Five Ways to Use Your Book For Your Business
As a professional ghostwriter, I fill my mornings with writing books for author clients, and I dedicate my afternoons to answering emails and questions from potential new authors.
In most initial conversations, the immediate questions are about fees and how the process works. However, to learn more and to better serve my clients there are a few important questions I ask, and again my goal is to learn more to help each author on their book journey. Two questions I ask most new authors don’t know the answer to:
What is the purpose of your book?
How are you going to use it in your business?
Most answer, “I don’t know.” Or, “I have always just wanted to write a book.” or, “My friends have told me I need to write a book because I know what I’m talking about.”
These are all excellent reasons, but you need to make it clear what you want to do with your book within your business. Understanding your book’s purpose will guide you in the direction your book needs to be written.
Let’s look at a few ways you can use your book in your business that will support and enhance your business.
Lead Magnet
All businesses need new customers and a stream of customers to keep the business afloat and alive. Writing a book can be an excellent lead magnet or generation tool. If your business is online and you need new customers, giving your book away as a FREE download in exchange for an email address is an excellent tool to generate leads. You can use the gained emails to build a database for potential sales leads. This also works for selling online courses or programs through social media. And if you have a service-based business, give out free hard copies of your book to existing clients or previous ones.
Giving away something for free can make people feel trusted, appreciated, and lean them more towards holding you in high regard. All this can translate into more leads, more referrals, and great word-of-mouth spreading.
Back of The Room Sales
Are you a professional speaker, or is speaking in front of select audiences a part of your business? Your book is an essential tool in making these events successful. Plus, you can add extra revenue from the sales of your book after your event is finished. Having a book to support your speaking career is a lucrative move and an essential ingredient. The book is a written confirmation of your topic and establishes you as the go-to person in your field.
A book gives you control of your own credibility. There’s a level of authority that comes with being an author, if it’s done right.
Residual Income Generation
Writing a book can help generate residual income for your business. Even if your business is going well, having an additional revenue stream can get you through the months that are slower and help support your business. There isn’t any shame in that.
Social Media Content
Use your book for your socials. Whether it’s to market your book or just give your followers more information, the content of your book and even the book writing process itself can generate more word of mouth and engagement across your social platforms.
Book Business Card
With a book comes notoriety and sometimes even fame. In today’s business world, having something that will elevate you over your competition is crucial. A book can be the ticket. Having a book depicting your knowledge and skills is a great long-term business card—that doesn’t get thrown in the garbage—and lasts a lifetime.
Your book can show how you solve a customer’s potential problems with your expertise. You can point new customers and contacts to your book and solidify your presence in your industry.
The only thing you can do wrong is write a low-effort, poor-quality book. This will only diminish your credibility and expertise. But by not writing a book at all, you miss out on massive opportunities to show the world your skills, knowledge, and what you do well.
Don’t make that mistake when it’s as easy as every now to get started.
