Most business owners will never write a book - period. Most feel too overwhelmed, it's too big of a task, or it'll take far too much of their valuable time. Some may think "I'm just not a writer!" and will never make the attempt. Yet others begin and never finish.
What these business owners are missing out on is a huge opportunity to market themselves and their businesses for literally pennies.
The reason that self-published books have exploded in the supposed era of the "death of print" is because books have incredible value to the people you want to do business with. As the director of Formula Capital and self-published author James Altucher shares, "When you hand someone a book you wrote, it’s more impressive than handing a business card. It shows that you have enough expertise to write the book. It also shows you value the relationship with the potential customer enough that you are willing to give [him or her] something of value."
It's not hard to understand why.
You're the expert ... so show it!
If you're a business owner, your mind is a wealth of knowledge that others in your industry can benefit from. What's even more important is that you're full of information that your potential clients will find valuable - information that would be impossible to share in a one-on-one meeting. When you take that information and gather it into a book, you completely change the direction of the meeting.
This is because, by writing a book, you're demonstrating that you're an expert in your industry, and that you're the one who can solve their problems. I've seen a sales conversation turn from "can you help me" to "how will you help me" with the gift of a book I've written. The difference wasn't the conversation, the business card, or superior products and services. It was the book!
When you give the gift of a book you wrote, you're no longer a salesperson in the mind of your potential client. Now, you're a celebrity. A book has a certain "wow" factor that most other marketing materials don't match. (And yes, you will be asked to sign the inside cover.)
Would you pay $3 to $5 for a call from an interested prospect? For a face-to-face appointment? For a new client? Of course you would. The good news is, most books cost less than $5 to print each.
It's not as hard as you think
I mentioned the reasons that keep business owners from publishing a book, but in reality, none of those reasons is any better than an excuse. Will your book take time, effort, and planning? Absolutely. Will it overwhelm you to the point of competing with your other responsibilities, or cost you an arm and a leg? Absolutely not. The fact is, most people don't realize how easy and inexpensive publishing a book is. I recommend breaking the task into bite-sized pieces over the course of several months to make the task manageable.
- Develop an outline about what you'd like to say. Don't worry about revealing the secrets of how your business works. In fact, it's okay to do that! Not only does it develop trust, but it also demonstrates how much more capable you are of solving their problems than just anyone, and they'll want you to step in as the solution.
- Do your research. Although you're the expert about your business, you can use what others have said to your advantage. Prove yourself with facts and figures from other experts about your industry to demonstrate the value of your products and services.
- Start writing in sections. You don't have to begin at chapter one and power straight through till your book is complete. Do it in steps. Involve your employees. Record yourself talking and then have it transcribed, or better yet, have someone in your company that's skilled at writing interview you and get your ideas on paper. You don't have to do this alone.
- Have an independent party edit the book for you. Again, you don't have to pay for an editor outside of your business. Lean on the skills of a trusted colleague to read your work with a fresh set of eyes. However, don't skip this step - the majority of self-publishers say their biggest regret is not having their book properly edited.
- Buy an ISBN number and contact a publisher who can print your book. There are many, many companies online that will print your work for you, plus many local printing houses that might work with you locally. Shop around a bit and see where you find the highest quality and the best prices. I use Yurchak, which allows you to print as few as 100 copies!
That doesn't sound so scary now, does it?
Using your most powerful sales tool
Now that you've got your book published, what's next? You'll certainly want to have your book listed on Amazon, which both makes it easier for people to buy it and shows the legitimacy of the book that you've written.
If you're looking to make money on book sales, you might be out of luck. The "death of print" has been greatly exaggerated, with a million books published in 2009 - three times as many as in 2005. This makes it more difficult to effectively market and sell a book in a way that generates a lot of money for your business.
I've found that the value of self-publishing isn't in sales of the book. It's in sales generated by the book. Again, your book isn't a product in and of itself, it's a sales tool. You're going to want to use your book in much the same way you might use testimonials, a piece of print marketing, or a business card. But while all of these might be thrown away or forgotten, simply don't throw away books. When is the last time you just threw a book away? Probably never.
Send it as a gift to your prospect ahead of a meeting, or give it to them when you meet. Market them creatively; for instance, offer one as a free gift at your consultation or put a free chapter as a .pdf teaser on your website. Prominently display it in a waiting area where a visitor can leaf through it. Any time the conversation can be changed to "how will you help me," your book is one of the best tools in your arsenal. Don't feel like you're throwing money away by giving books out liberally. You can always afford to print more books! The one thing you can't afford is not using one.
Check out my two books, What Your Web Developer Never Tells You and What Your IT Guy Never Tells you. I'm also pleased to announce the release of my third book coming out this year!
