This post is also available in:
The saying goes that everyone has at least one book in them. Yet historically speaking, very few people ever did it because publishers were the gatekeepers of the printed word. Now, with self-publishing channels, ebooks, and online marketing, anyone can write and sell a book. The question you might ask is why you should. How can writing a book be good for business and potentially boost bookings?
Challenges of writing a book
You might think that it’s a silly idea. You’ve never been much of a writer, and you don’t have the time. That could be a problem for you. However, you have a wealth of knowledge in your industry and life and business experience. Even if you aren’t confident in your ability to write well, you have information, knowledge, and expertise to share that can benefit more than merely your immediate client base.
Even if you only have time to create a book draft, you can use tools and services to create a polished final draft. There are software packages to help with grammar and spelling and sharpening and tightening the delivery. You can also engage the services of an editor for structure and comprehension. And if you still don’t want to write a book yourself, you can always secure the services of a ghostwriter that will craft your book from your ideas and experiences.
No one said writing a book was simple, but neither is it as hard as you might imagine.
What Type of Book is Good for Business?
No one is asking you to write the next great novel of our age. You don’t need to be all that creative because the best books to boost business are factual and informative. The only real exception to this rule is teaching creative writing courses or screenwriting. Students like to know their instructor has the skills to back up their teachings*.
So you need to think about what might be a good approach for you. If you’ve been in business or your particular industry for a long time, you might think about writing about your experiences and what you’ve learned along the way.
Alternatively, You might want to write a series of short startup guides for your clients.
- (Auto)-Biographical – about you and your experiences in your life or particular speciality
- Self-help – sharing information to help people help themselves.
- Informative – specific information that you think will help a particular group of people
- Educational – teaching people how to do something
- Training Materials – How to make the most of your service or product
- User Guides – Short booklets on using your product or progress through your service.
You can choose different directions for the type of book you write. While a memoir or self-help book will probably be of significant length and considered a proper “book” worthy of purchase, training materials and user guides are more likely to be shorter and include more design and imagery than a typical book. Informative and educational books can go either way. The “…for dummies” range of educational books are worth purchasing for complete beginners, but you could also produce something far closer to a booklet with branded design for download.
*The Masterclass.com website wouldn’t be nearly as popular without proven literary greats. Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale, a huge TV hit. Neil Gaiman (American Gods, Coraline, Stardust, and many more books) and Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to get away with murder, and more) are also there with their proven writing success.
How Writing a Book is Good for Business
There are four distinct areas in which writing a book can be great for your business and potentially increase bookings. Moreover, only some have anything to do with direct marketing to clients and customers.
1. Marketing
The most immediate and compelling reason for writing a book is the combined approach of marketing both your book and your business. As long as you are an integral part of your brand, linking your book with your business will be easy. You will boost both your brand impact and your presence in your market.
At the same time, if you write a biographical or self-help book, you will most likely use your business brand as the primary source of inspiration.
In turn, your book allows you to showcase your brand and how you have developed it.
Although writing and publishing a book is so much easier than ever, few people actually do it. Whether that is through fear of rejection or a lack of confidence in skills, it doesn’t matter. Writing a book will help to differentiate you from your competitors.
Another benefit to writing a book is the high return on investment. It is a single input of time and effort (with some editing help). Still, it will have a long-term effect on your business and personal marketing without any extra expenditure.
Consider the 3-6 months you might spend writing it and how long it will remain relevant. You might secure hundreds or even thousands of leads through your “free dowload” ebook over a year, leading to increased client numbers. Alternatively, you could connect with significant client increases through their knowledge of your work after purchasing and reading your book – a dual income stream.
2. Business and Personal Identity
Let’s not forget that there is a robust personal component to writing a book to boost your business. Even if you decide to write an educational or instructional book, you will still put part of yourself into it. Suppose you are talking about business or industry topics in your book. In that case, you will become an authority in your field, and your business will reap the rewards of the perceived industry expertise.
Alternately, you may choose to write self-help or biographical work. In that case, you have the chance to become an inspiration to those in a similar situation and a motivator to those trying to achieve the same success.
3. Sales & Client Retention
After boosting your marketing efforts, the next most important thing to achieve from writing a book is increased sales. I’m not naive enough to think otherwise.
The increase in sales could potentially come from multiple sources. A stronger connection to your customer base and increased clientele attracted by your downloadable PDF books or purchased your ebook from Amazon Kindle (Kindle is not the only ebook option).
In addition to the new clients and the retention of existing ones, there is the potential to upsell to those who have read your work.
As an abstract example: Imagine you have a small chain of hair and beauty salons with an in-house developed natural cosmetics line. Suppose you have written about how you developed your business and the successes and failures it took to get there. In that case, you may attract more cosmetic sales because your clients will have a greater understanding of your work.
4. Business Development
Assuming that book writing is a deviation from your usual business, you may find you have a knack for it. It could also lead to further writing projects that could diversify your business even more.
Writing your book could also lead to new business idea generation. Ideas that might have been part of your initial startup but never came to fruition could be your subsequent business expansion.
When you make yourself a public figure with your writing, you advertise your business, your working ethos, and the culture you foster. It all comes out in your writing. In turn, that attracts people of a similar and complementary mindset who want to work with you. Drawing the right people to work with you can only help grow and improve your business.
How to Use Your Book to Boost Business
How you use your book will affect how your business will benefit from writing it. Maybe you’ve noticed that some companies and service providers will provide downloadable ebooks for the small price of your name and email address. Many use this lead generation tactic, and these books are usually short and informative. You might not make any revenue from book sales, but you could significantly increase your leads and income from new clients.
Conversely, suppose you have a well-selling book about your experience as an entrepreneur, and you sell your consulting services to startups and business owners. In that case, the book will serve as evidence of your authority and an introduction to your expertise, standing as proof of your ability to help upcoming businesses to succeed.
Writing a Book – A different way to boost your bookings
Okay, so maybe writing a book may not be for everyone. It might not suit your marketing strategy or even your business model. However, it’s an excellent method of not only boosting your current business but can put you in an ideal position for future endeavours.
Maybe you’re looking for that little bit extra after trying all the usual ideas for boosting bookings in your calendar.
Give yourself a little secret sauce to differentiate your business in the market.