By Jayme Soulati
In business, marketers look for the next new tactic to power the brand.
Public relations professionals are hunting for the same opportunity.
If you’re the business owner or executive, when was the last time you took an introspective look at the wealth and breadth of knowledge you’ve accumulated throughout the years?
For leaders interested in amping brand power, writing a business book, and exploring online self-publishing, brings you closer to the next marketing peak.
Write A Business Book
- If you are a professional blogger, comb through the archives for threaded content to repurpose into a business book. This works if you have three years or more of archives. By then, the topic you cover will be obvious to readers.
- Teach, train, and be an authority. With years of experience and expertise moving through business obstacles, and winning, this knowledge can be packaged into a resource for others on the path behind you. There is always someone who wants to learn from the experts. Make that expert you!
- Write with opinion. Showcase insight. No one wants to read something everyone else is writing about. Because you’re in a position of leadership, showcase that spirit, and share some push-the-envelope insight about your expertise, industry, or company. Add a bit of controversial thinking to your writing, and develop healthy debate around your content.
Online Self-Publishing
- The first book you write ought to be self-published. Use the experience to maneuver the chaos that is the online self-publishing world right now. There are oodles of software and platforms on which to publish. When you take the plunge, you become an authority by walking the talk.
- Not confident about your topic? Then publish an eBook first, and make it free or affordable on Amazon Kindle. Maybe you want to sell it from your own website, and keep the “profits.”
- Test the waters, get to market fast, and understand you’re not going to be rich off this experience.
- Join self-publishing oriented groups on Google+ and LinkedIn. When you engage with those community members in the know, you’re powering the brand by virtue of asking a question. These groups are rich with detailed answers; it’s overwhelming but definitely worth it.
Power Brand
As you journey along the self-publishing path, promote the experience:
- Take images of media coverage and post to Instagram.
- Take a Vine or Instagram video of your book.
- Pin book designs you like, and ask for feedback.
- Ask Facebook friends which book cover they like better.
- Invite an influencer to write a forward for you, and share it on social media.
- Crowdsource chapter headings or invite comments for the book
- Use all social media channels to promote every stage of the book process.
- Launch the book at an industry event. You can ask or be invited to speak at an event, and take copies of the book for all those in attendance.
- Update all social media profiles with “author of XX.” No matter if you have an eBook or soft-cover print book you’ve self-published, this is important news.
Understand authorship is a differentiator. Your influence gets boosted a notch or two once publishing occurs. If you’re fortunate enough to work with a publisher, that’s the ultimate. Make it a goal, but first things first – keep writing!
All of the above, I know to be true from my first-hand experience writing New Blogging Tips. I wrote it from blog archives, self-published a soft-cover book, published an eBook with Amazon Kindle, and received a wider array of wonderful business opportunities as a result of authorship.
What will your first book be about?
P.S. We’re just one week away from our free webinar with email marketing genius, DJ Waldow. Join us on Thursday, July 25 at 11 a.m. CT. Register by clicking here.