YouTube video (Sept 17, 2019) by Julie Broad (Book Launchers) arguing that writing a book merely as a ‘business card’ is a poor strategy. Julie recounts a conversation with a real-estate investor who wanted a short promotional book and explains why such books are often generic, fail to establish real authority, and can be regrettable. She advises authors to invest time to craft a distinctive, belief-driven book that builds credibility, secures speaking/media opportunities, and endures long-term.
Chapters
A great and well positioned book is a really incredible way to become a recognized authority in your industry. I understand why people have come to call it a business card book, but I'm not a fan of this concept. If you're thinking of writing and publishing a book to serve as a business card, then this video is for you. Hey, I'm Julie, the book broad with Book Launchers, your fabulous professional self publishing team helping you write, publish and sell nonfiction books that grow your business and make you money. I was chatting with a really nice fellow I was lightly acquainted with from my real estate investing days. He was interested in hiring book Launchers to help him write, publish and sell a book to help him with his real estate business leads. As we were chatting about his goals for his book, he said, oh, I really just want a business card book, you know, you know, something to hand out to people so they know I'm an expert. Here's what I wanted to say. Everyone can have a business card, and not everyone should write a book. No matter what you've been told, a good book is a thing thousand times better than a business card if you do it right. And if you think of your book as just a business card book, it probably will end up being crap. And what's the point of that? Rather than directly counter his opinion with mine, which is just my opinion, I asked him a few questions so I could understand where he was coming from better. And I thought these are questions that might help you as well. So the first question was, have you seen any other books that you would call a business card book? He named a couple of books that came to mind right away. The second question I asked was, what do you think of those books? He described them as kind of short, you know, eight to 10 chapter books that explain concepts that every real estate investor knows. But people who haven't invested in real estate don't know, you know, simple industry definitions, how to choose a market, how to hire a property inspector, how to hire a property manager, that kind of stuff. So I asked him Question 3. Do you think the author is really proud of that book? Kind of said maybe, maybe not, probably not. Number four, I said, has that book positioned them to be an expert or just someone that knows what every other investor in the space knows? He said he didn't even know if people ever bought those books because he's only ever received them free, basically at every real estate event he'd gone to. He also commented that he thought those books had led to speaking engagements for the one author. And I Knew for a fact that the author had actually paid for his stage time at the events this guy was referring to. And his book may have been a part of that payment structure, but it was him paying that got him the gigs in that case, not the book. So I wrapped it up with question five. Is that the kind of book you want to publish? We kind of dug into that a little bit, figuring out why he wanted to do this. And he said, well, he had always just wanted to write a book. And writing that kind of a book seemed easy and seemed to make good business sense. But he also admitted he didn't want to be like everybody else. He wanted media attention. He wanted it to show to his potential clients that he was the guy to hire. And he also said that he wanted to have a book that his kids would read someday and that they would be proud that his. His dad wrote that book. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that he was going to write a business card book because he didn't think he was good enough or had a powerful enough message to write anything more than that. In the end, our conversation basically talked him out of writing a book right now because he's not ready. He wants a book that he'll be proud of for years, that shares his beliefs and will position him absolutely as someone who is an expert in his industry, and that people will know. Good thing I'm the boss of my company, otherwise my boss might not be happy with that. I talk somebody out of hiring us, at least right now, because he needs to do a little bit more digging as to what is his core message and why he really wants to write a book. But here's where I think I won. When he does feel ready, when he believes he has a message that should be shared and he starts to believe in his own value, he will come to us, and we'll help him create an amazing book that will stand out in the marketplace. Because we could have helped him create a book right now, but it would have been boring and largely a regurgitation of all the same things that every other real estate book has in them. And maybe it would have benefited his business a little bit, but it's probably not something that would have had a massive impact. A business card book is something anyone could write. And if anyone can write a business card book, why should you invest time, money, and energy into writing something that anyone in your industry could write? Now, some people might argue, well, you need one because everyone else has one in your industry, and those same people probably have a perfect package to help you do it in a weekend or in 90 days. And sometimes they even have a fairly famous name behind the company endorsing this idea. Maybe they'll even write a forward for you. But it's here's another way to look at this. If everyone else in your industry has a business card book, you absolutely do not want to be like them. Your goal is to stand out. So you need a controversial, game changing book that's going to set you apart. And then you need to use that book like the amazing tool it is not to hand out to random people for free, but to get speaking engagements, media attention, corporate partnerships, and become the name people know. To be fair, not all books considered business card books are terrible, but I've seen more that are than ones that are great. And I think it just comes down to the mindset of calling it a business card book. It kind of discounts its value. You can have an amazing short book. So I don't think this has anything to do with size, but thinking of it as a business card book just doesn't push you to make it the best it can be. And your book should be more than a business card. It should help your reader get to know you, like you, and trust you. It should leave an impression that has them thinking about what you taught them, taking action on what you shared and telling others about it. That kind of book takes a lot more time to write, edit and publish. And it's definitely more painful than a business card book regurgitates common knowledge, but that is what makes it more valuable. You're not getting a six pack without reducing your intake of calories and doing some push ups and heart raising cardio. And that's not exactly fun. It takes a commitment to your greater goal and so does producing a book that you'll be proud of for years. Here's my guarantee though. If you take a little more time and invest a little bit more to produce a great book, you'll never regret that you did it. If you cut corners and don't endure an emotional struggle to stay spit out a business card book, you quite likely will regret it. And it's quite possible you won't be proud of it after a few years. So the choice is yours, of course. But if you want to create a business card book, do not complete the application form below booklaunchers.com application we only want to help authors committed to creating a great book they'll be proud to hand to anyone for years. And that takes time and a team of incredible experts working with you to help you write, publish and promote that book. But now I'm curious. What do you think of business card books? Am I just jaded after seeing too many people totally ripped off by these 10 chapter crap books that were done in a weekend? Have you created a great business card book? Share it below. Be nice, but I'm open to debate. And if you comment the day a video is released, you'll be entered to win some sweet noboringbooks. Because that's what we're about. Swag. And if you like this tip, smash that thumbs up button. Go ahead, try it. It feels so good to give someone a little boost for the day. And the thumbs up does that for me. And subscribe to the channel so we can be YouTube besties. Let's talk about something else, shall we? What do you feel like next? Maybe this video on how to start your chapters to engage your readers. Seriously important stuff that not enough people talk about. Or this lively tip that just came out? Go ahead, click it and we can keep this conversation going. I'm waiting for you.
