Hassan Osman is an Amazon bestselling author and the founder of Sidegig Hacks and Writer on the Side. While maintaining a demanding corporate career, Hassan has published over 20 books with 9 Amazon bestsellers reaching over 120,000 readers, plus 17 courses with 430,000+ unique students. His expertise lies in creating short, focused books (10,000-12,000 words) for busy managers and corporate leaders, covering soft skills and leadership development. Hassan advocates for treating books as "business cards on steroids" - tools that generate more revenue from opportunities they create than from direct sales. His systematic approach emphasizes the 80-20 principle, focusing on content repurposing across multiple platforms including Amazon, Udemy, and Gumroad.

In this episode:

• Why books are "business cards on steroids" that open bigger opportunities
• The four-circle method for choosing profitable book topics
• Writing 10,000-word books that people actually finish reading
• How promotion starts before the book is completed
• Content repurposing strategies across books, courses, podcasts, and social media
• Using popular highlights from Kindle to create Twitter content
• Publishing under multiple pen names for different genres
• Udemy course creation: turning $600 books into $35,000 courses
• Gumroad strategies for packaging books with additional bonuses
• Custom ChatGPT creation for writing in your own voice
• The Four Week Write Your Book system and course
• Building sustainable creator workflows while working full-time

Resources mentioned:

• Sidegig Hacks newsletter: http://www.sidegighacks.com/
• Writer on the Side blog and podcast: https://www.writerontheside.com/
• Amazon KDP: https://kdp.amazon.com/
• Udemy: https://www.udemy.com/
• Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/
• ChatGPT Plus

Book Recommendations:

• Write Your Book on the Side by Hassan Osman (free): https://course.writerontheside.com/
• Better Online Meetings by Hassan Osman: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FPB2Y6K?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Connect with Hassan Osman:

• Website: https://www.writerontheside.com/
• Newsletter: http://www.sidegighacks.com/
• Course: https://course.writerontheside.com/
• Email: hassan@writerontheside.com

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin -

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Michael La Ronn is a bestselling author who has published over 100 books while maintaining a full-time corporate job and family life. After a near-death experience in 2012, he transformed from aspiring writer to prolific author, developing systematic approaches to productivity that he shares in his non-fiction books and YouTube channel. Michael writes primarily science fiction and fantasy featuring bold underdogs, and has built a substantial following through his Author Level Up YouTube channel with nearly 50,000 subscribers. His expertise lies in time management, dictation techniques, and maintaining consistent writing output through innovative productivity methods including mobile writing, visualization techniques, and strategic project switching.

In this episode:

• How a near-death experience in 2012 sparked his writing calling
• Managing 100+ books while working full-time and raising a family
• The three ways to manage time: add, edit, and delete
• Writing on mobile devices using Scrivener and Microsoft Word
• The power of switching between projects to avoid writer's block
• Visualization techniques for solving story problems
• Documentation-based outlining for pantsers who write by discovery
• Dictation workflows using voice recorders and AI transcription
• Using "Pikachu" as a dictation safe word for error correction
• Capturing story ideas religiously for 15 years in digital notebooks
• Building sustainable writing habits without burnout
• The Author Level Up YouTube channel and writing app tutorials

Resources mentioned:

• Scrivener app
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft OneNote
• Apple Notes
• Evernote
• ChatGPT and Claude
• Grammarly
• ProWritingAid
• ProsWrite (AI transcription software)
• Google Notebook
• Microsoft Excel
• Plotter

Book Recommendations:

• Be A Writing Machine by Michael La Ronn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1985174480?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
• Be A Writing Machine 2.0 by Michael La Ronn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMYYJ182?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
• How to Dictate a Book by Michael La Ronn: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HG55P5Q?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Connect with Michael La Ronn:

• Website: https://authorlevelup.com/
• Fiction website: https://www.michaellaronn.com/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/authorlevelup

Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw

Support the show

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Chris Benetti is the founder of Smart Author Media and a book funnel marketing expert who has sold over 55,000 books for his clients. Specializing in self-liquidating book funnels and Facebook advertising, Chris helps authors turn their books into profitable lead generation tools that feed into higher-ticket offers and services. His agency focuses exclusively on the Meta suite (Facebook and Instagram) and has generated over $750,000 in revenue for clients while spending $250,000 on ads. Chris's systematic approach combines detailed funnel strategy, conversion rate optimization, and creative testing to help authors build sustainable book-based businesses rather than just selling individual books.

In this episode:

• Understanding self-liquidating book funnels and how they pay for themselves
• Why books rarely make profit on their own and need strategic backend offers
• Building effective book sales pages with headlines, social proof, and bonuses
• Order bump strategies that convert 40-50% of book buyers
• Two-step order forms for lead capture and remarketing opportunities
• Upsell sequences that solve problems created by the book content
• Facebook advertising strategies focused on creative testing over targeting
• The ASCET framework for systematic ad testing and optimization
• Case study: Nigel Moore's 10X ROI with free book funnel strategy
• Why books should serve business purposes, not just generate book sales
• Conversion rate benchmarks and key metrics for funnel optimization
• The importance of having backup offers and multiple ad creatives ready

Resources mentioned:

• Smart Author Media free resource page: https://smartauthormedia.com/resources
• Meta advertising suite
• Two-step order form systems
• ChatGPT: https://openai.com/index/chatgpt/
• GoHighLevel: https://www.gohighlevel.com/
• Kartra: https://kartra.com/
• Kajabi: https://kajabi.com/
• ClickFunnels: https://www.clickfunnels.com/
• Book funnel templates
• Ad copy swipe files

Book Recommendations:

• Strategic business and systems books
• System distillation books

Connect with Chris Benetti:

• Website: https://smartauthormedia.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsbenetti/

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/

Support the show

Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/