Jessica and Justin Ball, Peoria-area realtors and business masterminds, were referred to us by our own Francie Hinrichsen for assistance with self-publishing their co-authored book Succession Planning for Real Estate Agents: Monetizing Your Business in Retirement. Jessica and Justin had a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with other realtors either looking for retirement opportunities or to level up their businesses and truly desire to educate others.
The Balls have a successful real estate business and thriving team but were unsure of best steps forward for self-publishing or marketing the book. Our intake process and discovery call allowed us to hear their vision and goals so we could be sure to offer the most effective recommendations for them. Together, we created the milestones necessary to launch their book and succession plan into the real estate and business worlds. Jessica and Justin were excited and passionate about investing in their own message, and it’s always a delight to work with authors so eager to do their part in the process. We had the pleasure of adding our brand new publishing imprint for Market Refined Publishing to Succession Planning, in addition to providing manuscript edits, cover and interior design, typesetting, website design, social media marketing and publicity campaign, and an overall marketing strategy and checklist that guided our work.
About This Recent Project
Book Edits, Cover Design, Formatting, & Typesetting
Jessica and Justin definitely leveraged their years of experience in creating this unique plan for succession. Their original manuscript, however, needed some polishing and softening for the average reader. Amy walked them through developmental edits with a copywriting add-on to ensure the final product was easy to read and follow, like the business handbook it was intended to be.
The Balls had a good idea of what artwork they wanted for the cover design, which made the concept creation go much more smoothly. Nelly, our designer, took the original artwork and offered three iterations with slight variations for them to consider. Ultimately, they selected one of Nelly’s more unique concepts and we believe it was perfect for the book and Justin and Jessica’s brand.
The interior, due to the book’s nature, was fairly simple. Again, Nelly offered her expertise to create professional and attractive chapter headings, section dividers, and sample contracts. We are so pleased with the overall design of Succession Planning, and more importantly, so are Jessica and Justin!
Marketing Strategy & Resources
Our strategy for Succession Planning was based on establishing a strong presence that would aid in gaining speaking or coaching opportunities for Jessica and Justin. Knowing the book is a fantastic tool for their long-term goals shifted our methodology slightly, so we focused on tasks that would serve them well into the future. We designed and developed a single-page website with room to grow and provided a library of social media assets including a content calendar, promotional graphics, and ad sets for pre-launch and post-launch efforts. Amy also researched and coordinated influencer appearances for Jessica and Justin, including some podcast interviewers with top real estate experts.
Publishing & Optimization
The Balls knew they wanted to focus on Kindle Direct Publishing for Succession Planning and wanted to offer the book in print, eBook, and audio formats. To set them up for success on Amazon KDP, Sara provided our metadata keyword and category research package to guide the product description and listing details. Additionally, she optimized the book’s back cover copy and the content used for their Amazon Author Profile and provided marketing copy to be repurposed on the website, in social media content, and in our publicity outreach.
This project started with a large task list, involving many of our team members and associates, and ended with a final product we all take pride in! Jessica and Justin were such a pleasure to work with and we loved being a part of launching Succession Planning for Real Estate Agents: Monetizing Your Business in Retirement into the world!
What Jessica and Justin had to say…
The entire MRM was great to work with and communicated very well with us throughout the process. After being referred to Mandy by a trusted friend and colleague, her team took what seemed like an overwhelming project and worked us through steps that we could handle. We were very happy with their professional input, ability to listen to our thoughts and concerns, and certainly the final product!
Services Included in this Project
- Copywriting and developmental manuscript edits
- Book cover and interior design, formatting, and typesetting for Kindle Direct Publishing (Print and eBook)
- Metadata, category, and keyword research for Kindle Direct Publishing
- Marketing copy for the product listing and author bios
- WordPress sales page and website design and hosting
- Product(s) and author profile setup and optimization for Kindle Direct Publishing
- Marketing strategy and timeline
- Publicity campaigns for local and podcast appearances
- 3-month content calendar for social media and email marketing
- Digital assets package with social media, email, and website promotional graphics
- Branded PDF design for incentives and free resources
- Setup of email service provider account and welcome sequence
- Use of Market Refined Publishing imprint
Team Members Involved
Find out more about these ladies and the rest of the team here at MRM: Meet the Team
