Joe Pulizzi said it best when he wrote, “a book is perhaps the ultimate piece of content marketing that can position you or your company as a leading expert in your industry.”
Writing and publishing a book can provide substantial value to your company. By authoring and publishing a book, your company can engage your audience on another level, generate opportunity in the form of new business and press, and cement itself as an industry leader.
Just publishing a book, though, doesn’t guarantee that you achieve any of these results. It doesn’t even guarantee that your book will be read by the audience you want to read it. For your company to achieve these kinds of results – the kind of results that should sound familiar to any fellow content marketer – your book needs to be guided by a strategy. Ideally, that strategy is the same one you use to direct your other content initiatives.
My team and I worked together for years to create and consistently publish original content bylined by me as a thought leader to a variety of publications. Since we had used content to build meaningful connections with our audience and drive our company this far, we thought about what kind of impact a book guided by that same strategy could make on our content marketing goals. That’s when the idea to write Top of Mind was born.
Natural and valuable extension of content marketing strategy
Writing a book seemed like a natural extension of our work, and I suspect that’s true for other companies using content marketing to engage their audiences and ready to take that work to the next level. (Think about it: The brand that “wrote the book on” a subject is a more trusted expert than one that published an article on the topic – even a solid one.)
I use “the next level” language for a reason: You’re building on your existing content marketing program that helped you earn trust, offer value, and boost your brand with your audience. You’re just taking the next step. Here’s a quick look at what those previous steps did that can make your book process simpler:
- Developed a solid foundation: A robust content marketing strategy that’s driven results is the foundation for a book. You have an established set of goals and have created a body of published work that relies on your expertise that your audience finds valuable. A book is your company’s chance to dive deeper and strengthen that connection.
- Created a trusted network and influence in your space: Unless you’re publishing content to a private blog that acts more like your secret diary than a tool for your marketing, your company’s content is getting into the hands of people who find it valuable. When you actively distribute content that delivers value to your audience, your brand builds a network of advocates and influencers whom you can tap when it’s time to write, publish, and promote your company’s book.
- Tested the process: You have experience in – and a proven process for – content creation. You know your own strengths and weaknesses, and your team has shown it has the know-how to produce high-quality, engaging work that benefits your company.
Leap from content creator to author
Though you…
