Marketing plans for your business tend to include tactics you pay for, like: ads, signs, mailings, etc. So may not typically think in terms of promotions themselves as income generators. But often overlooked among marketing actions is a tactic that not only covers its costs but generates additional income streams. It is writing and publishing a book(s).
Almost any business, large or small, stands to benefit from the pluses that come with self publishing. Read these twelve compelling reasons to get a book about your expertise or experiences written and into print and as a Kindle ebook and discover if some or all could help you attract more customers.
- Effectively get people to pay you to advertise to them. You profit from the sale of the book which delivers useful information to readers and potential new customers. On the back page or even occasionally throughout the pages, you can mention one or more of your top products or services. Don’t overdo it because instead of building credibility, being over salesy will undermine any perceived value the book might have provided otherwise.
- Set yourself above and beyond the competition. Writing a book establishes you as the top-of-the-mind problem-solver in your field. Most of your competitors are still thinking about where to run their ads.
- Communicate your problem solving abilities. Your book should be aimed at relieving the pain your audience suffers from. If you don’t know their pain, they won’t have an interest in your book. Check comments on the blog posts of your most successful competitors to learn the problems, questions and challenges your book should resolve.
- Give back your knowledge to teach and inspire readers as a great PR strategy. At some point, we all feel like giving back. It’s a great publicity hook to bullet list how your book helps improve lives and inspire hearts.
- Introduce readers to the genuine you; be seen as a human being. You have all heard it, “Corporations have no soul.” The genuine business owner is going to win the hearts of their customers with stories that show the owner is a real person.
- Build credibility by establishing authority in your field. The word “authority” includes “author” in it for a reason. We naturally respect writers of books and tend to refer to them with assurance of their expertise.
- Grow a hot leads list fast. Books can be in print in a matter of weeks. Create a specific landing page to point book buyers to. You already know they are coming to you after reading your book. If you’ve done a great job delivering content, readers come typically presold on your other offers.
- Attract, grow and strengthen your network. Your book is a magnet but it may be for sale at sites like Amazon where you can’t access the names of customers who purchased. Include an offer to subscribe to your newsletter on the last page of the book. Include a link to a sign up page on your website. Keep your name in the minds of your fans through a newsletter. Periodically send them something special like a report or research study for free.
- Gather feedback and comments that reflect demands in the marketplace so you can create new products and services. Read what reviewers say about your book on Amazon and other sites. Read comments on your blog posts related to your book. Note what people tell you about their problems. There’s another book out there.
- Set higher prices from increased perceived value of working with an author. After you’ve published a book, your perceived value as a resource goes up. Expect to raise prices on your consulting services and workshops. Hey, you’re in demand.
- Attract paid teaching contracts. My first book was out less than a year when I got a call from a local community college. They wanted to know if I would develop and teach a college level course on my book’s topics. A few years later, I get a call from a program manager at the University of Alaska. They offered me a contract to present an online webinar broadcast around the state. It was so popular, they called me back two years later to do again. Not bad for a college dropout.
- Repurpose your book’s content into more products from which you can market your core products. Content marketable products include: books, ebooks, audio books, video courses, live classes, weekend workshops, week long bootcamps, consulting by the hour, extended coaching programs, subscription newsletters, subscription member websites, your own TV show, syndicated column, be a paid legal expert, and publishing a magazine.
Writing and publishing looking more attractive? Today’s post was about the upside. In future posts, I’ll shine the spotlight on some of the challenges that go along with self publishing.
If you have an idea for a book, but the tech stuff for self-publishing gives you anxiety attacks, let me help. See my self-publishing services.