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.
Wood Dale Chicago prom limo .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareCreative Writing Tips ?Writing is a creative process and how... Read More
Have you ever considered writing a book? If so, maybe... Read More
Interesting characters that readers care about are the most important... Read More
"Do I send samples, a media kit, or just the... Read More
Having problems writing? I don't know why. San Francisco Chronicle... Read More
Becoming an author is probably a lot easier than you... Read More
Creating written documents reveals so much about you and your... Read More
Don't they drive you nuts?You can visit all the rules... Read More
Have you given up on getting your book out of... Read More
While novels do not usually attempt to convey concepts about... Read More
In large publishing houses, many manuscripts penned by first-time authors,... Read More
Les Edgerton writes in his book, Finding Your Voice, that... Read More
As a previous article ("Making Better Word Choices ? 4... Read More
The Hottest Word on the WebDid you know marketing people... Read More
If you're a writer, you're in business. It doesn't matter... Read More
Real Estate has "Location, location, location," and writing has "Clips,... Read More
BAITED, BATEDBaited usually refers to traps or snares. When the... Read More
Communication is effective when we follow certain rules. These rules... Read More
Finding the time to write a novel is one of... Read More
(Skip directly to ten for the fastest shortcut!)Like any field,... Read More
No user manual? Surely you jest!It may seem comical, but... Read More
Persisting With Bulldog Determination [Book excerpt from Successercising} by Rick... Read More
There are three ways to write a first draft. One... Read More
It's important to have a space set aside in your... Read More
Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why... Read More
Antigo wedding limo ..Without denigrating the work and contribution of Syd Field to... Read More
Summer's here and the time is write for dancing in... Read More
Remember back in the dark days of your school years... Read More
Every hero has a seminal insight - the apotheosis. Once... Read More
We've all been told that we need to use all... Read More
People can't believe I did it, but I did. I... Read More
Charles Dickens was born in Portsea, England, in1812. His father... Read More
If your articles aren't getting published very often, or you... Read More
You are far more likely to successfully write and publish... Read More
What Makes a Great Headline?Headlines are far more important than... Read More
Screenwriting is a competitive trade. To distinguish yourself as a... Read More
Your query letter can be a deal maker or a... Read More
Part 1 of this article discussed the experience you need... Read More
A UK based freelance proofreader should be able to provide... Read More
Sometimes there is confusion about the exact meaning of the... Read More
To write books for readers at an elementary reading level... Read More
Many of the most effective low-cost marketing strategies require writing.... Read More
Eight or nine times out of ten, picking up and... Read More
What is this annoying, insidious angst that permeates my psyche?... Read More
Writing engaging articles and energizing ad copy takes... Read More
If you are like most writers, you're constantly searching for... Read More
1. Make your goals achievable.By achievable, we mean realistic and... Read More
Self-examination is brutally honest. Self-indulgence is brutally maudlin.Writing requires the... Read More
Weather posting a page to your Website, writing a letter... Read More
With the advent of email communications in the workplace, it's... Read More
Writing |