Jane Wesman, president of Jane Wesman Public Relations, Inc. – March 3, 2023
As the founder of a public relations agency that’s been promoting books for more than two decades, I’ve marketed dozens of titles that have become perennial business bestsellers — and fundamentally changed the way we work. Whether written by Peter Drucker, Stephen Covey, Marcus Buckingham, or Ken Blanchard, these books have sold millions of copies, altered the professional landscape, and cemented the authors’ legacies.
Of course, not everyone can create a bestseller, yet there are many other career and business benefits that result from publishing a book based on your work. For most professionals, the number one reason to write a book is to articulate your ideas and claim your intellectual real estate. Being a published author sets you apart from the competition.
Stand Out and Be Seen
Every day your customers are being bombarded with thousands of marketing messages, whether it’s via email, social media, podcasts, newspaper ads, television commercials, billboards, etc. If you write a business book that’s engaging and helps people solve their problems, you become a trusted expert in their minds. You are unique – distinctive. This not only leads to new marketing opportunities, it also helps fill your sales pipeline and makes new business conversations easier and more productive.
Market Your Book Effectively
Whether your book provides an innovative business methodology, helps people improve performance or implement long-lasting transformation, you need to engage a marketing partner as early in the publishing process as possible.
A skilled marketer can help you position your book to reach your target audience. In fact, they will help you define that target audience and then work with you to create a book title, subtitle, and jacket design that will resonate with potential readers. Based on experience, I know that title and jacket design are the bedrock of any successful book marketing campaign. When you get them right, the rest of the campaign is 100 times easier.
In addition to growing your social media following and other activities, a key part of your marketing campaign revolves around obtaining media coverage. Your marketing team should include a savvy book publicist who knows the media, what interests them, and how to grab their attention – whether it’s the Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review, or podcasts geared towards your book’s readership.
Positioning –The Key to Success
My team recently worked with the author of an emotional intelligence book, obtaining dozens of media placements, including print and online articles and interviews, plus television, radio, and podcast coverage. An essential part of our job was helping our client create message points that resonated, not only with the media, but with the author’s potential clients. We helped her articulate the problems that she solves, show how she solves them, and why she’s the expert that people can trust. In other words, effective positioning identifies the readers’ problems, provides solutions, and shows why the author is a trustworthy expert.
A well-positioned book is an excellent marketing and sales tool. It’s a crystallized version of who you are, what you do, and what you stand for. With the positioning in place, you can develop newsletters, webinars, and concepts for speeches and other presentations.
Find the Right Partner
The right partner will not only focus on your book, but will help you integrate it into the overall marketing for your business. When you publish a book that articulates your unique ideas — and claims your intellectual real estate —you create a clear distinction between yourself, your business, and your competitors.
Publishing a book can help you cut through the noise of today’s cluttered marketing landscape. It becomes a beacon that attracts clients, starts the sales conversation; and helps close deals. A book that solves people’s problems, is the ultimate form of thought leadership.
