Are you a medical professional or wellness entrepreneur who dreams of writing a best selling book? Are you doing your research on what publishing houses to approach with your book concept? Or are you considering the nontraditional, self-publishing route?
The world of book publishing can be a long and winding road that many healthy brands believe begins with writing a book. The thinking is that if you write the book and place it for sale on Amazon, then people will buy it. The one part of the equation that is missing here is the fact that no one knows you from a whole in the wall. Who is going to buy your book if no one knows who you are?
The first thing any unknown medical professional or wellness entrepreneur must do to sell books either independently or through the traditional publishing houses is to create an author platform. An author platform is essentially your brand — it is what people come to recognize you for. You build your author platform through a collection of marketing efforts that can be used to promote your ideas and your work.
Are you ready to create your author platform? Here are 3 (not so) simple steps to get you started.
#1 Build a strong online presence
Whether you are looking to traditional publishing houses or want to take the self-publishing route to releasing your first book, the first thing you will need is a strong online presence. Why? Many publishing houses don’t bother to even review books from unknown authors because they simply can’t afford to. Publishing houses want to promote someone who already has a boatload of fans, followers, and subscribers who know and support their work. It makes the job of selling their book that much easier.
The advice is the same for self-publishers. I have been approached by several brilliant wellness entrepreneurs who have an e-book sitting on their hard drive right now. They ask me how to get their e-book off their hard drive and onto the laptops and mobile devices of health enthusiasts across the world. The truth is that while Amazon and others have made publishing e-books easy peasy, it doesn’t mean that anyone will buy it. You need hardcore followers who know and love your work and are willing to share your book with others. Building a strong online presence via an active blog and social media networking are a great place to start.
#2 Use blog posts to test how receptive your audience is to your message
One of the wonderful benefits of having a blog is that you get to test out your ideas on your growing group of subscribers. How does your audience respond to your blog posts? Do you notice more comments on one type of blog post vs another? Are your followers more likely to share one type of blog post over another. You can use tools like Google Analytics to monitor traffic on your blog. Once you get a feel for how your people react to your blog posts, then you can start brainstorming how to use that information to write or revise your book.
#3 Build relationships with relevant media outlets
The media is your friend because they are the ones that help you to get the word out about your message. The media can include traditional outlets like popular TV stations, newspapers like the New York Times, magazines like Prevention, or radio programs like NPR. People who are at the very beginning stages of creating their healthy brand may also be interested in local media outlets like your town or county newspaper, college radio stations, and public access television. Media can also include popular bloggers, podcasters, internet radio shows, etc. Many of the personalities behind these online forms of media have huge followings that they have been able to monetize. You can take advantage of what they have been able to build by doing guest blog posts or suggesting yourself as a guest on their internet radio show or podcast.
You can build relationships with media by first paying attention to the kinds of news stories they enjoy profiling. Subscribe to their emails, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter. Once you have a feel for the kinds of stories they are interested in, you can send them stories they may find interesting about your own business or others. Try creating a press kit and display it on your website. Don’t be afraid to approach media outlets and pitch stories you want to write or send them a press release regarding your newest project.
Do you have a book inside of you that is ready to come out? How can creating an author platform help move you closer to publishing?
Halona Black
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