Becoming an authority – 5 practical first steps
In a world where more and more business owners are making the decision to writing a book, creating something that stands out and makes an impact is essential if you are to be successful.
In my sixth book, Becoming An Authority, I share the 10 principles that I believe are important for those who want to build their credibility and business from their book.
There’s really no point in writing a book for the sake of writing it, so what does it take to write an authority building book? Here are 5 practical first steps you can take today.
1. The niche
If you’re trying to be all things to all people with your book, it’s not going to be successful. The most successful books, in terms of generating business off the back of the book, are those which are niche.
When you appeal to a target audience – ideally the target audience you work with already or one you want to reach – you are more likely to be successful.
2. The problem
If you’re like many business owners, you probably have tons of information you can share, so how do you hone it down further?
Once you’ve decided the niche for your book, then next is to find out more about the problem this group of people are facing. Delve deeply. Focus on their biggest problem. And if you don’t know what they are struggling with, ask them.
3. The solution
When you know what problems your ideal readers and niche are facing, what is the solution you’re offering in the book?
How will it help them? What outcome will they get from reading it that will solve their problem?
4. The routemap
What journey are you going to take people on through your book to get from the problem to the solution?
Do you have a signature system, framework or process that you’re going to be following? Are you sharing your journey and experiences?
Starting with the end in mind and having a plan will make your book easier to write.
5. Why people should listen
I believe that you need to be at the heart of your book, although you need to put your reader in the forefront of your mind.
Your reader wants to get to know you and the reasons why you decided to write your book, but it shouldn’t be so much about you that the reader doesn’t get the outcome they desire.
Have you nailed these five points for your book?
Of course, there’s a little more to writing a book than this, but these five key things that are important.
And if you’re wondering how this works in practice, let me give you some examples from two very different books.
Sarah Ilaria Northe, Find Your True Northe
The niche: Coaches who want to be better coaches.
The problem: Their coach training doesn’t equip them effectively enough to be transformational coaches. They recognise that to powerfully serve their clients they need to work on their own stuff.
The solution: Tools and techniques to coach at a transformational level.
The routemap: The proven True Northe philosophy that supports the coach to achieve their own transformation and then to provide powerful experiences to go deep with their clients.
Why people should listen: Based on several decades of life experience and thousands of hours of client work, Sarah has taught coach training to hundreds of clients.
Paul Hickman, A Funeral Service
The niche: Families who have lost a loved one and those supporting these families (e.g. funeral directors).
The problem: In painful situation, the families need to arrange a funeral and don’t know where to start.
The solution: A practical guide to arranging a funeral service to make it easy for those left behind.
The framework: Advice and guidance on the practicalities of what happens and when in a funeral service, plus suitable music, poems, readings, hymns, scriptures and prayers.
Why people should listen: As a Lay Minister, Paul has supported hundreds of families and conducted the funerals of their loved ones.
Can you apply these 5 steps to your book?
I’d love you to share those on this blog, please add them in the comments.
If you’d like to chat about how you can get clarity on these 5 points for your book, then click here to book a free 45-minute Book Focus call to sanity check your ideas, explore the outline of your book and ensure you feel confident, inspired and focused to get going.