Ghostwriting for Entrepreneurs
Shortly after I launched my company, I attended a three-day event in California. I watched the speakers there get new coaching clients, enroll people in masterminds, and deliver great information. Many of them had books to sell, or even give away to anyone who joined their email list.
In between speakers, most of us did some networking. The conversations started with the typical, “So, what do you do?” When I told one guy I was a marketing writer and had written three books of my own, he said, “Why don’t you ghostwrite books for business owners?”
“Oh,” I said, “that’s a great idea. I should look into that.”
About two hours later: same conversation, different person.
“Mike, have you ever thought about ghostwriting books for entrepreneurs who need a book to extend their reach?”
This happened again and again. Over the course of a three-day event, something like seven different people suggested this to me, all independently of one another.
I started to wonder: Do they know each other? Is this a conspiracy?
Am I on the new Candid Camera?
It Wasn’t a Conspiracy
Sometimes you get the whisper, sometimes you get the tap on the shoulder, and sometimes you get the two by four upside the head. I knew which one this was. So I came back home from that event and put Ghostwriting for Entrepreneurs at the top of my services list.
I recently finished a book for a very satisfied client, and I'm starting a new book project for another. Life is good, I’m busy, and I plan to finish one manuscript each month in 2018. I’ve even started a new program called Blog to Book, for clients who want marketing copy but aren’t quite ready to pull the trigger on a full-length book.
But I still tell those clients to consider it. If you had a book that you could put into someone’s hands at an event, think of the power that delivers. For one, a book instantly elevates you in the eyes of your prospects.
Really? you ask.
Yes, really. I learned this myself firsthand when I published my first novel. When some of the people I knew found out, they were shocked. They thought they knew me – “Oh, Mike’s a writer” – but now they realized they hadn’t really seen me. Suddenly, it was, “Mike, you wrote a book?”
And not just any book: a professionally-edited, professionally-designed book, with a great-looking cover. That’s the caveat: you can’t cheap out on a book project. Too many books now are self-published on the cheap, and they look it.
I’m not talking about having one of those books. I’m talking about a book that can stand side by side with any book that comes out of a major publishing house. A book you can be proud of, and sell (or give away), knowing that the person receiving it is getting something of value.
More Than Just A Book
The thing is, for an entrepreneur, a book can lead to much more than just a reader or an email address. It can lead to a joint venture, a new coaching client, new fans and followers. Your second book can even lead to new sales of your first book. After all, nothing sells a book like a book.
Best of all, a book isn’t like a hamburger or a can of beans. You don’t have to keep an inventory of your books on hand, and they’re not disposable or perishable items.
So from a messaging standpoint, a book is great for getting your message out to the world. And from a product standpoint, it’s hard to beat. You can order as many books as you like and sell them for the rest of your life.
That’s what I’m going to do with my books – sell them for the rest of my life. What about you?
To learn more about ghostwriting for entrepreneurs, or how I can help with marketing copy in general, email [email protected] or text the word WRITING to (813) 528-2622.
Your Wordy Little Birdie
6 年This is such a timely discovery for me! (Your article of encouragement, that is.) I have been toying with the idea of putting together a book of poetry with several years of my writing compiled into the collection. I feel like this is the last little nudge I needed to "get on with it!". :) Thanks for the advice. (And thanks for having shared the article, John Kachurick, which is where I first spotted it.)
IT Executive | Value-Driven Operations & Technology Leader | Business Consultant | CRM & ERP Specialist
6 年I always feel like there is a book in my future, and this article helps confirm it. Thanks for the insight!