5 Reasons You Should Write a Book





If you’re looking to establish yourself as an expert in your field, there are few strategies that work better than writing a book. They’re a big deal to most people, and we all read them to find out about topics we’re interested in.

But don’t expect that you’ll make it to the top of the New York Times Bestseller list simply because you’ve written a book. Most authors, especially in the fiercely competitive business book field, won’t make a living writing books. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider writing one.

write a book

As a matter of fact, here are 5 reasons why you should write one:

1. People Take You More Seriously

There’s something about having a book or two on your resume that makes people sit up and pay attention. Which is surprising to me, because it’s actually pretty easy to write one (granted, I write for a living, so it might be a tad easier for me).

If you’re a small business owner, having written that book might be the one thing that sways a potential customer to buy from you.

2. You Get to Share Your Knowledge

As a business owner, you know a ton about your industry. You’re likely sharing your expertise on Twitter, Facebook and your blog, so writing a book should be a natural extension of that. Getting it all out of your head and onto paper can help you help others.

3. You’ll Get More Customers

Again, writing books makes people trust you and your brand. If you’re looking for a way to get introduced to more potential customers, a book is a great way to do it. Just make sure you’ve got a solid marketing plan in place so that people know about it.

4. You’ll Get More Speaking Opportunities

Conferences and trade shows love inviting authors to speak or participate in panels. Your book is your ticket to speaking gigs. You can pitch conference organizers on a topic that relates to your book, or participate in a discussion on a subject you know well.

5. It’s the Ultimate in Content Marketing

You know that blogging and social media are part of a content marketing strategy, but everyone can do that. Not everyone makes the effort to write a book. By being one of the select few, you can go further than you can with the lower levels of content marketing and also use social media to promote your book and your expertise.

The bonus? You’ll have plenty of fodder for your blog and social channels.

You don’t even have to write the book yourself if you’re not a prolific writer. That’s where ghost writers come in. You get the credit and you get a book that is well-written.

Write A Book Photo via Shutterstock

19 Comments ▼

Susan Payton Susan Payton is the Communications Manager for the Small Business Trends Awards programs. She is the President of Egg Marketing & Communications, an Internet marketing firm specializing in content marketing, social media management and press releases. She is also the Founder of How to Create a Press Release, a free resource for business owners who want to generate their own PR.

19 Reactions
  1. How do you feel about books that are aggregations of blog posts?

    • Great question, Robert. I’ve recently complied an ebook to give away on my blog that a mixture of my older blog posts and fresh content. It’s been very convenient for me and my subscribers seem to really enjoy it.

      Ti

    • Robert–
      They’re ok. If they genuinely pull together great advice from experts, why not?

      Susan

  2. Hi Susan,

    I just got my book published this week.
    Here are some hard earned lessons.

    Get an editor involved on day 1. There are lots available on guru.com and elance.com who are reasonably priced.

    If you’re self publishing use somebody local if you can. The big operations are like puppy mills. This one hurt. I spent more time talking to people who were trying to upsell me that I did talking to people who were trying to help me.

    ROCK SOLID – How to Strengthen Your Company turned out to be pretty good, but it took longer than it should have because, out of frustration I put it down for long periods of time. It’s available on Amazon.com

    John

  3. Nice job on this post, Susan.

    Writing a book can be a great thing.

    If you’re an expert in your field, having a published hardcover book adds credibility-and you’ll find that more people will be willing to talk to you.

    The Franchise King®

  4. Short, straight to the point and inspiring. I think I should call this article 3 in one. Susan, I agree with the 1st and 3rd point. When you publish a book, people begin to look at you with respect. A book in the hands of your readers is like having a one on one experience with them unlike when they read your articles on your blog. You can check out this article on how to set SMART goals. http://goo.gl/hlgcM

  5. Really great job on this post Susan!

    Have a nice day

  6. Hi Susan, I would love to interview you on my blog. you are a role model to most of my readers. you can shoot me mail at sadiqdaniel@gmail.com

  7. Susan, these 5 reasons are all so right on. When I wrote my book in 2010, and published it in 2011, I just wanted to tell my story and encourage others to embrace Career Transition as an adventure and not the end of their life! Little did I know in 2010 that it was to become an ongoing new career trend and way of life! “Career Transition-make the shift”. I have heard from people world wide who have and are transitioning, who thanked me! Amazing benefit! I agree about taking great content and making it into an e-book or book!Great job.

  8. Thanks for the article. I want to own the content and with a book you do although obviously someone could xerox your book or scan it without your permission. It would be labor intensive on their part but hard to track them down on mine.

    The question comes with ovnership of content – what value is a page on Facebook,a blog, a website, a youtube account, a Twitter account when anyone could copy your content quickly and these groups would let them legally do it?

    I understand it would help marketing. I have a twitter, FB page, website and Youtube account to market snd share material. I am not wondering for ownership reasons if I should have done a book and not the others? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

  9. Sorry for the typos. I have a Twitter, FB page, website, Youtube account to market and share. I am now wondering for ownership reasons if I should have done a book and not the others? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

    • Karen–
      Copyright gets a little hard to enforce on social media, as in books, if you never know someone takes it. My theory is it’s fine if they share your thoughts…after all, they’re shareworthy in this day and age!

      Susan

  10. I really like this post. I find that it’s informative and encouraging to those who are straddling the fence. This post may just be the push a would be author needs to finally finish and publish a book.





Win $100 for Vendor Selection Insights



Tell us!
No, Thank You