Author: Alex Jasin / Source: Entrepreneur When you think about building your brand, what comes to mind? Flashy graphics? A gripping missi
When you think about building your brand, what comes to mind? Flashy graphics? A gripping mission statement? Social media followers?
While all of those things are incredibly important, there’s one old-school, yet powerful brand-building tactic: Write a best-selling book.
Sounds good, but exactly how do you do that? To tackle this question, I nterviewed Wall Street Journal best-selling author Nick Nanton. I also set about collecting points of wisdom from other best-seller books, to convey how writing a book can truly build your brand. Here are six strategies my research revealed that can turn your book into a certified bestseller.
1. Stand out from the crowd.
Standing out doesn’t apply just to business. You need to write something very different from what’s being written by the competition. It’s fine to write n the same genre, but if you’re basically writing just another version of a book that already exists, you may want to rethink your strategy.
Nanton explained: “Tell your story from a point of view that you’ve experienced firsthand. This is your unique selling proposition, and it’s the single biggest reason why someone should buy your book.”
So the lesson here is, don’t add to the noise.
Action steps:
- Consider what unique value your book adds to the world.
- Include those unique, valuable nuggets that readers can receive only from you.
- When pitching and promoting the book, always come back what sets it — and you — apart.
2. Send out advance copies.
Best-selling authors think larger than themselves. So they tap into those who are bigger and better known than they. Nanton told me about how he was able to write his first book by partnering with self-help guru Jack Canfield:
“I knew how impactful a book with Jack would be,” Nanton said. “I mailed him an iPad, with a video inside making my case. Jack finally took me up on the offer and we worked together, writing The Success Secret, which has been one of my most successful book launches to date.”
In this way, Nanton certainly thought outside the box, got creative and found it paid off.
Similarly, before the launch of The 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferriss sent out a whopping 1,000 advance copies to readers, asking them to leave a review on Amazon. Within 24 hours of the launch, he had 140 ratings, and within three months, he had 1,200.
Action steps:
- Make a list of at least 100 influencers who could benefit from the book.
- Work with your publisher to send the book to those influencers.
- Include a personalized letter to each person about why you included the book.
3. Create a community.
As many entrepreneurs have learned the hard way, you have to earn your way into the conversation. As Nanton told me: “When I was a kid, I wanted to know more about music, and I could read books, but I really wanted to speak with people. I tried calling…
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