As a business leader, you probably also strive to become a ‘thought leader’—someone whose vast experience and knowledge in your chosen sector not only garners respect from peers, but gives weight and authority to your opinions.
You can, of course, use this respect to build a stronger personal brand and even nab some speaking engagements. However, one of the most effective ways to turn yourself into a thought leader is to write a book.
Here are four reasons why:
1. It gives both you and your business credibility
Relaying your knowledge and personal story to the public is a quick and easy way to gain trust and establish yourself as a credible individual. Business owners and entrepreneurs are constantly searching for information on how to improve, and offering your book as a resource is an extremely powerful way to mark you out as someone of high value. Also, in a world that’s drowning in content, your book could become a reliable lifeline to those who are simply not sure where to look.
Also, let’s not forget that writing a book is not an easy task. It requires time, discipline and toxic amounts of caffeine. If your book includes honest reflections of both your successes and failures, people will admire the humility and integrity required to put your hard learnings out in public.
2. It’s an easy way to create and maintain publicity and brand awareness
Having a book to your name immediately enhances your status as someone with knowledge worth sharing. Once it’s out there—and with some basic marketing and promotion of the book—chances are you’ll receive more offers to speak at conventions, contribute to guest blogs and appear on podcasts.
From then on, you and your book will fall into a winning loop-de-loop as each publicity opportunity exposes you and your business/es to new audiences, who might buy your book, who might have blogs and podcasts of their own, whose audiences will purchase your book and buy your product and/or invite you to speak at an event or appear on their podcast… and so it goes, ad inf.
(You might need to get a second PA, or give your current one a raise.)
3. It’s a great opportunity to meaningfully reflect on your journey
It’s easy to get swept up in the general busyness of running your business and forget—or not have the time—to sit down, catch your breath, and remember when, where and how you started. Writing a book forces you to look back on your journey and contemplate all the determination, decisions and ragged resilience it took to get to where you are now.
You might also be surprised at just how much you remember. Writing evokes memories, and in the process of writing your book you’ll probably recall moments and conversations you’d forgotten about (whether you like it or not). It really is a great way to look back at who you were and understand what you’ve now become.
4. Because skillz…
You don’t become an entrepreneur and business leader by being lazy. Starting and running a successful business requires confidence (or is it madness?), vision and a willingness to continually learn and improve, even when things are flying.
Learning to write a book, and then actually seeing it turn into a physical entity that people buy and read, will not only bring you a huge sense of accomplishment, it’ll add yet another skill to your list, as well as the creamy cachet of being able to add ‘…and author’ to your LinkedIn profile.