How to Get Ideal Clients Begging to Work With You

Why a Book is the Secret to Getting Top Clients

Want to know how to make high-end clients come to you, pay whatever you ask, and rave about you later?

If you want more business than you can handle—including clients who pay more for a single project than you used to make in a year—then one of the most powerful things you can do this year is write a book.

Not the kind of book you bang out in an afternoon, export to PDF, and upload to your website.

The kind of book that establishes you as the expert in your field, that generates real revenue and profit, and that opens doors you didn’t even know existed.

Writing a book about your business is about sharing all of your experience and insight with your ideal clients in a way that enables them to make a real change in their lives or businesses.

Not only is this is a deep form of generosity, but it’s a powerful display of your expertise and confidence in your ability to deliver results.

Like any good asset, the value of a book compounds the initial return in the form of sales and starts to generate exponential growth as your readers turn into leads, leads turn into first-time buyers, and first-time buyers into loyal, lifelong customers.

Once published, a good book is always out there working for you. It doesn’t get sick, take days off, or change jobs. It’s a constant representation of your business and expertise.

Every copy sold serves as a personal sales rep to that reader, and every reader can become an exponential multiplier for your message.

Now, most people would love to have an asset like that working for their business, but they just don’t know how to produce one.

Maybe you know the feeling. You don’t think of yourself as a writer; you’re daunted by the task and don’t know where to start; or you’re working so hard to take your business to the next level that writing a book seems like a truly crazy prospect.

If that’s you, let me share the inspiring story about one of my clients.

She had been struggling to break through a revenue cap in her business for over a year. She was frustrated that her client base didn’t want to pay what she was worth. She was constantly slogging through 12-15 hour days. And to top it all off, her competitors seemed to be getting ahead of her even though she knew that she offered a much better service.

She decided to take a big swing and write a book that would show, once and for all, that she had unbeatable expertise and the best offer on the market.

Just a month after the book was published, she had a whole new waitlist of clients—all committed to paying higher rates than her original clients did, and begging her to take them on as soon as possible.

That waitlist has grown steadily and she is now charging fees significantly higher than she ever thought possible. Plus, she gets to work with clients she loves, and who respect her expertise.

If you want more business than you can handle—including clients who pay more for a single project than you used to make in a year—then one of the most powerful things you can do this year is write a book.

Writing a book can change the trajectory of your business forever.

So where do you start? Fortunately, there’s a replicable system that allows people just like you to produce industry-defining books in just a few months. It’s the same system I use to write books for high-end clients, and the one I teach to successful entrepreneurs who want to tell their own stories.

Step 1: Leverage the 40:40:20 Rule

If you’ve been around direct marketers before, you might have heard of the 40:40:20 rule.

This rule states that the success of any marketing campaign is 40% audience selection, 40% offer, and 20% creative content.

This applies to writing business books, too. Who you are writing for will define what you write, and how you write it.

Once you know who your ideal reader is, you can start deep-diving into the material. Why? Because you’ll have a firm grasp on the problems your readers want to solve.

Every successful writer starts with a deep outline of what they want to include in their book. If the outline is sufficiently detailed, the material almost writes itself.

Step 2: Outline Your Who, What, Why, and How

Start with broad strokes: 10-15 key things your ideal reader should know about you, your business and industry, your expertise, and your experience. These will become your chapter topics.

Within each of the chapter topics, map out all of the relevant sub-topics to cover, and then a few key points to address within each of those sub-topics. Remember—you want to solve the readers’ problems, so let this drive your content.

Arrange all the chapters into the most logical, sequential order, and then do the same for the sub-topics and key points within each chapter.

Step 3: Convert Readers (Leads) Into Customers

Finally, include a clear call to action that tells the reader what they should do next to work with you when they finish reading.

Outlining like this removes all of the pressure from the writing process (and makes sure people actually take you up on your offer). You never have to stare at a blank page, wondering how to start, or rack your brain for what should come next.

Writing a book happens just like any goal—step by step, following a process.

You just write one key point at a time, until the whole thing comes together.

Step 4: Promote, Promote, Promote!

Of course, once you’ve finished writing, the book will need editing, formatting, and a striking cover design. And for the book to really perform, it will need its own marketing campaign.

You can launch a book like you would launch any other product, but start building your campaign at the same time you start working on the book.

While there are many, many things that go into a successful campaign, here’s one key thing to keep in mind:

Don’t miss the opportunity to build anticipation and ownership among your ideal readers by involving them in the production process.

Invite your ideal readers and launch partners to a private Facebook group where they can read draft material, vote on titles and cover designs, contribute marketing ideas, and invite their own contacts to be part of this cool, exclusive project.

This ensures you have ideal readers waiting to buy the book before it’s even published, and that when you do launch, you’ll have a loyal, excited following ready to help you to get it out in the world.

For more information on Laura, visit laurahanly.com. To learn about her upcoming workshop, click here.


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Laura Hanly

Laura Hanly got her start in traditional publishing, before striking out on her own. These days, she co-writes and publishes books for CEOs and entrepreneurs. She distills their unique expertise and experience into books that become powerful marketing tools for their business, helping them to become the leader and go-to business for their industry. Laura is the author of the marketing bestseller "Content That Converts." You can learn more at laurahanly.com.