Why Women Who Hate Self-promotion Need to Write a Book by @JaneTabachnick

by Jane Tabachnick | Featured Contributor 

Do you ever struggle with self-promotion?

If you are like most women entrepreneurs and professionals, you worry that you’ll come off as boasting or a braggart.

Maybe you fall into the ‘confidence gap’ identified by journalists Claire Shipman and Katty Kay where even as a highly-qualified woman you doubt yourself and hesitate to self-promote, whereas your less competent male counterpart is overconfident and doesn’t hesitate to promote himself.

Fear of being judged can lead women to second guessing ourselves, which makes it hard to market or self-promote, both of which are necessary for success in a career or as an entrepreneur.

Writing a book, especially for women, is the perfect tool to get you noticed without even having to promote yourself. Your book promotes you in the most elegant ways without your having to feel boastful or self-promotional.

Why will writing a book make it easy for women to get noticed without self-promotion?

Let’s look at some of the beneficial ways a book can help promote you without leaving you feeling icky.

WRITING A BOOK IS A MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT – WORTHY OF NOTICE

Just adding author to your title or bio immediately elevates your positioning and esteem in the eyes of the public. According to speaker and author Drew Stevens Ph.D. –

” As soon as I became an author they genuflected. I noticed that having a book produces a lot more notoriety because of the research and the trials and tribulations of actually producing it.”

Why?

• Writing is a book is on every professional and entrepreneur’s to do list, yet only a small percentage of those people will take action, put in the work, and overcome the obstacles to becoming a published author. People recognize the hard work that is involved and respect you for persevering and succeeding.
• People view you with esteem and as an action taker and a true leader.

People are drawn to work with leaders and action takers. Merely mentioning your author status signals to the audience that you are successful and accomplished. Once your author status is revealed, you have their interest and attention.

WRITING A BOOK ENHANCES YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

When people meet you at a networking event, are referred to you by a colleague, or are considering doing business with you, they will google you. They will judge you by what they see in the search results for your name. Without uncomfortable self-promoting online, you can let your Amazon and Barnes and Noble book listing speak for you; these pages will be displayed and you have instant authority positioning as an author, as well as the positive association with big, trusted brands.

People trust reviews and recommendations from friends and family as well as online reviews. In other words, they trust what third parties have to say about you, more than what you say about you. Being featured on authority, third party sites as additional trust to your digital footprint.

WRITING A BOOK TAKES THE FOCUS OFF YOU

Promoting your book is not as uncomfortable as promoting you. A technique I learned years ago, as an entrepreneur reluctant to self-promote, was to think of my work or my business as a third-party entity and then promote it. Think of how easy and comfortable you are when you talk about your best friend and her work. The same psychological trick can work when thinking about and promoting your book.

You can focus on sharing the content of your book, and your passion will come through making you very attractive – people will seek out and want to work with

Again, you aren’t talking about yourself directly so it is often more comfortable and not icky.

WRITING A BOOK WILL GET YOU MORE MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

A book can be a media magnet, making it easier to get interviews and exposure.

You can sit back and let the media tell your story and sing your praises. You get free exposure to their audience. You also benefit from a trusted third party promoting you, which the reader interprets as an implied endorsement.

You can then leverage this publicity and amplify the benefits by including it on your book cover, book listing on online book stores and on your website.

Whether you are an entrepreneur or a salaried professional, your success is dependent on letting people know your strengths and the value you can offer. Even if self-promotion is uncomfortable, you need to find ways to get noticed and shine.

Writing a book will make it easier to promote you, without having to be in the uncomfortable position of speaking about yourself.  Authorship comes with some instant promotional benefits including expert positioning, professional listings on trusted online bookstores that show up and enhance your digital footprint, additional media opportunities, and the ability to display your expertise in a respected format.

Think of your book as the best friend that you are comfortable and promote enthusiastically without hesitation.

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Jane Tabachnick is a digital marketing and publicity consultant, and book publisher. She works with savvy entrepreneurs and enlightened professionals to help them tell their story, become published authors, and create greater visibility, buzz and profits.

Jane is eternally inquisitive and working on perfecting her gluten free baking. She has been named one of the top 100 people online by Fast Company. As an ambivert who has often been featured or quoted in the media, she sill prefers to help her clients get visibility.

Jane is the creator of a program on Sustainable Design Entrepreneurship at NYC’s Fashion Institute where she is also an adjunct professor. Her next book, Irresistible Influence will be published in Spring 2017.

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Jane Tabachnick