You’ve written a book.
From writing to editing to the final design, you did it. It’s complete, and you’re about to hit publish. The work is done.
Not quite.
Before you pop the champagne and relax, there’s one more step to think about: book promotion.
You’ve heard this expression, I’m sure: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?” Similarly, when writing a book, if you write a book and you let it sit on Amazon or a publishing site, will it get into the hands of the people who need it most?
Books can be a fantastic promotional and marketing tool for brands and businesses if a proper promotional strategy is in place. Books are a great way to instantly establish your expertise and authority in your industry. Books are great for brands and companies with great things to say but who can’t break through the noise. While writing is the bulk of creating a book, there’s still plenty of work to be done once it’s finished. It’s target audience needs to know it exists.
Imagine you’ve finished writing your book and the following happens:
- You get booked on great podcasting shows that your ideal customers listen to and that leads to connections around the nation and keynote engagements.
- You reach people by doing a book tour online on podcasts.
- You tell your story and listeners get to know, like, and trust you and feel compelled to purchase your book.
- Listeners resonate with your message and immediately seek out your website.
- You turn listeners into leads and build trust with free downloads.
Publishing your first book can open doors when it gets in the right hands. After publishing his book, Tom Schwab got the opportunity to give a keynote speech in which the organizer said they only invite two types of people to speak: famous people who have a large following or someone who has written a book. Tom quizzically looked at the organizer and asked, “Why do you invite someone who has written a book?” He looked at Tom and replied, “If you have written a book, it shows me you have thought through your subject in great depth.”
In short, writing a book makes you a better speaker, and from Tom’s experience, it did. The book gave him the platform and framework to give keynote speeches—another solid marketing approach for a business. It has even been said that a published author is more respected than a PhD, although the latter is likely more difficult to achieve.
On top of all of this, when your book gets into the right hands as Tom’s did, it gives you loads of credibility. One of the top podcast marketing companies called Tom Schwab’s book the “Bible of podcast guesting.” All of this said, the book you put out into the world has got to be a quality book that contributes to the people who need it most. You’ve got to have quality content, and not just in the first chapter but throughout the whole book.
So after you’ve written your book, how do you successfully get it out into the world and into the right people’s hands so you can reap the tangible and intangible benefits it brings?
Here are some strategies to consider that will aid in its success:
4 Ways To Use Podcast Guesting to Sell Your Book
1| Guest on Podcasts
There are tons of opportunities in using podcasts to leverage your book promotion. About 51% of the US population listens to podcasts, and on average, these people are above average in education and income level. People who are listening to podcasts are readers looking for new ideas. Podcasting and reading typically go hand in hand, inspiring new ideas and offering ideas to people. These days, many podcasts are being picked up by radio stations. Guesting on podcasts can be powerful and understanding the power you can leverage by connecting with podcast hosts is consistently underrated. Leveraging other people’s audiences and authority can go a long way for your book and is a great way to get your book out there.
Not only can you gain exposure for your book, but podcast interviews are also a great way to answer questions about the book and to repurpose for future content. You can transcribe the interview into blogs or social media posts about them.
After you’ve been a guest on a podcast once, it’s just a process you can keep doing over and over to reach more readers. Podcasting is an ideal way to scale conversations, get out there, and reach more readers online.
2| Do A Book Tour Without The Travel
In 2020, book tours came to a halt due to the pandemic. Even as events resumed, attendance turnout decreased substantially. The pandemic created a new way of doing things. Online book tours became a widespread and great way to present a book to larger audiences. Lockdowns or not, it’s also a great way to promote your book to a global audience compared to the limitations of travel and attendance. It creates evergreen promotional material, allowing people anywhere and anytime to access your writing. It’s also a way to always drive traffic to your book, even several years after the book was published.
3| Send Your Book As A Gift or In Place Of A Business Card
Tom Schwab initially wrote his book to help people and show his expertise, not to be the next Stephen King. He tried to get his expertise out there so that others could benefit from it. A great promotional strategy is to send the book in an envelope with a short note. Rather than sending business cards out—which can feel like a solicitation without any substance—receiving a book unexpectedly feels like a special gift. It’s a great way to make yourself stand out from the standard promotional mail other businesses often receive.
Tom also sees more positive responses when he uses this approach. It allows you to market at a higher, more sophisticated level. When’s the last time you got a thank-you card for giving a business card or a brochure? You will get one for sending a book. Therefore, the book is a big part of Tom’s marketing strategy. It’s a great tool to use in your business growth strategy. It gives you more authority, especially when there’s a lot of competition within your business industry or niche.
4| Make Connections
Being a guest on a podcast is a great way to connect with the other guests and hosts. The impact of meeting people sometimes goes a lot further than any work you could do to promote your book behind a computer screen.
Completing your book is an extraordinary feat, but don’t let your marketing strategy for the book and your business end there. There are many ways to market your book, but podcast guest appearances should be a key consideration in your strategy.
Looking For More?
Read more about podcast guest interviews for non-fiction authors.
