Originally Published Mar. 16, 2017
Every entrepreneur wants to know which strategies, methods, and best practices can improve their business. A consistent theme in my articles has been how publishing a book is one of those strategies, and in my company, I train authors how to take one step further and leverage their “bestseller” status.
A “bestseller simply means a certain book has produced more sales than others in a given category, under a specific time-frame, through retail stores (online or brick-and-mortar locations). That could be over a few hours, days, weeks, months, or even years. Even with having a quality book in the marketplace, it can still get lost in the “noise and do very little to support your business growth, if not leveraged correctly. However, obtaining that “bestseller “status can position you as a trusted source among your target audience and drastically increase your success.
Here’s why:
You Can Reposition Your Brand
In my book, Think Like a Bookpreneur, I mention how “writing and publishing a book is one of the fastest ways to establish credibility as a thought leader or expert in your field.
Adding a bestseller status to your book can be the difference between being an entrepreneur who seeks speaking opportunities, using your book as a pitch angle, and one who is sought after, due to publishing a bestselling book. The status supports you in becoming the trusted source or thought leader in your field, thus it sets you apart from your competition. It signals to your audience that you should be paid for your voice, perspective, and expertise.
You Can Leverage Your Accomplishment
Having the acknowledgment of your audience that you are, indeed, a respected expert in your niche allows you to leverage your book for even more opportunities, catapulting you into new arenas.
Luvvie Ajayi is the New York Times bestselling author of I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual and is currently in the works to create a cable-TV comedy series based on the success of her popular book. She successfully leveraged the accomplishment of her book to increase and expand her brand into more lucrative opportunities.
While the New York Times Bestseller List is the ultimate goal for most authors, other book lists–like those for Publisher’s Weekly, USA Today, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon–shouldn’t be discredited. Award-winning research scientist and author Colletta Orr leveraged her status from her bestselling book Cancer Doesn’t Always Win while at a local book signing, and was offered the position of Adjunct Professor in Biology by a faculty member from the University of the District of Columbia, only four months after her initial book release. The opportunities are endless.
You Can Increase Your Fees
Speaking of lucrative opportunities, being sought after means you can command more for your business. The more visibility and trustworthiness in your work, the more you, your work, or your product becomes in-demand. When that happens, you’re in a prominent position as an entrepreneur, and you’ll be able to meet that demand and ask for what you want.
A well-written book containing quality content combined with a solid strategy for leveraging it for your business–by way of obtaining bestseller status–opens and expands the doors of possibility for entrepreneurs to stand out in what are often saturated marketplaces.
This article was written by The BOSS Network Influencer, Tieshena Davis.