by Donna Amos | Featured Contributor
Everyone seems to be writing a book these days. Moreover, every business consultant seems to be advising business owners of every type and industry to write a book. Is there really a need for more books about your industry expertise? Maybe not, but there is a need for YOUR book.
Books are no longer about information. Books are the new business card, an effective marketing tool, and your ticket into the higher leagues of credibility. Heck, books can even boost your website SEO. Books have become a valuable tool to grow your business prospects, value, and revenue.
Why write a book for your business? A book gains you the kind of attention that takes your business and personal credibility to new levels. Here’s how that works.
A Book Gives You Authority and Credibility
Writing a book on any subject establishes you as an authority on that subject. This gives you credibility in the eyes of the unpublished world. Only expert-level practitioners have the knowledge, experience, and savior faire to author their own book showcasing their expertise. In many ways, being the author of a book says more about you than a college degree. How many idiots skimp by at the bottom and graduate with a degree? If you write a book, you’d better know what you’re talking about.
Your book demonstrates that you have what it takes to complete the project. You can commit to something and follow through. You get things done. Hard things that are truly worthwhile and helpful to many people. Not only do you possess knowledge and expertise, you have risen from ordinary worker to a teacher of others. Your accomplishments are worth passing on to others, so they, in turn, can learn to become a success.
A Book Raises Your Visibility
Who are you? And how would I know anything about you? Unless I have availed myself of your products or services, I wouldn’t. You may have a name among your local clients or fellow businesses, but probably little beyond. Until you author a book that provides lasting value to readers concerning your chosen topic.
Then, you become that expert _________________ who wrote a great book on the subject. Now, people everywhere are aware of who you are and what you have accomplished. And this visibility creates even more visibility. When a media outlet wants a comment on something, who do they go to? The expert, right? And how do they know someone is an expert? Because they wrote a helpful book on the subject that people are finding useful.
Media interviews and articles, talk shows, podcasts, lecture halls, boardrooms, special events, and the list goes on. Popular media hosts never say, “My next guest just posted a cat video.” But how often do you hear, “My next guest has just published a new book that readers are finding supremely helpful when it comes to…” A book is the key that unlocks access to a wider audience.
A Book Helps People Find You
Everyone knows the largest search engine on the planet is Google. Most people know the second largest is YouTube. But do you know the third largest search engine? Amazon. As a matter of fact, Amazon is the number one search engine when shopping for products and services. Approximately 44 percent of all searches for consumer goods begin on the Amazon website.
When consumers want the best, they search for who “wrote the book” on the topic. Or at least who wrote a book. Who knows more about a topic than someone who authored a popular book on the subject? A book is a great marketing tool to build your brand and attract new clients.
Your Amazon book page also provides quality backlinks to your website. Your book has its own page on Amazon, which should definitely be linked to your company website. This tells Google algorithms that your site has a bit more authority than others, boosting your SEO.
A Book Creates New Revenue Streams
In business, they key to continued viability is creating multiple streams of revenue. Or as my grandfather used to say, never put all your eggs in one basket. What happens when one of your products or services becomes outdated or surpassed by newer, better techniques? Does your business take a hit financially? Yes; but if there are multiple sources of revenue, the hit can be more easily absorbed. That one product was not your solitary source of income.
A book can do this in several ways. You can, of course, make money from the sale of your books. How much and how often depends on many different factors. Nevertheless, selling a book that provides helpful information in your industry niche can earn you some money. Obviously, the more well-known you are as an expert in your field, the more books you are likely to sell. For most business owners writing a book for their business, don’t count on making large returns from selling your book.
What a book can open up is the opportunity for a new revenue stream. A book can lead to a podcast, which can be leveraged into a monetized communication forum for your industry. Your book led you to begin a podcast, and you grew that into a money-making venture in addition to your book and business. It happens more often than you may realize.
The book gains you recognition and authority in your field, and that can lead to speaking engagements, seminars, and even your own line of training courses, live or online. The book has opened the door, giving you access to more opportunities to demonstrate your expertise in different settings to people who are glad to pay for what you know.
The Sky is the Limit
Men and women everywhere are writing books for their business and using them to open up new opportunities for growth. Even if you are not an author, there are legitimate avenues you can pursue to help you produce a book with your name on the cover. Resources abound for learning how to write, or for getting your knowledge and ideas into print.
Why not take advantage of this powerful medium and boost your credibility, authority, visibility, and profitability? What was that? Your new book is coming out when?
Donna Amos is passionate about helping Solopreneurs grow their business using everything digital and publishing. She has 30 years experience in sales and marketing for small business. She believes the best gift you can give another is a word of encouragement.
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