Seeking Book Success? Think Like a Marketer

If you're writing a book (or even dreaming of one), this article is for you. It's full of actionable and inspiring tips to help you write and release the very best book you possibly can ... and love every minute.

So, why listen to me on this topic? Because I am perhaps the most “bookish” person you know. Before I owned a book publishing company, I was teaching college English ... and before that, I was spending all my time and money in bookstores and at "meet the author" events. I’ve studied under and alongside famous authors whose names you know, and the biggest room in my house is the library. I’m also an author and a marketer, and I know — from my own efforts and from guiding the book launches of dozens of speakers, business professionals and memoir authors during their book-authoring ventures — how to write and publish a book that sells, and how to build and embolden author brands. A well-written and well-marketed book can allow established professionals to reach a broader audience and redouble the impact of their mission. It expands the possibilities for passive revenue through royalties and it, quite simply, gives authors and organizations the credibility they seek. A professional bio with the words “Author of …” will always turn more heads.

I’m often asked to share my secrets ― some of the guiding principles that helped me write, publish and promote my own book so it could debut in the top 1% of all business marketing books on Amazon. Here are 7 of the savvy choices I made, which you might want to consider as you approach the exciting journey of writing and publishing your book:

#1: Clarity First

When I set out to write my most recent book, Think Like a Marketer: How a Shift in Mindset Can Change Everything for Your Business, I was crystal clear on my goals, my priorities and the audiences I wanted to serve. I engaged a book coach on the very day I began writing the book’s outline and used the strategy document that we developed together as my guidepost throughout the eight months I was writing and editing the book. I didn’t have to write a “book proposal,” per se (because I already had a publisher), but I did it anyway. And I shared it with as many people as would read it, to ensure I was planning a book that others thought was valuable, viable and authentic to my areas of expertise.

If you’re five chapters into the writing of your manuscript, and you don’t have a smart strategy document and a rock-solid outline, press pause and go back to do that work. You won’t regret it.

#2: Own the Timeline

I worked like a fiend to produce my 61,000-word manuscript and the marketing ecosystem that supported it. I committed to produce my book with an aggressive timeline but refused to “rush to failure,” as many authors do when the deadlines are looming and they’re feeling tired. As I said from the stage during a presentation at NSA Influence 2018, “Many business authors release a book the way other people put out the trash. They just want to be done with it ... and get it out the door before it starts to stink.” When it became clear that I was running tight on time ― that, in order to meet my self-imposed July 1st release date, I’d have to release a book that was “good, but not great” ― I stopped the proverbial presses. I put the book up on Amazon for pre-order on July 13th, and had all the key marketing (like the book website, social media pages and promotional postcards) circulating by the time I took the stage at NSA on July 15th. Having the book in time for my National Speakers Association debut was an ambitious and important goal, but speeches come and go, and this book was going to be forever. I wasn’t going to let it be anything other than the best book I could produce. In the end, the book released in paperback on August 25th, eight weeks past the original “deadline” and as an eminently stronger book than what would have been printed in early July.

Is your writing and publishing timeline ambitious enough to drive you (and excite those who are awaiting the book’s release) but not so aggressive that it’s leaving you exhausted (and your book mediocre)? You only have one chance to make a good first impression with your book, and if it’s your debut book, you really can’t afford to blow it. A little more time can make a world of difference when it comes to quality and impact.

#3: Invest in Yourself

From the moment I decided to write Think Like a Marketer, I treated myself like a celebrity, even though it felt uncomfortable and more than a little presumptuous. Why, I pondered, would someone pay me $20,000 for a keynote speech or invest $100,000 with me to lead a market research project if I wouldn’t likewise invest in my own brand? So I cut no corners when it came to photo shoots and marketing materials, launch events and even brand consulting with bestselling author Rory Vaden and his team at Brand Builders Group. There’s no “return on investment” without, first, the right investment.

Even if your book is, in your mind, “just a tool” or a high-end business card, you’re asking hundreds or thousands of readers to invest their time in the book and in you. Earn their time by being a brand that impresses at every turn. Go call a photographer, do the hard work of developing a powerful brand strategy, and make yourself findable (and impressive) online.

#4: Don’t Cut Corners

Too many authors publish a good book with a bad cover, or great insights on cheap paper. Or they get to their release date and are too tired to actually promote the book. There’s no such thing as too much, if it’s authentic and tied to your goals. When I published Think Like a Marketer, I rallied all the resources of my company, did the hard work of collaborating with editorial board members, hired a great publicist and engaged 140 people on a “book launch team.”

Where can you do more? Writing the book is just the beginning. Sometimes the hardest work has nothing to do with the manuscript at all. Push yourself. Demand better.

#5: Forget the Bucket List

Sure, writing a book is about you ― about your brand and your business goals. But no one, except your most loyal clients and friends, is going to buy a book if it’s not written in service of the reader. I attempted to write the book that the marketplace wanted and needed. I used decades of professional experiences with clients to know what lessons they craved and what insights would help them achieve the most remarkable results. I structured the book to provide bite-sized predictions of the future, reader-application challenges in the form of “Ask Yourself” questions, and 5 overarching principles to tie the book together in a way that would be powerful and memorable for readers.

During my third and fourth revisions, I added sections ― like tips for direct sales professionals ― that became fan-favorite sections, and cut major portions of content that didn’t test well with early readers. In my book, I suggest that all business professionals “Live and Die by Your Customer Insights.” If you’re a business professional writing a business book, use the data at your disposal to guide the writing and release of an outstanding book.

Ask yourself: What does your customer data tell you about the needs and interests of the people you serve (the very same people who represent would-be readers of a future book you might write)? Are your customers, clients or prospects struggling with topics you could explore in a book? Do they need a go-to resource or framework for their thinking, and are you the best person to write that book?

#6: Escape the Distractions

Hard as it is to do, great authors create space for the kind of “deep work” that Cal Newport writes about in his acclaimed book about focusing in a distracted world. My book is, without doubt, the very best work of my career. But I’m confident that I couldn’t have written it to my standards had I not regularly done what few authors do. I went into frequent “writer’s exile” at a local hotel, skipped family parties in favor of writing all weekend, and wrote on planes, trains, automobiles and cruise ships. I dictated portions of the book into a voice app on my smartphone, from bed, from the grocery store and from wherever I was when a good idea struck. I became acquainted with the “Do Not Disturb” feature on my cell phone and the out-of-office responder on my email. When I was writing and editing, everything else had to wait.

What can you do to give yourself the space and grace to be the best author you can be? One of the authors I’m working with just started booking full days at a local co-working space for his own kind of “writer’s exile.” Others have made it clear to friends and family that Sundays are writing days and they can’t be disturbed. Make a plan and then stick to it. Time is the greatest asset of an author, and sometimes you have to be bold and selfish in seeking and keeping it.

#7: Know You’ll Sell More Books If It’s Not All About Selling Books

Everything about the creation and release of my book was a case-in-point of the book’s “Think Like a Marketer Principle #1” ― Communicate for connection and meaning, not just to transact sales. When deciding what to write, what to cut and what to improve, I kept asking myself questions like: “How can this book help me connect to others in a way that is meaningful for them?” … “Can my book deepen conversations with clients and prospects, create a platform of followers, and allow me to share insights that can inspire solutions for the business problems faced by my readers?” And once the book came out, I used the book to connect more deeply to my current clients, making it required reading for my coaching and communications workshop clients, offering guided book clubs for client companies who want help applying the book’s principles to their projects, and delivering no-cost speeches to colleges, universities and healthcare organizations where I was looking to open doors and close deals. 

What can you do to be generous and available as you release your book to the marketplace? Trust me — the sales will come if first you focus on connection.

Here’s wishing you an amazing experience as an author — whether you’re writing your first book or your 15th. With a smart plan and the right mindset, you can write and publish a book that sells, and you can build and embolden your “author brand” to position yourself for remarkable long-term success. Drop me a note in the comments section about your best book-publishing tip, or ask a question about your own current or future journey to authorship. How can I help?