Having a content strategy is a marketing must for businesses of any size. High-value content around your specialty validates your expertise, helps you get found online, builds trust with your customers, and generates leads. You may already be aware of this, but what you may not be aware of is the fact that you have expertise in more than just your field. Have you ever stopped to consider how much you’ve learned as a business owner?
Owning a business allows you to develop a unique perspective and level of expertise that others with entrepreneurial ambition are eager to learn from. Those who are serious about launching their own businesses will pay to know what you know. Read on to learn about how you can use your business owner know-how to make extra money on the side.
Leverage Your Business Owner Knowledge for Profit
When you package up your business owner knowledge and market it to people who can benefit from your experience, the result is a lucrative side-hustle or an extension of your current business. Bonus: it up-levels your authority in the space and helps you develop thought leadership that can be leveraged for business opportunities as well.
Here are four ways to package up and promote your business know-how, making money and building a brand along the way.
1. Publish an eBook
An eBook is a great way to package your knowledge in a format that’s both familiar and succinct. You can even release multiple eBooks, covering the many areas where you provide value. Just keep the focus on providing educational content, suggest the experts at FounderU : “People will buy an eBook because they want to learn how to do something.”
As you begin to write, consider using the format suggested by FounderU: “Start with the desired result (teaching an idea, skill or process) and then work backward.” This allows you to stay focused on the topic and provide a thorough explanation of the topic or topics that are being covered.
When your book is finished it’s time to publish. You can do this through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, or the many eBook publishing sites available, like Bookbay. Once live, all that’s left to do is promote it. You can do so with the traditional methods, including a landing page on your site, social media marketing, and email marketing.
Finally, you can use this eBook to leverage speaking engagements, which also helps you sell more books and reach larger audiences.
2. Create an Online Training Course
One of the simplest ways to share your knowledge is to monetize your existing content (such as blog posts or even your eBook), repurposing it as material for an online training course. Since you’ve already created the content, all you need to do is format it into a course through a voice over or using a “talking head” style.
If you’ve never repurposed content before, check out this Skillshare course: How to Boost ROI With Content Repurposing.
But don’t let your current content dictate your course. If there’s not enough on a subject you want to teach about, use what you can and develop the rest. The key is choosing a topic that you can credibly teach on with authenticity and add value for your students.
Once you’ve determined the topic and style, it’s time to create your video course and promote it. You automatically get promotion when you put your course on sites like SkillShare and Udemy, thanks to their built-in audience. Just remember to pepper your course description with words and phrases that people may search to get to it so you can capture the most traffic.
3. Book Yourself for Paid Speaking Gigs
There are few better ways to gain exposure and develop your brand than speaking at conferences, networking events, and other industry functions. This might be uncharted territory for you, but even with no experience as a speaker, it’s feasible to book a spot on the lineup if you know how to market yourself.
In her book, The World’s Greatest Speakers, author and business coach Maria Lynn Johnson walks her readers through an incremental process of landing paid speaker roles. She advises building a resume with free opportunities before moving into the professional circuit.
Once you’ve honed the craft, do some research on organizations, groups, or conferences looking for speakers in your area of expertise and don’t be afraid to contact their scheduling team. Be prepared to deliver a compelling pitch on how you can serve their audience and enhance the quality of their event. Speak with authority, influence, and enthusiasm on stage in order to prove you’re worth the money.
4. Start a Podcast In Your Wheelhouse
Podcasts have become a go-to medium for sharing expertise and learning. So much so, that 68 million people listen to them, as reported by Entrepreneur, and of those 68 million, 57 percent hold a bachelor’s or graduate degree.
This content platform is convenient and accessible to both listeners and podcasters themselves. All you need is basic recording equipment and editing software to record your audio and upload to the various podcast platforms. A podcast is best for someone looking to continuously share information with listeners, rather than creating a one-off eBook or course.
To keep it interesting, you can interview public figures or dissect your own entrepreneurial insights, connecting with audiences across the globe. As a first-time podcaster, be selective about which online host you use. Some of the more recognizable options are SoundCloud, Podbean, and BuzzSprout. Check out this breakdown of how the various podcast hosts perform.
How do you make money? You can charge people to be on the show or book advertisements. Consider which makes the most sense for your current status and brand, and remember you can always modify as you grow.
Package Your Business Owner Know-How for a Profit
The above four strategies can be applied to both your main business marketing and side income strategy. No matter what knowledge you have to share or unique skill sets you’ve mastered, there are people interested in what you have to offer. Package that know-how and promote it to the masses so you can enjoy some added revenue and boost your thought leadership.
Sharing your knowledge is a win-win, as it helps others but also bolsters your reputation. For more reputation-building strategies, check out our free eBook below:
