Daniel Priestley built his first multi-million dollar business by the time he was 25.
He then went on to found Dent Global, a business accelerator programme for small enterprises. He’s helped build and sell businesses in the UK, Australia and Singapore. Today he’s a professional speaker who shares his wisdom and experience around the world.
But being successful isn’t enough to make you a household name. So what’s helped Daniel become the expert in his field? The answer is simpler than you think.
He writes books.
What Daniel Priestley understands about marketing is that it’s all built on trust. A tangible asset like a book is the ultimate way to get readers to trust you—and to turn them into clients.
He knows that the time (and money) he invests in writing a book will be more than repaid in benefits to his business, and that a business book earns its keep more than any other marketing asset—short-term, medium term and into the future.
A book is the most powerful way to connect with your audience—whether you use it to share your business philosophy or create a rousing call to action that inspires readers to work with you.
Here are some of the things writing a book can do:
Broaden your reach
Daniel Priestley uses his books to communicate with potential clients he’s never even met—and you could too. Sharing your thoughts and experiences in a book is a powerful way to build brand awareness and broaden your reach, and it makes you more discoverable in a saturated digital world. By making you visible to a wider audience, a book helps you connect with more potential customers in a meaningful way.
Harness your thoughts
Planning and writing a book is a clarifying process in itself: it’s your chance to think deeply about what you and your business have to offer.
To write a book you need to be clear and structured in your thinking. Otherwise how can you share it with your readers? By putting pen to paper to explain your values and processes, you’ll learn to articulate your core business more succinctly in person. And when it comes to selling your services, pitching for work or applying for funding, that’s an important skill to have.
Become the expert
A key benefit of producing a well-crafted business book is that it showcases you as a thoughtful, valuable contributor to your industry. Remember: short, snappy e-books can have just as much impact as longer printed publications—what’s right for you depends on what you want your book to do.
If you want to share bite-size information quickly and easily via your website, a free downloadable booklet could be just the ticket, as it’ll position you as someone who’s always ready with easy-to-digest tips. If you want to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field, sharing your expertise through detailed research and case studies in a full-size book might be the better option.
Start a conversation
Once you’ve published your book, you open yourself up for conversations about the topics it covers. This can be used to your advantage; being a published author gives you the perfect way in to speak on expert panels or at industry events. This can put you in touch with new potential clients or lead to conversations about partnerships with people you’d love to work with.
Writing a book could be the strongest marketing move you make this year. If you want to kickstart your book with an intensive two-week course on planning and writing, I’m launching The Business Book Kickstarter this September. See here for more information.