Turn Your Business Book Into a Revenue Tool (video)

Episode Overview

Most business authors expect their book to generate instant fame and sales — and most are disappointed. Susan Friedman, founder of Aviva Publishing & Marketing, has spent 30 years helping nonfiction authors break that mindset. A book is a business tool, not a product, and understanding that distinction is the first step toward real results.

Friedman walks authors through a strategic approach: identify a niche market, pursue bulk sales, leverage the book for speaking and coaching opportunities, and commit to long-term marketing. She challenges the myth that Amazon, a big publisher, or even AI can do the heavy lifting — the author must.

Key Insights

1. Here is what you need to know about treating your book as a business tool.

Authors who measure success by Amazon rankings and individual sales miss the bigger opportunity. A book signals authority in a field and opens doors to speaking, coaching, and training engagements. Shift the goal from selling copies to generating revenue through the opportunities the book creates.

2. Here is what you need to know about niche market positioning.

Trying to sell a book to everyone guarantees it reaches no one. Friedman helped one client sell 500,000 copies to a single company by targeting the trade show industry — a focused vertical where the book solved a specific problem. Identify the audience you know best, then go deep rather than wide.

3. Here is what you need to know about bulk sales and long-term marketing.

Selling one book at a time is a slow road. Bulk sales — to companies, trade associations, or event organizers — move hundreds or thousands of copies at once and put the book in front of exactly the right audience. Authors who plan for sustained marketing from day one consistently outperform those who launch and move on.

4. Here is what you need to know about imposter syndrome and passion.

Many authors freeze before launch, questioning whether they deserve to claim expertise. Friedman’s fix is a mindset shift: move from self-focus to service focus. When the goal is to help the reader solve a real problem, self-doubt loses its grip. The same principle applies to the book’s cover — if you are not proud of it, neither will your readers be.

5. Here is what you need to know about AI as a writing tool, not a ghostwriter.

AI can sharpen copy, punch up language, and speed up drafts — but it cannot replace the author’s stories, perspective, or lived experience. Those personal elements are what readers buy and remember. Authors who hand everything to AI end up with generic content that damages their credibility rather than building it.

Pull Quotes

“People don’t buy books. They buy what the book’s going to do for them.”

— Susan Friedman

“It’s shifting that mindset from ‘I am selling a product’ into ‘this is a tool that’s going to help me open doors to money-generating opportunities.'”

— Susan Friedman

“When I sold 500,000 copies of my book to one company, they bought it because I was in a niche market.”

— Susan Friedman

“The stories are yours. They’re not AI’s. And it’s really the stories that often help make or break what you’re sharing with your audience.”

— Susan Friedman

Nonfiction Book Marketing: Key Statistics from Aviva Publishing & Marketing

Related Resources

• Susan Friedman — Book a free consultation: avivapubs.com
• Sales POP! Podcast

Our Host

John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist, he has conducted over 1500 video interviews of thought leaders for Sales POP! online sales magazine & YouTube Channel and for audio podcast channels where Sales POP! is rated in the top 2% of most popular shows out of 3,320,580 podcasts globally, ranked by Listen Score. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.