Today's guest is award winning author, Maria Dismondy. Maria has a background in early education and has published 8 children's books! Her first book, "Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun" has sold over 26,000 copies in just six months. She talks with Stacy about how she became a successful author and how she built her empire.
"Did people expect you to write a book?" At minute 1:31 Maria explains how writing her first book was not something she had planned. She explains her background in early education and what made her take the leap into becoming an author.
"How are you doing this?" At 3:25 Maria talks about how she built her empire. She describes starting off in business doing one-on-one coffee dates to share her story and how that has now turned in to consulting.
"I wish I would have known..." At minute 4:31 Maria talks about how being an author turns you into a business owner. She goes in to detail about the planning, marketing and execution of a successful book launch. She also talks about building credibility as an author, which in turns made her a successful business owner.
"Let's talk about marketing..." At minute 5:47 Maria discusses with Stacy her marketing strategies. She talks about the 'go to' methods she uses and about trying new strategies. She discusses the need to take risks. Maria and Stacy talk about the importance of having everything in your business look great during a launch because people will be checking out every aspect of your business and what you have to offer. Maria talks about her goals and her virtual book tour, which happens in the 2 weeks leading up to her book launch. They also discuss the importance of building relationship and how it's never too early to start establishing them.
"3 levels of influencers." At 13:38 Maria describes her 3 levels of influencers and their various launch requirements. She tells Stacy how she's not afraid to do book giveaways, because you will get back so much more in the end.
"What do you offer.." At 17:56 Maria talks about her various programs to help authors and those who aspire to be authors. You can check out her free workshop at https://cardinalrulepress.activehosted.com/f/1.She hosts a 45 minute workshop for aspiring authors that takes you n the journey of the different paths of publishing and writing a book. She also discusses the 'why' to writing a book and your next steps as an author. After completing Maria's programs you'll walk away knowing you can take action and know what your first steps will be. Her workshop ends with ideas on sales and provides real life examples about authors who have made money on things other than book sales. Maria also talks about her group coaching service for published authors looking to drive their book sales through marketing.
"What would be holding someone back?" At 22:31 Maria talks about the two reasons people have been held back. She goes in to details about writing capabilities and people who are not action takers. She talks about the need to be an action taker in order to publish and market a book. "You have to be willing to do some of the work to make money."
"How can people actually make money from this?" At minute 24:16 Maria explains how to monetize. She talks to Stacy about building her speaking career first and incorporating her book to be a part of that. She encourages other to think out of the box and take your expertise and create a service. She also goes in to detail about creating boundaries and knowing when to say no in business.
"How did you know when to raise the price?" At minute 26:59 Maria describes how she knew it was the time to raise her prices.
"Something that really helped me move my business forward..." At minute 29:00 Building a team. Delegation and help get everything done. Having a great team is key to success.
To learn more about Maria and her books you can find her online on Facebook and Instagram @MariaDismondy. You can also visit her webiste, www.mariadismondy.com to view her upcoming events, book her for speaking engagements and more! A full list of her titles and how to buy them is available at her website. You can also learn more and purchase books directly at www.cardinalrulepress.com
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