One of the biggest challenges for authors, business owners, and anyone building a brand is leaning into their niche. In this episode, I sit down with Kristen Luke, president of Kaleido Creative Studio and Amazon best-selling author of Uncomparable: The Financial Advisor’s Guide to Standing Out Through Niche Marketing, to unpack exactly how focusing on the right audience can transform your marketing and your business.
Kristen shares her practical framework for helping professionals define their niche, craft their message, and position themselves so they’re truly “uncomparable.” From identifying profitable audiences, leveraging your expertise, and building meaningful networks to using your book as a marketing powerhouse, Kristen walks us through every step of making your marketing focused, effective, and authentically you.
We also dive into why a quarterly, agile approach to strategy beats the traditional annual plan and how writing a book can supercharge your business, even before it’s published. If you’ve been struggling to stand out in a noisy world, this conversation is packed with clarity, inspiration, and actionable steps to help you attract the clients and opportunities that are truly meant for you.
Tune in to learn how to stop appealing to everybody and start serving the people who matter the most.
Learn more about Kristen:
Book recommendation:
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport
Follow me on:
- Instagram @stacyennis
- Facebook @stacyenniscreative
- YouTube @stacyennisauthor
To submit a question, email hello@stacyennis.com or visit stacyennis.com/contact and fill out the form on the page.
Becoming uncomparable: Why your niche is your superpower | Episode 229
These transcripts were generated by robots, not writers.
Kristen: Really the reason why I started teaching niche marketing is that when I was working with business owners, I just found that the audience was so wide that they didn’t even know where to really begin with marketing and they didn’t know what message to say. And I think that’s true. Stacey, in writing a book too, I mean, that’s one of the things you talk about is like, who’s your audience? It’s the same exact concept because if you don’t know who your audience is, you’re not going to appeal to anybody and you’re not going to know how to even get it into their hands. So to me, even if you don’t think you want to focus on a niche, I don’t even know another way, really, because it’s like, who are you talking to? Then no one’s hearing your message.
Kristen: No one’s seeing what you’re the good work that you’re putting out there.
Stacy: Welcome. Welcome. One of the biggest challenges that authors face, and actually I would say business owners and anybody who’s building a brand or business face is leaning into your niche. And this week we’re going to be talking about the power of a niche in marketing. Our guest specifically works with financial advisors, but her work is wholly applicable to anyone with any type of business. I’m really excited to welcome this week’s guest. Kristen Luke is the president of Kaleido Creative Studio, a marketing agency specializing in helping financial advisors develop niche based marketing strategies and initiatives.
Stacy: She is also the author of the Amazon bestselling book the Financial Advisor’s Guide to Standing Out Through Niche Marketing, which introduces a practical framework for advisors to rise above industry sameness and attract clients by becoming truly uncomparable. The book has become a roadmap for firms seeking focused, scalable growth. With over 20 years of experience, Kristen’s thought leadership continues to shape how advisors market themselves in an increasingly competitive environment, offering clarity, strategy, and practical guidance to help them stand out and succeed. Kristen, welcome.
Kristen: Thank you, Stacy, for having me. I’m so excited to be here. We’ve known each other for years.
Stacy: I know. Great.
Kristen: I’m so excited to have this conversation.
Stacy: Me too. It’s funny, when I was reading your bio, I kind of felt like, you know, when you’re in elementary school and they do popcorn reading and when you mess up, somebody else gets the turn. I felt like I was doing that with your very impressive bio. I love that as a marketer teaching niche marketing, you have a very specific niche, which is you work with financial advisors. I’d love to know a little bit about what led you into this work and why have you remained so passionate about working with financial advisors?
Kristen: Well, I would love to say that it was an intentional choice to be in the financial services industry, but actually I kind of fell into it. When I was in graduate school, I was looking for jobs and the first job I found after graduating was with a financial advisory firm. Am locally here in San Diego, which is where I am. And so I spent some time there for a couple of years. Is really getting to know all about the industry and about how independent financial advisors market their business. And what I really liked about it is it’s very much about, you know, relationships and educating. So that’s the kind of marketing I like. You know, it’s not necessarily about pushing ads and trying to get people into your funnel. It’s just a lot more like content based marketing and education and relationships.
Kristen: And that’s really what kept me in the industry. Probably there’s some people thinking like, hey, financial advisors. I think of them as like hardcore salespeople. So, you know, there are those out there. But the types of advisors I work with are much more about long term relationships and just really helping the people that they work with. And so just knowing that these, the small businesses that I’m working with are able to help other individuals with their money and achieving their goals has been really worthwhile experience for me.
Stacy: I love that answer. I think it’s such a, it’s rewarding when you work with people who are also doing good work in the world and they’re taking care of people. And there’s that relationship element. I’d love to talk about niche or niche, whatever you Know, pick your. Pick your pronunciation first. Can you define what a niche is? I think that’d be a good level set for our conversation.
Kristen: Sure. A lot of people have this question, and I think there is some room for flexibility in what your answer is on that. I think of it as a group of people that all share similar characteristics and have a shared problem. So when I’m helping an advisor and when I say advisor, really, this can apply to anyone in professional services or really any business. But when you’re thinking about, like, how do you define your. Your niche? I had to choose. I choose niche to say that.
Stacy: That way we’ll represent both sides here.
Kristen: Yeah, there we go. Actually, niche rhymes better with things like Rich and my boyfriend the other day was like, oh, it sounds like that person’s getting too big for his niches. And I’m like, oh, that’s kind of clever too. So that’s why I say niche. But when you’re defining your niche, I always think about, like, who is the group of people, the general group of people that you want to work with? And then also, what is their shared problem? So, you know, a lot of people say, hey, I want to work with business owners. Well, oh, my gosh. Like, that’s a huge amount of people, right? Is it business owners that are trying to sell their business and that’s the problem that they’re trying to solve?
Kristen: So that’s really way I think about it is like, what is the general group of people that all have similar characteristics, that all have similar problem that you have to solve as a business owner? And if they all congregate together, that’s even better because that just makes marketing so much easier. And really the reason why I started teaching niche marketing is that when I was working with business owners, I just found that the audience was so wide that they didn’t even know where to really begin with marketing, and they didn’t know what message to say. And I think that’s true, Stacy, in writing a book too, I mean, that’s one of the things you talk about is like, who’s your audience? It’s the same exact concept.
Kristen: Because if you don’t know who your audience is, you’re not going to appeal to anybody and you’re not going to know how to even get it into their hands. So to me, even if you don’t think you want to focus on a niche, I don’t even know another way, really, because it’s like, who are you talking to? Then no one’s hearing your message. No one’s seeing the good work that you’re putting out there.
Stacy: I mean, it’s so applicable to everything. I often say, when you write to everybody, you write to nobody. You just said the same thing. We also say, well, here’s the other pronunciation. The riches are in the niches. It’s kind of counterintuitive because people, when they’re in book writing, and I think this is true in business as well. Oh, but if I get really specific, then I’m excluding all of these other people and actually, no, you’re honing in and serving this group extraordinarily well. And they also know that you’re actually talking to them. I think that’s where a lot of the secret sauce is. Is your. Your niche. The people in your niche should recognize that they’re in your niche through your marketing.
Kristen: Yep. And it doesn’t mean that you have to always stay within that niche. Right. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I heard the Airbnb, when they first started, they were really focused on people who wanted to rent out rooms within their house. Stacy:
Right. Kristen:
And that was very specific, their audience. And then it expanded from there. So just because you start with a very specific audience doesn’t mean you have to stay there. You can always expand, but. But it helps you get traction within a core group that allows them to talk about what you’re doing and then get the word out to a wider audience after that.
Stacy: Yeah, that’s a great point, because I think about. I’ve been in business for 16 years, and in the beginning, Istarted with a really wide range of books. Fiction, children’s books, nonfiction, kind of everything. And then I was really in science and wellness for a while. And then I, you know, like, it was kind of an exploration. And I think in my business, I needed a lot of exploration to be able to arrive at where I serve people best. If somebody is new to this idea or maybe they’ve really resisted it and they’re like, okay, Kristen, I hear you. I know I need to uncover my niche. Maybe these are financial advisors that should just reach out to you for. For help on it, but.
Stacy: But for a general listener as well, what are some of the first things that they could do to start understanding? Maybe they already have an existing niche, but they haven’t defined it or to begin to find one. Kristen: Yeah. If someone’s just trying to figure out who they can serve best, you know, one of the things I have them think about is first just, you know, brainstorm. Everyone, everything that you’re passionate about, you know, your hobbies, the types of people you like working with, the kinds of work that you’ve done in the past and just use it as a creative brainstorming process to just put everything down. Now that doesn’t mean that we’re going to choose something from there, but that leaves gives you something to think about. And then I like to think about your aptitude. So what is your past experience? You know, do you have specific education or work experience that’s going to really help you be different in the minds of the person that you’re going to work with? So I do work with financial advisors.
Kristen: So, for example, you know, maybe they have passed tax experience or maybe they used to work in the tech industry, or maybe they have a child that has special needs and they have a lot of experience about, you know, having to create a plan, a financial plan around, you know, their child. So, you know, putting down all the things that you really have that kind of makes you different either in your life experience or in your education or expertise that you have. So you kind of line that up against the things that you’re also passionate about and then you can kind of start putting a list together from there. But then the third part to think about is what’s actually going to be profitable? You know, how are you going to make money?
Kristen: Because if you can’t make money with this particular niche, you’re never going to make a business out of it. And that’s really important. And I’ve seen this over and over again. One niche for financial advisors that can be somewhat hard is like first responders. So, you know, police officers or firefighters, if they don’t define the niche where it’s, you got me, I’m now a niche. Now I keep going back and forth. If you don’t, you know, if you don’t define it for. It’s like right towards retirement, it can be really hard to get those people to pay for financial services, you know, just out of pocket. And so that’s one where it’s like you have to really think, like, are they able to actually pay your fees? Because if not, you don’t have a good business.
Kristen: So it’s really that intersection of things that you’re passionate about, you know, any aptitude that you have and then of course, profit, and that you can actually make money from this audience, I think.
Stacy: That’S a really important piece that, like understanding that there is a business connection there and that you can build revenue and be successful financially because you might be really passionate about something, but it doesn’t necessarily help your. Your business be successful. I know for me, one of the ways that I’ve thought about that is, you know, I have my. My ideal client that the person that I love to work with, I’m best suited to work with. And then I. I have this other group which, you know, often is the writing community. And I do a lot of things pro bono. I do a lot of mentorship, and I give a lot in those areas to. To this group that I know would never be able to afford me. And so that’s how I’ve kind of navigated that. Because you might have something you’re really.
Stacy: You really care about, but it may not exactly fit for the niche that you want to focus on in your business. Marketing. Kristen:
Yep, that’s exactly the recommendation I make too. You know, if there’s someone that you really want to work with that just doesn’t have the money to work with you, then do that on pro bono and volunteer and contribute that way. But your business has to be people who can actually pay for your fees.
Stacy: Yes, Agreed. Okay. I want to talk about your uncomparable framework. And I like this idea of being uncomparable because we’re in such a noisy world with so many people. And I think it’s also interesting when you start to enter a space, you start to think everybody is doing it. When somebody starts writing a book, at first they don’t really know anybody that’s writing a book, so it feels really new. Then they go into writing a book, and they’re like, oh, my gosh, everybody’s writing a book. Why did I just, you know, why did I decide to do this? Everyone else is doing it. Or you have the red car, and now suddenly everyone else has the red car. But your idea here is to really stand out to. To really be that.
Stacy: That advisor, in this case, or business owner that rises above the noise that nobody else can compare to. I would love to hear a little bit about your framework for that and how business owners can leverage that for marketing success.
Kristen: Absolutely. So before I get started, people listening to this or watching the video might be thinking, hey, uncomparable, that’s not a word. You know, and I need my book after that. It’s kind of a word. It’s a word in some dictionaries. But, yes, the word normally is incomparable. But incomparable means being the best. Whereas I chose the word uncomparable for my book because it means so different that you can’t be compared to somebody else. So I do think it is different as from incomparable. And the reason in marketing is that in being incomparable or being the best, it’s just really hard to convince people that you are until they have experience working with you, and they will only have experience working with you once they hire you. So it’s very hard to convince people you are the best.
Kristen: But it’s very easy or should be easier to convince people that you are different, you know, in the way you’re communicating your message and the things that you’re writing about. You know, that’s an easier way to say, hey, I am completely different than this other business because of these ways. So that’s why I talk about being uncomparable, being so different that you can’t be compared to somebody else. And in my book, I talk a lot about the uncomparable framework, which is really like, what are the different aspects of your business that you need to address in order to be so different that you don’t have to compare to any that can’t be compared to anybody else? So those components are first, the niche, right? Like, who’s your audience? What are you trying or who are you trying to work with?
Kristen: Then the next one is position, right? So, like, what is the message that you’re going to communicate? What is the problem that you’re solving? What is the outcome that they can expect? And that to me, like, niche and position go hand in hand because it’s. They just. That’s the. Almost the definition, right? Like, you have to be able to know who you’re talking to and what you’re communicating. And then from there I look at all, right, well, how are you going to reach these people? And so I think about, where is this niche community? Where are these people already congregating? And that’s why I say sometimes it’s better if you pick a niche where they do congregate together because it’s easier to find them.
Kristen: So, for example, you know, if you’re working with people at a specific company, let’s say, like Verizon, well, it’s really easy to find Verizon people because they’re on LinkedIn and they all work at the same, you know, similar office buildings. If you’re working with people that are a little bit more like, they have common values, but maybe they don’t congregate together as much, that can be a little bit more tricky. So, like, one I think about is, like, philanthropists, you know, you can’t just go out and buy a list of philanthropists, necessarily. You’d have to go find where they, you know, where else they are socializing. So thinking about really where you want to spend your time to be able to get access to your niche, the next area is about expertise. And really that’s Stacy, like, that’s like the book writing, right?
Kristen: Like, how do you show that you are an expert in this niche? So I think of it a lot about, like, content marketing or presentations, being on podcasts, videos, that kind of thing. So you are not just networking in the community, but you are also becoming an expert within this niche and really standing above everybody else that is just serving the general population. And then the next area is network. Network and community can kind of be confused where I think of network as the people that you already have a relationship with and that you are trying to nurture those relationships. So it could be as, you know, as basic as networking events and when you go to see people. But it also could be like, what are you doing in social media with your followers to maintain those relationships? Kristen:
What kind of email marketing are you sending out there? You know, these are all things that you need to think about to nurture that relationship for generating referrals and generating more. More revenue. And then the last piece is really the business model. How are you developing your business model in a way that is so unique to that particular niche that really no other advisor is offering the same thing? So it might be bringing in specific staff members that have a specialty. It could be about how you take people through a specific process. It could be certain services that you offer. So, for example, you know, a lot of advisors tend to work with business owners. So, you know, do you have business valuation services, which would not normally be something financial advisors would offer? Kristen:
So it’s really designing your whole business around this niche to be so specific that they just can’t imagine, you know, working with an advisor that didn’t have all these things.
Stacy: They feel really seen, I think, in your marketing and conversations and all of that. It’s so smart. And I love how simply you wrote that down, because I think marketing feels very scary to a lot of people, especially if you have a service or something that you’re passionate about and you’re like, but everybody should know that I’m great and they should hire me. But no, you actually have to do the marketing to get to them. One of the things that I see as maybe like, a little controversial that you talk about is your approach to marketing strategy, because some of the Prevailing advice is like, create your annual plan. I’m thinking of like the book Scaling up, for example, that talks about, you know, this framework for like your annual strategy and then measuring against that by quarter. Of course there’s room for adjusting.
Stacy: But there is this approach that’s like sit down and plan it all out and then work meticulously toward that. But you have a different approach that is more, I would say, short term and focused and you’re hyper focused. So can you tell a little bit about your approach to marketing strategy?
Kristen: Yeah, my marketing plan, I talk about not planning for a whole year because it becomes overwhelming for people to think about and it also gives people a lot of opportunity to procrastinate. And I would love to say this is my idea. I took this from, I think it’s the 12 week year, the book. So that was inspiration. That’s a good one. So that’s the inspiration. I have refined my position on this a little bit. I still completely agree in not planning for the whole year, but I do think it’s worthwhile to sit down and think about what your overall strategy is once a year. And what I mean with that is like, hey, what are kind of your core focuses? Right?
Kristen: So like for financial advisors, it could be, hey, we want to try to get nurture our existing client base more to be able to get more referrals. Or it could be, hey, you know, I think we’ve tapped out our client base for their network. Maybe we need to go out and find new ways to bring in business that doesn’t rely on referrals exclusively. So thinking about that and then thinking about what type of channels that you really want to focus on. So you know, for example, hey, we really want to focus on our expertise and getting that out there. So we want to focus on presentations and long form writing. So I think you should have some sort of idea of what you want to do because otherwise when opportunities come up, you’re just like, oh, that sounds good.
Kristen: So you should have some sort of guidance. That being said, like, I don’t think people should say this is what we’re going to do throughout the whole year because it changes so much. Especially in the beginning when you’re just beginning with a niche, you learn so much about your niche that it would be impossible to plan out a whole year. You know, you might do some things in the very first quarter and find like, hey, I don’t really like doing that at all. That was horrible. You know, I wanted to do something else so when you think about planning on a quarterly basis, at the end of each quarter, you can reflect back on what you did and what you learned and adapt for the next quarter.
Kristen: So I think it’s kind of more like an iterative process and more like in tech world, we know they have agile type of concepts. So it’s more like that where it’s like, hey, you go and you do a sprint for a quarter, do all the marketing that you had set out for that quarter, take a moment, step back, reflect, and then decide what you’re going to do for the next quarter. And then just keep repeating that. And then once a year sit back and say, hey, what is going to be our focus for next year? But it shouldn’t be something that you’re rethinking your overall strategy on a regular basis. It should just be the guiding post. And then from there you do the actual tactical planning quarterly.
Stacy: I think that’s such a smart way to do it. And it’s also very focused. It gives you good attention in that quarter. And to your point, you can’t really procrastinate because you’re only planning the quarter. So you need to see it through in that specific quarter. I think that is so smart. I want to talk a little bit about the thought leadership and content piece. Of course, as a book coach and we have so many listeners that are they want to write a book or they want to write their next book. I’d love to talk about how a book fits into your overall marketing strategy. It’s even in your book to write a book. So you have also taken this advice as well and how you’ve approached this. Why is writing a book so effective when it comes to your positioning?
Stacy: As you know, I guess when we talk about that niche as being different, but it’s also that kind of expert positioning. How do you think about that when you’re advising people in their marketing?
Kristen: I think writing a book, if someone is able to do it, is probably one of the best marketing avenues you can take. I. If anyone has any interest in it, I’m always like, yep, do it. You know, like, if you don’t have any interest in it though, or if you’re like, oh, that sounds like a lot of work, probably I would not do it because it is a lot of work. Right. And so you want to make sure you’re committed. The reason I originally wrote a book is that I had this very specific framework and service that I wanted to promote more for my business. And that was the service now called On Niche. It’s the companion program to my book. But the reason I wrote a book, I was like, hey, I want to do this program in my business.
Kristen: And I think a book would be a really good way to promote it and get people to understand my philosophy before they even come in. So one of the great things about a book is if someone actually reads it, which is not always the case, but it’s still really valuable even if they don’t. But if they read it, they are pre sold when they come to you. There really isn’t much of a sales process at that point. They’ve already read it and they just want to work with you. So I think it’s like the best closing strategy you can have out there. But outside of that, even for people who don’t read it, the book can really open a lot of opportunities for you. You know, it helps with getting speaking engagements.
Kristen:You can pitch yourself to podcasts and say, hey, you know, I wrote this book. I’d love to come talk to you. Because podcasts are always looking for guests. And if you have a book that’s something easy that they can help promote, and they’re much more likely to do that. You know, you can take excerpts from your book and turn that into guest posts and publications. And there’s just so many different ways that you can use it. And so I just think it’s a real door opener in so many ways that no other piece of marketing can do. In the same way, it just adds this legitimacy that, you know, having a blog or a substack or some of those other things or even just like a YouTube channel doesn’t really offer.
Stacy: Yeah, obviously I agree with you. I think, 100%. I think the other thing I would add into that is for a lot of authors, the process of bringing their expertise together into something that’s cohesive, that they’re able to communicate, does a couple things. One is it boosts their confidence because they go through this and they’re like, hey, actually, I know a thing or two. I wrote this book about it. So there is that confidence booster, I think, also to be able to speak really with clear language and articulate yourself well when you’re meeting with people. I think a book is amazing for that. One of the things that a lot of people discover through that process is they discover their. They give name to their framework. And for most people, their framework already exists.
Stacy: But to be a framework, you have to package it in a way that other people can understand. And. And so it’s really about taking that often a thing or process or system that already exists and just breaking it down into components that you can now kind of label as a framework. And then that becomes such an amazing tool for them in their business, but of course, also in their marketing.
Kristen: That’s so true. I think one other thing it does too, is that confidence helps you feel more like an expert. Right.And then it shows everyone else you’re an expert too. Even if you’ve only been working with a niche for a year and you write a book, everyone’s going to assume you’re an expert because you spent the time to do this. So you must know quite a bit. So it’s a. It’s a good way to boost your. How people see you as an expert pretty quickly.
Stacy: One of the things that I like about your approach to book writing as a marketer is you look for. For, like, through the writing process, you see so many opportunities for marketing that is already being created through the process. And a few of the things that you’ve mentioned in our conversation, you know, interviews, social proof. You’ve even talked about using beta readers to reach prospects for your business. Can you talk a little bit about why people don’t need to wait until the book is out to build that momentum and start to. Yeah, just generate marketing momentum and business growth.
Kristen: So when I’m working with advisors, the idea of writing a book sounds just, like, almost impossible for them. And it seems like it’s such a long timeframe that it’s hard for them to sometimes think, like, okay, I’m gonna invest this time for the next 18 months, and then finally start getting results from it. So I try to position it as, like, hey, you can use this as a marketing tool from the very beginning, and that helps keep them motivated. So one of the first things I do is when you are starting to write your book. So these are all obviously nonfiction books. When you’re starting to do that, think about who you want to interview and use that opportunity to meet new people that maybe you wouldn’t have access to otherwise.
Kristen: You know, if you tell them that you are writing a book, they’re much more likely to be open to an interview than if you just called them up and said, hey, I want to talk to you about my services. Right. So. So using that opportunity to interview not only people in your niche, but also other, what we call in my industry, centers of influence or influencers in that niche. So it just opens up a lot of relationships. Right from the beginning. I’ve also seen where people will start talking on social media about what they’re doing with their book. And it creates a lot of buzz and people are more likely to just kind of want to know what the book is about and reach out. And it’s a good way of promoting your expertise in a way that’s not just like hammering.
Kristen: You know, this is what I do all the time. So using that when you start promoting what you’re writing about and sharing the things that you’re doing in your process throughout the whole book process and then on social media can really help with just getting more exposure from. From that standpoint. I also used beta readers. I thought that was actually. I don’t know where I got that idea from. I don’t. It was some book I was reading, but it was a great idea where I ended up getting, I think, 25 financial advisors to read the first draft of my book. And the idea is that they’re going to read it, they’re going to give you feedback on, like, what part of the book is working, what’s not. That’s all very helpful.
Kristen: I’m going to say, like, I changed my book around quite a bit based on that. Like, I brought things from the back to the front, took out some stuff. So that was really helpful all on its own. But from a marketing perspective, you know, I have these people already reading the book and thinking about, hey, this is really, this is good stuff. I want, I want to work with Kristen. So I think I actually picked up, I don’t know, two or three clients just from the beta reading portion of it. And this is still six months before the book was even published. And then once the book is published, that’s really where you start to see the magic, right? You can start promoting it and getting speaking engagements and press around it and doing events and all of that.
Kristen: So that’s where, like, I think the people think that’s where the real value comes from, book writing, which is the publication. But I found the whole process from the interviews and the beta readers to be just as useful.
Stacy: I love that. I love that you did that with the beta readers. And it’s so smart. I mean, it’s. It’s a genuine request, right? They are your beta group and there’s this added layer that they’re your beta group. So, you know, they might want to work with you, which some of them did. I love that. And I’ve also seen, of, you know, of course, I’m constantly watching authors go through their process and seeing, of course I’m coaching, but I’m also watching what they’re doing on Social and I noticed that the authors that share behind the scenes, they draw from their experience. They build buzz, excitement. They share, you know, just their process. They are the ones that are the most successful on the launch because they have brought in their, you know, audience into this story.
Stacy: So it’s not like suddenly the book’s nearly out and they’re like, please buy my book. It’s like my book is finally out. I’ve been telling you about this now for 18 months or whatever and I, I’ve just seen that really works. Kristen: Yeah, I will say this is not going to be true for everybody, but for me, I was most interested in having my book promote my business. And so for me, I wasn’t really that interested in selling books, but I was interested in getting books in the hands of people. So I gave away my book to anyone who was in, who was a financial advisor and would mail it to them. And it cost me about, I think between the printing of the book and mailing is about $8 per book, something like that, maybe 8 to 10. Which, if you think about how much it would normally cost to get a lead, that’s a really good price. This is not, this is not taking into account all the money I spent, you know, getting the book published.
Kristen: But if we’re just looking at, that’s all a fixed cost. But if we just look at how much it is per lead after that was a great way of doing it. So I would spend, you know, eight to ten dollars for every name. And not only did I get their email, but I also got their address. And so I was building my database that way. Now I know a lot of people actually want to sell books. That was not my direction. I wasn’t that interested. I do sell books. I still, it’s been a couple of years now. I still get, you know, a few hundred books sold at a time, you know, every quarter. But I was more interested in just getting it out there. Kristen:
And I would recommend that if you are writing a book for business building purposes, to think more about how can I get leads from it versus how can I sell books.
Stacy: Yeah, I love that I have a whole episode on the ROI of writing a book because so many people the instant math and it makes sense. It’s so easy math and seems natural is how many books do I need to sell to make back my investment. But you have to think about it completely differently than that to tap into the opportunity that’s available when you’re writing a book. Speaking of writing, I’d love to hear about your writing experience. Kristen: Experience. Stacy:
Kristen, when you’re writing your book, every author’s just like every child is unique. Every book journey is unique. What was that experience like for you? Did you hit any road bumps or challenges? And if so, how did you overcome them?
Kristen: So I was lucky enough to join Stacy’s program to do my. My book. A little plug there for you. So that was really helpful for me because, you know, I’ve been writing just blogs and for publications for many years, but writing a book was completely different and thinking about the structure of a book was completely different and that was really helpful for me. I think if I hadn’t gone through your program, I probably just would have. It would just been like a book of just all my ideas. Right. There would have been no like story arc or real understanding of what I was trying to put together. So going to that program really helped. Like, hey, you know, this is going to be more of a how to book with a little bit of big picture. Kristen:
And this is how it should be structured so that there is an actual kind of like story arc like you would see in a fiction book, so that people actually want to keep reading it. And then there’s. There’s some sort of conclusion that makes sense. I think a lot of people who just go out and write a book are more likely probably just to gather blogs and throw it out there as a book. Right. And that’s something that you teach a lot about Stacy, not to do that. So.
Stacy: Yes, don’t do that, please.
Kristen: Yeah. So after going through your program, it was just really helpful to like, just have a process and know exactly what I was writing. I actually found the writing process to be fairly easy. I know that’s probably weird to hear. I think I wrote the whole book and I want to say, I don’t know, four months, 16 weeks. I think I was pretty much done by the time your program at the time was done. Maybe another month after that. Stacy:
I think you could already even defined your publishing pathway, if I’m remembering correctly. Or you had like pretty much like you were set, you were ready to go.
Kristen: I was ready to go because I had such a business motivator. Like I did not want to sit around and spend three years writing this book. I think what was surprising to me was how much or that the writing process is just such a small piece of it. Like I thought that would be the hardest part and that would take the longest amount of time. But that’s not the case at all. You know, that took four months, but it still took me, I think, 16 months to get my book published. So the editing process was really interesting to me. You know, when you realize, like, oh, you have to take this out, and I think that’s really hard, is to take things out of the book.
Kristen: But that’s really important, right, because not everyone wants to hear everything that, you know, it’s got to serve a purpose. So I ended up actually really enjoying the editing process a lot more than I thought I would. I thought I would just really like the writing process and that would be it. So that ended up, I think, taking about another four or five months. But part of that was because I had beta readers. And so getting their feedback and incorporating it took a while. And then the actual publishing process takes quite a bit of time too. By the time you do all the formatting and it has to be edited again and then you do the book cover, which I think is probably the most fun. So when you get to look at covers and then. And then reveal it to everyone.
Kristen: So it was. I found it such a rewarding experience, and I have to say it has made me really enjoy long form content a lot more than I did before. It’s just every piece was so interesting and creative and wonderful. So I had a really positive experience. I didn’t really feel like I hit a lot of roadblocks, but I feel like that’s probably unusual.
Stacy: Yeah, I love hearing that. And like I said, everybody’s journey is unique. And I think it also depends on the kind of book you’re writing. If you’re, if you’re writing a memoir, for example, that’s very complex and has a lot of different things that you’re integrating. That’s a very different experience than writing a how to book, which is a very different experience than writing a big idea book. I mean, there’s a lot of kind of differences there. And the thing that I think was really useful for you is that you came in understanding your niche already, and that already set you so far ahead. Because a lot of times what I’m supporting authors on is like, I’m actually trying to first convince them that they need to niche down.
Stacy: And then it’s like, okay, now we have to find it and understand it, but you already had that. And I think that really created such a nice guide for you. And once you understand your niche, so many other decisions are easier because now you’re not trying to appease a bunch of people’s Needs or the scope of the book doesn’t balloon out, you know, crazy big. Because you understand, my reader’s here. This is my reader. Here’s what they’ve already done, here’s where they are, and I want them to get here, and then here’s where I want them to go after. And so it just makes it a lot easier to make decisions when you have clarity around those pieces.
Kristen: Absolutely. And if you’re writing a book for business purposes, it’s helpful because you already know what your service is and how you want that to go. And I think the book should basically just be helping sell, convince people that what your service is right for them. And so the structure is already there if you are writing specifically to promote your business.
Stacy: Well, you done a wonderful job on your book Uncomparable, which I have a copy of here. I’ll ask you our last question that I ask all of our guests and that is if you could recommend one book to listeners. So this is excluding your own, one that has profoundly impacted your life. What would it be?
Kristen: I really love the book Deep Work by Cal Newport. Are you familiar with that one, Stacy?
Stacy: Yeah.
Kristen: Yeah. I think that really changed my life in a lot of ways in that it basically, if you want to do something big and meaningful, you have to create the space for people to actually be able to create that. So I don’t know that you could really write a book if you were also checking your email every five minutes and you have slack. You have to be able to just tune out everything and just spend the time to do really creative work so that you are in a flow and then, you know, just, it’s all consuming at that point. But you have to create that, those that boundary to be able to do that. And once I read that, I was like, yes, this is exactly what I need to be able to create really important work.
Kristen: And I read that actually before I went to the book writing process and I think it made a big difference because I understood what was going to be required for me to be able to actually write and get this project done. So that’s one I definitely recommend.
Stacy: Ooh, now I’m like, should I send that book to authors before they start working with me? Maybe that becomes part of a welcome. Great recommendation, Kristen. Thank you so much for your time today. Can you tell our listeners, our viewers, where they can find you and any financial advisors listening or somebody who knows a financial advisor that’s like, oh my gosh, I listened to the person that you need to work with. Where can they get more information about you and learn about how to work with you?
Kristen: So you can Find me on LinkedIn? I don’t think there’s a lot of other Kristen Luke, so you should be able to find me. I’m also on Substack. Those are pretty much the two socials that I’m on these days. I’ve pretty much gotten off everything else, so that’s a good place to connect with me. And then for anyone interested, any advisor interested in the work that I do with niche marketing, you can visit on niche.com to find out more.
Stacy: Kristen, thank you so much for being here with me today. I loved our conversation. So useful and I know that it’s going to make a difference for our listeners.
Kristen: All right, thanks so much, Stacy for having me.
Stacy: And thank you to you, our listeners, our viewers, for being with us. Since you’re still here, still watching or listening, you must have really liked this episode. So if you could take a moment to rate and review the podcast or subscribe on YouTube, that would be number one, useful for you because you won’t miss out on great episodes like this. And number two, it helps me reach more people with the message of living a life that’s not just better, but beyond better. And as always, I need to thank Kita Dominguez for her production of this podcast. She is why you are watching or listening to this right now, really, otherwise it wouldn’t exist. She makes it all happen. So thank you to Rita and I will be back with you before you know it.
Comments +