How Writing a Book Can Help Position YOU as an Expert
See that little tear? The one I am shedding for all the writers (who want to become published authors) who have been taken advantage of. Sometimes that happens because they are too afraid to admit they don’t “know” the answer—and still forge ahead. OR they are given an answer that mostly serves the person giving it.
My goal for 2016 is to shed more light on the entire book publishing process. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find someone who does. I want to see more authors willing to ask the questions because they know that with knowledge they will save the two most important resources: Time AND Money.
So many questions…so little time.
Speakers, Business People, Educator, Health Expert, Coach—A Well-Done Book is a Perfect “Package” to Promote Yourself
You’ve heard it before…and you’ll hear it again about what having a book can do for you as a speaker, business leader, educator, coach, etc.:
- Position you as the leading industry expert
- Establish your credibility
- Effortlessly attract your target audience
- Sets you apart with an instantly recognizable brand
- Win the attention of publishers and distributors
- Consistently win more and higher-paying speaking and consulting gigs
- Create multiple streams of income with profit-building products tied to the book
But none of that matters if you are missing these important marketing tools:
- You actually have something to say that others want to hear—and you say it well (that implies it has been professionally edited).
- Your info is presented in a new and different way than others in the same genre.
- Your stellar book cover grabs attention, tells a story and turns a browser into a buyer.
- Excellent endorsements and blurb about the book fill the back cover (not relevant for electronic books however).
About the cover and its “first impression”
- A whopping 75% of booksellers say that the cover is the most important element of the book, whether it is at a bookstore, book fair or back of the room for a speaker.
- Check out how your cover design will look when it is the postage-stamp size Amazon posts.
- Companies that distribute books carry only the book cover, not books, so the cover is very important.
Did you know that book browsers spend an average of 8 seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds skimming the back cover before deciding whether to buy your book? If your book cover doesn’t instantly hook their interest, and convey the right message about your book, your chance to make a sale likely is gone.
This is so important, it deserves its own line: Price your book so the cost isn’t a deterrent, but instead is an invitation to buy. Don’t try to make back ALL your monetary output for the book by pricing it too high.
Bottom line: You don’t just lose the sale. You lose a potentially long-term, highly profitable customer. Most authors, speakers and consultants use their books as the introductory product in a funnel of increasingly expensive products and services. When prospects don’t buy your book, you lose the sale, and the thousands of dollars they could have spent on your audio programs, seminars, and coaching/consulting services.