[00:00:00] This is the Vanessa Barrington Show.
[00:00:05] Last week we talked all about how you can leverage your book to get seen and start getting featured in the media, how to take stages and all those sorts of things. And today we are talking about revenue bucket number three. Which is all about really how to turn your book or your story into a scalable soul led business selling digital products.
[00:00:28] Before we jump in, I just wanna disclaimer this and say that I am biased a hundred percent on this topic because this is being one of the most incredible things that's allowed me in my life. To be able to get more time freedom, more financial freedom, and to be able to be there for my kids and swim in the ocean every day, start my day at 10 o'clock, not do meetings on Mondays or Fridays, and all of those really cool things.
[00:00:55] And so I wanna declare is that, yep, I'm a hundred percent biased on this topic because it's something that I've seen firsthand can be so incredibly powerful for you. So I want you to listen up closely. We're diving in. Let's talk all about how to create a scalable product, digital products as a result of launching your book.
[00:01:17] Hi, I'm Vanessa Barrington, also known as the book doula, founder for Healing House Publishing, psychic, medium, and a woman on a mission to heal the world through stories. If you're a healer, coach, creative, or expert, I help you turn your. Story into a published book and a global movement that builds authority, impact, and legacy.
[00:01:39] This is not a writing podcast. It's a show where I explore voice, truth, spirituality, and what it really takes for you to trust yourself and share your story with the people who most need it. This is the Vanessa Barrington Show.
[00:01:54] Hey guys. Welcome to episode 18 and today we're diving into one of my favorites.
[00:01:59] And honestly, the reason I think it's misunderstood is because in the last five years or so, particularly since the pandemic, we have seen this rise of what I would describe really as COVID businesses. Everyone is calling themselves a coach. A lot of people have left traditional roles. We've got the gig economy exploded a few years ago, and a lot of people are really moving into selling.
[00:02:21] Products, either physical products or digital products online. So in today's episode, I want to invite you consider whether you have ever thought about what are the skills and expertise that you have and how you could utilize that to create a scalable business. I wanna invite you to think about the question, how can I take what I've written in my book or what I'm writing and make it part of a bigger business?
[00:02:50] And I think this is an area that a lot of people miss, but I really want you to know, and I want you to hear me clearly on this. If you do this well, if you build a clear brand off the back of your book and you start thinking about how you can share whether it's your skills, your knowledge, your expertise.
[00:03:10] Your interest or start thinking about digital products off the back of the book that you've written, it's going to change your life. Okay? This episode is going to feel like a balm to you because today we're gonna make sense really of how you can do that and how the book can become the foundation for everything else you wanna do.
[00:03:27] Now, I wanna tell a little bit of a story before I jump into the, how do you actually do this? Because this is something that for me. If you had asked me coming up to 10 years ago in business, whether I was going to become an expert at selling digital products, I would've said to you, no way. What is that?
[00:03:46] I would not have had a clue, to be honest. And when I first set up my marketing consultancy coming up to 10 years ago, before I was a book doula, before I was a publisher, to be frank, I was like the plumber with the leaky tap. I knew and I was telling my clients they needed to niche down, but I was avoiding doing that.
[00:04:03] And so. I had too many offers. None of them were very clear. I had too much content and I was changing direction all the time. And I lacked clarity and coherence in terms of how I was running my business, what I was offering, and what it was that I was standing for. And I think this was one of those challenges that people can have that are, you know, the jack of all trades.
[00:04:28] Master of none kind of thing. And you know, for me, in my journey, I have literally worked with words for 22 years. So, and I think I've shared this before in the past, like if there is one aspect of communication that you wanted to talk to me about or get coached on or get support from me on, I will have had experience in it.
[00:04:47] Whether it is social media, getting on stages, filming, whether it is. Writing scripts, doing speeches, lobbying the government, like really anything to do with communications in both a corporate setting, in an agency setting. And then of course now in books and, and books have really been a big part of my business journey.
[00:05:07] But back 10 years ago, coming up to 10 years ago, I had no idea I was gonna be working in books. And at that point in time I was. Really offering everything. If you wanted help with social media, I was doing it. If you wanted help with publicity, I could do it. If I, if you came to me and you were refreshing your website, I would work with web designer to rebuild your website.
[00:05:29] So I was just doing all the things and I'm glad for that past version of me because it really forced me. I had a lot of hard lessons in those early years of business, and it really forced me to get clear on what lit me up and what my purpose was and what is it that I actually wanna be here and do. Now fast forward to around 20, I wanna say 2020, and I could see that there was a real opportunity to take what I was doing, which was really coaching and guiding clients through the process of writing and selling and publishing their books, and do that at scale.
[00:06:04] And that is really where the idea for the Book Doah program came along. And fast forward to today, five years on, and this program has been absolutely life changing for, for really so many people who have gone through that program and gone on to publish their books and gone on to share their stories and.
[00:06:24] Also for me, it has been, you know, extremely transformational. It's been my absolute honor to coach and guide the women and the men that have come through that program and to be able to meet myself and the past versions of myself, the past life versions of myself in how I have coached and guided those individuals.
[00:06:44] It's been incredible and really that is an example of what a digital, having a digital product can do for you. Now that business, I've grown my business. Two, seven figures over the last five years, and that would never have been possible for me if I had not gone after the creation of that digital product.
[00:07:05] So what do I mean by digital product? A digital product could be a downloadable file, it could be a training, it could be a live online experience. It could be a course or a program. It could be an audio series, it could be a community, like a membership. It could also be a virtual retreat. There's so many different things that you can do in the digital product and digital education space.
[00:07:31] So another one that you know can be extremely lucrative if this is an area that you love. Let's say you love writing poetry, so using that poetry to be able to leverage an online business where you are selling customized, downloadable poetry for people or digital prints. Limited edition, you know, poems that are written for individuals.
[00:07:54] There's so many different opportunities in this digital product space and. What I really, really want to encourage you to have a think about if this is an area that you're really interested in, is to really think about what is something that I am already doing or that I'm already obsessed with, that I love that lights me up, and how could that be leveraged as a digital product?
[00:08:16] 'cause I can guarantee you there are gonna be people out there that will benefit from that skill, those skills and expertise that you have. Now, in the early days of my book Doula work, I used to have this joke with new clients where I would say to them, what's gonna come first? The book or the course, or the book or the program.
[00:08:35] And that is because oftentimes, you know, and I think for me personally, the people that come into my world to work with me. They are really riding into the person that they're becoming. And you could have done, I'm just gonna say, you know, this is probably gonna piss a few people off, but you could have done all the healing in the world.
[00:08:53] You can have done. All of the, the things, all the therapy, you could have gone through all the experiences. And I can guarantee you if you are going through the process of writing a book and publishing a book, you are going to meet parts of yourself that you thought you had moved on from. And what that process is going to show you is where your edge is and where you, us.
[00:09:18] Still hiding where, where you are still avoiding sharing your voice or sharing your truth. That can be very confronting for people. And I think that's why subconsciously a lot of people avoid doing the thing and they avoid doing the book because they know on some level that they're going to meet their edges through that process.
[00:09:36] And in order to write a great book in order to really adequately and profoundly change the lives of others and to be able to promote that book in a really great way. You do have to meet your edges. You do have to get comfortable with putting yourself out there. You do have to, you know, relinquish your need to control and to care what other people think, and relinquish the need to seek approval from others.
[00:10:00] 'cause once that book's out there, you've got no choice about how people are gonna receive it or not. All you can do is. Really put your heart into it when you're writing it, when you're going through that production process and when you are creating it to make it the best damn book that you can. And I think what a lot of people don't realize, and I'm specifically talking to non-fiction writers right at this moment, those who may be writing memoir, particularly like life experience.
[00:10:25] You may not realize by sharing your story that that is actually the thing that you are going to go on and be an expert in. And I saw this with one of my clients years ago. You know, she actually a few, what a number of my clients that have written memoir with me, where by the end of that process they've recognized and acknowledged in themselves.
[00:10:46] Their worthiness. You know, I heard a beautiful statement just this morning actually, I was catching a replay from Tracy Goodwin, who's an amazing voice coach. She teaches psychology of the voice. I'd really encourage you to check her out. She was at Business by Design Live in December. I had the opportunity to meet up with her and she does what I do with Books, with Voice, and she can really tune into the energy of a voice.
[00:11:09] And hear those voice masks. And when we connected, I said to her, I feel like you do what I do with voice, but I do it with writing. And so when I'm working with a client, I can see and feel into the energetics of what you're saying and what you're not saying, and also what that story is really asking to alchemize in your life or in your ancestral lines, in your generational patterns.
[00:11:32] And I can guarantee if you come to me and you're coming to work with me, you are there breaking a generational pattern. Whether you've got an awareness of of that or not. And what you are doing by writing that book is you are putting a new placement out into the world that says this, this ends with me, essentially.
[00:11:51] And people are going to be energetically attracted to that. People are gonna connect with that part of you, and they are gonna wanna learn from you. Now, this is the part that trips a lot of people up because they get into their heads and go, but I'm not an expert. I don't have qualifications, I don't have the degree.
[00:12:07] Uh, you know, there's far smarter people out there and you can do all that head noise and look, I've been there, I've done that head noise, trust me. But I can say to you right now, it does not serve you. And if this is something that you really wanna do, if you know that there's a part of you that's writing your story because you wanna help other people, like what are you doing?
[00:12:27] Get out of your own way. Get the damn thing done and start leveraging it, you can start leveraging that book to teach and build community. And start making an income by helping those people. And guess what? It's not even about the money to me. It's not about the money. When I'm working with a client and anyone that comes into my world, what I'm tuning into is the frequency and the energetics of the people that they are going to help.
[00:12:52] That's what I care about. So it's not actually about you and your book, it's about all the people that need you. To show up and to share your truth. Your experience is so much more powerful than any qualification, any registration, any piece of paper, anything that. You think that is required, that's outside of you to be able to share your knowledge and wisdom.
[00:13:13] And you know, this is a problem right across society to be frank right now, not just in the, you know, aspiring author space. And we could talk all day about this topic, but for now, what I just want to say to you, and I want you to start considering is there are some big, big opportunities for the people that are tuned in right now that are really tapped in and know that they can help others.
[00:13:37] You only need to be 5% ahead, more ahead than someone else, and you are the best person to teach on the topic you want to teach on because you've got lived experience in it. You know, I think this is like where people just get all in their head and they go, oh, you know, oh, I don't have this. I don't have this qualification.
[00:13:54] Hang on a minute. Didn't you actually go through something? Didn't you go through some kind of major event in your life that is so rare that nobody else has? Don't you have something to say about that system that let you down? Don't you have something to say that you think others who maybe are in your situation or thinking about going down that dead end road that you went to might want to hear?
[00:14:15] That is the purpose of your story. And that's really where the opportunity comes in once you get it done, because then you can start really not just, you know, when we talk about profitability of a let, let's be frank. The actual sales of your book is probably not going to be where you make your most money, but if you are smart, you can leverage that book into a million dollar multimillion dollar business.
[00:14:39] And I'm part of an incredible mastermind of humans that have done just that, that are out there selling digital products that are making great money. Some are working only a couple of days a week, few hours a week. They've left their corporate jobs, they've left. You know, environments that they didn't love.
[00:14:55] They're spending time with their kids, they're designing their weeks. Don't you want that? Because you know, honestly, and like I'm not gonna, you know, mince words here. That's gonna require you to get uncomfortable, that is gonna require you to really face the fear. It's gonna require you to get comfortable with failure.
[00:15:14] And you know, I think a lot of people, and this is where this whole industry, the digital education space and digital product space. Is going through huge upheaval at the moment because, you know, let me ask you this, have you ever bought a product in online and being burnt by it? I can guarantee you have, and you thought it was gonna be something and it just wasn't.
[00:15:33] And so when I talked to you about monetizing your book to create digital products. I'm not talking about you creating some crappy ebook that you just knock together, or like putting something halfassed out into the world. I'm talking about you putting your heart and soul into creating digital products that are the best in your area, and that's when you're going to build reputation, and that is when you're going to see incredible results and income.
[00:15:58] And I think there are too many people out there. Especially in the last five years that are just creating these digital courses or products, and they're shit, frankly, they haven't put the reps in, they haven't put the time and energy in to really create a product that's going to create a transformation in someone else's life.
[00:16:18] And I want you to know if you are writing memoir, if you are writing about your own experience, you have the ability to do that. You know why? You know how I know that? Because you wouldn't be writing your story of transformation if you hadn't done it. And yeah, sure. I know that there's gonna be some of you that are listening to this and say, well, I haven't alchemized all that yet.
[00:16:37] Okay. I bet you haven't finished your book yet either. 'cause that's where the transformation opportunity is once you get your book done. So yeah. Anyway, you got me passionate on this topic. I'm on my soapbox today about it, but it is, honestly, there's so much opportunity here, but I think. You know, a lot of people are being burnt in the last four or five years, particularly because they're being sold this dream of passive income.
[00:16:59] This path can be for every single one of you listening to this, but it's not going to be necessarily easy. It is not going to give you an overnight success. Passive income is like, listen to the words passive income. This is not a reality, okay? But what you can do is make sales while you sleep. What you can do is get recurring or renewal.
[00:17:22] Revenue and income into your business if you know what you're doing, and that's gonna take time, that's gonna take a strategy. And this is exactly what I teach my clients in the book Doula Circle, and with my VIPs that work with me one-on-one. We look at, okay, because the book is just the beginning, how do we now turn this into a brand, a global brand?
[00:17:44] How do we bring your people into your world? And start to create that same transformation that your readers are gaining from the book on a much bigger scale. And that's the opportunity here with digital products. So let's have a little bit more of a chat about what types of things you could be turning into digital products.
[00:18:04] So for the nonfiction, we've talked a little bit like memoir, for example. Your lived experience, some of you will have also in the course of your expertise or life, may have created special tools or frameworks that then can be turned into signature offers and service suite for fiction authors. Digital products can look like, you know, creating content and experience based brands based on your area of expertise.
[00:18:33] So say for example, you're someone that just absolutely is obsessed. With creating narrative arcs or creating incredible characters, maybe you are someone that is, you know, specializes in romantic. What's preventing you from creating a community or offering your services online to be able to help other writers that are doing this?
[00:18:57] Your book is the root. It's the clue. Okay. It's really the opportunity. That then can sprout all of these ideas from there. So I hope that this episode really gets you thinking. About what's possible for you when it comes to digital products. Now, before we wrap up today's episode, I wanna make mention of a couple of things.
[00:19:22] Firstly, I think one of the things that I see in terms of this, and also in terms of the book, is this real relationship with time. I would love to do that, but I just don't have time. You know, I'm juggling a million things, blah, blah, blah. If that is you, if you are someone that is being like really wrangling to try and get your book done and you are just not getting it done, or if you are someone that knows that you've got a book product out in the world and you are just not leveraging it, here is your invitation.
[00:19:52] Very soon I am gonna be running a free training where I am going to be showing you how you can finish your book faster, even if you're juggling a million things. So you are going to want to register for that one. There will be a replay for a short period of time. So we're gonna drop the links in this show notes.
[00:20:11] And also I wanna invite you to jump on the priority list for the book Doah program. Now the book Doah program doors are going to be opening in May, and this will really be your only chance to join us until 2027. Okay. Again, I'm gonna drop the links in the show notes if you want to come into either of those experiences.
[00:20:32] And you know, the other thing I wanna just say to you, finally, if this is an area that maybe you've tried in the past, whether it's like with an Etsy shop or like selling some sort of online products or services and it hasn't worked for you, that's beautiful 'cause. What I wanna say to you is this is actually where you get to take the knowledge and really look at the data like a scientist of what you've tried in the past and what hasn't worked in order to uncover what you need to do next.
[00:21:01] And that's exactly what I teach my clients how to do. So people come to me and this is the real difference between working with me and a book coach and they think. I'm just gonna help you write your book. Well, yeah, I am. But if you are working with me one-on-one, I don't wanna just be thinking about your book.
[00:21:17] I wanna think about how you're gonna create an ecosystem. Off the back of that book. Alright guys, I hope you enjoyed this week's episode. If it resonated, feel free to drop into my dms on Instagram book doula au and most importantly, have the most beautiful weekend ahead and I will be back in your ears next week.
[00:21:38] See you guys. Ah.
