $1,300 or more on every full-length book you have.
To help you out, I invited my friend Derek Doepker to share three methods to turn your book into an audiobook to make more royalties and reach more fans.
Even cooler is that you’ll discover how to produce audiobooks even if you’re on a limited budget… including how to create an audiobook without any out of pocket investment.
The workshop is on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND, AT 3PM EST / 12PM PST.
In the workshop, you’ll see:
* Why audiobooks have gone from a ‘cool to have’ to a ‘must have’ for some authors wanting to make a living from their writing * What you need to know before deciding whether to outsource or produce your own audiobooks that could save you thousands of dollars. * Where to hire professional audiobook narrators if you wish to outsource. * The exact microphone, software, and equipment you need to produce limitless top-quality audiobooks on a shoestring budget. * Your audiobook questions answered personally.
Register now at:
https://bestsellersecrets.com/audiobooksray [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/u1fGeLrX...]
See you there!
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
P.S. This isn’t the first time I have shared Derek’s training. But even if you have seen it before, if you haven’t started moving forward on your audiobook, this is a great opportunity to re-engage.
Plus, Derek always updates the training with the latest information and strategies.
https://bestsellersecrets.com/audiobooksray [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/u1fGeLrX...]
August 30, 2021
You may be missing out on royalties, and they won’t remind you
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
Want more royalties?
A great way to do it is to give people more options to buy and consume your existing content.
There are many people who will buy both a version of your book to read (Kindle or paperback) and a version to listen to.
Queue the triumphant music…
Audiobooks are booming in popularity, and they’re only growing.
With so many people craving audiobooks these days, if you’re not providing them, you could be losing out on extra royalties every month.
The great thing is, unlike ebooks, it’s not overly crowded, so you stand a much better chance of having your books being seen and sold there.
To help you tap into the audiobook market, I invited Derek Doepker to share how you can turn your book into audio on any budget.
You can join us on Thursday, SEPTEMBER 2ND, AT 3PM EST / 12PM PST.
He’ll answer all your questions about whether it’s best to do it yourself, or outsource.
Even if you live outside the US and UK (ACX distribution territories) you can still use ACX and another resource with some special secrets he’ll share.
At this training, you’ll discover…
* How audiobooks are generating hundreds to thousands of extra dollars in royalties for some self-published authors on auto-pilot. * How you can produce audiobooks on any budget, and distribute them from anywhere in the world. * The critical facts you have to consider before deciding whether to outsource or produce your own audiobooks that could save you thousands of dollars. * Where to hire professional audiobook narrators if you wish to outsource. * The exact microphone, software, and equipment you need to produce limitless top-quality audiobooks on a shoestring budget. * Your audiobook questions answered by Derek personally.
Register now at
https://bestsellersecrets.com/audiobooksray [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/JnK7qs5p...]
See you there!
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
P.S. This isn’t the first time I have shared Derek’s training. But even if you have seen it before, if you haven’t started moving forward on your audiobook, this is a great opportunity to re-engage.
Plus, Derek always updates the training with the latest information and strategies.
https://bestsellersecrets.com/audiobooksray [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/JnK7qs5p...]
August 29, 2021
We paid them to help clear their mangroves
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
This past Thursday we had an incredible time at Kualoa Ranch in Hawaii.
We toured a 125-acre, 800-year-old Hawaiian Fishpond.
It is one of the largest and most well-preserved fishponds on the island of O’ahu.
Considering the many similarities across Polynesia, the fishpond concept was unique to Hawaii.
The pond contains brackish water (a combination of fresh and seawater).
There is a wall built around it with a couple of small gates that go up and down with the tide that allow fish to come in.
This created a self-sustainable system where they could grow and harvest ocean fish without going out to sea.
At some point, foreigners brought mangroves to Hawaii, and the result has had both positive and negative effects on the fishponds.
In this pond, mangroves help keep out poachers.
But these fast spreading trees can overgrow quickly, and need to be controlled.
As part of our tour, they took us out to the ocean wall, and we helped pick small, newly rooted mangroves that were growing on and in the wall itself.
The wall is made of meticulously stacked stones, completed over 800 years ago.
The stones are dry stacked, so the mangroves could destroy the wall easily if left alone.
As part of our tour, we helped control the mangroves.
And it was a lot of fun.
Plus, we received an excellent education about the entire system.
When we finished, I couldn’t help but reflect on the fact that we _paid to do work for them and loved doing it._
In a sense, that is what Amazon has you do for your book.
You publish on their platform; they get a cut or your royalty AND you need to pay them to show your book to more people (via ads).
Now, that is not quite as noble as our fishpond.
But you can bypass this system, and get some of the best real estate on Amazon free when you create a series for your books.
Then you can share your message with the world faster.
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
P.S. This month’s Youru.tv framework is ANTHOLOGIES FOR AUTHORS, a framework for creating an anthology book for your business.
It includes a this month-only bonus of BOOK SERIES FOR AUTHORS. This bonus shares the framework I use to publish all my books in a series, and maximize the exposure of my books on Amazon’s dime.
It will go back into the vault in a couple of days. Next month’s course is all about email (so when you join at the end of the month, you get both courses within a week of each other).
https://www.youru.tv [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/JOLi81XV...]
August 26, 2021
What Flat-Earthers Can Teach You About Book Marketing
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
About six months ago, I encountered a theory called flat earth that suggests we are being deceived and the earth is flat.
_That’s ludicrous, I thought. Who would believe such a thing?_
I would not spend any more time on the thought.
Then a documentary came out about it.
Still, there is no way I would not invest an hour on the documentary.
But I decided I would spend 2 minutes watching the trailer for the documentary.
That might explain what in the heck could make these people think the earth is flat.
As I watched the trailer, most of the ideas seemed preposterous.
But there was one idea that kinda made some sense.
Kinda.
They said,
_If the earth was round, as you rise in elevation (via plane, balloon, spacecraft), the horizon should start to curve the higher you go._
That seemed to make sense to me.
It also created a lot of questions.
_Is it true it doesn’t it curve?_ (I wanted to see evidence it doesn’t)
_Should it curve as you rise above the surface?_
I wanted to see examples and more data.
So I watched the documentary.
Full disclosure. I still believe the earth is round.
But to me, this was an amazing example of marketing.
They got a complete skeptic to watch their documentary based on one point they made in the trailer.
It went against everything I believe, but I still watched it because of one brief item of interest.
You can do the same with your book, your opt-in page, or whatever else you are marketing.
If you share enough intriguing details about your book contents in your book description, the more appeal you have to a broader audience.
One unique speaker at your virtual summit may bring in that one attendee who becomes a client.
One item will catch the eye of one person, and another item will catch the eye of the next.
Far too often I see book descriptions, just mention a broad overview of the book (i.e. “This book will teach you about success”) or talk about the author.
But when you share detailed ideas (i.e. “3 counterintuitive ways to start a conversation even when you are feeling shy,”), people will become interested.
It is the small irresistible details that do the most work for you.
And it usually just takes an extra hour of thought to pull them out.
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
P.S. This month’s Youru.tv framework is ANTHOLOGIES FOR AUTHORS, a framework for creating an anthology book for your business.
It includes a this month-only bonus of BOOK SERIES FOR AUTHORS. This bonus shares the framework I use to publish all my books in a series, and maximize the exposure of my books on Amazon’s dime.
It will go back into the vault in a couple of days. Next month’s course is all about email (so when you join at the end of the month, you get both courses within a week of each other).
No flat earthers were harmed during the creation of this email.
https://www.youru.tv [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/e2AY7GLI...]
August 19, 2021
Why Authors Should Care About Muffin Stumps
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
There is this classic Seinfeld Episode, called The Muffin Tops.
In it, Elaine is out eating muffins with her boss (J. Peterman) when she notices he only eats the top of his muffin.
She remarks that there ought to be a shop that only serves the top of the muffin, since that is the part that most people like.
Peterman secretly takes her idea and creates his own restaurant called _“Top Of The Muffin To You.”_
But when it fails, he calls in Elaine to save it and cuts her in on the ownership.
Elaine observes he is only baking the muffin tops.
She tells him he needs to bake the whole muffin, then remove the stump.
The stump is what makes the top taste good.
A bunch of hilarity ensues as they bake full muffins and then try to dispose of the muffin stumps, including a homeless shelter saying,
“_Nobody wants the stumps.”_
Thinking about your book business is not really any different.
Every author wants the sales and the rank of their book.
That is the muffin top.
Everything tastes great when it is working.
And most authors think it is all about ads.
But the real workhorse behind your book, and the long-term viability of it and your business, is building your audience.
That is the muffin stump.
The muffin top does not work without the stump.
Those few that focus on the audience, and not the muffin top, are the ones who will say _Top of the Muffin To You_ long term.
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
P.S. We are soon closing down access to the Summit Lab Pilot (Virtual Summit Workshop). The pilot is 50% off that future course price tag. It includes coaching and other things the course will not have in the future.
If you want to move to an audience-based authorship, a summit is one of the best ways to do it.
Learn more about summits here:
https://www.summitlab.io [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/eJlYgLBr...]
August 16, 2021
Who the #*@$ is this guy?
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
A few years back, I was ready to go.
_Facebook Ads account?_
Check.
_Facebook Ads manager?_
Check.
We ran the first set of ads for my first self-publishing course.
This was going to be it.
I couldn’t wait.
They said _Facebook Ads were the way to go._
Then I realized people could comment on your ads.
And the people who typically do are not always nice.
One of the first comments I received on an ad was…
_Who the #*@$ is this guy?_
_What is he doing on my timeline?_
It was fairly disheartening for a newbie.
But, aside from the hostility and immaturity, he had a point.
He had no idea who I was, and why I was on his timeline.
At the time, many Facebook users were new to receiving ads in their accounts.
He is what we call _cold traffic._
That is an extra hurdle to cross when trying to sell someone a book, or a course, or your service.
Contrast that with _warm traffic._
With warm traffic, someone the person trusts recommends you to them.
The situation is completely different.
They are past the stage of… _who is this guy?_
They have moved to the question…
_Do I want what he is trying to share or sell_?
I would have done things differently had I known then what I do now.
I still deal in cold traffic a little (very little).
Most of my focus now is on warm traffic.
I do that by connecting with influencers and building rapport with their audiences.
And the best way to connect with influencers (and meet their audiences) all in one shot is virtual summits.
I still have a couple of spots open for the pilot of my virtual summit workshop, Summit Lab.
It is a six-week live course (you get the recordings) to help you host a virtual summit and start building your connections and email list.
The pilot is a small, tight-knit group with lots of opportunity for interaction and feedback.
If that interests you, check out the details here.
https://www.summitlab.io [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/vAVX7YZi...]
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
P.S. The pilot is 50% off that future course price tag. It includes coaching and other things the course will not have in the future.
https://www.summitlab.io [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/vAVX7YZi...]
August 14, 2021
9 Free Books – Today Only
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
These nine bestsellers are free today only.
* Mindset Makeover – Som Bathla * Start. _Create an Online Business That’s Easy, Fun and Profitable_ – Lise Cartwright * Master Your Time in 10 Minutes A Day – Michal Stawicki * and 6 others…
This promotion is a compilation of bestselling books on thinking creatively, building habits, making permanent changes, building confidence, changing your mindset, mastering your time and other great books.
So, if you like books on personal development and boosting your brain power, you have 9 amazing titles to download for FREE.
THEY ARE FREE TODAY ONLY!
Check them out here and have a great Saturday!
https://sombathla.lpages.co/freejointpromoaug21/ [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/VZ3vP8lf...]
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
August 13, 2021
OMG… The sky is falling!
*** For More: Check out our podcast https://ray.fm ***
Hi Blog,
There seems to be a consistent pattern now developing.
Nearly every few months, Amazon changes something.
It might be the algorithm, it might be simply a cosmetic change.
It doesn’t always affect you, but…
_They_ will make it sound like it does.
Who are _they?_
The Amazon gurus who make sales to authors only on ads or the Amazon algorithm.
They will say something like:
_OMG… The sky is falling! __Amazon changed this thing, so you need this…_
They suggest it is time for you to panic (and buy more instruction).
Don’t panic.
I speak from experience.
I was there, always worried that Amazon would make or break my career.
If you feel it too, you are not alone.
But it doesn’t have to be that way:
* There is a reason publishers ask how big your audience is before they take authors on. * There is a reason many influencers have books ranked the same as yours, but seem to still fly high on the business side of things.
The reason is _Audience Centric Authorship._
When you engage and control your audience, neither Amazon nor anyone else controls your fate.
That is the subject of today’s podcast.
HTTPS://RAY.FM/013 [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/HuNo7hbg...]
(THIS IS THE APPLE PODCASTS LOCATION)
[20286678_162343623252GPodcast_Cover_for_Email.png] [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/PXQgecOp...]
If you do listen, and like it, please consider leaving a review. 
_Leap. Love. Grow._
RAY BREHM
P.S. You can also listen to the podcast on my site: https://podcast.raybrehm.com [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/jafb4eLq...].
P.P.S. Moving authors to Audience Centric Authorship is the whole reason I created Summit Lab, and you can be part of the pilot program here:
https://www.summitlab.io [https://raybrehm.krtra.com/c/EiuPNYj0...]
