One morning, you open your inbox and find several e-mails that will boost your business. There is an invitation to speak at a local group comprised of your best prospects. Several emails have arrived from people who've "heard of you" and inquire about your services.
There is a message from a potential joint venture partner who has invited you to be a guest on a teleconference that will reach 500 people, all of them prospects. Later that day, a journalist calls. She wants to write a story about your business, which she heard about on a radio interview you gave weeks earlier.
Is this a fantasy? No. This could be a typical day in your life as a published author.
More and more business people are realizing the power of writing a book to catapult their businesses to a higher level. Speakers, consultants, coaches, therapists and other small business owners are learning that publishing a book is one of the most powerful marketing strategies available.
Published authors report that their lives change, often dramatically, when their books reach the marketplace. When you become an author, you become known as the expert. When you are known as an expert in your field, whatever your field, you will find that the world will beat a path to your door.
A Book Generates Visibility and Attracts Clients
Of all the information products you can create, a book has the greatest potential to open doors. A book can give you more recognition and professional credibility than audiotapes, CDs, videos, seminars, workshops and public speaking.
Since my book Get Slightly Famous was published last year, I have been amazed at how it has transformed my business.
Publishing my book was a newsworthy event that resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in new business, high-profile media coverage, speaking engagements, radio interviews, partnership opportunities, and too many other benefits to mention.
Prospective clients now hear about me from all over the world. The media regularly call me, and I appear in newspaper articles and radio interviews.
Get Slightly Famous is not just my most effective marketing tool. It has become the core of my brand identity. My book provides a marketing platform for my business that gives all my marketing efforts a natural, sharp focus.
Best of all, marketing is not such a struggle anymore.
As a successful author you will find the stress of constantly seeking new clients can largely become a thing of the past. Clients will seek you out, ready to pay good money for your services, because you are seen as a leader in your field. You become their first choice.
It's Not Just a Book -- It's a Business!
Your book is the seed from which you can grow a multi-faceted "empire'' of related products and services, including seminars, teleclasses, reports, consulting packages, audiotapes, and other profitable information products.
Imagine selling thousands of books to trade associations as premiums for their members. Or how about creating a $49-a-month newsletter, a $995 home-study course, a $499 a year membership web site? Could you use your book as the basis for a year-long mentorship program for which individuals or groups that pay thousands of dollars a piece to participate?
The idea is to see your book as a launching pad for new business opportunities.
Barbara Hemphill used her book Taming The Paper Tiger to develop a multi-pronged branding strategy. Hemphill offers organizing skills services designed to reduce stress and increase productivity. Her business is based almost entirely on her book.
Barbara has used her book to develop Taming the Paper Tiger software, gain an endorsement by Pendaflex, and found the Hemphill Productivity Institute. Her company now employs more than 70 Paper Tiger authorized consultants across the U.S. and Canada.
You can write a book!
Me, publish a book, you ask? Yes, you. It is easier than you might think, and you don't need to be a seasoned writer to become a published author.
Writing a successful book is not the easiest thing in the world, but it is entirely possible. The talents and expertise you bring to your clients can form the basis of a successful book. If you know your subject area, and can communicate your ideas in a clear, compelling, organized manner, becoming a published author is within your reach.
A strategy that works for many is to break the process into smaller steps by writing a series of articles. They then become the basis for a book. Or, you can work with a talented freelance writer to help you express your ideas clearly and with conviction.
The most traditional route is to find a publisher who will handle the production, marketing, promotion and distribution. This involves up front work (you write a detailed proposal, a table of contents, sample chapters and a market overview). Then you shop the proposal around to potential publishers, either on your own or with the help of a commissioned agent.
Self-publishing has many advantages over traditional publishing, the most compelling being greater financial returns for the author. "When you self-publish, you keep all the profits," says Dan Poynter, author of The Self-Publishing Manual. "Additionally, you get into print quickly, own the copyright, and take all applicable tax breaks."
On the downside, self-publishing can be expensive. You pay up front for all the production and distribution costs, and if your book does not sell, you will be stuck with the leftover inventory. However, if your book is successful, you will not only have the satisfaction and advantages of being a published author, you will make more money.
Whatever publishing route you choose, the Internet provides a global marketplace for your book. Never before has it been so easy to market a book if you are willing to invest the time and energy to write one.
About The Author
Steven Van Yoder is the author of Get Slightly Famous. He teaches small business owners how to duplicate his success and become a "slightly" famous author in your field. Visit www.getslightlyfamous.com to claim your FREE Slightly Famous Marketing Plan Workbook and learn how to attract more business with less effort by creating your own information empire.
best cleaning company Lincolnshire ..1. Write it fast, fix it later.2. Commit to writing... Read More
Open any book on 'how to write,' and somewhere you... Read More
Language Training - A key to Global CommunicationLanguage Training is... Read More
1 - Join a reading or writing group. Ask members... Read More
Why should you consider creating a memoir of your personal... Read More
Is it possible to improve your writing instantly? The answer,... Read More
When my first book "Starting Your Own Business" was published... Read More
Prolific authors write; they don't just dream about it. A... Read More
1. PLAY A GAME LIKE SOLITAIRE....for half an hour or... Read More
Typically when falling asleep in bed at night great thoughts... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?Writing is a creative process and how... Read More
My article this issue is an excerpt from a book... Read More
I recently read a book where everything was akimbo. Arms... Read More
Suspense novels are probably the easiest novels to write. Suspense... Read More
There is an image most people carry of the artist... Read More
Dr. Phil's Life Strategies, #1 New York Times Bestseller catches... Read More
All Writers need the press, especially new writers. As a... Read More
A writer writes. Bet you've heard that one... Read More
Plotting a book can seem an overwhelming task when you're... Read More
Since the headline is the first contact your readers have... Read More
Paulo Coelho was born on August 24th 1947 in Rio... Read More
Sure you can write, but can you write crisp, compelling... Read More
ACCEPT, EXCEPT Not commonly seen even from unpublished writers, who... Read More
The Scanning ReaderWriting for the Web is different than writing... Read More
Originality emerges from structure. Once you have a story idea,... Read More
on demand house cleaning Lake Forest ..The Big IdeaOkay. So youve figured out that you would... Read More
It's a good idea to use TextPad because all opt-in... Read More
[When I was a nineteen-year-old high school student and budding... Read More
You wrote a tips booklet. Maybe more than one. Oh... Read More
Let's Discuss Publisher Ethics:If you are an ezine publisher or... Read More
Have you ever written a letter to a friend? Ever... Read More
Want to write an article or book, but are stuck... Read More
Op-ed articles, also known as opinion/editorial articles, are a great... Read More
What a wonderful resource the Internet is!Students find information to... Read More
This article contains a short guide on how to edit... Read More
Summer's here and the time is write for dancing in... Read More
Verb and SubjectIncorrect:"I bet you two had a fine time,"... Read More
There is an image most people carry of the artist... Read More
I've been in the communications business a long time?over 25... Read More
If you're targeting an educated, more affluent audience with your... Read More
Anyone who has read any of my articles on the... Read More
Most of us hate housework.Nevertheless, even the most hopeless slobs... Read More
I started writing as a way of keeping safe memories... Read More
We all know people who ramble. They include every boring... Read More
Recently I was watching the Oprah show and it was... Read More
Story Structure Templates are the fastest way to write screenplays.... Read More
Picture this scene.Your hero is sitting in a bar. He's... Read More
Working on my first humorous novel, I started with a... Read More
As in all endeavors, toil is necessary to succeed and... Read More
Great writing transports one vicariously to realms that the reader... Read More
Writing |