Dejon Brooks Of Planmyweekend.ai On How To Grow Your Business or Brand By Writing A Book
Your launch week does not define your book. A lot of authors put so much pressure on launch week as if that one moment is going to determine the future of their book forever. In reality, launch week is only the beginning. I have seen books that barely made noise at the start but went on to sell steadily for years because the author stayed consistent with promotion and tied the book into a bigger mission. My own projects have taught me that momentum builds over time, and it is often what you do in the months after launch that really matters.
As a part of our series about “How You Can Grow Your Business or Brand By Writing A Book”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dejon Brooks.
Dejon is the 24-year-old Founder, of Trend Watchers and Planmyweekend.ai. After reaching over 50 million people through his own social platforms, Dejon now helps thousands of content creators go viral by taking advantage of internet trends and creating travel content.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share a story about what motivated you to become an expert in the particular area that you are writing about?
Absolutely! I became an expert in this field by accident. When I was dating in my late high school years, I had a few poor dating experiences that occurred back-to-back.
These experiences hurt but inspired me to improve my social skills, social awareness, human psychology,etc. The purpose of improving all of these areas in my life was to improve my relationships.
Not only my romantic ones, but relationships with friends, family, and within my career. As I read books and constantly applied what I learned, I didn’t see results right away. It took lots of failure and practice to get it down. But once I figured out the social skills game, I became obsessed.
Can you share a pivotal story that shaped the course of your career?
There are plenty of stories that have impacted my career significantly. But the one that completely changed my life and inspired me to write a book around it was my goal to meet 2 new people a day.
When I moved 2000 miles from Atlanta, Georgia, to Provo, Utah, I knew no one. I had to start over from scratch. As a way to get results and make the process fun, I set a goal to meet 2 new people a day.
What originally started as a joke turned into something that transformed my
- Social life
- Dating life
- Professional life
- Social skills
In a matter of 30 days. I’m very skeptical about techniques that get you results fast, but for this, it really works.
Within my first year of doing this, I met over 2,000 unique people. Some of these interactions led nowhere. Some lead to friendships, dates, and even business deals.
I put my friends on this goal, and they too immediately saw results in their lives after 30 days. After sitting on the idea of it, I finally felt inspired to write a book about this goal and how to do it.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Are you working on any new writing projects?
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, I’m currently in the process of writing a book. This book is titled “Why You Should Meet 2 People A Day & How To Do It”.
This is the second book I’ve ever written. The first book I wrote was titled “Bootstrapped”. This book was a success, but it was also my first book. With the first of anything comes mistakes.
Some of these mistakes included
- The book lacked a central main idea
- The text font was too small
- My upsells were not thought out well
- And so much more!
With this new book I am releasing, it is significantly better. Not only is there a main idea, better chapter organization, etc, but it’s designed to leave an impact + help people take action.
I feel like lots of people consume media but never take action. With every piece of content I make, I always organize it in a way that inspires people to take action to change their lives.
Thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. Can you please tell us a bit about your book? Can you please share a specific passage or story that illustrates the main theme of your book?
My upcoming book “Why You Should Meet 2 People A Day & How To Do It” is pretty self-explanatory. I wanted to make the message so clear, I put it in the title.
The purpose of this book is to show people how setting a simple goal of meeting 2 new people a day can significantly change your life financially, socially, relationship-wise, and spiritually.
You can tell someone to do something, but if you can explain the WHY, that gives them the emotional motivation to actually take action.
After I spend the first section of the book explaining the why, I next show you how to do it. It doesn’t matter if you live in the city, countryside, or the middle of the ocean, I have a strategy that WILL work for you.
You just have to put in the work long enough to let the results compound.
You are a successful author and thought leader. Which three character traits do you feel were most instrumental to your success when launching your book? Can you please share a story or example for each?
I’d love to share three character traits that contribute to the successful launch of a book.
1) Passion
If you are passionate about your book, people will feel it….then eventually buy it. Also, no matter how tough it gets, having the right amount of passion and determination will allow you to accomplish anything. This is necessary when releasing a book.
2) Network resourceful
I don’t think this is an official word. If it’s not, I’ll happily claim the right to it here. Being network resourceful is leveraging your network to get the word out about yourself.
This could be over social media, having them share it with their organization, or even inviting you as a guest speaker in their community. All of these come from relationships.
3) Tech savvy
The last characteristic recommended is tech-savvy. We are in the digital age, and if you don’t know how to do any social media marketing, you’re screwed.
In my work, I have found that writing a book can be a great way to grow a brand. Can you share some stories or examples from your own experience about how you helped your own business or brand grow by writing a book? What was the “before and after picture?” What were things like before, and how did things change after the book?
One of the biggest ways I saw writing a book accelerate my career was through social media. I went out of my way to make sure my headshot included me holding one of my books (which has a picture of my face on the front cover). This always captured people’s attention and often helped me secure opportunities that would have slipped through the cracks had I not had something to draw them in. I observed this effect when making friends with those who share similar hobbies, pursuing romantic relationships, and closing potential clients.
If a friend came to you and said “I’m considering writing a book but I’m on the fence if it is worth the effort and expense” what would you answer? Can you explain how writing a book in particular, and thought leadership in general, can create lucrative opportunities and help a business or brand grow?
A lot of people think that once you write a book, the money is going to start rolling in from book sales alone. My answer to that is yes and no. Getting sales upfront feels good and it can put some cash in your pocket, but that is not where the real wealth is built. The real opportunity is in writing your book in a way that delivers value, positions you as an authority, and builds genuine trust with your readers. When you do this, you are not just selling a ten or twenty-dollar book. You are opening the door to something much bigger.
You are guiding people toward a deeper solution, an upsell, an offer that could have them investing anywhere from one thousand dollars to twenty-five thousand dollars with you. That is where the real money, real clients, and lasting opportunities come from. It is not simply about being an author. It is about becoming a trusted guide who designed the book as a bridge to a much larger business.
What are the things that you wish you knew about promoting a book before you started? What did you learn the hard way? Can you share some stories about that which other aspiring writers can learn from?
I’ve been doing marketing for the past 10 years. I know a lot of stuff, but I don’t know everything. I’m constantly learned new techniques on how to market things both digitally and traditionally.
One thing I could have done better with my first book release was to take full advantage of my network. How do people land speaking gigs, corporate trainings, coaching clients, etc? It’s from their network! This could be your close friends, social media following, and even the people at your church. They all know exactly who you are and can put you in certain rooms if you just ask. This is something that I failed to do when I released my first book.
Based on your experience, which promotional elements would you recommend to an author to cover on their own and when would you recommend engaging an expert?
When it comes to book promotions, I’d highly recommend letting the experts handle designing your book cover, enhancing it, and proofreading/editing your book. These are all things you can easily do on your own, but I’d highly recommend paying someone to do a final check on each of these. Also, don’t be cheap about this. Your book is something the world is going to see. Don’t be cheap in how you show up, make it look good. Make it something proud you created.
As far as promotional things you should take into your own hands, I want to circle back to reaching out to your network. Your network and their network will always be your #1 buyers if your book. Especially around launch. No one knows your network better than you do. Take the time to actually text/call people one by one. This is something you can’t pay a VA to do. I mean you can, but doing this yourself will go 10 times further.
Based on your own experience and success, what are the “five things an author needs to know to successfully promote and market a book?”
1) Your launch week does not define your book
A lot of authors put so much pressure on launch week as if that one moment is going to determine the future of their book forever. In reality, launch week is only the beginning. I have seen books that barely made noise at the start but went on to sell steadily for years because the author stayed consistent with promotion and tied the book into a bigger mission. My own projects have taught me that momentum builds over time, and it is often what you do in the months after launch that really matters.
2) Get those reviews
Reviews are the lifeblood of a book’s visibility. People trust what others say far more than what you claim yourself. I remember when I pushed hard to get early readers to leave reviews, and within weeks, my book’s credibility jumped. Not only did it help with online algorithms, but it also gave me testimonials I could use in my marketing. Even a handful of thoughtful reviews can completely shift how new readers perceive your book.
3) Build a team of promoters
You cannot do this alone. Having a group of people who believe in your work and are willing to share it makes a massive difference. For one of my launches, I reached out to friends, colleagues, and even some readers I had built relationships with beforehand. I gave them simple instructions on how to share posts, write short blurbs, or mention the book in conversations. That small but committed team multiplied my reach and brought in readers I would have never reached on my own.
4) Get lots of social proof
In today’s world, people look for evidence before they make a purchase. Screenshots, reader photos, media mentions, and even casual posts from fans all add up to powerful social proof. When people saw my book being talked about on different platforms, it created curiosity and made others want to join in. One picture of someone reading your book on vacation or a share from a respected voice in your niche can spark a whole wave of attention.
5) Have fun
This may sound simple, but it is crucial. Marketing a book can feel overwhelming if you treat it like a chore. The truth is, when you show that you are having fun sharing your message, people naturally want to be part of it. During one of my campaigns, I leaned into the process by making lighthearted videos, engaging directly with readers, and celebrating every little win. That energy was contagious and turned marketing into something enjoyable instead of stressful.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)
At this point, the only person I’m interested in meeting for lunch is Jesus Christ. Even the smartest minds out there have some sort of dark side to the public image they are projecting. You can never really trust anyone 100%. Yeah you can learn from them, but as far as fully trusting, the only person on my list is Jesus Christ. I apply a lot of his teaching in my business and personal life. It can be a challenge at times m, but long term it brings so much joy. Not only for me but for my friends, family, and community around me.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
My links are
https://planmyweekend.ai (you can find the book here)
IG: @dejon_brooks
Thank you for these excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent. We wish you continued success with your book promotion and growing your brand.
