The Tribune

By D’Arcy Rahming

I was the guest on a radio show several years ago when the interviewer asked me a question I had not thought through very well. And I remember him saying that my answer must be correct, because after all, I am the guy who literally wrote the book on the subject. In his view, and that of many others, my being an author immediately gave me authority.

Many persons would like to write a book. Or so I have been told over and over. When I wrote my first book I dreamed of being a famous author and being able to live off of the proceeds.

Sadly, that was not to be, since it was a book on the martial art of Jujitsu - a very limited audience. It would be years before I realised that the reason to write a book is to gain authority in your subject area. This, subsequently, could lead to some fame and, hopefully, profits.

My authority as a book author has allowed me to do paid seminars across the US, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and even here in the Bahamas. It has also allowed me to be published in prestigious trade magazines, such as Black Belt Magazine, because my books have given me expert status and helped me to stand out from a very crowded field.

So, after a hiatus of many years, I have decided to write a new book. But this time I am under no illusions when it comes to establishing fame through book sales. I am writing this book to grow the list of people who are interested in the subject, and then will ‘up-sell’ them a larger ‘how to’ manual and DVDs. So I am basically giving the first few copies of my book away for free. This is a strategy used by Jeff Walker in his new book, ‘Launch’.

Jeff sells an online product launch course for about $2,000. For this handy sum you get a private membership site with a number of different videos. So the book that he gives away for free attracts people to his course. After he has given away enough copies of his book, he up-sells the course to the people who bought the book.

The first person I knew that used a similar strategy was Robert Kiyosaki with his book, ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’. He wanted to sell a very expensive board game, so he wrote a book on the concepts of the game. The book ended up being a New York Times ‘best seller’. But he really made his money off the board game sales and the seminars that followed.

So it’s your turn now. Is there a book in you?

• NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in general insurance, retail, the health and medical fields, sports federations and financial services.

He is also treasurer of the Bahamas Olympic Committee. To contact him he can be reached at DArcyRahmingsr@gmail.com.