Today, joining me is Chris Ducker, who is a keynote speaker and author of two books. His first book, Virtual Freedom, he had traditionally published, his second book, the Rise of the Youpreneur, is self-published. He is known as a Virtual CEO and regarded as an authority on virtual staffing and personal outsourcing. Chris is here to talk about using a book to build your personal brand and your business. “For me, I believe that a book is one of the easiest and most important expert positioning strategies for anyone who wants to build a business based around their experience and expertise should act on - plain and simple.” This is the first action item he works on with coaching clients is to create and publish a book. He knew that authoring his book would bring him more business. The trick was to put all the information he had in his mind into one definitive guide. Currently, his book has over 1000 five-star reviews on Amazon and continues to create monthly sales every quarter. “We don’t give Virtual Freedom away, but we do pitch it as a great starting point for anyone who wants to learn how to work with virtual staff, and to learn how to hire support and run their business with a virtual team.” Chris considers his book a “tripwire product” to get the easy, low-dollar item out of someone to get them warmed up to his business. “I totally agree with qualifying a prospective customer.” Chris recommends not to work on your weaknesses when building your personal brand, but to delegate them to others to get the job done. “Delegate your weakness and work with your strengths. Do the stuff that you’re good at but do it in a way that is uniquely your own path.” Completing this process with the right amount of transparency will build a community of people around you that will consume your content. Listen in to find out why Chris put his face on the cover of his second book, why he self-published his second book, and his mistakes when publishing his first book. Show Notes [02:03] Why Chris writes his books and how he intentionally fits them into his business ecosystem. [05:39] Chris’ experience with traditional publishing.  [07:27] Virtual Freedom launch party details. [08:27] How Chris strategically used his book in lead funnels and sales. [10:25] Using your book to prospect for future clients. [13:21] Why Chris’ book is the $20 business card for his company. [14:42] Why Rise of theYouPreneur is more of an aspirational book. [19:20] Should you put your face on the cover of your book? [23:48] Traditional versus self-publishing experience for Chris. [27:38] Chris wanted to be an example of how to self-publish your book to his students. [30:28] Have your foundations down before you build a personal brand. [34:40] Building a personal brand around you as a digital marketing strategy. [37:08] Advice for new authors. Links and Resources Visit Self Publishing School Online SPS Free Training Course Circle of Profit Get Chris Ducker’s Book Coaching with Chris Ducker