Chris Salem is an award-winning author, life and business strategist, speaker, and radio show host. His bestselling book Master Your Inner Critic focuses on resolving the root cause of limiting beliefs that hold people back from sustainable success. He works with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and sales professionals, and hosts the Sustainable Success radio show on Voice America’s Influencer Channel.
Host: Bonnie Dillabough | Guest: Chris Salem
Interview Transcript
Bonnie: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Chris: Besides being an award-winning author, I’m a life and business strategist, a speaker, and a radio show host. I work with entrepreneurs, business leaders, and sales professionals who desire sustainable success at the next level by helping them resolve the root cause of limiting beliefs. Limited beliefs work behind the scenes, subconsciously, holding us back. This doesn’t only pertain to business — it affects personal wellness and relationships too. Life affects business, business affects life. I look at both as one to address the root cause of the problem so you can operate within the solution.
From Speaker to Author
Bonnie: Did the speaking come first, or the writing?
Chris: The speaking first. I always classified myself as a speaker — I wouldn’t say I’m a great writer. But I was able to take what I know best from speaking and put it on paper. For anybody who has a good story or a message that can make a difference, don’t let “I’m not a good writer” hold you back. Many people who’ve written books are technically not great writers. It’s really the message. You can always get help fine-tuning, editing, and changing things around. It comes down to the content, the message itself, and the impact it has.
Bonnie: What challenges did you face?
Chris: It was hard to take information I speak to easily and write it down. My advice is don’t let that hold you back. Write in your pockets of time. It doesn’t have to be perfect — the sentence structure, the grammar — just get it out there. You can go back and edit many times. If you have writer’s block, figure out ways to be present through meditation and journaling. That’s what helped me get ideas onto paper and get the book done over a period of time.
Marketing the Message, Not the Book
Bonnie: Marketing is what most authors are afraid of. You’ve been quite successful. What tips do you have?
Chris: The authentic way is to do it organically. Don’t just promote you and the book — promote the message. People want to know what the book can do to help them. Focus on the outcomes and deliverables. That’s what led my book to becoming an international bestseller in a very short period of time.
Promote the book ahead of time, before it comes out. Don’t wait for the book to be released. Begin promoting the concept and the message, dripping information so people get excited when it actually comes out.
I also used my email list and strategically placed content in groups where I knew people could benefit from the message. You can create funnels, but I went the organic route because I wanted to keep it authentic.
You really want to know what the overall goal is before you start implementing a marketing strategy. The book itself might promote workshops, coaching, speaking — there’s always an objective behind the book.
Leveraging Influencers
Bonnie: Do you use influencers to help promote?
Chris: Absolutely. These are people who provide credibility — people that others look up to. When they validate your book, that gets out to their audience. It’s a great way to leverage through other people, as long as you’re doing the same for them. Networking is about finding people whose beliefs, values, and objectives are similar. You’re giving as well as taking simultaneously. Find the right people you feel good about and leverage your book through them as you would for them.
Tips for Writers
Chris: Schedule your writing time and follow it. Be disciplined. When that time comes, be committed to writing and putting something down on paper. Don’t overthink or overanalyze — just write from the heart. You can always go back and correct it later. The message is most important. Get it on paper.
Learn more about Chris Salem at christophersalem.com.
Find Richard Lowe at TheWritingKing.com.