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by Vickie Gould
Some coaches say that if you’re an entrepreneur, you must have a book. I am definitely in that camp. It’s become easier and easier to self-publish and shorten the timeline to get your book out to market so there’s really no good excuse for not writing your book. Having a book boosts your credibility and expert status which helps you be seen as an influencer. The added triple combination of entrepreneur, speaker and author is often a coveted recipe for authority and influence.
But do you know how to write a book that will leave a legacy — one that you’re proud of and will also help your business get to the next level? Don’t feel bad if you don’t. It’s not necessarily intuitive and high school English class didn’t teach us how to write a book.
Here are four top tips I share with entrepreneurs who ask me how to write a book for their business.
Don’t Braindump – Do Niche It Down
This is not your one and only last chance to put your thoughts on paper, I promise. If you put your every last thought onto paper, it has the possibility of turning into a rambling mess. That is not how to write a book. Plus you’ll never get done. You’ll always be waiting more life to happen so you can include that too. Besides, everything in your brain couldn’t possibly connect to your business and no one wants to read a book that keeps going off on random rabbit trails.
Niche down your topic so that the reader knows what to expect as the outcome for the book. Be specific. You must aim for a particular outcome that your reader will walk away with. If you truly do have multiple things to say within your niche, you may have a series of books inside you.
Don’t Miss Seeding Your Book – Do Upsell Your Reader
Many amateur first time authors don’t know that a critical piece in writing a profitable business book is seeding. Seeding is the marketing piece inside your book that helps the reader raise their hand and ask you for more help.
Much like you write towards an outcome for the reader, you also need to write towards the reader taking a specific action by the time they’re done reading. For my clients, they generally want the reader to signup for a paid product.
Seeding done right is the logical next step for your reader who needs more in depth help. Done wrong, seeding will feel awkward or sleazy to your reader. Remember that selling is service. You create impact by letting people know what you have to offer. If you don’t tell them about your programs or products, they’ll be left hanging or looking for someone else to help them. If you’ve warmed them up, help them further by offering them the next step!
Don’t Just Write a Memoir – Make Your Stories Insightful
Your stories are the most critical part of how to write a book. The stories you pick make your book unique and meaningful. They create connection. When you can share your story in a way that your reader can relate and see themselves in you, you’ve created a tight bond. This means that you have to share your vulnerable moments, your struggles, your thoughts and feelings. You don’t have time to worry about being judged here. Just focus on the people that you’ll be able to help instead.
When you are able to layer your stories with your content or your 5 step process, you create a page-turner. Please know that sharing stories is not sharing a timeline. Timelines are a series of facts that end up being boring.
Don’t Use Your Book as an Expensive Business Card – Do Be Strategic in Your Book Leveraging Plan
I’ve heard some non-book coaches tell their clients to write any book – that it doesn’t matter what it’s about. Just write a book. I wish they would stop saying this!
Why in the world would you spend your precious time on an expensive business card? Maybe this advice is contributing to people procrastinating so often on writing their book. Maybe it’s why so many people tell me that their book is unrelated to their business.
I surely wouldn’t want to waste time on a book that is “just” a business card. I want to write a book that has meaning and impact – one that I’m excited to say I wrote.
If you want to know how to write a book that will have meaning and impact, you have to learn leverage it and create a plan. Your book is a marketing tool. It’s a visibility tool. It can help you grow your reach, thereby growing your clientele, but you must have a vision for how you’re going to use it. Will you create an automated book funnel? Will you do a book signing tour? Will you promote it to conference coordinators to get speaking gigs? Will you pitch your story to media?
If you’ve wanted to learn how to write a book but you’ve been paralyzed with thoughts like, “What if my story sucks? Maybe I need to be more famous first. What if it doesn’t sound good or make sense? What if people don’t like it? What if they judge me?” And those thoughts make you push off the impact and legacy that you want through writing your book, let me tell you that everything related to getting your book out – and even to best seller is a skill that you can learn.
The only thing that you need to understand is how much you’re missing out on without your book. Moreover, there are people out in the world who are missing out on getting the help they need because your book isn’t done. Even if you only touch one life with your book, which I would say is virtually impossible, it matters to that one and I’d bet it matters to you too.
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