If you’re anything like my clients, you’ve probably been thinking about writing a book for a long time – maybe even years. It’s on your to-do list because you know it would help position you as a thought leader in your field, boost your credibility, help leave a legacy, share what you know, and/or potentially open doors to speaking engagements and other new business opportunities. You can see the possibilities, but as you start to dig in, to plan or write it, in the back of your mind, you wonder, will this be worth it?
Although the answer to that question depends a lot on how important it is to you personally to be able to call yourself an author, there is a way to calculate the value of thought leadership, which is what your book can help you attain. Surprisingly, the data indicates that being viewed as a thought leader is much more powerful than other marketing tactics.
What the Research Shows
Authors Cindy Anderson and Anthony Marshall, of IBM’s Institute for Business Value, researched the impact of thought leadership. They surveyed more than 4,000 C-suite executives worldwide and found that thought leadership delivers an average return on investment (ROI) of 156 percent. In comparison, the average traditional marketing campaign yields in the neighborhood of 9 percent.
According to their research, every $1 invested in thought leadership activities, including a book, generated $2.56 in return, versus $1.09 for traditional marketing. Thought leadership’s ROI was 16 times greater. They published their findings in The ROI of Thought Leadership (my affiliate link) in 2025.
You’re probably wondering why there is such a big difference in results between the two marketing-related activities. Anderson and Marshall discovered that a well-researched book by a credible author can change buying behavior. Where advertising’s initial goal is to increase awareness, thought leadership far exceeds it.
Anderson and Marshall’s research found that 87 percent of executives surveyed reported having made a purchase in the previous 90 days that had been directly influenced by the thought leadership content they had read. The executives also reported that high-quality thought leadership pushed them to research products and services they hadn’t previously considered buying.
The takeaway? A book can be a powerful, persuasive tool.
5 Reasons Thought Leadership Outperforms Traditional Marketing
There is such a large gap between the ROI of traditional marketing techniques and thought leadership content because of the advantages that a business book can provide. Namely:
- Thought leadership drives purchase decisions, not just awareness.
Traditional marketing is designed to raise visibility and, therefore, awareness of brands, companies, and products and services. It measures success through clicks, engagement, impressions, and quantifiable metrics based on whether an individual is familiar with a name. Thought leadership, on the other hand, aims to influence decisions, as Anderson and Marshall’s research demonstrated. Thought leadership increases the odds of you being chosen for an opportunity, rather than simply being considered.
- Thought leadership provides access that traditional marketing doesn’t
As Anderson and Marshall report, well-written thought leadership content drives executives to explore information or opportunities they weren’t aware of. In the survey, 75 percent of business leaders reported having researched products or services they hadn’t previously considered. Perhaps more importantly, 60 percent of those business leaders then realized that their companies were missing business opportunities as a result. Books don’t just educate and inform potential customers; they help forge new buying relationships.
- Thought leadership influences the entire buying cycle
Traditional marketing is primarily targeted at top-of-the-funnel activities, or those designed to build awareness. However, marketing campaigns become less effective as the prospect moves through the sales funnel, as the potential customer moves toward a purchase decision. A report from AdRoll found that B2B buyers today tend to do their own research, up to 12 searches on their own, and make their own decisions independently, rather than with the support of a salesperson. This new process makes traditional marketing tactics less effective. However, thought leadership builds credibility at all stages of the funnel, from awareness to consideration to the buying decision. Companies that produce quality thought leadership content can charge premium prices and have a higher conversion rate than traditional marketing. HubSpot reports that content marketing, including thought leadership pieces, produces three times more leads than traditional methods at 62 percent lower cost, and marketers who use blogging and content marketing are 13 times more likely to see a positive ROI.
- Thought leadership builds trust and authority
Content that buyers perceive as sales material is considered much less credible than content that is shared as expertise. A book that is written with a goal to educate and inform the reader, rather than to sell, is more highly regarded and respected. That respect carries over to the author and to their business, Anderson and Marshall’s research found.
- Thought leadership has a longer shelf life
Traditional marketing tactics, such as paid ads, only work when ads are running, whether we’re talking about billboards, pop-up ads online, or TV commercials. When the budget runs out, the leads slow down. Not so with a book, however. Even after a book goes out of print years later, it can still be in circulation, affecting anyone who comes across it. A book can lead to new business opportunities, such as speaking engagements, that put the author in front of potential clients on a continuing basis. And as the author’s reputation grows, the book’s value also rises.
Why a Book Is the Highest Form of Thought Leadership
Not all thought leadership is created equal. A LinkedIn post might reach your network for 48 hours. A podcast episode lives longer, but requires a listener to go looking for it or be a subscriber. A book is different. It sits on a shelf — physical or digital — and continues working on your behalf for years. It gets referenced in meetings, is swapped between colleagues, and cited in proposals. It is the only format that signals to a reader: this person has enough experience and insight into this subject to write 250 pages about it.
For CEOs, entrepreneurs, and subject matter experts, a book serves as a business asset in ways other marketing investments simply cannot match. It accelerates trust with prospective clients, positions you for media appearances and keynote invitations, and creates a durable record of your expertise that no algorithm update can erase.
The research bears this out. Anderson and Marshall found that the thought leadership executives consume directly or indirectly influenced $371 billion in purchase decisions annually. A single well-positioned book from the right author, reaching the right audience, can be the catalyst that shifts a multimillion-dollar client relationship.
How to Calculate Your ROI Before You Write a Word
The research conducted within IBM was designed for large organizations running expensive formal thought leadership programs, not individual authors. Anderson and Marshall created a multifaceted ROI calculator for major corporations with factors that don’t apply here, but the underlying framework translates directly to your situation — and you can run the numbers before deciding whether to move forward.
Here’s how to gauge ROI:
Step 1: Define your desired business outcome. What does success look like for your book? What do you want to have happen as a result? Be specific. More speaking invitations? Higher-value consulting clients? Enrollees in a premium coaching program? Pick one primary outcome and put a dollar figure on it. What does a keynote speech at a local event pay, for example? What would one consulting gig net you? What could you charge for a coaching session?
Step 2: Identify your current conversion rate. How many leads do you currently generate per year, and what percentage convert to clients? What is your average client value? You need these numbers to measure the potential value a book creates.
Step 3: Estimate the book’s reach. An average business book, with an official launch to a well-defined target audience, and active marketing and promotion by the authors, can reach hundreds or thousands of people in a year, and more if the author has a larger network.
Step 4: Apply a conservative influence rate. Although Anderson and Marshall’s research tells us that 87 percent of executive purchase decisions are influenced by thought leadership, don’t use that rate for your book; it’s too optimistic. Use a more reasonable figure, like 10 percent. If 10 percent of your, say, 2,000 book buyers in the first year take some kind of action as a result of reading your work, you’d see 200 people requesting a consultation, applying for your program, or inquiring about having you speak; you’d likely be thrilled.
Step 5: Calculate your return. If 200 people take action, and even 5 percent of those convert to clients at your average project value, meaning 10, how does that compare to your investment? Run the math. What’s your average sale? If your typical consulting engagement is worth $25,000 and you land 10, would writing your book be worth it? For most authors charging professional fees, a book can frequently pay for itself within the first 12 to 18 months.
Step 6: Account for the compounding effect. Unlike an ad campaign that ends when the budget runs out, a book keeps generating returns. The speaking invitations it creates lead to more visibility, and potentially more invitations. Success breeds more success. The media coverage it generates lives online indefinitely. The ROI of a book isn’t a one-year calculation — it’s a five-year asset. Which means that it may not pay off in the first year, but it might in the first five years.
These numbers reflect the upside potential of your book, and now you need to compare them to the cost of producing it.
So, Is It Worth It?
Only you can determine that, based on the size of your investment, the size of your network, and the value of any potential new business opportunities that could result. For most established experts, the answer is yes, but only if you approach it strategically. A book requires a real investment of your time, your expertise, and your writing skills, or the resources to work with a skilled writing partner.
Keep in mind that none of these numbers we’ve run are real. We’re running what-if scenarios that may not reflect your market, your topic, or your network, so be realistic when you’re trying to estimate whether you can obtain a positive ROI. Be conservative when you run the numbers, so as to avoid being disappointed on the back end.
Before you start writing, run your numbers. Define what success looks like to you and what it’s worth to your business. If the positive potential ROI is there, write your book.