There’s a story behind the start of every business, and many entrepreneurs write books to share their own. Whether it’s a motivating story of overcoming challenges, an inspiring story of passion or a story full of practical lessons and advice, an entrepreneur’s first book can be used to help them grow their business.

To share insights on how to do that, a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) members answered the following question:

“For entrepreneurs who have just written their first book, how can they leverage it to help grow their business? Why is this effective?”

Here are a few of their best ideas.

1. Use Your Book as a Lead Magnet

“Have you considered using your book as a lead magnet for your business? Would customers and prospects alike gain value from your book? Would it be beneficial to land speaking gigs with an audience of potential business partners? If your answer to this is ‘yes,’ then do just that. Use your book as a base for your content marketing strategy. Turn that book into 500 to 1,000 blog posts.” ~ Samuel Thimothy, OneIMS

2. Seek Endorsements

“Get endorsements for your book. The direct benefit of getting endorsements is that it saves your target readers time. Endorsements immediately reduce your customers’ risk, which means they’re more likely to turn into buyers. Endorsements also help your product’s exposure. The person endorsing you can email their distribution list about your book, or they may even interview you for their blog.” ~ Shu Saito, Fact Retriever

3. Generate Media Coverage

“Entrepreneurs can leverage their books to get clients, build their brands and generate media coverage. Although most entrepreneurs won’t make money from their books, they will be able to use their books to build their thought leadership, expertise and credibility, get more customers or clients and get a traditional publishing deal.” ~ Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC

4. Feature Your Book on Social Media

“As a first-time author, you’ll have a built-in interest in what you have to say, especially if you’re currently successful. This strategy is effective because the go-to place for anything new or informative about your business is, in fact, social media.” ~ Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

5. Book Speaking Engagements

“My books are some of my proudest accomplishments. I go on tour and do speaking engagements to promote them. At first, they were smaller audiences, but the more books I wrote, the larger the audiences became. Add so much value that your audience thirsts for the next publication. Books are excellent tools to leverage for business because of the authority you achieve and the audience you build.” ~ Matthew Capala, Alphametic

6. Create an Email Marketing Campaign

“Entrepreneurs that have just written their first book can use it to create an email marketing campaign that builds their email list and drives traffic to their website. Email is a vital tool for marketers and business owners to grow their businesses and attract more customers to their content. You can break your book down into snippets and send them to subscribers in an email drip.” ~ Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

7. Establish Yourself as an Expert

“A new book is a massive opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in your field. You can leverage your book by breaking it down into smaller digestible pieces—blogs, articles, social media posts, etc. The possibilities really are endless. Spreading this information across these channels and any other appropriate space will ensure you reach your ideal audience and provide value.” ~ Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

8. Offer Review Copies to Industry Peers

“One of the most effective methods is to offer review copies to as many people in your industry as possible. If you know anyone who’s another author or influencer, it’s even better. It’s best to get the book in front of reviewers before you even publish it so you can start off with social proof right away.” ~ Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting

9. Sell Your Book on Multiple Platforms

“You can leverage your book to grow your business by offering your work on multiple platforms, including Amazon, for both physical copies and audio. When someone finds your book on these platforms, there’s a good chance they will want to know more about your career, products and industry. Building intrigue by making your book readily available will make it easier to grow your business.” ~ John Brackett, Smash Balloon LLC

10. Host an Event

“Use your book as a marketing tool for the rest of your business by creating an event and giving the book to your friends, clients and colleagues. Later, turn this conversation into free marketing by inviting them to post on social media to tell their friends about the book and your brand. This gives many people an opportunity to learn about your business.” ~ Candice Georgiadis, Digital Day

11. Get Involved in Relevant Communities

“One way to use your book to grow your business is to get involved in relevant communities across the internet. For instance, if you own a marketing SaaS, then decide to write a book on marketing, you could easily promote your book (and business) on relevant social media forums and groups. People interested in marketing may read your book and then check out your site.” ~ Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights

12. Improve Your Web Presence

“Being a published author is a major boost to your image, especially online. With the help of an SEO expert, you can easily use your author status to rank higher on Google searches relevant to your business niche. Improving your web presence like this can increase your visibility to new customers or clients.” ~ Bryce Welker, Real Estate Schooler

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