Today, I am speaking with Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom. Crystal is a wife, mother, speaker, and author of several books. Money Saving Mom is a coupon and blogging website about intentional living, finance, family, and business. Crystal began couponing while living on a strict budget while her husband was in law school. Her couponing and blogging eventually turned into her Money Saving Mom blog which exceeded her expectations and helped allow her and her husband to purchase their home outright.
Being around Crystal is contagious. She is just one of those people who you would trust to let your kids go to her house. I’m excited about this episode as we discuss how Crystal used her books to help promote and grow Money Saving Mom to phenomenal levels. Crystal wrote her first book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget when she was contacted by a publisher. She had a following, but she didn’t really know how to write a book and really didn’t understand the contract.
Her first book deal was a bit rocky because she did everything wrong, but it was a great learning experience. She shares her lessons and inspiration for writing a book the right way. Some of these include having a thorough plan, outline, and proposal. As well as having a ghost editor to help with cohesiveness, accountability, and input. With these experiences learned Crystal is now a book writing machine, and she shares all of this and more in today’s episode.
You can find Crystal here:
Money Saving Mom
Books by Crystal Paine
The Money Saving Mom’s Budget
Money Making Mom Book
Say Goodbye to Survival Mode
Show Notes
[01:34] Why Crystal decided to write her first book The Money Saving Mom's Budget.
[04:43] Lessons learned included needing to have a plan before writing a book.
[05:31] On her second book she spent time finding the idea and then focusing on that topic and writing a proposal that outlines every single step.
[07:20] Using ghost editors made the full-length book process much easier.
[08:21] The editing process helped with accountability and organizing and strengthening the text.
[09:54] Having published books gives a form of legitimacy and credibility that opens up opportunities.
[11:18] Going through a publisher is not as strong an income stream as self-publishing.
[11:56] Crystal had to make the time to work on her books because she is extremely busy and it becomes a family endeavor.
[13:01] Getting up early helped with her first books. She wrote her third book from midnight to 4:00 am to find time to focus.
[14:49] Her husband also helped with the homeschooling and allowed Crystal to sleep in.
[16:51] She put together a marketing plan for her first book. Publishers expect you to do the work of marketing.
[18:27] She planned 7-9 months in advance and found hot topics to write on and promote on social media. She thought about the marketing while writing the book.
[19:33] On her third book she was honed in on marketing from the beginning including finding her target audience of overwhelmed moms.
[21:35] She focused on sharing the value the book would give people in the form of articles and creating awareness.
[24:00] Using a launch team also helps get the word out.
[27:58] The book has opened doors and helped Crystal's confidence grow.
[31:05] Being a real person has been key to Crystal's success.
[32:18] Crystal used Periscope to promote her 5-day Money Making Mom course.
[37:27] Crystal offered a free 1st-day offer on her courses. This was a great teaser that led to a lot of sales.
[38:13] Her biggest revenue is from email sign ups and blog readers which lead to affiliate sales.
[38:56] Her books are also in the library which has led to readers.
[39:45] Giving away coupons and freebies from companies fell flat on its face until she gave away a chore planner. Focus on the freebie that will be the biggest incentive for people.
[44:02] Share your own unique gifts and your own unique story.
Links and Resources:
self-publishingschool.com
Spsfreetraining.com
Sell Your Book Like Wildfire
Periscope
Motivated Mom’s Chore Planner
Money Saving Mom
Books by Crystal Paine
The Money Saving Mom’s Budget
Money Making Mom Book
Say Goodbye to Survival Mode
240: “The Empowered Woman” + Writing A Collaboration Book / Anthology with Marta Spirk
SPS 239: Launching An Updated & Revised Edition After 2M+ Copies Sold (Miracle Morning Behind The Scenes)…with Hal Elrod
SPS 238: Booking More Speaking Gigs, $40k Keynote Fees, And Bulk Book Sales with Cameron Herold
SPS 237: Rise Of The Reader & How To Market Bestselling Books with Nick Hutchison
SPS 236: Startup Santa: From Toymaker & Inventor To Author with Brad Pedersen
SPS 235: $80k/year In Royalties For 6 Years From One Book…How This Teacher Did It with Rob Plevin
SPS 234: BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Unleashing the Power of Authorship
SPS 233: Be Seen: Discovering Your Voice & Booking Speaking Gigs Grow Your Brand with Jen Gottlieb
SPS 232 How I Sold 25,000+ Copies Of My Children’s Book with Delanda Coleman
SPS 231 How To Get Famous & Sell More Books By Getting On TV with Clint Author
SPS 230 Using AI / ChatGPT To Write & Publish Your Book with Jonathan Green
SPS 229 Grow An App Using A Book And Teaching Kids About Money with Scott Donnell
SPS 228 Post Pardon Me: Writing A Book About Postpartum And Other Difficult Life Experiences with Suzanne Yatim Aslam
SPS: 227 Marketing Secrets, Affiliate Book Launches, And Gorgeous Book Funnels with Julie Chenell
SPS226: The Journey To 110,000 Copies Sold & Relaunching Your Book…How I Did It with Sean Cannell
SPS 225: Why Affirmations Don’t Work & How To Use Afformations Instead with Noah St. John
SPS 224: The Engineer Approach To Millions Of Copies Sold with Todd Sattersten
SPS 223: The 2 Week Vacation Test & Scaling From 6 To 7 Figures with Austin Netzley
SP 222: How To Host An Epic Book Launch Party with Nick Gray (The 2 Hour Cocktail Party)
SPS 221: Mastering Marketing, Book Promotion and Hypnautic Writing with Dr. Joe Vitale
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