A great way to generate money from your book writing is by offering webinars.

You’ve probably heard of and even attended seminars. A webinar is exactly the same, except that’s done over the Internet.

Since you’ve written a book, you’re more than half done with creating a webinar. All you’re really in a webinar doing is turning your written, published information into an event. You share that information with others, just as you would in a book, but instead say it aloud to a live audience.

Webinars mark an affordable, easy way to sell more books. When you host a webinar, you place your expertise and hence your books right in front of potential readers. You also get people to notice you, as webinars can be much more effective than blogs at attracting attention and garnering new sign-ups for your mailing list. You’ll gain authority as well; by simply presenting valuable information to others, people respect you as a maven in your field. Lastly, you can bond with your readers; for them, seeing you on a screen and conversing with you through it is the next best thing to standing next to you.

Putting on a webinar involves several steps.

Begin by writing a script for the webinar. You can draw material from your book but be sure to present new information as well. Spend about five minutes on an introduction in which you welcome everyone and tell a little about yourself; this gives people a chance to show up late or to fix their faulty connections without missing the presentation. Then spend at least 25 minutes, but no more than 45 minutes, on a presentation. Leave 10 minutes at the end for a Q&A. Have material prepared so that if there aren’t many questions you can provide some additional information.

Next, you’ll need to ensure you have a way to technically deliver the webinar. A laptop camera or other way to take video that can be streamed live via the Internet is necessary, as well as a microphone on your computer; for the latter, you probably will want to used a dedicated mic for superior sound quality. A number of options exist online so others can interact live with you; most authors use an app on a page at their website where the webinar is embedded (btw, the URL for this page is revealed only to those who sign up for the event). The free Google Hangouts on Air is popular for this; with it, you can offer a slide show presentation as well as appear live on camera.

Once you have a script and the technical hardware/software, practice and rehearse. This will ensure your delivery goes smoothly and that you don’t have any technical problems during the webinar.

Lastly, you need to promote and market the webinar. Many authors who’ve held webinars report the most successful strategy for promoting the event is to treat it as like the lead-up for a book launch. Start by adding a registration page to your website. Then write a blog entry about the event, including a place where people can list their questions that you’ll answer during the event. Next, pen guest blogs for other sites; mention the webinar in the post or at the end where your bio is given. Make regular posts on social media about the event with link to where can register. Send three promotions with a registration form to everyone on your email list; the first email should be sent a week before the event, the next one four days before, and last one the day before. Typically, only about a quarter of the people who’ve signed up for the webinar actually attend; you can boost that number by sending out an email to all who’ve registered just before your presentation begins.