I went to a business conference in Austin, Texas last month. My first business conference. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t as excited as a kid in a candy store when I was able to sign up for a ticket and go.

The event was put on by Self-Publishing School. I had joined them initially to publish my first book—My Disability Doesn’t Define Me—and when I found they were having an in-person event, I was all over that. I wanted to meet, and thank in person, the amazing people who helped me make a life-long dream come true.

When I arrived at the hotel—where I was staying and where the conference was being held—I tried to figure out if I knew anyone who was coming through the hotel doors. I was ecstatic that I was able to go; I was so eager to get started!

The event itself was over three days and the days were jam-packed with information.  There were several guest speakers who spoke on a range of topics related to creating your brand, finding your audience, copywriting, selling and maximizing your impact.

I also met some amazing people who I have been speaking with in forums in the Self-Publishing School. It was like getting together for a reunion since we have known each other for several years. I also met some new friends and we all shared our stories and dreams for our businesses in the networking events.

I learned so much and am still going through all of my notes and take aways as I try to see how to incorporate what I learned into my business. Some of the things I learned below will help me to move forward and reach my goal of creating a sustainable business as a writer. I hope they will help you, too.

1: Make sure that you know who your audience is before you write a book. If you don’t, you’ll be launching to “crickets” (also known as generating little to no sales of your book).

2: If you already have a book out, you can create any reason to relaunch it. Some examples: it’s the book’s one-year anniversary; you have another book coming out in the series; it’s your birthday.

3: “Going wide” (making your books available on multiple platforms throughout the world so that more readers have access to your books) isn’t always necessary. There are many reasons to stay exclusive to Amazon.

4: Who not how – Sometimes it’s better to find people who have successfully done what you are trying to do and learn from them instead of trying to figure out how to do it yourself.

5: Copywriting – Just because you put ads to a book (Facebook or Amazon), that doesn’t mean that people will automatically flock to it. You have to have a stellar book description/cover to go with it.

All in all, this weekend was an eye opener for me. It showed me how to position myself to sell more copies of my existing book—as well as for successful launches of my upcoming book(s). I am so excited to start putting the things I learned into practice.

I also am looking forward to the conference next year! I already have my ticket and I cannot wait to see everyone in Orlando!

If you’re interested in learning more about Self-Publishing School and their services, please click here to book a call. While on the call, please make sure to let the person you speak with know that Louis Vendetti referred you to the program. Doing that will get you $250.00 off any program that they offer.