Three Reasons Why Books Grow Businesses
When a professional or business owners chats with me about better marketing strategies, I suggest writing a book. Their first questions is: "Why"? Indeed, why should a professional or business owner write a book? Three Reasons.
1. ESTABLISH YOUR EXPERTISE. A BOOK establishes you as THE expert in the area in which you write.
Every month, there are over 54 million blog posts published, 300 billion Tweets sent, and over 300 hours of video content is uploaded. Yet, ONE BOOK can set you apart from all the other noise out there. Funny thing a book does ... even if you don't feel like THE expert right now, by the time you are done writing your book, not only will you feel like the expert, you will actually be one.
2. BUSINESS CARD. How many business cards get thrown away each year? A lot. How many of your potential customers are carrying business cards? A few. A BOOK can get you more and faster attention than any business card. When you have A BOOK, you have something of value to offer any potential customer/client immediately. Take it upon yourself to get their contact information and send them your book as offering service right up front. Your book will be kept when all those pesky business cards are thrown away or lost. And the book will sit on the customers/prospects bookshelf for easy reference when they need your services again. [By the way, I'm not advocating getting rid of your business cards ... just saying that the Book creates a longer lasting impression and presence.]
3. LEVERAGE. A BOOK can be leveraged in many ways to grow your business. Leveraging your book is the creme de la creme of why to write A BOOK. There are multiple ways to leverage your book. It becomes your best marketing tool. Here are just five ways you can leverage a book to grow your business (and there are a lot more).
Book Launch. A book pre-launch and launch are two reasons to create a press release, have a party, make announcements on social media, and even get others to announce the event for you. Create some word-of-mouth excitement about your new book and get some free marketing for your business.
Marketing IN the Book. The book itself is a major marketing piece. Put marketing materials in the book. Add value in the book to give readers things they can do that demonstrate your expertise. Put bonuses in the book. You can use the book to bring people back to your business even if they don't actually read the book.
Pre-sell Prospects. Save yourself the hours of time you spend daily, monthly, annually, talking to potential customers who never hire you. Give out your book and when customers come to you, they are ready to buy. The cost of your book may be anywhere from $3-10. Compare that to the time you spend repeatedly answering the same questions.
Expand Your Reach. Get endorsements for you book. Endorsements say more than you can say about you, your reputation and your services. In today's market, every industry faces enormous competition and it's easy for consumers to be confused. Confused consumers do not spend money. Endorsements bring clarity. And those who endorse you can also help you spread the word about your book.
Give Away Your Book. Yup - give it away to your target market, industry influencers, and industry partners. The book was not intended as a source of revenue, but a marketing strategy to grow your business and generate opportunities and revenues in your business. Want leads? Best way to get leads is to create a funnel and give away your book.
Publishing a book involves dollars and time. But the book is not your source of a income stream, but a powerful marketing tool that can expand your reach and lead to multiple revenue generating streams. Your book is a marketing tool you can leverage in a multitude of ways and establishes you as an expert in your field.
Isn't it time you got started?