Let’s take a deep dive into how a book will help you do just that.

It’s all about credibility.

When was the last time you searched for your own name on Google? If you’re in talks with potential clients, you can bet they’re asking Google about you right now. It’s important to understand—and curate—what they see when they do so.

Even in this digital age, nothing establishes credibility more quickly than a book. Having a book attached to your business creates implicit trust in those hoping to hire you, and that starts as soon as your search results do.

But it doesn’t stop there. As readers begin to engage with your book, they’ll recognize you as the expert you are. At Ballast Books, we work with authors every day to help them hone their message into its most cogent and resonant. It only takes one book to wow a reader for life, and those readers won’t just turn into clients themselves—they’ll refer you to their friends, colleagues, and associates time and time again.

The flipside is also true. Imagine walking into a surgeon’s private office and finding no diplomas on the wall. Would you hand that surgeon a knife or seek a second opinion? It’s not enough to say you’re an expert. The best clients expect evidence, and a high-quality book available everywhere books are sold is the best evidence money can buy.

Set yourself apart from the pack.

In business coaching, the riches are in the niches, as they say. You can use your book to carve out a unique space for yourself in the industry. Perhaps your specialty is navigating corporate real estate transactions or arming motivated businesspeople with the specific skills and qualities they need to earn their next promotion. Maybe you’re only interested in working with millennials or you’re eager to explore the role nutrition can play in creating a more productive workplace. Whatever your passions are, your book is the place to express and explain your ideas to the people who need them and may not even know it yet.

Sometimes, just having a book at all is enough to differentiate yourself from your competitors. How many business coaches have you seen spending endless funds on online ads that don’t lead anywhere or scrambling to book themselves on podcasts where they can tout themselves as thought leaders? These solutions are quick and easy for a reason. They don’t produce the lasting results you know you’re capable of. Write a book and you instantly elevate yourself above lesser coaches.

Keep your pipelines flush with new business.

A business coach is nothing without clients, and a book is an evergreen marketing tool to generate new business. By communicating your niche, connecting you with your ideal customers, and providing value to those customers before they ever sign up for your services, your book ensures a full reserve of new clients anxious to work with you. For better or worse, building a successful business in the modern world requires more than a reliable product. The truth is that even the world’s greatest business coach will only get so far on word-of-mouth referrals alone. Branding is the name of the game, and a book goes a long way toward building the reputation and the reach required to capitalize on it. Of course, books do very little if they’re sitting in a warehouse or on a shelf in your basement. That’s why, at Ballast Books, we prioritize marketing—at and after your book launch—to guarantee that your books are circulating in ways that will lead to the most success for you.

Streamline the small stuff to focus on scalability.

Everyone experiences it sooner or later. You’ve repeated the same essential script so often you can recite it in your sleep. Why waste time articulating basic principles ad nauseum when you could be innovating?

Instead, use a book to communicate the core messages every client should know and get back to the business of developing your business—as only you can. Focus on the high-level strategies that keep you and your business evolving, and let your book shoulder the burden of the everyday grind.

Think of your book as an opportunity to mold your ideal client. Every calculus professor expects students to have long since mastered long division, right? Taking the time to educate clients with a book means that they’ll already have mastered the foundational skills you can build on together once you strike up a partnership. You’ll spend less of your precious time guiding clients through their first lap in the swimming pool and more time training them for the Olympics.

Let’s face it. The coaching industry can be sink or swim. What are the specific life preservers you’ll need to make it where others fail? Let a book anchor your next evolution.

When you pursue a hybrid publishing deal, you communicate the value of your services. You’re confident enough to invest in them, and clients should be too.

If writing a book feels out of your depth, we’re here to help. Just as you expect your clients to come to you for professional guidance, we’re well equipped to assist you through every stage of the publishing process—be it writing, editing, design, marketing, distribution, or all of the above. Whether you feel at home at the helm or prefer to have our experienced industry professionals chart your course, we’ll customize a plan that’s right for you and help you avoid any murky waters along the way.

If you’re ready to take the plunge into authorship, connect with an acquisitions editor today.