Treat Your Book Like a Marketing Tool

If you were to take a step back and view your book through the lens of it being a marketing tool to grow your “beyond the book” business, how would that change the way you develop the book?  

A book is the ultimate business card.  Even with the millions of books available today, authoring a book carries a cache of being an expert.  Many nonfiction books are written to showcase that cache in hopes of future high-paying speaking engagements and reach new clients, thus increasing their business. 

At some point in the book development process, the author needs to take off their writing hat and put on their marketing hat and ask themselves, “What can I put in this book so people will want to engage with me beyond the book?” 

Here are a few ideas: 

• Marketing Ads - at the back of the book, there are usually 3-5 blank pages where you can insert marketing pages that direct the reader to a website where they can schedule a keynote or training o or download an app with in-app purchases.  The marketing page’s goal is for the reader to move beyond the book and engage with the author and the material in another way.  

• A Free Gift - When someone buys your book, it’s more than just money they’ve invested, the reader is also investing time.  For this reason, provide them with some type of “thank you” gift.  The least expensive gift is a downloadable resource that adds value beyond the book.  If you have the budget, you could also send a physical gift.  It costs more, but it will have a more significant impact.  

• Additional Resources and Training - in each chapter, if additional resources and training, tools, or techniques are mentioned, here’s where the reader can go to access the additional information.  For example, if you mention software tools, provide a link that leads to your website where the resource or training on how to use it can be found.  

• Behavior Change - generally, when someone reads a book, they want to change some aspect of their behavior to achieve more remarkable results.  Adding activities within the book and referencing more activities on a website helps solidify the book’s message and continues engagement beyond the book.

Remember, the goal is to come up with ways for your readers to engage with you beyond the book.  Don’t let the story end with the final page.  Continue building your relationship with your readers, so they become lifelong fans.