Born in South Africa, Hanneke Antonelli is an author and award-winning certified life coach with 16 years of experience growing businesses in various industries. Now based in Boston, Mass., Hanneke draws on her business degree, Wall Street sales experience, and her decade as an entrepreneur to help business owners upgrade their leadership skills. With her help, they are able to focus on the path to sustainable growth that will reap higher profits and more freedom.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you ended up writing a book?
I was born in South Africa and when I was young I had a long struggle with depression. After landing in a psychiatric ward at age 19 when my antidepressants malfunctioned, I made a conscious decision to do whatever I could to heal and get better. Through loads of personal development and mindset work, I was able to overcome depression, move countries multiple times, land a prestigious job in the financial markets of London, and eventually worked on Wall Street where I was faced with sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. By this point, I was working with a life coach, and the tools I learned helped me to survive and completely changed my life. I moved on from Wall Street and proceeded to build two award-winning businesses in under five years.
After spending years reading business and leadership books, I craved a book that gave a deeper look into the life and revelations of the writer. Something that went beyond the surface and gave the real vulnerable and honest story of the trials and tribulations of the author. When I couldn’t find that book, I decided to write it.
What do you hope your readers take away from this book?
That we are way more resilient than we think and by cultivating awareness about how our mind influences our actions, we’re able to overcome and achieve the impossible.
What are the top three tools you are currently using to write, publish, and promote your books?
I worked with an editor that also doubled as a writing coach, Ingram Spark & KDP (Amazon’s publishing platform,) and Quotable Media PR & Marketing.
What were the top mistakes you made writing or publishing your first book?
Because this wasn’t my first time launching a product (I used to produce fitness DVDs) I knew enough to first do some research, speak to lots of folks and hire a lot of support. I hired an editor who also doubled as a book coach. I also knew exactly how this book was going to fit into my brand and what purpose it was going to serve before I started. So, when I look back, I can’t really think of mistakes — but I did learn a lot of lessons.
First off, before you start writing, know what the purpose of your book is going to be and how it will fit into your brand.
Next, make sure you have a super-duper detailed Table of Contents. This was something my editor was really strict about. I wasn’t allowed to start writing before we had a complete Table of Contents with the lessons, stories I’d tell, and the readers’ takeaway. Once I had that – the book practically wrote itself.
I wrote my book in 90 days, and that happened because I carved out a specific time every day to write and I never wrote for more than 90 minutes or until I was completely empty. I always stopped writing when I still had more to write. This along with the detailed Table of Contents ensured that I never had writer’s block.
Writing the book was also way easier than the promotion piece, but that’s partly because the book’s promotion came with a steep learning curve. And it turns out that the success of a book launch relies heavily on your existing network. So, if you’re planning to write, or in the process of writing, a book — deepen your connection with your existing network and expand it now. I only learned this six months before the book launch when I hired my book marketing agency. I’m lucky that I already have a pretty extensive network that I’ve kept in touch with and nurtured, but if I didn’t have this, it would definitely have stunted my efforts.
Although there are plenty of pieces of the book promotion that can be outsourced, the most important piece is called “network mobilization”– which my friends and I joked sounded like you’re going to take over a nation or something. Still, this part can’t be outsourced. You’ll have to do a lot of personal outreach to everyone you know.
As I mentioned: I wasn’t a rookie to launching. In my previous fitness business, I produced DVDs and learned the hard way that promotion is everything, and you can’t do it all yourself. The final round of fitness videos I produced about five years ago (which were streaming online before streaming was all the rage) has produced less than $500 in revenue. And it’s all because I did EVERYTHING from producing, cover design, and promoting, by myself. The result: I didn’t have the energy or the capacity to do it all well. I also didn’t know everything I know about marketing now, and so my marketing efforts weren’t nearly enough to drive sales. Simply put — I wasn’t spending time on the stuff that would “Show me the money!”
With this knowledge, I went all-in on the promotion of The Up Level Project. I hired a PR firm and a book marketing team. I also enrolled friends and others who wanted to help me promote the book into a launch team. And they’re all helping me spread the word about The Up Level Project.
Bottom line: When it comes to writing and launching a book — it takes a village.
When will you consider your book a success?
It’s already a success because I wrote and launched the book. I find that so many authors overlook this accomplishment and don’t give themselves enough credit for it. My book also hit #1 in three categories on Amazon within the first 24 hours of launch, and I already converted one client because they read the book. It’s already exceeded my expectations! Don’t get me wrong – of course, I’d love it if it hit the NYT best-sellers list but in the meantime, I’m celebrating all the milestones and acknowledging those as big wins.
“Fear makes us stronger and more effective if we allow it to do so. So stop trying to kill fear off. Accept it and let it be the very engine that informs what action you should take next. This blueprint is another crucial step on the path to helping you create a business that brings you all the satisfaction you’re craving.”
Don’t try and do it all alone. Hire experts to help and support you.
And remember to invest in your relationships and network, put together a launch team, or hire a marketing agency with a book launch team at their fingertips. I chose to ask people in my network to become part of my launch team. They all got an advance copy. I also ran a live book club to make it more fun and engaging, and now they’re ready and eager to leave reviews and tell their networks about The Up Level Project.
Don’t be afraid to ask your network to help and support you — there are many people who are willing and eager to assist in making your book a success. All you need to do is ask them.
When it comes to marketing, we’re conditioned to niche down. When it comes to promoting your book, you want to think way broader than that because the whole point of the book promotion is to get as many eyeballs as possible on the book so you can raise awareness beyond your usual reach. Uncle Bill, who doesn’t even know what you do, can share-a post on his social feed about your book which increases your reach to someone in Uncle Bill’s network who may just be writing for a publication in your niche market or maybe the person who hires speakers for a conference that’s right up your alley. So when it comes to book marketing: forget about your niche and think about how far and wide you can expand your reach.
Also, make a checklist.
You can find one for free by googling “Book Launch Check-List. There are so many moving parts to a book launch, and it’s important to keep track of everything. I had my virtual assistant draw up a checklist for us, and every week we tackled what needed to happen next on that list. As a result, we were super organized, hardly ever overwhelmed, and never felt like we were doing last-minute scrambles. Having the checklist made the entire experience feel more expansive and fun.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before publishing your first book?
How much your personal network will contribute to the success of your book. Before launching I thought that Facebook and Amazon ads, along with PR placements would be the main thing that drives sales. Turns out that your personal network is the biggest driver for your book’s initial success during launch week.
Putting together a launch team and inviting people from my personal network to join it was the most successful promotion tool for The Up Level Project. I sent everyone in my launch team a free book, and in return, they mobilized and rallied their network in a grassroots way.
I also hired a PR agency to help me get placements and I’m currently running Amazon ads. I recorded podcast episodes with everyone whom I hired to help me with the book which further created buzz, excitement, and spread the word about my book.
If you had the chance to start your career over again what would you do differently?
There’s nothing I’d do differently — our life journey takes the twists and turns it does to teach us the lessons we are here to learn. The only thing I’d tell my younger self is to have more patience with myself and my journey and to trust the process more.
Can you recommend a book, a podcast, and a course for entrepreneurs and why?
- The Up Level Project— it’s the perfect book for entrepreneurs at any stage to help them to take control of their businesses and increase profits and create more freedom. Bonus: it’s not just another boring business book filled with regurgitated dry business strategies. It’s a real and honest book with lots of stories that you’ll be able to relate to about what it actually takes to build a business that gives you satisfaction and success.
- The Up Level Program — if you want to strengthen the foundation of your business and uplevel your leadership, while growing and managing an efficient team, this is the course for you. The curriculum will help you reignite your business on all levels and help you set your business up to scale in a sustainable way that will help you create freedom and higher profits.
- Radio Lab — because it’s fun and interesting. In my work with entrepreneurs, I have found that they tend to spend too little time doing things that are not business-related. By helping my clients to step away from their businesses and make time for hobbies, they are able to shift their perspective, re-energize themselves, and as a result, they come up with creative solutions to obstacles. Don’t trust me — ever wonder why your best ideas come to you in the shower!? That’s because you allowed your brain space to focus on something else. When we insist on focusing on the problem to find a solution, our brain only sees the problem and is unable to find a solution. What we focus on expands.
What helps you stay driven and motivated?
I was born with a lot of drive and it’s helped me to accomplish a lot in life. But that drive can often become suffocating, especially when things don’t happen as fast as I want them to. So I’ve learned to allow plenty of time for creative projects, exercise, and social time with friends. We are multidimensional beings and I find that when I give full expression to all parts of my personality and who I am, it helps to keep me motivated, focused and increases my drive and ability to accomplish my goals.
What is a productivity tip you swear by?
Rest. Seriously — I’m a champion napper. And I find that when I allow myself to do a 20-minute nap or take a week or two’s vacation, I get loads of clarity and I’m able to be so much more productive.
How do you personally overcome fear?
Read The Up Level Project, and I’ll not only answer this for you but I’ll also help you overcome your fear! But real quick: I’ve made fear my friend, I use it as an informant. I catch myself when I’m making decisions from a place of fear and I don’t allow it to hold me back.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
To continue to be more patient and to trust more. Everything I’ve ever put my mind to and everything that’s ever been truly important to me has always worked out, it may just have taken a little longer than expected and it didn’t always happen the way I expected it would. It’s time to stop rushing things, enjoy the journey more, and have way more fun.
Why is this important: because YOLO! You only live once — and for a very long time I didn’t enjoy life, I was sad, there were lots of scary and difficult situations I had to deal with. And I wish I had allowed myself to worry less, and enjoy more.
If you only had $1000 dollars to promote a new book, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
Assembling a launch team to help me get the word out.
What is your favorite quote?
I have many, but this one is one of my favorites:
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
— Mahatma Gandhi
How can we get in touch with you?
You can always visit my website, hannekeantonelli.com, or find me on LinkedIn if you search my name, Instagram, or Facebook at facebook.com/hannekeantonelli.
Random Author Interview: Pemba Sherpa’s Journey to Success, Guided by Beliefs
