How to make your book make you money...

Source: www.themarketingadvantage.net, November 2016

How to make your book make you money...


And some traps to avoid



Beginning a new project as we strive to achieve our goals for the year ahead is a natural time for business owners to be putting plans in place for the year ahead and for many of us, those plans include finally authoring that book. Until recently, a big challenge wannabe authors had was the production of the book. That is, refining the idea, structuring the information, finding the time to actually writing it, figuring out what design might be needed and how to publish.



However with companies providing services that package all of this up so you don't have to worry about any of it, like Write Business Results Ltd, producing a book has never been easier. Our clients who choose the Signature Book Package, for example, become published authors of high quality business books in 4-6 months typically, having spent 10-15 hours on the book itself, without writing a single word!



And before, all of those activities took up so much head-space, time and investment, that only a small few at the very top of their game had a book. Now, books are available to a slightly wider audience. Investment is still required, but time and input less so.



This means on the one hand, more people can have a book but on the other, for that process to work and produce the quality of book you're hoping for, you still have to have a great deal of experience, knowledge and passion for your topic. If those components aren't there, it may not be a valuable use of the reader's time picking it up.


Now that you can have a book without the time, stress and hassle though, why is it that new authors still come up against obstacles when going for return on investment?



Why do new authors struggle to make their book have the impact it was supposed to? The answer is book marketing. It's fine that a book is supposed to make an impact, but it's important to consciously design it to have that impact. In my experience unless prompted, little or no energy goes into planning and executing the marketing of the book as all the author's focus is on production, even if they've opted not to write it. And to be fair, most people don't know what book marketing is. Creating the book in the first place can be a big enough hurdle as it is.


While your book is in production, it is the perfect time to be getting clear on your required results from becoming an author, where exactly your book sits on your marketing timeline, not just over the next few months but over the next few years, and then putting plans in place that will support those end goals.


The point of starting your book marketing early is (primarily) so you can:


  • Incorporate supporting items into the book before it's published (i.e. illustrations that fit in with the brand you're building, a foreword from an industry expert, an about the author section, the appropriate call to action, the content itself)
  • Be one step ahead with enough time and objectivity to monitor your campaign and tweak where needed, rather than fire-fighting all the way through
  • Build some awareness of your book before it's out to increase visibility and demand

The production of your book and the marketing of your book essentially need to go hand in hand, but be recognised as two different activities. Both are necessary to end up with a book you're happy with.



The challenge with book marketing is it can seem like a vague field, and like lots of other types of marketing, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. When you start to research it, you can feel as though you're reading conflicting pieces of advice. Like other types of marketing though, a strategy that's right for your end goals is needed. Your book isn't the strategy itself, it's simply a marketing tool that needs to be given a place on your wider business development plan.



When working with clients a part of what we do is getting clear on their short-, mid- and longer term business development goals, agree which of those the book supports and deciding from there how we can leverage it to provide the right results. We use tools we've created to give shape to the clients' ideas and a unique process that breaks down the overall activity and provides clear landmarks throughout the whole campaign.



To find out how you can reverse engineer your book's success, see what a good book marketing strategy takes into account, and for ideas and tips to incorporate into your book marketing campaign including some of the tools mentioned above, my book on the subject is now available on Amazon...click here to read reviews and purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Book-Marketing-Success/dp/1539384667/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_img_top?ie=UTF8



If you'd like to speak in person about writing a book or marketing a book, we'd love to hear from you. Please email info@writebusinessresults.com and a member of the team will be in touch within 48 hours.

 

 

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