This week we chat with Chris Ducker about his new book Virtual Freedom. We run through the process for creating the book as well as his marketing plans.

We also delve into the outsourcing topic in detail and discuss everything from how to take your first steps through to building a management team.

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Chris’ links

• 
  
• Virtual Freedom Book
  
• chrisducker.com
  
• Chris’ Virtual staff placement service Virtual Staff Finder
  
• Pre-order Virtual Freedom on Amazon
  
• Location63 Chris’ co-working space
  
• Chris’ Tropical Think Tank event
  
• Chris’ Virtual staff academy training course
  

Mentions

• 
  
• Todd Henry Die Empty
  
• Charlie Hoehn
  
• Ryan Holliday
  
• Gary Vaynerchuk
  
• Lewis Howes
  
• Patt Flynn
  
• Entrepreneur on Fire with John Dumas
  
• Check out How to marketing a NY Times best seller
  
• Screen recording software (Camtasia, Screenflow, Jing)
  

Writing and book marketing notes

Pre-writing

• 
  
• Organized a literary agent and sent a plan to 16 publishers
  
• Received message back from 4 providers
  

Process

• 
  
• Contracted to write 40,000 words
  
• Ended up at around 60,000 words plus some extra case studies
  
• Around 3 months to write the first draft
  
• Took about 12 months in full from start to finish
  
• Possibly more time on marketing than writing or editing
  

Why traditional publishing

• 
  
• Results in a higher quality product
  
• Good for the ego
  
• Get an advance
  
• Validate your idea
  
• Get into book stores and traditional press (magazines, radio, TV etc)
  
• Forces you to get stuff done (a contract)
  
• Getting relationships with traditional media outlets
  
• Was curios about the traditional process
  
• Personal choice
  

Goal

Would love to sell 10,000 copies by the end of week 1

Marketing

1. 
   
2. Doing a lot of podcast interviews
   
3. Reaching out to friends and influencers
   
4. Tribe who are promoting the book
   
5. Doing maybe 70% effort before launch and 30% afterwards. To get to the top of Amazon it needs to have a big first week.
   
6. Also undertaking a lot of speaking gigs
   
7. Check out How to marketing a NY Times best seller
   

Outsourcing notes

How to begin

• 
  
• Entrepreneurs should build a team full stop.
  
• Start with small tasks (logo designed, landing page, transcription etc)
  
• Let go!
  
• There are certain things you shouldn’t be doing day to day (sifting through 300 emails, updating Facebook status etc)
  
• Chris’ VA prepares 10 Facebook status updates together in advance each week
  
• Start with Elance, Odesk or Freelancer
  

Content marketing tasks to outsource

• 
  
• Research for blog posts
  
• Laying out blog posts (around 45 minutes per post)
  
• Create a screenshare of you doing the steps and send it to your VA
  

Top 3 tips for hiring your first VA

1. 
   
2. Hire for the role not for the task. 1 person can’t do everything.
   
3. Don’t be a virtual vulture and micro manage your staff.
   
4. Pay people a reasonable amount and on time
   

Aspects to look at in an interview 

1. 
   
2. Skills and experience
   
3. Make sure you talk over Skype, make sure they get the value of you and your business
   

Building a larger team of VA’s

• 
  
• A good way to find a VA to manage other VA’s is to find a general VA first and build them up to be the project manager
  
• Uses basecamp to manage projects but just email to work with staff.
  
• Encourages his staff to add a suggestion in their daily emails
  
• Promote personal projects
  
• Have 20 minute meetings with no chairs
  

The post Startup Chat #58 – Outsourcing and book marketing with Chris Ducker appeared first on WP Curve.