Many business leaders conceptualize and write books in the hopes of positioning themselves as thought leaders, or even experts or market pioneers. A book has the power to do all of those things as well as help generate new business opportunities.
What we don’t talk about often enough, however, is the marketing and promotion work that needs to occur before, during, and after a book’s publication. Ultimately, it’s the bylined articles, publicity, podcasts, advertisements, public speaking, email marketing, social media reels and posts, and other activities that spark new business opportunities.
Too many authors believe that writing and publishing a book guarantees success.
That is almost never the case.
Marketing and promotion make readers aware of the existence of the book and encourage book buyers to share what they’ve learned with others. The more people talk about your book, the more visible it and you become, and the closer you get to thought leader status.
Marketing is what drives the KPIs and metrics we’re going to talk about. Yes, your book is what’s referenced, but its success will depend largely on your marketing plan.
Authors frequently judge the success of a book by how many copies it has sold or whether it makes a bestseller list. However, there are so many other metrics that provide a better gauge of whether their book helped raise their thought leader status.
Not to mention the fact that sales and bestseller rank have more to do with follower count or bank account than book quality or impact.
Fortunately, there are a number of other key performance indicators (KPIs) that help measure a book’s effect on thought leader standing that are worth paying attention to.
Industry Citations
Many industry visionaries become thought leaders by having their written work cited by others. That third-party recognition and sometimes implied endorsement (assuming they agree with the author’s take on the topic) can elevate their status quickly. These citations can include:
- Industry report mentions. Having your book cited or passages quoted with attribution helps spread word-of-mouth awareness of you and your expertise. In academic settings, an h-index is a similar metric, based on the number of times research papers are cited.
- Syllabi inclusion. When your book is included on a professor’s syllabus as required reading, or even supplemental reading, it earns validation. You can then claim that professors at XYZ University use it as a teaching tool. You’ll want to send out galleys long before the book is printed to target professors and instructors so that it can be considered for future classes.
- New language adoption. If you’ve coined terms or phrases that are picked up and broadly used, thanks to inclusion in your book, you’re on your way to thought leadership.
Professional Influence Indicators
Invitations to speak at industry events, conferences, conventions, trade shows, and in front of prestigious audiences are other metrics that count. Since many authors write books in the hope of qualifying for paid speaking engagements, the quality and quantity of such invitations can be a clue to a book’s success.
- Speaking engagement quality. Keep track of invitations to present or speak at events considered highly respected or where large numbers of attendees or participants will be present. Event size or attendee count is one metric to be tracked.
- Decision-maker reach. Another metric to watch is whether speaking invitations put you in front of industry leaders or C-suite executives. The higher the rank or position of attendees, the greater the impact of your content.
- Consulting inquiries. Although not exactly the same as speaking commitments, the number and caliber of organizations inquiring about consulting engagements are another gauge of influence.
- Expert witness testimony. Opportunities to serve as a paid expert witness are another metric of the impact of a book and the perceived expertise of the author. Books can be used as proof of expertise and qualify you for these types of requests.
Business Impact Metrics
The Author ROI study confirmed that most business book authors experience a positive return on investment from publishing a book, but that much of the resulting revenue comes from business opportunities separate from sales of copies.
- Lead generation. Your book can be used as an effective tool to catch the attention of target customers and persuade them to consider hiring you or your company. Some authors use a self-liquidating offer to share copies of their book, while others are more strategic and send out copies to a list of organizations or people they would most like to do business with.
- Client conversion. After number of leads generated, number of leads converted to prospects and customers are two more KPIs to track. Depending on how many different products or services you offer, you could track prospects for each product or service line, or by target market or geographic area.
- Success stories. Documentation of the successful application or execution of principles shared in your book is another potential metric that can also be converted to new marketing materials.
Social Media Connections
Your social media follower count should begin to rise with increased sharing of your book and its ideas. These are indirect metrics, but can still be used as a measure of your expanding reputation.
- Follower count. Track the number of followers you have across all social media platforms where you engage. Monitoring website traffic is another potential KPI, which can increase once a book is released.
- Influencer deals. With growing numbers of followers can come invitations from companies and brands that want to tap into your authority and credibility. You’ll need to decide if these offers will enhance or diminish your thought leadership, but invitations can be a KPI you pay attention to.
- Community engagement. In addition to a tally of how many people are paying attention to what you have to say online, you can also monitor how many reactions and comments you receive when you share an idea or post. Do your posts spark discussion and engagement? You can track that as another metric.
Long-tail Indicators
While inquiries and website traffic counts are typically impacted fairly quickly following a book’s release, other opportunities may emerge infrequently. Although less common, the impact can help continue to fuel your elevation to thought leader.
- Teaching invitations. On top of consulting and speaking engagements, thought leaders may also be invited to join university faculties, either as an instructor or adjunct professor. An educational affiliation can then help fan the flames of credibility.
- Exclusive thought leadership community invitations. With book success or recognition can come invitations to join industry think tanks or advisory boards.
While a book’s publication comes with no guarantees of success or even attention, business book authors who invest time in talking about their topic in advance of their book’s release help build momentum that can grow once the book is out.
Ideally, aligning yourself with your book’s topic long before it is released helps start to build interest in and demand for more information on your topic. There is frequently activity surrounding your book’s launch date, as media outlets use that as a reason to feature you on podcasts or mention you in the news. But don’t let the publication date be when you back down from your marketing. The most successful books are being constantly promoted, and the KPIs routinely monitored to see which promotional paths are the most effective.
Continue to track lagging indicators as long as the book is in print because they can end up having a much bigger impact on your KPIs and thought leader status.