Greetings, entrepreneurs!
Are you looking to boost your SEO and drive more traffic to your online business? One effective strategy you might not have considered is self-publishing a book. A well-written, valuable book can position you as an authority in your field, attract new customers, and even create a new revenue stream. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do it.
Step 1: Conceptualizing and Writing Your Book
First, you need a book idea that aligns with your business and offers value to your audience. Once you’ve got a concept, it’s time to start writing. A good starting point is creating a detailed outline for your book. Consider using a tool like Scrivener or Google Docs for writing and organization.
Step 2: Editing and Proofreading
After writing your book, it’s crucial to get it edited and proofread to ensure it’s polished and professional. This can significantly impact your book’s success. You can hire a professional editor or use a tool like Grammarly or ProWritingAid. More recently I’ve been using chatGPT for editing, ghostthewriter for rewriting in different famous author styles, and quillbot for proofreading. For most nonfiction, you might not need a book editor to pull it all together for you, especially if you use AI writing tools to do all the work.
But if you’re writing from scratch and making it up as you go… you probably need help from a professional book coach or developmental editor who can take your mess and turn it into a bestseller (or at least, not shit).
Step 3: Designing the Cover
People do judge books by their covers, so ensure yours is professional and appealing. You can hire a designer or use an online tool like Canva or BookBrush to design your own. More recently, people have started using AI tools like midjourney to create art; otherwise you need to buy stock images and photoshop them together, which is a pain in the butt – and only a professional designer can choose the right fonts and typography and make it look professional, although there are some book cover templates that do a pretty good job if you’re in a pinch.
Step 4: Formatting for Ebook and Print
Next, your book needs to be formatted for different platforms. Tools like Vellum or Reedsy Book Editor can help you with this. You can also learn to format in MS Word (just google “microsoft word book formatting templates) and you’ll find some good ones, but… it’s a pain). Vellum is best; Atticus isn’t bad; or draft2digital has a decent option for ebook formatting. There’s also this free ebook conversion tool that’s based on Calibre.
Step 5: Choosing the Right Self-Publishing Platform
There are various platforms for self-publishing your book, each with their own pros and cons. Amazon KDP is the most popular, but other options include IngramSpark, Smashwords (now draft2digital), or Lulu. Basically – you should use amazon KDP so you can also access ads and keep track of everything. BookBaby has a service too.
Beware of any “hybrid press” which are mostly vanity publishers – they charge a few grand for a publishing package but skimp on all the super important stuff like cover design, leaving you stuck without control to actually fix things and boost conversion when your book doesn’t sell.
You’re also going to need some book reviews: here are 11 ways to get book reviews, and if you get stuck, consider a professional book review from Kirkus.
Step 6: Marketing and Promoting Your Book
Finally, no book will sell without book marketing and promotion. Consider building an author website, setting up a mailing list, leveraging social media, and investing in paid advertising. Tools like Mailchimp, Buffer, or Hootsuite can help with this.
Here’s 163 book marketing ideas.
You can also enter some book award contests, like the page turner awards.
Boost SEO and Site Traffic with Your Book
A well-written, valuable book can improve your SEO and drive more traffic to your site. Here’s how:
- Authority and Credibility: Publishing a book on a topic relevant to your business can position you as an expert, improving your brand’s credibility.
- Backlinks: You can include links back to your site in your book, driving direct traffic and improving your SEO.
- Content Marketing: You can use sections of your book as blog posts, social media updates, or in your newsletter.
- Partnerships: Collaborating with bloggers, influencers, or other businesses for interviews or guest posts can get more eyes on your book and your business.
Creating even a very simple ebook, means you’ve got a juicy optin offer that can attract your ideal customer. I like to break a book into a few dozen blog posts and post those as well; or turn them into videos. If you’re stuck with the writing, I use a tool to convert my rambling videos into text and then use chatgpt to clean all that content up into *massive* blogs that I can post, or add to sections for the book.
You can run ads to a landing page or just sell the book directly on Amazon, with your optin bonus offer in the front and back, and then use Amazon ads or facebook ads to boost it; if you break even, you can keep your book visible on Amazon and working full-time to bring in new potential clients, who will see you as a trusted expert (if you write the book the right way!) and then be ready to hire you.
Often they’re too busy to actually read the book, but they’ll be impressed by it anyway and it might put you on their radar, allowing you to boost traffic and even raise prices.
Useful Resources
- Writing: Scrivener, Google Docs
- Editing: Grammarly, ProWritingAid
- Design: Canva, BookBrush, DIY book covers
- Formatting: Vellum, Reedsy Book Editor
- Publishing: Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Smashwords, Lulu
- Marketing: Mailchimp, Buffer, Hootsuite
- Book Reviews | Book Marketing
In conclusion, self-publishing a book is a powerful strategy for boosting your SEO, driving traffic to your site, and positioning yourself as an authority in your field. With the right tools and approach, you can leverage the power of self-publishing to grow your online business.
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