Customers expect a book to cost $9.95, $19.95, or perhaps as much as $49.95. With production costs, that doesn’t give you a lot of money to promote your books and generate sales. It depends on your income goals, but if it consists of selling your books alone, you’d have to sell hundreds or thousands of books a month to earn any substantial income. Your operation costs and marketing expenses would quickly exceed the revenues.

There is a better way. When you use your self-published books as a sales tool to identify customers and make additional sales, then your self-published books become a money-generating tool that can drive a million-dollar business.

Speaking and presentation skills coach, Susan Berkley self-published her book, Speak to Influence: How to Unlock the Hidden Power of Your Voice, (http://www.speaktoinfluence.com) in 1999. The book has sold over 14,000 copies, is now in the second printing of its second edition, and continues to sell every month. Susan still gets quoted from her book, even though it is over seven years old. In fact, the book recently scored blurbs in Glamour and Self magazines without even trying.

More importantly, Susan invites her book buyers to sign up for her free e-zine through her website. In the e-zine, Susan offers subscriptions to her monthly paid newsletter, and promotes her products, teleseminars and consulting/coaching services. The revenue from these additional services and products is many times higher than anything she has received from publishing her book. Best of all, Susan can easily market new products whenever she likes. If she decides she needs more money, she creates another program, sends an e-mail to her list, and makes sales—all from a list created through her self-published book.

Brian Sacks’ self-published book, Yes, You Can Get a Mortgage: Even If You’ve Had a Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, or Other Credit Issue, (http://www.marylandloantips.com) has helped thousands achieve the American dream of homeownership. For Brian, this $19.14 book has generated a constant flow of great customers and millions of dollars of revenue for his mortgage brokerage company.

Brian invites book readers to visit his website for more information and a personal evaluation. Quite often, this evaluation leads to mortgage services with fees ranging from $5,000.00 to $15,000.00.

Jordan McAuley self-published his book, Contact Any Celebrity, (http://www.IMACelebrityResource.com) and sold it for $55.00. This book that provides contact information for celebrities is useful for authors who want positive quotes from celebrities to put on their book covers, fans seeking autographs, and charities looking for celebrity endorsements.

Even though $55.00 for a book is a great price, Jordan didn’t stop there. He created a membership website with data that wouldn’t fit into the finished book. Jordan includes publicist information, additional phone numbers, and charities the celebrity already supports. It’s a lot of useful information specifically for authors and charities. Jordan charges only $9.95 a month for membership and promotes this option throughout his book. So instead of selling a book and getting paid once, Jordan has created monthly, recurring revenue from individuals who want constant access to more extensive and constantly updated information.

Too many authors see the self-publishing of a book as their end goal. When that book hits bookstores, they breathe a sigh of relief and pat themselves on the back for a big accomplishment. Yes, you should be proud, but don’t stop there. Self-publishing a book opens the door to hundreds of other business opportunities.