Before you embark on the journey of authorship, you need to know if the return is worth the investment. Will it ultimately help you become a differentiated Authority in your field?
As a business leader, the driving force behind authorship is the increased visibility of your leadership and your brand. Authorship not only provides an avenue for generating prospects, it’s a powerful trust-building tool. Learn how a book fits into the larger picture of Authority-building, and how to best leverage it for greater results.
Why Maximize Authority by Writing a Book
You’re a professional business leader with decades of experience to boot. You want to translate that knowledge into something tangible, and a book offers so much beyond just a place to record your knowledge.
Truly differentiated leaders amplify their knowledge across as many mediums and platforms as they can. They’re in the news media, they’re contributors, bloggers, and yes—authors.
Authorship offers:
- Prestige: Authorship offers you entry into an exclusive group of business experts.
- Marketing Content: You can leverage your book’s content for blogs and social posts to create a fluid content strategy.
- Speaking Opportunities: Authorship adds credibility to your name, making you a viable candidate for speaking engagements. Speaking engagements boost your visibility among your prospect base and bolster your resume. This helps you work toward paid speaking engagements and keynote opportunities.
- PR Opportunities: How often do you hear “author of” during an interview introduction? Authors are seen as trusted sources within the news media sector.
If you’re interested in more reasons to write a book, consider reading Should I Write a Book? The Benefits of Authorship.
How To Boost Your Authority with a Book
Explore these top six methods to enhance your authority and reap results through authorship.
1. Start a PR Campaign
One of the biggest advantages to writing a book is the credibility it gives you in the news media’s eye. Public relations teams use this credibility to help you solidify your image with your audience as a trusted thought leader.
Your PR Manager will help you secure coverage in print and digital media, including news outlets, TV, radio, and podcasts.
As a published author, journalists may use you as a source more readily than before. You may discover that you have greater access and are securing more coverage with better quality outlets.
All these components help establish your Authority, opening opportunities for greater pricing power as you become the go-to expert everyone wants to work with.
2. Have an Active Thought Leadership Strategy
Your Authority journey cannot stop after you write a book. Your book is one integral part of your thought leadership strategy, but it doesn’t compensate for a lack of ongoing content. To sustain a reputation as a Tier-1 leader, you need to create frequent, relevant content—both reactive and planned.
Your book is a trove of resources for your content strategy. You can use topics in each chapter to create a stronger content strategy. For example, you could rewrite a section of your book and post it on your LinkedIn or newsletter. You can also directly quote your book for short, snappy bites on your social media accounts.
Consider these questions:
- Do I have a content calendar?
- Do I post fresh content 3x a week across my varied channels?
- Do I create reactive, timely content?
- Am I addressing industry trends and news?
The more strategic, timely, and well-executed your content is, the greater your chances are at turning casual visitors into fans. This fanbase strengthens your reputation, opens opportunities for word-of-mouth recommendations, and can ultimately help you grow your Authority.
3. Leverage Authority by Association
Contribute on other thought leader’s blogs or become a guest speaker on their podcast. Connecting with other leaders in your industry can help you tap into their flourishing network and build your Authority by association. Then promote the content on your own social media.
If possible, take photos of your collaboration and use them across your marketing collateral. Images speak for themselves and allow your prospects to quickly connect you with other industry giants. The result is improved trust and greater chances for conversion.
The same principle applies to any opportunities you secure with well-known influencers, business leaders, or conferences. Take all the quality opportunities you have so you can subtly pitch your brand and your book to a ready audience.
4. Hold a Book Launch Celebration
Get the most out of your book launch by hosting a book launch celebration. By hosting an event, you have the perfect opportunity to network with a tailored list of A-list leaders in your industry and your key stakeholders.
Instead of a simple social reception, consider turning the event into an experience that adds value to your invitees. You could, for example, enlist a few of your connections to speak on industry-relevant topics. This tactic demonstrates your own position as a thought leader while providing education opportunities for your audience.
The digital assets and photography from the event should be repurposed on your social media and website.
5. Display Endorsements
During your publishing journey, you will want to gather effective endorsements from leaders with high levels of brand recognition. These endorsements, while used in your book, should also be amplified on your website.
This offers another method to achieve Authority by association, helping you maximize the value of your book.
6. Use Your Book for Marketing
Create a clear value add by offering a download of your book for free. You can provide this to any interested website visitor if you want the broad approach. Alternatively, you can offer it to prospects who are in an email nurture campaign to further acquaint them with you and your business.
The benefit of offering the book is two-fold. First, it allows your prospects to understand both you and your business, so you can have more educated conversations with your prospects closer to the point of purchase.
Second, it gives prospects the opportunity to opt into your newsletter as they fill out the download form. This allows you to keep in touch with them even after they finish reading the book.
Where To Start
Convinced a book is right for you, but not sure where to start? We recommend learning about the different models of publishing and the publishing process and exploring our other publishing related blogs in the learning center.
You can also work with a publishing professional at Advantage. We will walk you through what to expect, and how to amplify your results with media services tailored to you. Feel free to connect with our team and they will be happy to answer any questions you may have.