Books: we love to read them!
But why write them?
Books serve different purposes, so it should not come as a surprise that different books serve different purposes for their authors.
For the creative writer, writing a book is an artistic outlet. Politicians write books as campaign and fundraising tools. Scientists write books to educate the population. And so on.
Let’s talk about the benefits of writing a book for a businessperson
Perhaps the most obvious reason for a businessperson to write a book is to increase visibility.
If you’re in business, you probably don’t need to be told what visibility means. But let’s indulge a brief explanation.
The goal of a business person is to make money selling products and services. Most products and services, however, do not sell themselves.
To get products to market, a businessperson needs to find customers who have a need that is met by the products and services they sell. To further complicate things, there are probably already other businesses in the market selling something similar.
It does not matter that the thing you sell is superior to whatever else is on the market if nobody knows about it.
That’s where visibility comes into play
To be successful in business, people need to know about your products.
Often this entails advertising. Buying ads is an effective way to do marketing, and can help you build a customer base. But not all business people sell discrete products that lend themselves well to advertising. Some business people offer a variety of services; the product, in effect, is them.
So, what does one in that situation do? Buy ads that promote themself as a service provider?
It certainly can be done – we’ve all seen the smiling faces of local realtors on park benches – but it is not always appropriate.
Ads that promote an individual, rather than a product or brand, can come across as egotistical, off-putting, or just weird.
So, what else can you do?
Write a book, of course!
Having a book to one’s name is a great way to get people to learn about you. Once they know who you are, pitching your products and services becomes a whole lot easier.
A book that is successful at raising the visibility of its author is one that provides genuine value to the reader. A long, word-count-padded advertisement for the author’s products and services won’t be read, and won’t help with sales.
To be effective, the book has to actually be good. The reader should feel impressed after finishing it and think to themself, “That person sure knows what they’re talking about!”
But why a book? Isn’t it all about digital media these days?
Put simply, no.
Digital media is great. But books are still an effective way to communicate ideas.
Video and audio (podcasts) have gained an enormous amount of popularity in recent years, but not everyone likes to sit and listen to them.
People don’t just read to download lots of facts and figures into their brain, they read for the pleasure of reading.
It is satisfying to get lost in the pages of a book, to experience the tactile sensation of holding it in one’s hands.
Has the grow-your-visibility argument convinced you to start writing your book soon?
If so, let me know how I can help. You can contact me here. Let’s talk soon!