In this edition of the Affiliate Buzz, host and Instructor of the Affiliate Marketers BootCamp, James Martell, is joined by Jim Kukral, internet pioneer, author and speaker. This week they are discussing how writing a book can help your brand or business gain extra online exposure.

Jim Kukral is a successful entrepreneur who has written several books aiming to teach others how they can achieve their dream lifestyle through their own business. This is something which aligns with last week’s edition about having the lifestyle you want.

He has helped both small and large businesses achieve success. These businesses include FedEx, Sherwin-Williams, Ernst and Young and Progressive Auto Insurance. Each one he has taught how to build a successful online business or supported them in re-energizing or refreshing their brand.

He has developed creative marketing campaigns, new products and advised on how businesses can increase their bottom lines while working less. Because of his work, Jim has been featured in numerous publications including: The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Entrepreneur Magazine.

Jim wasn’t always his own boss. In 1995, Jim worked for a telecoms company designing Yellow Pages advertisements. One day a friend called him and asked if would bring his graphic design skills to a new web agency they were starting.

On his first day he was given a book on HTML and was told to learn it. This was a time when the internet was new and no-one really knew how to best use the internet. It was also the year that Sergey Brin met Larry Page; both would go on to found Google.

The new company Jim worked for had big connections with some top brands and none of them had websites. Jim was able to design the first websites for Ernst and Young and Sherwin-Williams. According to Jim this was an exciting time.

The company boomed and within a couple of years had over 150 employees. Then Jim left to start his own agency – FenderTech. This company set out to automate the manufacturing processes for manufacturers.

Still the business was successful and from the five that it started with, the business grew to 160 employees. Then the dotcom bubble burst and the funding for the majority of their start-up clients disappeared. Jim’s business lost clients and they went from160 employees to just 16.

This was the point where Jim decided to get out and never own a big business again.

James also talks about the effect the crash had on Vancouver, often considered the Silicon Valley of the north.

During this part of the podcast, Jim discusses some of these points:

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• What his biggest regret has been.
  
• Why he didn’t want to work for someone else or own a big company himself.
  
• What part Iquit.org played in his career and how Amazon Affiliates helped.
  
• How the Google Florida update in November 2003 changed his business.
  

One of the most important aspects of being in business, as Jim puts it, is getting yourself out there. There was a moment when he read a book by Shawn Collins and decided to send him an email stating he had a business and asked if he could help Shawn in any way. Within 30 minutes Shawn replied back saying he needed a logo and from there their relationship grew.

James remembers listening to Jim as a keynote speaker at Affiliate Summit. Jim at the time had published one book, now several others have been published.

According to Jim, a book is the best business card you can have. A resume or business card can be thrown away, yet a book is significantly more and tells the recipient that you have taken the time and effort to share your knowledge.

A book can do so much for your business by creating leads from readers to establishing creditability in the industry. Many people don’t write a book or because they’re too afraid of the technology, don’t think they can finish it or the publishing industry has told them they can’t do it.

Jim notes he was often asked how someone could write a book. So Jim decided to write a book called “Write A F*$%’ing Book Alreadyâ€. Many individuals have read his book and gone on to write their own books which have helped their business.

Jim states that if you can write a blog post, you can write a book. The first step is to sit down and think of the most common problem in your industry. Then you have your book’s subject.

Jim also goes into details on:

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• How to find the answer to the problem if you don’t know yourself.
  
• Why people use the internet.
  
• Who the world’s biggest problem solver is.
  
• How to discover what your audience’s biggest problem is.
  
• The logistics of writing a book.
  

Jim also goes through the Affiliate Buzz quick fire questions where James finds out whether Jim prefers cats or dogs and which are his three favourite marketing summits.

So join James Martell and his special guest Jim Kukral to discover how a book can support your business’ growth!

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• FedEx
  
• Sherwin-Williams
  
• Ernst and Young
  
• Progressive Auto Insurance
  
• The New York Times
  
• Wall Street Journal
  
• Forbes
  
• Entrepreneur Magazine
  
• Yellow Pages
  
• Iquit.org
  
• Amazon Affiliates
  
• Shawn Collins
  
• Affiliate Summit
  
• Write A F*$%’ing Book Already