As an agency owner, one thing I always tell my clients is that they need to see themselves as a multimedia publishing house. Look at your knowledge and experience and create valuable content that potential customers would appreciate. Providing this insight and value endears you to them, increasing the possibility that they’ll seek you out for professional assistance when they need it.
Having given this advice so many times, I realized that I needed to practice what I was preaching. Writing blogs is great, and there is a lot of value in this content, but I knew that I needed to do more.
I needed to write a book.
That realization alone wasn’t enough to catapult me into the publishing world, however. While I did want to write a book, what I didn’t want was to write a book about nothing just to say I had written one. My clients and potential clients deserve valuable content from a unique perspective, so I decided to hold back, waiting for that lightbulb moment of inspiration to hit.
Another hurdle was the need for some personal growth. There are so many reasons a person can come up with NOT to write a book.
“People will criticize me.” “Who am I to write a book?” “What do I really know?” “Do I have enough knowledge to fill an entire book?” “What if it’s stupid?”
For quite some time, these doubts kept me from taking the plunge and working on that book. And, if I didn’t do something, I’d be stuck in that place forever.
So how did I get out of this rut and get down to business? In essence, I had to actually give myself permission to actually give myself permission - to write a book. It’s all a head game. Listen to the right voice, the one who says, “Let’s do this!”
Think of all the unique information and experiences each person on Earth has had. Then, realize that probably only 1 out of 100 people who want to write a book will give themselves permission to do it.
Now think of those other 99 people — and the incredible information none of us will ever see because they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) give themselves permission to share that with the world in a book.
I couldn’t let myself be one of those 99. And neither should you.
Over the course of my career, I’ve always been in a sales or business development position. This particular profession is very conceptual and difficult to quantify. I have to draw a clear picture in someone’s mind of this very virtual product to help my clients grow their businesses.
Because this business is built more on soft-skills development than hard-skills, creating a clear road-map is more challenging—which was something I had to untangle before even starting to write my book.
The reason I always advise my clients to view themselves a publishing house is simple: branding. Your brand is the feeling people are left with when they interact with you or your marketing efforts. The more you allow potential clients and customers access into your brain, knowledge, and thought processes, the more they emotionally engage with your brand.
When you share your inside industry knowledge with people, you build trust and establish your own authority on the subject matter. Clients make the decision to engage with you based on trust. They need to know that you can deliver.
Being able to clearly and succinctly help potential clients see what they need, and how you can provide that, is a huge advantage. A book does that. The years of knowledge and insight you have accumulated is hard to convey in one conversation.
Think about the times you’ve attended a workshop; you leave with clarity about something that has been frustrating or challenging, and you leave with new energy because your perspective has changed.
While a book is a great way to let someone see inside your head, one challenge is to first look inside your own brain. It’s a swirling tornado of ideas and perspectives. Your first big hurdle after conquering your self-doubt is to dump it, sort it, and organize it. While that can seem daunting at first, it’s a process. If you’re more verbal, record your thoughts and then work from a transcription. If you like to put pen to paper, just pour it all out and organize it after it’s all there.
This world has become so digital, but human evolution still prevails, and our primal circuitry is emotional connection. There is no way to bypass that. By putting your humanity on paper, so to speak, you create those connections, that trust, that feeling that they “know” you.
This provides so much value to your prospective clients, and to you! The success you see in your business today is the result of decisions you made one, two, or three years ago. Think of what can happen as a result of your decision to write a book.
So give yourself permission, untangle all the thoughts and experiences in your head, and start writing!
As for my book, you can expect to find it on Amazon this summer. And, if you need help organizing your thoughts and creating a marketing strategy for your business, schedule a free strategy session. I’m happy to help!