So you've written a book... but how do you actually use it to grow your business?

A book is a business card on steroids.

It’s the difference between the entrepreneurs who get highly paid speaking gigs and those who have to beg, plead and hustle to run workshops for free.

It’s why some entrepreneurs compete on price and others charge five times the industry average and still have a six-month waiting list.

Right?

Yes, writing a book has its perks – it positions you as an expert, gives you negotiating power, educates the market and presells your prospects.

But there’s a catch…

None of that happens on its own.

The day after you write a book, your inbox is not going to be flooded with interview requests from journalists. You won’t have an automatic influx of new clients who are eager to pay you ridiculous rates. And event managers won’t be calling you to fly you first class to exotic locations to run high-end retreats.

And the Ferrari that was supposed to be waiting in the driveway with a red bow on it? Unless you already had the Ferrari before you wrote your book, it’s unlikely to have materialized just because you got published.

The problem is that so many entrepreneurs think that, just because they’ve written a book, all of the business opportunities they want will magically come flooding in.

After all, that’s how we sell the dream:

‘Become a published author and your revenue will increase 300%, you’ll get featured on national TV and the biggest brands in your industry will be happy to fund the next stage of business growth.’

I know – I’m just as guilty as anyone else in the entrepreneur publishing space. I’ve written articles and given talks about the power of publishing to transform your business, and I’ve seen clients who have experienced incredible success as a result of publishing their books.

But the truth is it’s not about the book.

Yes, you need to write a good book. You need to choose the right idea, and it needs to be professionally produced. But even if you get that right, if you don’t know how to use your book to grow your business.

If you don’t know how to leverage your book, it’s going to be about as useful as any other business card or brochure that’s stuck in a drawer.

No one will see it. No one will get value from it. No one will learn about your business from it. And no one will buy your products and services as a result.

Instead, all you’ll have is hundreds of books stacked in your garage, and an investment of thousands that hasn’t paid off.

So what should you do instead?

As an entrepreneur, how can you write, publish and leverage a book so that it will grow your business by 20%, 30%, 50%, even 300%, rather than just becoming an expensive paperweight?

To find out, I brought in the experts. I reached out to over 20 entrepreneurs and authors who have either successfully leveraged a book to skyrocket their own business success, or have coached others in how they can do just that.

I asked each of these experts the following question:

What is your #1 tip on using a book to grow your business?

This article shares their best advice gained from hitting the bestseller lists, building multi-million dollar businesses and establishing themselves as thought leaders.

Who are these experts? Here’s a full list: