AMY PORTERFIELD: “To me, writing a book was hard. Yesterday I had some girlfriends over at my house, and both of them have written a book very, very successfully. And they loved the writing process. I didn’t. I didn't hate it; it just was difficult. But I've always said the reason I started a podcast is that I'm a very slow writer. So why would that change when I was writing a book, right?
“So the process took a long time. Sometimes I can't remember if I ate lunch or if, you know, I'd sit at my desk and be like, ‘I haven't peed in six hours, so maybe I should get up.’ So, and then what was most difficult? So when I keep saying it was difficult for me: remembering the stories.”
INTRO: I’m Amy Porterfield, ex-corporate girl turned CEO of a multi-seven-figure business. But it wasn't all that long ago that I lacked the confidence, the budget, and the time to focus on growing my small-but-mighty business. Fast forward past many failed attempts and lessons learned, and you'll see the business I have today, one that changes lives and gives me more freedom than I ever thought possible, one that used to only exist as a daydream. I created the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast to give you simple, actionable, step-by-step strategies to help you do the same. If you're an ambitious entrepreneur, or one in the making, who's looking to create a business that makes an impact and a life you love, you're in the right place, friend. Let's get started.
AMY: Work @ Life, hosted by Sanja Licina and Maddie Grant, is a new podcast to my weekly roundup, and I can't recommend it enough. Hosts Sanja and Maddie explore the gray areas between work and life as they share data on relevant workplace engagement and culture topics: topics like new ideas on how to impact diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging today, and vulnerability in the workplace. I love those topics so much, so be sure to download Work @ Life wherever you get your podcasts.
Well, hey, there. Welcome back to Online Marketing Made Easy.
I wanted to check in with you just really quick. I want to know how you're doing, how are you feeling about everything? If you've been working on your digital course, how is it coming along? If you're growing your email list, are you continually adding people to your email list?
Now, I ask these questions, and you may feel great. Like, “Amy, I'm doing so good. I'm adding a hundred people to my email list,” or “I'm going to launch in two months,” or whatever it might be. But I might have kind of triggered a few feelings that might come up because maybe you fell off of the digital-course-creation wagon; or maybe your email list isn't moving as fast as you want, growing as fast as you want it to. And here's what I want to tell you. You are in the game. If you are listening to this podcast about online marketing, you are not giving up. You're doing this no matter how slow or messy or challenging it may seem at times. I've been in this game long enough to see many people come and go. Many people that were crushing it in the beginning literally are not online anymore. They went and did something totally different. And you're still in the game. You're not giving up. You're making it happen. And so give yourself a little grace today and just say, “I'm going to do the very best I can. I'm going to learn some new things. I’m going to make things happen. I’m going to implement them. And I'm just going to do the very best I can.”
So, there's my little pep talk for you today. I don't know who needed to hear it, but if you did, you are still in the game. Celebrate that.
Okay. So these days, I'm kind of excited about something that you likely already know about because I haven't kept it a big secret. But I'm writing a book. Well, I've written a book, actually. The manuscript is officially in to the editor. I've actually done edits on the manuscript. I mean, there's a book. I mean, there's an actual manuscript, which is a big deal.
So, at this point, I feel like I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. And the tunnel to me is and, you know, through the tunnel is actually publishing this book, getting it out into the world. And I could see that finally taking shape. So much has gone into the writing process. It's definitely been a journey, and to see it all come together, it is really rewarding. And that's why I wanted to record a quick Shorty episode for you so that you can get a sneak peek into what it's all about, my inspiration for writing the book and what it's been like to write a book, because it's my hope that if you haven't already, you consider writing one yourself.
So I have always wanted to write a book, and the inspiration for this actual book comes from a group of people that I serve. Now, I serve a few different groups of people. So if you're in List Builders Society or Digital Course Academy, my two main programs, you've likely heard me answer the question, what do you do if you have multiple ideal-customer avatars? Like, what if there are multiple types of groups that I want to serve? And I think that is very, very normal, and I, too, serve a few different types of people.
But one of my avatars is a woman who is still in her nine-to-five job, and she's starting to get that nagging feeling that there's more for her out there. Now, if you've worked in the corporate world or in just any kind of nine-to-five job, and you've made the transition to entrepreneurship, you know exactly what that feeling is about. And it's not exactly a great one from start to finish, meaning you start to feel like maybe you want to do something different. That's a scary feeling. So this woman that I wrote the book for, she starts to think, “This is not what I want to be doing.” Even, she could be getting paid well, she could have great benefits, the security of getting a paycheck every two weeks, but despite all of that, she still feels anxious, a little scratchy, like, “There's something out there for me, but I don't know what it is.”
So she starts dreaming bigger. And then she begins to think, “I think there's another move for me, like a pivot.” No matter if she’s twenty-five years old or sixty-five years old, she starts to think, “I might have something else in me that needs to get out. Like, I might need to do something different.”
So she just starts to feel it in her bones. It doesn't matter what season of life she's in. She's feeling that desire to do more, to add more value, to be a voice, to get herself out there, and to help others. And the thing is, there are so many women who have no idea that there's a whole other world out there. And the world I'm talking about is this online space that all of us are in.
I remember talking to one of my students, Jamie Trull, who actually lives here in Nashville, and she's become a good friend of mine. She's also been on the podcast a few times. And the way I knew her from the get-go is because she was a student of mine in Digital Course Academy.
But here's the thing. It was this light-bulb moment for me when I got to interview her, because I knew she was an avatar for the book. She was farther along at that point. But at one time, she was the perfect avatar for this book I'm writing. And so I interviewed her because she used to be in corporate. She made the transition. And so I asked her about that transition. And she said, “You know, I actually found out about you through Rachel Hollis’s book Girl, Wash Your Face.” And she started to feel excited and motivated when she read Rachel's book, like, “Look, I can make a change. I could do something different.” And then she found me, and she started to explore this online-marketing world. And she said, “Wait a second. There's a whole other life for me out there. I could make a pivot. I could leave my corporate job and do something really different and exciting. I could have a whole different kind of life.” So she didn't even know what type of life even existed and said that she felt like she had gotten permission to try something new, to make a bold move once she started listening to some of my content.
So my inspiration for my book is to give women and men—men can absolutely get so much value from this—give them permission to make a major pivot in their lives, to leave their nine-to-five jobs or leave behind whatever it is they started that doesn't serve them anymore, and to start their own business and become their own boss. But the thing is I didn't want to just encourage them to do it, to take the leap. That's half the battle. I wanted to show them how to do it. Like, once they take the leap, what the heck are they supposed to do?
So my book is how to find the courage and confidence to leave behind what's no longer serving you, and move into what will let you change your life and change your finances. And I put a stake in the ground and say, “One thing that will absolutely change your life is if you build an online business and become your own boss.”
So the interesting thing, and I really want to make this known, my book is not about how to create a digital course. That's Digital Course Academy. And I think that's better suited for an online-training program where I can show you things, and you see my face, and we're working through troubleshooting together. I've got Q&A and all that good stuff. So Digital Course Academy is about how to create a digital course. My book is how to find the courage to leave behind what you no longer want, and move into becoming your own boss, making your own money, busting through that glass ceiling, and really calling the shot; ultimately, creating more freedom.
I had no idea what to do when I was first getting started with my own online business. And if you've been listening for a while, if you're one of my OGs—high-five to you—you've heard some of those stories of how I had to cobble it all together. Well, this book is your field guide to actually figuring it out. So if you're still in your nine-to-five job, you've hit that glass ceiling, and you know that there's something better for you out there, this book is for you. And I really walk you through, first, getting the courage to leave behind what's no longer serving you, even though it's keeping you safe. And then we get into, okay, so what the heck do you do? And it's the steps that I wish I had taken, in order, when I was first starting out, to get up and running in my online business with less friction than I personally have gone through.
So, let's change gears just a bit, because I'm sure you're wondering what it's been like to actually write a book. And let me tell you, the whole process has been difficult. But if you know me, you know that making things difficult is part of my personality. I hate to say that, but it’s true. Believe me, I want to live by the motto “let it be easy.” Susie Moore, shout out to you and your book and your podcast. Like, “let it be easy” is something I literally chant to myself daily, but I chant it because I struggle with it.
So one of the things I knew would help me through the process was getting an agent. So I got an agent, and I actually have two agents through the company Folio. So shout out to Steven Scott. You guys are amazing. And then my agents helped me navigate all the meetings with my publishers, which was an entirely new experience for me. And I was so grateful to have my director of content, Jaws, by my side, because she helped me navigate, like, after—she wasn't in the publisher meetings, but after each meeting, then I would call up Jaws and say, “Okay, here's what went down. Here's what I liked about the people on the call. Here's what I think might be a red flag,” or whatever it might be. So we talked about every single call I had.
And it's funny, pre-COVID, these meetings tend to happen in New York, and I am such a fan of New York. So the idea of flying to New York and going into these big, beautiful offices of the big publishers—like, I met with all the top publishers. But I wish I was allowed to go to New York, go into their offices, sit there with them in a room. I'm much better in person than I would be on a Zoom call. So I really wish I had that opportunity to shine because I feel like that is an area of my strength. But I didn't get that, because it was, kind of is, near kind of the tail end of COVID when I started to do this, so it wasn't an option.
Anyway, all the calls happened on Zoom. And I ended up landing a deal with Hay House. I got other deals with other publishers, but Hay House was way too irresistible. Not only did Hay House give us an amazing advance for the book, but they actually really trusted me. They believe in me. They know I know online marketing. They know I'm going to do a great job marketing this book, and they put their trust in me.
And what's really fun is that the head of Hay House, his name is Reid Tracy, well, Reid’s son and my son, Cade, went to the same high school. This is a total coincidence. And years and years ago, Reid invited me to lunch. We both lived in Carlsbad, very close to each other. So Reid invited me to lunch. This was before our sons even started going to high school together. And he said, “If you ever write a book, I want it.” And I'm like, “Oh, geez. Well, I'm really far from ever writing a book.” I always thought I would write a book, but never anytime soon, at the time that we had met for lunch. So I’m like, “Ha, okay, great.” Like, didn’t really think much of it. I was flattered, but I thought, “Yeah, we’ll see if that happens.”
And then I wrote the book, or at least the book proposal, and he literally was, like, the best offer and the most excited team. So I'm very excited to be with Hay House. Some other amazing people that had been with Hay House, Kris Carr, Brendon Burchard, Mel Robbins. I mean, they've had some amazing talent, so I feel very lucky.
Okay. So, moving on through this process, one of the best things I ever did—and I know this is privilege, an opportunity that I had that not everyone will have, and it's one of the reasons I waited so long to write the book so I'd have some money to invest in it—and I was able to invest in an independent editor. Her name is Kelly Notaras, and Gabby Bernstein recommended her to me, so I knew she'd be amazing. And she has helped us write the proposal, and then she edited the manuscript back and forth many times before it ever got to Hay House, which is why Hay House—they sent over edits, of course, but they weren't extensive, because we had done so much work with our independent editor. So I wouldn't have been able to afford that six, seven, eight years ago, but I was able to this time, and I used some of my advance for it, of course.
So getting the independent editor and then sending over a really strong manuscript and getting the edits back and all of that, I just got to say, it's been a difficult road. And I keep saying that, writing a book was hard. Why am I saying it was hard? Well, two things. Number one, remember, if you’ve been listening to this podcast a long time, you know that I started a podcast because I used to have a blog and I was terrible at being consistent with it. But that's because I'm a very slow writer. So writing is something that I do okay. I do well, but it doesn't come easy to me at all. And so it was a slow process. That's why I keep saying this is a little bit difficult for me.
But here's the other reason, probably stronger reason, why it was so difficult for me. I had to remember all these stories that I hadn't told or thought about in a really long time. And then the editor would say, “Give me an example of this.” And I'd be like, “Oh, geez. I don't even know.” And then I'd have to really dig. So remembering the stories in detail was just difficult for me. I don't know, it just was.
And then some of the stories were triggering. Like, when I think about that transition and the final days leading up to me taking the leap and the first year of my business getting into debt and all of that stuff, I don't have the happiest memories of those first few years. They were difficult. So rehashing all of that, yeah, it wasn't my most favorite. But it was so important because, remember, I wrote the book that I wish I had when I was just starting out. So this book needed to explain what could happen and how to sidestep a lot of the challenges. So I had to share my challenges.
So here's the thing. Enough complaining. It was all worth it. I'm so grateful. I'm so excited. I feel like we wrote a really, really great book. And all the challenges were worth it. And I know this final product is going to help so many people transition into the lives and the careers that they truly desire.
In fact, I have this vision of a woman walking through the airport. She's got a nine-to-five job. She's doing well, making pretty-good money, and she's actually moving up the corporate ladder. She sees some momentum. But she knows that she's soon going to hit that glass ceiling. She knows that she wants more. She's at the airport, going on yet another business trip to a conference she doesn't want to go to. She's missing her kids. She knows she's going to miss another ballet recital or some kind of book fair or something that she actually wanted to be at. She's missing her partner. But she's doing it anyway. This is what she's got to do.
And she's walking through the airport, and she walks by all the books in the airport, and there's all these books on display. And she sees the book Two Weeks’ Notice: Find the Courage to Quit Your Job, Make More Money, Work Where You Want, and Change the World. And she's like, “Wait a second. What is this about? I want that. I want to learn more.” And so she grabs the book, buys it real quick before she jumps on a plane. And this book in her hand is her first invitation to explore a totally different world. She is my inspiration, and I think of her every single day.
And while the book was written with this person in mind, it's also for the more intermediate entrepreneur who's been in business for a little bit, and they're just figuring it out as they go. They've already ventured out into the online-marketing world, but things feel a little bit rocky, and they just want to make sure they can go back and get their foundation set because, because it's rocky, they know they probably missed a few steps because they didn't know. So they want to get their messaging right. They want to grow their email list. They want to put a really good offer out there. And they just want to make sure that they're not only staying in the game, but playing a big game and continuing to move forward.
And what's great about this book is that I literally outline step by step—of course, right? Of course I do—but specifically, step by step, there's a chapter on how to do a workshop course and make more money quickly in a short period of time. So for my more intermediate entrepreneurs, that chapter is going to blow your mind because it's literally how to make money fast.
So if you're interested, if you're intrigued, if you think, “Maybe this book could help me along this entrepreneurial journey,” well, I officially have a waitlist that you can hop on to ensure you don't miss out on any of the excitement, because you can bet I've got fun bonuses coming your way. We're going to play this up big time. We're going to have a great time with the marketing of this book, and it's all going to benefit you. When we market it, you're going to see all these awesome bonuses and opportunities.
So go to twoweeksnoticebook.com, and get on the waitlist. So that's twoweeksnoticebook.com. And you can get on the waitlist and kind of get some of the details that are unfolding week by week.
And here's the thing. I appreciate you listening to this Shorty episode, where I got to talk about what I'm working on and something I'm excited about. Typically, I like to make sure that my podcasts are very, very valuable to you. And I know I talked about myself more than normal on this episode, but I also just wanted you to understand why I wrote the book and who it's for, because one day you likely will write a book. And maybe some of the things that I shared with you and some of my experience through this will inspire you to do the same. And then, also, just to give yourself grace through the experience, because sometimes it's a little bit rocky, but, geez, it so worth it. Totally rewarding. And I'm saying that and I haven't even launched the freaking book yet, and I still feel like this has been a rewarding experience.
So I hope you love this Shorty episode. Thanks so much for hanging out with me.
And here's the deal. If you'd be so kind and you know somebody who's maybe thinking about writing a book or if you know someone who is beginning their entrepreneurial journey and you're, like, “They need this book,” please share this episode with them. Maybe it will inspire them to get moving on their dream as well. So I would really appreciate that.
Okay. So I will see you Thursday for more entrepreneurial goodness, same time, same place. Bye for now.
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