If you’re a business owner, you’re constantly looking for ways to get your business seen and to entice more of your ideal clients to buy from or work with you. Publishing a book can do just this, and here’s why.
Elevate Your Status
How many times have you checked out that person’s profile on social media who wants to connect with you, and you’ve noticed ‘published author’ or even ‘bestselling author’ (learn more about how to become a bestselling author here: How to Do Well in Amazon Rankings) in their bio? For most people seeing those phrases makes them think that this person knows what they’re talking about if they can write a book!
This is also important for the readers if the book is directly related to their business. For example, if a therapist has written a book giving daily hints and tips to improve your mental well-being, and the reader implements and benefits from those, it is likely the reader will think that the therapist is an expert in their field. They will also then potentially look into services of the therapist to see what else they can do for them. This is a true example of a book I worked on for Tania Taylor: Sparkling Moments: 30 Days to Amazing
Gets You Media Exposure
If you’ve ever tried to get coverage in the press for your business, you will know that it’s hard work. If it looks like too much of an advert, you won’t get picked up by the newspapers (they’d rather sell you the advertising space), so you need to get more creative with your pitch. Promoting a book can be a really handy tool for this.
For example, if your book is your personal story of how you overcame adversity to become a successful business owner, that makes a great story for the press. When you’re pitching to a newspaper, magazine or radio station, you don’t necessarily need a press release, but what you do need is the following (with examples given from my own chapter in Mumpreneur on Fire 4: Mumpreneur on Fire 4
A good headline:
Local businesswoman shows that a life-changing diagnosis doesn’t have to be life-ending.
A short paragraph about what you’re pitching:
Forthcoming book Mumpreneur on Fire 4 includes a chapter by local businesswoman Jen Parker. She shares how her dream career in the police was halted due to an autoimmune arthritis diagnosis, but she didn’t let this stop her. Instead, she built a career in publishing, reaching the top and then starting her now multi-award-winning business Fuzzy Flamingo when she had her first child.
Include pictures and contact information:
Attached are pictures of me winning my awards, and hard at work in my home office. You can contact me for more information.
As a result, I was featured in local magazines and newspapers and invited onto BBC Radio Leicester to talk about the book. Plus once those contacts were established I could pitch other stories to give my business media exposure down the line, and I have now been featured in Marie-Claire Online, The Metro Online and Woman Magazine.
Gets You Noticed by a Wider Audience
The better your book sales go, and the more exposure you get, the more the retailers’ algorithms will show your book to more people. This is much like the algorithms of social media, where the more comments and interaction your post gets, the bigger the reach. Your book will then start getting picked up by potential clients not directly linked to you, who will now know about your business, even if they’ve never heard of you before. This is further backed up if you manage to get media coverage too.
Helps Your Personal Brand
It is true that people buy from people. So the more potential clients can learn about the face/s behind the brand, the more likely they are to connect with you and want to know more. This works really well if your book is your personal story, but also if your book is more of a business book (e.g. a coach giving hints and tips to try themselves at home as a stepping stone to their full services). Including a section about the author in a business book helps the reader relate to who is talking to them and allow them to see why and how you know your stuff.
Mailing List Incentive
Finally, if you’re like me, you’ll be invited to join hundreds of mailing lists. I’m a bit of a sucker for a freebie, so if someone is offering me a copy of their book, or even a discount on it, I’m more likely to sign up. Are you?
If you’d like to know more about how you can publish a book to complement your business, then get in touch via the contact form, or find me on social media:
