Table of contents:
- The Credibility Amplifier
- Your Stage Awaits
- Inner Circle Access
- The Partnership Magnet Effect
- Compounding Growth
- Permanent Credibility
We’ve all heard, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”
While it is certainly true that your network — “who you know” — is a valuable personal asset, there is also value in a tangible form of your expertise — the “what you know.”
That’s what your book is, quite literally. It contains evidence of your intellect, insights, and experience.
But what you may not realize is that your book is also the key to unlocking business relationships that would be all but impossible to access without it.
The Credibility Amplifier
When you invest time and money in conceiving of a book topic, organizing, writing, and publishing it, you’re setting yourself apart from others in your field.
That act of packing your experiences and expertise in book form immediately confers on you the title “author.” And once you’re an author, you’re viewed as a step above or ahead of others in your industry. You earn instant credibility that opens doors and starts conversations for which others have not yet qualified.
Your book is proof of your authority.
Your Stage Awaits
One reason that business leaders and experts write books is to qualify for speaking opportunities. Published authors are frequently invited to speak.
Event planners, conference organizers, trade show managers, and corporate meeting planners are constantly on the hunt for credible experts who can provide useful information or advice to their audiences. Your book is evidence that you have ideas and a perspective to share.
And that you’re likely articulate if you were able to write an entire book.
Of course, with speaking as with most opportunities, success breeds success. When you do a great job at one conference, the conference planner will recommend you to their colleagues. Corporate meeting planners mention you to their peers looking for suggested speakers. Word can travel fast.
Each appearance can dramatically expand your network and reinforce your authority positioning.
It can also increase your bank account. With each talk, speech, or presentation that receives positive reviews, your fee rises. Keynote speakers may start by charging $500 and quickly increase it to $5,000 or even $20,000 per gig if word spreads.
While the cash is great, the new relationships formed can be even more valuable. Your network will continue to expand, and along with it, your reputation and credibility.
Inner Circle Access
As you’re making a name for yourself on the speaking circuit, it’s likely you’re being invited into some rooms you didn’t even know existed. There are mastermind groups, industry think tanks, and invitation-only meet-ups and gatherings where serious business gets done among those given access.
Your book is your ticket to get in.
Advisory boards, boards of directors, professional associations, and industry groups often seek out well-known authors to assume leadership roles, join boards, or participate as panelists. These leadership roles get you in front of industry leaders and decision-makers who want to be aligned with experts and thought leaders like you.
The networking that happens at these levels, with these types of people, is very different, very strategic.
The Partnership Magnet Effect
Just as success yields more success, successful people want to align themselves and be associated with other successful people. Being a published author puts you almost in a category by yourself because it signals a level of success that few other people in your field can match.
With a book credit to your name, you may find that other leaders in your field now view you more as a colleague and potential partner or ally. As such, they may be more willing to share their thoughts and ideas with you.
Now, as colleagues, there may be opportunities for joint ventures, partnerships, collaborations, or strategic alliances that you probably couldn’t have even imagined a few years ago. Because now you’re seen more as a peer, an equal, than someone who needs their help.
Compounding Growth
One of the most valuable aspects of your book is the effect it has on your ability to grow your network. There is a compounding that happens, much like in investing.
Each new connection you make as an author has the potential to exponentially increase your network, and with individuals who have their own high-value network you can tap into. Your status as an author more easily opens doors to new connections.
Then, the exponential growth of your network creates exciting new business and professional opportunities you might never have imagined. Business deals, partnerships, collaborations, referrals, speaking invitations, board positions, podcast and blogging offers — the list of possibilities is almost endless.
And it all starts with your network and the launch of your book.
Permanent Credibility
The biggest advantage your business book can provide you is ongoing credibility and authority in your field. Your published book benefits you 24/7, sparking introductions behind the scenes, enhancing your reputation and credibility as people hear about your recent release, and opening doors you didn’t know were there.
Your book is a silent marketing tool that is always working for you.
The impact on your network is also permanent. Even years after its release, your book will continue to serve as a networking catalyst, forging new relationships and uncovering new opportunities that compound over time.
Yes, a book is a product. It’s proof of your expertise and market knowledge, but it’s also a key to a network of relationships that can transform your business and your career.