From Keynote to Workshop
to a Connected Program

Transcript from the episode recording, with speaker names added and paragraphs formatted for readability. Automated transcription may contain errors; the audio is the original record.

Brad Hauck 00:14

A great book shouldn't just lead to one keynote. It can become the foundation for a workshop, coaching pathway, advisory service, or even a longer-term program. The challenge is knowing which ideas belong on the stage and which need deeper exploration and which can help create clients and which can help clients create lasting change. In this episode of the Experts Journey, we explore how to turn the ideas in your book into a clear progression of offers. We'll discuss how to stop cramming everything into one talk and start creating a connected ecosystem that takes people from inspiration to implementation.

Good morning, Dixie.

Dixie Carlton 00:49

Good morning, Brad. How are you today?

Brad Hauck 00:51

I am good, thank you.

Dixie Carlton 00:53

Oh, so many people come to me and say, I'm doing this amount of keynote speaking and these are my topics. Now I want to write a book that covers all of that. And instead of thinking it of it as being the keynote is the extension of the book, they start off thinking the book is the extension or the follow-on from the keynote. So let's unpack that piece first. Because essentially, what most people don't understand when they're thinking this way is that the keynote might be, I don't know, 10,000 words. The workshop might be 15 to 20,000 words.

Whereas the book is going to be 30 to 40,000 words. So you can't make the numbers work to stack it in the opposite way. You want to go back essentially and say, this is the book from which the new keynote will emerge. You want to be thinking that essentially the keynote is an extension of one part of the book. So you may have three parts to your book, which would be a good way of structuring your content. And then say section two, those meaty bits in the middle of my book, that's the essential content for my new keynote.

And then work on extrapolating the content from your book into that being your keynote, and obviously your workshop and all of the parts that go with that.

Brad Hauck 02:14

Absolutely. Or you could just say, I'm going to write chapter one, and that will become my keynote. And then you can tell everybody you need to buy the book to get all the rest of the information, which would be really clever.

Dixie Carlton 02:24

Good idea.

Brad Hauck 02:25

Yeah, you've got to find you got to find that bit that works for you. But in the end, you're not giving away the whole book. And that's the key thing here. Is a lot of people kind of take part one, part two, part three, and then put that as one, two, three in a speech, in which case you're giving away everything. And that that doesn't help anybody because it's way too much information. But also you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot.

Dixie Carlton 02:48

You are, and you are selling yourself short if you think that you can turn a 45-minute or even a 90-minute keynote into something that is going to adequately unpack 30,000 words worth of content or 40,000 words. So if you take your gem, your your crystal clear, absolute clarity of this is the golden nugget that I want to share with everyone. And then if they want to want to find out the rest of it, that what happens before they implement this thing or what happens after they implement this thing, or understanding this crucial piece of the puzzle, then offer them the book to go with that.

And beyond the book, you might say, by the way, I'm going to run workshops on this. This is how I help it to become reality for someone. So instead of hearing about it and then reading about it, now let's roll our sleeves up and get busy and work on a workshop process to really embed the knowledge and the content so that you, the audience person or the reader, can fully maximize what I'm trying to explain to you and what I'm trying to ensure that you take forward into your business or your life.

Brad Hauck 04:00

Yeah. So what I think we're trying to say here is that you're looking for that strongest keynote message from one bit of your book when you're going through and then using that, but you're not giving away everything because there's so much more content in a book.

Dixie Carlton 04:15

Yes, 100%. And this comes back to that ongoing mantra that I have. Start with the end in mind. You know, when you start planning your book, start thinking, well, okay, I already have a keynote that I do, which is very successful, but now maybe it's time to rethink about what my core keynote is going to be for this next 12 months.

Brad Hauck 04:41

Yeah, it doesn't hurt to change the core keynote. I mean, it gives you the opportunity to go back to clients and say, I've got something new that I want to talk about and present it as a new option rather than being the same old keynote that you roll out every time.

Dixie Carlton 04:57

Yeah. So what you can also then do is you can expand beyond the the keynote, the breakout session or the workshopping. Then you can say, actually, if you want to understand how this can implement fully into your entire business or your team or maximize these ideas in a much bigger way, then perhaps we should be talking about a program. So when you're starting with this is chapter one, this is part one, part two, part three of my book, this is my keynote. Now my objective is to turn that keynote into something that people sign up and work with me for six to 12 months over, because that's then a program.

Brad Hauck 05:41

Yeah, exactly. Because I mean, with the keynote, you're really talking about what to do, and whereas a workshop you're talking about how to do it. So you know you can certainly separate them out if you just change your thinking to be that way. And that that makes it very easy to kind of delineate between this is keynote sort of content and this is teaching workshop type content.

Dixie Carlton 06:03

And as you just said, there's the what to do and the why that you may cover in the keynote, how in the workshop, and then the embedding and the fully implementing development part of it that goes into a program. And you've got to be thinking too in terms of your income, which part of that is where your most of your income is going to come from going forward. A lot of people come to me and they say, Well, I want to sell a million copies of my book or a thousand copies of my book would be good.

That's fantastic. But you need to be also thinking in terms of how do you use the book to develop all of the other income streams that you want to be thinking is what you're aiming for, because your book isn't going to buy you a Ferrari.

Brad Hauck 06:49

Oh, exactly. You look at what ongoing progress. You've got to look at what ongoing problem could become part of those longer-term programs or coaching pathways. And you've got to be careful too, because some problems can be solved really quickly. So you're looking at something that's much more personal, I suspect. Uh something that has to do with the human side of it rather than the operational side of things, because they are the things that are ongoing. So if we talk about leadership, we could solve a problem, but becoming a better leader is a long-term thing. And so you do, you've got to really look at that because you don't want to really kind of kill people off in the first level of your sales.

You don't want to solve the problem and it's all gone away. Well, it seems like it must have been a pretty simple problem if you can solve it in one workshop. So look at it and think about what's the longer-term implications of this thing? What is it that I'm actually bringing to the table to help people, not just initially, but also over the longer period?

Dixie Carlton 07:58

Well, one of the key parts of this that we all need to think about is how do I see myself? Do I want to be an author? Do I want to be a speaker? Do I want to be more of a coach who just has these additional tools? How do I see myself? Where is my identity? Because then you can start to say, well, I want to be known for this topic. So I don't want to be just someone who's only going to deliver from the stage and do that periodically for a lot of audiences.

I want to be followed by this particular industry for the particular expertise that I have. So how do I make that happen? If your your intention is just to be an author or just to be a speaker, that's great. That's a whole different conversation. But you're leaving money on the table if you're not prioritizing your ultimate objective with doing this in the first place. How do you want to be perceived by your industry for the work that you do and the expertise you have? Once you've answered that question, a lot of the rest of it becomes very, very easy to work through.

Brad Hauck 09:06

Yeah, there's very few people who are just speakers or just authors. So within fiction, I suppose, writing, there's definitely people who are just authors, but most people have a combination of income, as we well know. And that's due to the necessity, due to the fact the fragmented market, due to market reach, all sorts of things. Even the country you're in will affect all of that because some countries have much larger populations, therefore, there's more cash flow. Other populations, you know, money means something entirely different. So, you know, what they'll pay for one thing is not what they'll pay for another.

And so it really will depend on you, where you are, what you're doing, what your topic is, and what your end goal is as well. I mean, obviously, for many speakers, the goal is just to get up on stage every day and fly from one place to another and speak. I mean, that's why we're speakers, we enjoy doing that. But in the end, that's that's not a possibility for most people. And also the one thing I've seen is that they burn out. And so after doing it for a few years, the top speakers I know all come to the point where they go, I am tired of flying, I am tired of being in airports, you know, I am tired of being away from my family.

So they always end up coming around to looking for those other streams of income. So whether it's writing a book and then running programs off that book so they don't have to travel as much, or they can do it online or whatever. No matter which path you choose, you'll eventually come to a point on your path where you need to go to different streams of income because your needs or wants change.

Dixie Carlton 10:47

Yes. And that's really something that comes down to solid business planning. What is your business about? What role do you play in your business? What functions do you operate within your business? And what is your exit planning? What's the long-term objective that you're aiming for? Again, that comes back down to what is your primary way that you see yourself and how do you deliver on that?

Brad Hauck 11:16

Yeah, but most of us just run by the seat of our pants. So we follow what we do. So we get a speaking engagement and we get one, and then we get another, and we just kind of roll on from there, or we write a book and we get some podcast interviews, and we write, you know, roll on continuously. And then all of a sudden, we start to think, and or we become more experienced and we talk to someone and they say, Well, have you thought about this? And you start to consider the future. But certainly for most people, we don't really set out with an end in mind, do we?

Dixie Carlton 11:48

No. And that's why I always say start with the end in mind, start with the business plan that takes you beyond the next 12 months or the next two to three years. Think about where you want to be five and 10 years from now. And it's never too late to start doing that. So let's go back for a moment, though, to how do you unpack your content and think about what are the gems you want to be speaking about? How do you then say, well, this is let's talk in orange trees. I'm gonna plant the seed, I'm gonna grow the orange tree, I'm gonna get the fruit, I'm gonna sell the oranges one at a time.

Or maybe I'm actually planning to have an entire orchard and a juice company. How do I make it happen? Working it back. What are the best pieces of fruit that are gonna come out of that orchard? How do I make those stand out and become really valuable and talked about so that everybody knows about my juice brand?

Brad Hauck 12:46

I think it comes down to looking at what you're talking about the most, what people are interested in. Maybe areas of books that have really good stories is a good place to start, too, I think, because most good keynotes certainly start with a story because it makes it relatable, and then that can lead into other things. But also sometimes it's about where your heart is. There's certain things that you want to workshop about. There's things that you love working with people on. And you might run 10 workshops and find that there's one that really takes off, too.

You know, a little bit of play with it and see what happens.

Dixie Carlton 13:24

The thing that you've got to remember, of course, is yes, stories are the key. And stories will make your facts sticky. So you have to be thinking in terms of how do I weave those stories into my keynote? How do I make sure that those stories are perhaps expanded on in much clearer ways as part of the writing of the book? Perhaps you'll run threads of specific stories through the entire book so that they really highlight what it is that you're trying to say, what is your mission, what is your message? But again, you have to come back to deciding first and foremost well, how is this the beginning of the source material for a suite of so many other offers so that you can say, as part of this, and going back to my orchard analogy, I've got fruit trees, I've got oranges, apples, I'm doing a whole juice factory here.

How can you say in comparison, I have books on this part of let's say leadership? I have this other books or other keynotes on how to develop leadership in teams, maybe, and then teams workshops. Maybe then I have additional material that is on larger teams versus small teams. So you end up with not just a book on leadership, but you really start to build into what is my specific area of expertise in this area? What can I make my niche? And then still being niche in this space, it's as a band on the niche. Now that takes a bit of planning, it takes a bit of development thinking.

You may need to sit and work with a really good strategist about this and not trying to achieve it all in five minutes and not thinking, well, AI is just going to deliver this big plan for me, but actually sit and think through it, work through it over a period of time so that it evolves and that it starts to grow with your brand and ensure that your brand is the thing that everybody recognizes as being, oh, he's that guy that speaks about that kind of team leadership. Wow, that's what we need in our company.

Brad Hauck 15:30

Yeah. And you've got to remember that market research is a huge part. And that means going out and interviewing the people you want to sell to. It's really important. The market will dictate what you in the end develop because they will only buy what it they want. So please don't just assume AI is going to give you the answers or that what you research online is going to give you the answers. You actually need to talk to real people to find out what the market needs and what the market wants. Because more often than not, when I work with people, and I've done this myself, I see something that people need that I think needs to be developed.

When in fact, in real life, no one actually needs it, or actually no one wants it, even if they do need it. And so go and do proper market research. And that means dealing with humans, not computers.

Dixie Carlton 16:26

Yes, you need to be talking to people. You need to be developing your bigger plan about what happens beyond just thinking you're going to write a book or just thinking you're going to be a keynote speaker who then also has a book. There's so much more to it. It's a whole ecosystem, and it takes planning, it takes forethought, and it takes you deciding what you want to be perceived as, how you want to stand up in your industry and your area of expertise, and how you want to deliver that across multiple platforms, i.e., the book, the workshops, the keynotes, the programs, and the additional resources that you are offering.

And again, it just all comes down to planning.

Brad Hauck 17:08

Exactly. So, how do you begin turning one idea into a complete suite of offers? Well, you don't need to build everything at once. Start by identifying the natural progression from your book to your keynote, then from inspiration to deeper implementation. So here's a couple of key practical action steps you could take. First, choose your strongest keynote idea, identify one message from your book that solves an urgent problem and can be explained clearly in one sentence. Design the next level. Take one party keynote that needs more time, practice, or interaction, and turn it into a workshop with a specific outcome.

And three, map the complete pathway when you've got time. Create a simple journey showing how someone moves from reading your book, hearing your keynote into a workshop program, advisory, or coaching offer. Your book may begin the message, but it doesn't have to end the opportunity.

Dixie Carlton 18:04

I love that. That's a great process to work through what you need to do, how to take action, and then how to keep progressing it forward. I love that. Yes. Now, of course, readers, listeners may not be aware, but we have worksheets that go with each of these episodes. So you can download those and make sure that you work through some of these points yourself and easily plot out what you need to be doing next step by step.

Brad Hauck 18:30

Exactly. And look, if this episode has you thinking about writing a book, but you're not sure how to shape your ideas, reach out to Dixie, as well as getting those sheets she just talked about at indiexpertspublishing.com. And if you want to become number one online, then contact me at bradhauck.com. I can help you grow your business quickly online.

Dixie Carlton 18:49

Fantastic. Well, another great conversation, Brad. Thanks for your time today, everyone. And if you've enjoyed our podcast, please share it, review it, send us a great bit of feedback, and we'll keep trucking on and looking forward to the next in the series.

Brad Hauck 19:05

See you next time.