7 Ways A Book Can Boost Your Business - By: Dr Alicejane Lippner

Are you a book author? Still deciding if it’s worth the effort? It is!!! You can use your book in a wealth of ways to build your business or promote your professional practice.

Consider these 7 ideas about how you can capitalize on your book and make more money for your business. Use these techniques to market with your book, whether you have an e-book or a print book, whether you're self-publishing or seeking a commercial publishing house to get your book out, whatever market you're aiming at with your book:

(1) Say thanks with your book. Brainstorm a list of people who’ve already helped you—who will probably be able to help again in the future. Give them a copy of your book to use for their business. Or, say thanks for the referrals with your book.

If it’s printed, autograph each copy. Include a personal note from you. Generate some publicity, too. People will talk about the book you gave them, especially because it’s been personalized (and that got it for free as thanks).

(2) Freely give out an e-book (digital version) based on excerpts from the print version of your book. Capitalize on viral marketing by making selected excerpts into an e-book available as an opt-in at your website or distributed via specialized websites offering free e-books.

Provide valuable information for your readers. But, be careful. Don't reveal all your how-to secrets in the e-book. Save them for your paid version. Tell why and what, not how, in your viral version. Use your excerpted free e-book to entice people to visit your website to buy the paid version of your book.

(3) “Bribe” people with your book. If you’d like to get some people to help you but you don’t have money to pay them, use your book as a bribe to get them to provide their services for free.

If you’re looking to get help from experts, for example, offer to customize a digital version of your book by adding each person’s name as a contributor. Add a few pages to their personal version containing their words of wisdom. If they don’t want to write anything, interview them to draw forth some ideas that you put down on paper for them. They’re now officially part of your book.

And, you’ll benefit from their services without having to blow your budget. Win-Win.

(4) Donate copies of your printed book to be used as prizes at a local business event. Who doesn’t love freebies, especially organizations that don’t have the money to pay for prizes? The association can use your books to attract people to their event. You get publicity when your book and your name are mentioned at prize time. And, the winners who get your books will tell others about your great information, further spreading the word about you and your business.

If you’ll be attending the event, offer to autograph the books for the winners, too. If you’re not going to be there, you can still autograph the books in advance, but without the personalization for the winners.

(5) Create a series of articles from your book to use in your own e-zine or send them out into cyberspace via e-zine and article directories, announcement services. Article marketing is a fabulous way to generate publicity, sell copies of your book, get new clients for your practice, and so on.

The cost is mostly time, rather than money, if you put together and distribute the articles yourself. Or, spend a bit of money to have someone else write the articles and have an assistant or article service distribute the articles.

(6) Turn your book into a course. Enjoy teaching, but never seem to find the time to develop a new course? Take advantage of another way to use your book to build your business. Transform it into a course by adding some exercises and examples, weekly assignments, worksheets, self-quizzes, etc.

If you want to teach the course live, use your converted book to guide your students. If you prefer online teaching, digitalize your book. Don’t want to be directly involved in teaching? Make it a self-study course instead.

(7) Laugh it up! Think funny. Develop a shorter version of your non-fiction book...with a humorous twist to it. If you’re artistically-skilled, add some cartoons or witty illustrations. If you’re artistically-challenged like I am, add humor with your words.

I turned my own business writing book into a really funny take-off by looking at collections from Mad Magazine and similar “high-brow literature” for inspiration. I had even more fun writing the humorous version than I did creating the original serious version.

My favorite takeoff in the humorous book was when I used my medical background to develop a fake ad for WRITAGRA to treat debilitating writer’s block. I haven’t done any funny versions of my other books yet, but I probably will. My personal challenge is that I’m not all that inherently funny, although I’m less humor-challenged than I am artistically-challenged.

Some of these 7 methods require print copies of your book. With modern technology, you can get a relatively small number of copies printed at a reasonable cost to use for marketing purposes. Just make sure your distribution of print copies is well targeted, so you don’t waste your money.

If you’re using a digital version of your book, don’t worry about costs. They’re minimal. So, liberally use your digital e-book to make more money!

Which method will you start with for your own print book marketing or e-book marketing activities? How will becoming a book author boost your business, make more money for your professional practice?

About the Author

Dr. Alicejane Lippner has had successful careers as a doctor, lawyer, and professional writer/author. She has developed her own money making info-empire. Now, she’ll show you how to create your own books to build your business or professional practice, even if you hate to write, even if you can’t seem to find the time. ➯http://www.Bookin30Days.com

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Dr-Alicejane-Lippner/63184

Additional Articles From - Home | Writing & speaking | Book marketing