Ever considered writing a book? The process can be easier than you think when you partner with a writer. Photo by David Iskander on Unsplash.
Have you ever considered writing a book to establish yourself as an authority or for your organization to use it as a marketing tool? What makes someone choose to work with you or support your organization over another option? Customers and clients today want to support businesses or individuals who they feel align with their interests, have the expertise or feel like their investment is worth it. Many experts are choosing to partner with a writer who can take their knowledge and expertise and develop it into a book that they can then share with their potential customers.
Authority Marketing
Authority marketing is an approach in which business owners or experts position themselves as an authority in their field and, therefore, stand apart from their competition. This approach can be done in a number of ways, from writing trend articles in trade magazines about your industry to speaking at events in which your customers will likely be attending. It can also mean having written a book that you can offer clients and customers.
Not everyone should write a book but for those who want to differentiate themselves from their competition or give more insight into their organization, whether it’s a history book about the company or the people who are part of it today, a book can be a valuable marketing tool.
Here are the top 7 reasons you might consider working with someone to help you write a book for your company or organization in 2020:
1. Having a book can be a powerful way to set yourself apart from others in your industry.
2. A book can help establish your expertise in a particular field.
3. Publishing a book can be considered a form of validation. It enhances your reputation within your community.
4. Having written a book demonstrates that you care enough about your business or organization to help educate your customers and clients who are making decisions about whether to support you or not.
5. You can sell a book at speaking engagements, in your place of business or online and in bookstores, depending on the type of book.
6. You can use it to secure media coverage.
7. It can be used to leverage paying speaking engagements (and you can sell the book at the events, too).
Writing a book can be a daunting experience for many who aren’t writers. Some may have the expertise in their field but not in the actual writing of a book while others are concerned with the time and effort it’ll take to write it. For those who will be self-publishing the book, the cost can be a factor as well.
There are a number of ways you can make the process of writing a book easier. You can hire a ghostwriter or co-author. For those who don’t feel they have enough to write an entire book by themselves, they can reach out to colleagues in their field and include them in the book as other experts. Depending on the type of book, they may also be able to split the cost, making it financially feasible to write and publish the book.
Writing A Book: How To Get Started
If you’re serious about writing a book, consider sitting down and creating questions that you feel need to be answered and for which you have the answers or can find someone to answer. Those questions can become chapters.
Another way to approach is to start by writing blog posts about your topics and see which ones resonate with your audience. One of my friends loves to cook and although she’s not a professionally trained chef, she’s been experimenting with recipes and posting them on her blog and social media. Her friends love trying them out. Some are hits, others aren’t getting as high marks. Her friends have been sharing her recipes and now she has started a bit of a following with fans waiting for her next recipe every week. She’s using those platforms to see which ones will make the cut into a cookbook along with a history of some of the ingredients she’s using.
Working with a writer on your book can help you brainstorm ideas that might make for good book material. It’s unnecessary to take on this project on your own. There are plenty of talented and professional writers who can help you write your book and you can decide how involved (or not) you want to be in the process. Some people prefer to give the writer all of the material and they can use that to write the book while others want weekly check-in calls so the writer can interview the expert or give the person an update on the process.
If having a book written on you or your business is part of your 2020 new year’s resolution or goal, reach out and let me know. I’d love to connect and see if we might be a good fit to work on it together. If not, I have friends with expertise in a number of industries and would be happy to make an introduction.