The 6 Steps You Should Take to Successfully Publish Your Book in 2022

At Brandwise Media, we’ve had the pleasure of working with numerous business and leadership authors to successfully publish their books so they can increase their brand awareness and value, land more speaking engagements and press appearances, and connect with audiences and clients.?

Throughout 2022, my aim for the “Build a Brand” newsletter is to teach our community how to build their expert brand and utilize marketing vehicles like books, talks, podcasts, and blogs to develop their knowledge product ecosystem.?

Let’s start with the all-important question of “WHY?”

“Why in the world would I take the time to write and publish a book while I’m also growing my company, dealing with wild market conditions and pandemics, raising kids, serving as a caretaker, exercising, and/or (insert a list of 70 more things here), Kait?”

Great question, reader, and one that I would expect you, a savvy follower of the “Build a Brand” series, to be asking because if you’re simply writing a book to write one, you’re already violating best practices. With that, let’s kick off with item one on our list:

1. Clearly articulate your purpose for writing a book.

Repeat this mantra ten times aloud with me: “My book is not a business plan.”

So many aspiring authors think their book will be the climatic, defining event of their lives. In truth, writing a book should be viewed as a milestone in a larger marketing strategy, not the finish line.

Here are some goals to consider for publishing your book:

• Increase your speaker’s fee?
• A tool to engage new clients
• To increase credibility
• To secure more press appearances

Once you are laser-focused on your book’s goal, you will become clearer on the strategy to achieve that goal and have a better gauge for measuring your progress.

2. Establish yourself as an expert in your field by writing articles, blogging, and speaking.

Your immediate first thought may be “WTH? I’m writing a book, I have to write more?” The short answer is “yes.” You should create and share content to build a community before you launch your book. A book is not a “build it and they will come” phenomenon. It’s easier to release a book to an audience who is already invested in your expertise than it is to release one to the void.?

Consider creating status posts on LinkedIn to build your following, creating a blog or a newsletter, or creating a podcast. As you build your community while writing your book, you’ll find you are much more likely to sell your book and reach your defined goal.?

This also lets you workshop ideas for the book in real-time. I use status posts to test receptivity for blogs, I use blog posts to test receptivity for speaking events, I use speaking events to test receptivity for books and products. I’m not a fan of building things in a vacuum. Beta testing and validating ideas for chapters, stories, lessons by measuring engagement will help you write a more relevant, desirable manuscript.?

3. Choose the right publishing partner for your book.

One of my favorite LinkedIn follows is Marissa Eigenbrood (if you’re publishing a book, I recommend you follow her) and her post sums this up nicely:

In short, different publishing partners will help you in different ways. Get clear about your path to publishing and interview a few publishers to see who is most aligned with your goals.

4. Get those reviews up.

Raise your hand if you’ve read reviews about a book before purchasing the book. Great, put your hand back down and keep scrolling. Reviews matter and can be used as an effective marketing tool. Send your book to potential reviewers and reviewing platforms like Kirkus Reviews to boost your book’s third-party credibility. Use these reviews in social posts, email newsletters, and more.?

5. Have clear next steps mapped out for readers.

As shared before, a book is a milestone and a point of leverage for your brand, it is not the final destination. Oftentimes, your book will be one of the “first stops” in an audience member’s journey with you, so map out the next steps for them. Include in your author bio topics you speak on. Include call-to-actions when you distribute books. One author we work with has an online Slack community for his readers. This community fosters conversation and serves as a platform to engage them through webinars, consulting opportunities, and more. Remember, someone is highly invested and wants more of you after reading your book; make sure those next steps are obvious for them.?

6. Attend this webinar.

Looking for even more information? I’m co-hosting a webinar with Marissa Eigenbrood of Smith Publicity: Developing Your Author Brand in 2022.

In the webinar, we will cover:

• How establishing your author brand will help you sell more than just books
• Which social media platforms to pay attention to in 2022 to grow your following
• How to select the right marketing strategy for your brand and book

We are allowing 15 minutes of Q&A from attendees, so come with your questions!?