Anyone can pretend to be anything online, so how do you show that you’re the real deal, rather than some other hack who happens to have a website? When everyone else is claiming to have the same skills, qualifications and experience, you need something more to stand out.
A book will do just that.
If you’ve been asking yourself whether you should write a book, here are four reasons we believe every business leader should get published.
A book established you as an instant expert
A book earns you instant expert status and establishes you as a legitimate authority in your industry. After all, while anyone can bluff their way through a blog post, the media, potential clients and potential partners all recognise that you need knowledge and real-world experience to write a book, and will consider you an authority once you’re published.
A professional book can help you generate more business
Not only will a book help you establish yourself as an expert in your field, a book can also help you generate more business. If you’re one of the many businesses with something to offer through a free eBook, a video series, an introductory course or even a free coaching session, you’ll know you’re not alone.
Your ideal clients are becoming more and more wary about submitting their email addresses for ‘free’ information, because they know that ‘free’ is code for ‘this person wants to sell me something’.
The issue here isn’t that these people are not a match for the free offer. In fact, the free offer could be exactly what they need to solve their problem!
The problem is that they haven’t been presold. By contrast, once someone starts reading your book, they recognise your credibility. Then, when you give them the opportunity to develop an ongoing relationship with a free offer, they’re more likely to take it.
Thinking about raising your rates? A book can help!
Now that you have more clients recognising your awesomeness (yes – it is a word), you have the ability to raise your rates. Being a business owner can mean working into the night, staying in on weekends and saying goodbye to a social life. If you’re charging by the hour, the only way to maintain a healthy work-life balance is to cut back your working hours and, as a result, cut back your revenue.
The solution is to start charging more for the hours you do work, so you don’t have to work so many. Publishing a book will allow you to do just that. People pay more to work with known experts, and writing a book establishes you as one.
Leverage your book to become a media darling
Most entrepreneurs dream about being on national television, having their work featured in industry publications and being profiled in BRW. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs never get there. Why? Because, outside their existing client base, no one knows who they are.
But once you add ‘Author’ to your title, everything changes. Suddenly you stand out from the crowd. Suddenly you have something to say. Suddenly you are a recognised expert. Suddenly, the media wants you. In fact, since they published their books, several of our author-entrepreneurs have been featured in online publications, magazines, newspapers and even mainstream television.