Could writing a book bring you more business in 2015?

As the marketplace continues to improve, now is the perfect time to ramp up your profile and go in search of business that is just waiting for you. But in an increasingly crowded marketplace and the continued rise of new businesses and freelance consultants, how can you ensure you stand out from the crowd and your years of experience shine through against the sea of new market entrants? In this article, Mindy Gibbins-Klein reveals the business benefits of having your own book and how this can be leveraged to raise your profile and win more business.

Isn’t it amazing how we all know about the top people in business, politics, philosophy, the arts and many other fields, even if they are in different countries? We have the internet to thank for the speed and breadth of information at our fingertips, and we also want to acknowledge those who are working the publicity machine to let us know about them. I know quite a few people who are experts in their little area, and yet they don’t have the brand recognition or the market penetration that they could have. Does it matter? If no one knows about them, what good is their expertise and how much impact can they really have? But I have to reiterate here that it only matters if they feel unfulfilled and dissatisfied with their results. There is nothing wrong with being a small fish in a small pond. However, to achieve positive change and influence larger groups will usually require a bigger and bolder plan.

Good Reasons to Extend Your Reach

I would like you to consider becoming a household name. Can you imagine how it would feel to be known by all of the prospective clients that need to know about you? Would it help you achieve your business and personal goals a bit faster? You could also command higher fees if the demand on your time were greater than the time you had available. People will pay more to work with the thought leaders of this world.

It’s not just about the money, though, is it? When we feel passionately about our subject and have something important to share, we want the whole world to know about it. I can’t tell you how many times aspiring authors have said to me that the most important thing for them is to get their book into as many hands as possible. They usually add that it’s not about the money, but, as we said before, there is nothing wrong with that. The main goal, however, is to reach lots of people, to touch lots of lives. That passion and desire to share something important drives people to do a lot more towards extending their reach than the goal of the money alone.

Extending reach is usually seen as a job for Marketing and PR but it is not solely the responsibility of Marketing to extend the reach of your company. As head of your business, you need to be involved. No, scratch that. You need to own the job of extending reach and do whatever is necessary to make sure your addressable market knows about you and your products and services. I have seen too many cases of top executives abdicating their responsibility in this area and then blaming the marketing department or the PR company when things do not go as well as expected. Conversely, with good direction from senior leaders, the PR company and the marketing department can finally do their best work and execute on the vision.

Of all the marketing strategies that exist, writing and publishing is the best way to achieve greater reach. Well, I would say that, wouldn’t I? But it’s true. And I’m not the only one saying it. If you want to get known, you absolutely must be writing and publishing. How else could you get your message out to as many people as possible? Networking is an important part of your marketing strategy, but imagine if all you could do was talk to people in person. Even if you spoke to large groups, it would still take a long time to reach your market.

With books and other products, great leaders with innovative ideas can be instantly catapulted into the mass market. Think about the bestselling business books over the past few years, books like The One Minute Manager, Good to Great, The Tipping Point, The E-Myth Revisited. How many of those authors could have achieved such a level of popularity and recognition without having a book? It certainly would have taken a lot longer without the book. Remember, there may be people who will never get to hear you speak in a live environment. They may live too far away, have financial constraints or physical challenges preventing them from attending your talks. And there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to speak to the whole market in person! The only way you will be able to reach these people is with your books – and remember, when I say ‘book’, please read ‘products’.

So many clients tell me of the excitement they feel when they get fan mail and book reviews from clients in new markets, many of whom they will never meet in person. Perhaps you are the one who cannot travel, or maybe you choose not to travel that much. A lot of working mothers I know choose to minimize the amount they travel because it cuts into family time. I myself think twice before committing to out-of-town engagements. More extreme cases include speakers and authors who have physical restrictions such as illnesses or incapacitation.

Sue Chambers is an amazing woman who has suffered with multiple sclerosis (MS) for over twenty years. She wrote her book to share her story and her perspective on keeping a sense of humor and positive attitude no matter what life throws at you. Sue is wheelchair-bound and tires easily. She wants her book, her audio book and her video material to be out there working for her when she cannot go in person. Magical Sense has the capacity to work for Sue and enlighten people about MS twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, in different markets, without Sue exhausting herself!

Print and Online

When we talk about writing and publishing, we should consider print and online. Do you already have a complete writing and publishing strategy which includes both print and online materials? You should have blogs, articles, books and ebooks in your plan because each one has a different purpose and each one needs to be handled in a slightly different way. In addition, they all need to support each other and reinforce what the other materials are doing. Remember, the great thing about books is that they can carry your message to the far reaches of your market, across the country and across the globe.

Mindy Gibbins-Klein

About the Author

Mindy Gibbins-Klein, known widely as founder of ‘The Book Midwife’ and independent publisher ‘Panoma Press’. Her mission is to discover and expose REAL Thought Leaders and show them how to position themselves as the true authorities in their field by writing and publishing the best quality books, ebooks, articles and blogs, and by developing powerful speaking content. She is also the author of ’24 Carat BOLD: Claim Your Position as the Top Expert in your Field’ (£12.99, Panoma Press)

For more information visit www.mindygk.com and www.panomapress.com

Here are some of our editor’s picks for best writing books
 

Have you made money from writing a book? Let us promote it for you for free! Click here.