Think about entrepreneurs and experts in your field who you really look up to. How many of them are authors? The ones who are really successful probably have at least one book, maybe more. And, that book and the notoriety it brought could be one of the reasons why you know who they are. Not only can you make money from a book, but it’s also an amazing marketing tool for your business. Here’s why:
A BOOK HELPS YOU BUILD YOUR PLATFORM
As a business owner, your platform is incredibly important. Your platform is how your potential clients and customers find you. For online business owners, your platform includes your website and blog and your social media profiles. The more you can elevate your platform, the more you’ll be seen as an authority, and the more business you’ll bring in.
You have a lot of competitors. To get more business, it’s important to distinguish yourself from other people in your niche. Having a book is a great way to distinguish yourself and to elevate your platform. Who’s more impressive: a business owner with a blog and a Facebook page, or a business owner with a blog, Facebook page, and a book? Your book will set you apart from your competition!
A BOOK HELPS YOU REACH NEW CLIENTS
Finding new clients or leads for your business is tough. If you’re bringing in business by just posting on social media, your posts are probably getting lost in your followers’ feeds, lost among all of the noise of promoting your business on social media. You need to find a better way to connect with your clients.
That’s where a book comes in. How many times have you bought a how-to or nonfiction book by someone who you’d never previously followed? Here’s an example: have you read any business books, found them helpful, and then started following the author’s blog or following him or her on social media? My guess is probably yes. I know I certainly have, many times.
New readers who have never heard of your blog or business can find your book via a quick Amazon search. If they like what they see, they’ll buy the book and start reading it. As they read the book, they start to build a relationship with you. Through that relationship, they’ll be more likely to invest in the other products or services that you offer. Think of your book as a way to bring new leads to your business that you wouldn’t have found otherwise.
A BOOK HELPS YOU BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
A new reader buys your book and starts to read it. It takes that reader a while to read a book, depending on how fast of a reader he or she is. That’s hours of time spent with your book, maybe more. That’s a lot more time than that reader would have spent on your blog or on your Facebook page. A blog post takes a few minutes to read through. Your readers will spend 10 or even 100 times that reading your book.
All of that time can translate into building trust, if you write your book the right way. The time spent reading your book helps you create a really great relationship with your reader. That relationship helps your reader come to know, like, and trust you. That trust can turn into more business for you, and more money in your pocket.