How a book can expand your client base and establish you as an expert

How do you stay competitive and differentiate your company or brand at a time when cutting through the noise is harder than ever? To get consumers to take notice of you  over your competitors, you have to not only demonstrate your knowledge and expertise—you also have to broadcast it.

A book is a great medium to integrate credibility and intellectual capital into your current branding and business development efforts. It acts as a persuasive advertisement for your business, your consulting services, or your personal expertise. When you pick up a good-looking book on management (or sales, or health, or leadership) that’s sitting on the shelf at an airport bookstore, you automatically attribute a certain amount of credibility to that author. A book helps speakers, consultants, and business owners differentiate themselves and their brand from all the other companies out there doing the same thing.

Is a book a good next step for building your brand or growing your business? Here are a few factors that may point to “yes”:

• You’re a consultant in leadership, management, sales, or customer service, and you have years of experience in the business and want to make yourself more visible to potential clients. A book may be a good way to share your take on best practices or new approaches based on your experience.

• You’re a health professional, MD, dietitian, or fitness expert, and you want to publish your winning methods, breakthrough research, or health plan while simultaneously building a wider platform for your services and products.

• You’re a marketer, publicist, or social media expert, and you already have a following online. A book is a logical extension of the platform you’ve already built, and you can pass along your knowledge to other marketers while opening up a new channel of communication for your brand.

These are not the only folks who may consider becoming authors, and there is a wide array of circumstances that may prompt someone to write a book. Other alternative options for sharing your expertise that you may consider are

• Creating white papers or case studies

• Starting a blog or a newsletter

• Producing booklets, workbooks, or pamphlets on your industry or topic of expertise

Though these type of products won’t have the reach of a book, they all provide useful content that you can distribute to current and prospective clients.

For more on books as a branding tool, check out this article from the personal branding blog.