Books Launch Lifestyle Empires
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The speakers discuss how authors are building larger business empires beyond just book sales by leveraging their content and audience into multiple revenue streams and product lines.
Key Examples:
-
Ryan Holiday's Daily Stoic:
- Started with books on stoicism
- Created daily newsletter called Daily Stoic
- Sells physical products:
- Memento Mori coins ($25 each, costs $1 to make)
- Generated millions in revenue from coins alone
- Other merchandise and advertising
-
James Patterson's Writing Factory:
- Publishes ~30 books per year at age 75
- Business Model:
- Uses team of co-authors
- Pays writers from his own pocket
- Creates framework/outline
- Reviews and edits like a movie script
- Maintains quality control
- Results:
- Sold 500M+ copies
- Made ~$800M from this model
- Once accounted for 6% of all hardcover novels in America
-
Jack Carr's Product Integration:
- Writes military thriller novels
- Extensively mentions specific brands/products in books
- Created website with:
- Gift guides featuring products from books
- Affiliate links to products
- Sells own branded merchandise
- Converts reader interest into commerce
-
Steve Rinella's MeatEater Empire:
- Started with books about hunting/outdoors
- Expanded to:
- Website
- Podcasts
- TV shows
- Product lines
- Acquired other brands (duck calls, clothing)
- Now generates $100M in annual revenue
The key pattern is using books as a foundation to build larger lifestyle brands and product companies, often making more money from these extensions than from the original books themselves.
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.