This is part two in a series of posts that teaches you my strategies for creating 18 streams of income with your published book. In the last post, How to Turn Your Book Into Multiple Streams of Income, I talked about the different book formats you can leverage to create more income. Today, I’m excited to show you how to turn your published book into a mastermind.
Napoleon Hill—author of Think and Grow Rich—said that a mastermind is “two or more people actively engaged in the pursuit of a definite purpose with a positive mental attitude (that) constitute an unbeatable force.” I used his definition as a jumping-off point for developing several masterminds focused on the books I’ve published, including the one I created for Day Job to Dream Job.
The main purpose of a mastermind is to bring like-minded, goal-oriented individuals together to support one another on their path to success in a focused area of their life. This could be health, fitness, business, speaking, trauma survival, or almost anything else.
To create a lasting impact on your readers, I highly recommend designing a mastermind around the topic of your book. This will get you closer to that six-figure author you dream of becoming. I’ve designed masterminds around my books, so I know they can have a tremendous effect on building a business as an author. Below, I share five of my many tips for mastermind success for you to implement in your own guided mastermind.
1. Focus on the most important guiding principle of your book.
When you first started writing your book, what was the one thing you wanted your readers to learn after they finished reading it? For instance, if you wrote a self-help book about weight loss or fitness, your guiding principle might have been to inspire your readers to lose weight (or get more fit) after making some lifestyle changes. That could be turned into your main goal for a mastermind that uses your book to inspire people all over the world to change their lives.
2. Break the content of your book down into 6 or 12 mini-lectures.
If you can do this, this will give you a great guide for setting up a six-month or a year-long mastermind for all who join. So, in our weight loss and fitness example, you could guide your participants through changing their lifestyles, which would have the added benefit of inspiring them to lose some unwanted weight or get into better shape. Your mastermind group—if you want to structure it as a monthly mastermind—could meet every month for up to 12 months, with each session focusing on a portion of your book.
3. Set up a Facebook group or membership website for your mastermind participants.
Once a reader signs up for your mastermind, you’ll want to find a way that allows everyone to come together once a month—or at whatever interval you decide—to delve into that month’s topic. Each month, you can record a video—or broadcast live on Facebook—that addresses a specific lesson. So, for our example, one lesson might tackle how to read labels at the grocery store, or you might even guide your members through a yoga or stretching session.
4. Prepare your members for the next mastermind session.
Masterminds are a lot more hands-on than an online or in-person course. Because of that, you need to make sure each member is prepared for the next session. This means they’ll either need to read a chapter, some articles, or a lesson you’ve created specifically for your mastermind. This will also set the expectation for your members to come to each and every session prepared and ready to work. After all, most masterminds require a substantial investment, so your members will want to put all their energy into ensuring their success once the mastermind is over.
5. Before your mastermind begins, make sure you have a strong structure in place.
This will require research and planning on your part, but once you have a good foundation for your mastermind, this will not only ensure your success, but it will also ensure your members’ success. You can include several things in your mastermind structure:
- a syllabus or lesson plan for the duration of your mastermind
- any text or material your members will be asked to read or watch
- medium for each mastermind session
- a schedule that’s outlined with your agenda for each session
Having a well-defined structure will give your members a clear and concise plan for how they will move forward with reaching their goals. And everything you define in your foundation should aim to make sure each member has an opportunity to be heard and learn how to facilitate their own growth with your guidance.
Tune in next week to continue your journey toward learning more about the 18 streams of income that are possible as a publishing author.
If you’ve ever participated in a mastermind, what is the most important thing you learned from that experience? How can you use that to ensure success for your mastermind?
Kary Oberbrunner, CEO of Igniting Souls, is an author, coach, and speaker who helps individuals and organizations clarify who they are, why they’re here, and where they’re going so they can become souls on fire, experience unhackability, and share their message with the world. Connect at KaryOberbrunner.com.