3 Questions You Must Answer Before Writing Your Business Book
It isn’t as complicated as you might think to set yourself up for success from the beginning.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The term “authorpreneur” has become more common recently. Many entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, attorneys, psychologists and other experts are grabbing on to this trend. Writing and publishing a book (whether through a traditional publishing contract or by self-publishing) is a great way to stand out as an expert in your field. But without a good plan in advance, you risk all of your hard work becoming nothing more than a really nice business card. (You also risk not finishing your book at all.) 1. Do I have a clear idea of who is my ideal client?
Most service-based entrepreneurs and experts can’t get away with being generalists nowadays. Before spending time (and possibly money if you need a qualified book or writing coach, not to mention things like book covers, editing or proofreading if you’re self-publishing) writing a book, carefully consider who is your ideal client. Because this person is usually also what I call your ideal reader.
Why is your ideal client so important? Because you want to make sure everything in your book speaks to this person. You want to speak to their pain points. And, without being sleazy or sales-y, explain how you can resolve their pain. (Just a pro tip: you’re going to have more liberty to do this when you self-publish .)
For example, I help entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, attorneys, psychologists and other experts increase their visibility, credibility and market reach through the power of writing and publishing a book. In my writings, I address things like folks staring at a blank page, not understanding the nuances of publishing and feeling like they can’t write their expert books because they didn’t go to school for writing. I share stories, testimonials and concrete steps to help people get those books out of their heads and into reality.
What pain points do your clients mention? Listen carefully. You can even use a social audio app such as Clubhouse and listen to what people are discussing in different rooms. 2. What is your goal for your business book?
While there’s nothing wrong with writing and publishing a book for the sheer pleasure of it (crossing that line off your bucket list if you will), most entrepreneurs and other experts have bigger goals.
You may end up making six figures in just book sales, but this is often the exception rather than the norm.
What’s worked well for my clients is to use the book as a platform for getting more speaking gigs (where they can pitch their products or services), use the book as another way to gather leads or use the book to get more media interviews — the list goes on and on.
For example, for every 1,000 books you sell, you will probably get 100 people reaching out to you (if what you had to say spoke to them).
Depending on your sales process, 50 of them will likely […]
