I get it. I probably would have said the same thing if you asked me this about this before I wrote a book.

But if you’re totally honest, you know you have at least one book in you.

A book will open more doors than you can imagine.

And once you’ve written a book, you’re an author.

How many podcasters can say that? Not very many. The New York Times says that approximately four out of five people want to write a book but less than 0.5% actually do it.

And here’s a fact you probably haven’t realized. Writing a book is also a great way to get more podcast listeners.

Every time you create a new form of content, you’re reaching a new group of people. That’s why it’s important to release your podcast in video form too. You want your content out there in as many places as possible. It’s like planting seeds. You show up, you do the work. Before you know it, you have something like this.

Photo by Francesco Gallarotti on Unsplash

That’s right, you’ve got a plant that’s growing. And the plant will grow to do something more. It might give you shade, food, or more. In the same way, creating new content leads to other benefits. It could give you more revenue, more listeners, and even speaking or consulting opportunities.

Sound good? Okay! Let’s start working on your book.

The Super Easy Way To Start

Have any ideas for something you’d like to write about? If so, great. If not, don’t worry, we’re going to dive into that right now. It’s brainstorming time. Grab your phone and a piece of paper or some post-it notes or a stack of index cards, whichever you prefer.

Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash

Okay, let’s begin! Set a timer (the one on your clock app on your phone is fine) for five minutes. If you have a piece of paper, fold it however you’d like and make smaller squares out of it. Start jotting down ideas. Anything and everything. One idea per note/index card. Get going! You’ve got only five minutes and that clock is ticking!

Time’s up!

What do you have? Look at your ideas. See any patterns there? Anything at all? All you need is a topic or idea that really interests you. If you haven’t thought of anything, that’s OK.

Just try again later.

Use your brainstorming cards, go through them before you go to sleep, and try again in the morning.

Another Easy Way to Start Your Book

You can have your podcast transcribed for free into a rough blog post. This is super easy if you play your podcast aloud to Google Docs. It will transcribe it for you right there if you’re using Chrome.

Photo by Author

Play your podcast on your phone and then just use the “voice typing” option on Google Docs.

Suddenly, you’ve got all of your podcast content in text form. Recently, I’ve been using this approach to make some blog posts for a friend with a podcast. He sends me a file with the podcast and the transcription.

Turning a Transcription Into a Blog Post

The first thing is to cut out all of the fluff. A 30-minute podcast is about 16 pages of text. It takes me about an hour or so to turn it into a blog post.

First, skim over the document and bold any main points. If you have an interview podcast, each question will help guide you as you turn the transcription into a blog post. Here’s an example. This is a blog post from an interview Tim Ferriss did with author Steven Pressfield.

And then these interviews were used, basically following the exact format I mentioned above, in the following book.

Photo by Author/Amazon.com

Pretty simple, right? Sure, there is more to writing a book, but the chapters, or blog posts, are what make up the majority of the book. Knowing Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour Workweek, he very likely outsourced all of the tasks required to create this book.

1. Get the podcast transcribed.

2. Turn the transcription into blog posts/chapters.

3. Share this content with your audience.

I know what you’re thinking. Just because I have a podcast, does that mean people want a book from me?

The answer is a definite yes. People consume content in different ways. And you can always release your book as an audiobook too.

Keep this in mind: There is no one way to write a book. You might even decide to release your book later as a course. That’s absolutely fine. I’ve worked with several authors who have done this exact same thing.

The Takeaway

If you have a podcast, you have the content to create a great book. It’s that simple. If you already have an established audience, it’s an absolute no-brainer. If you just started a podcast, you can absolutely still write a book from the content too. Just keep in mind that you are at the beginning of your podcasting journey. As you create more podcasts, the more content you will have for your book.

Right now is the greatest time ever to build your audience and to generate income about the topics you are passionate about.

Want some help? Have a podcast but you don’t have the time to do this work? I get it! Schedule a time for us to chat here with a free 15-minute Clarity Call.