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Everyone says that writing a book will enhance your career, making getting new customers a snap, and make you a boatload of money (plus Oprah).

What a bunch of baloney. Read the statistics.

The people who promote the idea of writing a book as a ticket to the big time, must think we’re stupid or something.

Writing a book is a process, anyone can do it. Publishing is simple and cheap these days.

Having something to say that people will buy is a whole different matter. If you want to get published, something I have found to be incredibly profitable (indirectly) is to get published where it counts. Get your clients’ trade association to publish one of your articles. Get them to let you answer questions in a recurring column.

According to the experts, there are two publications that have a regular readership of over 75%. Three out of four people who receive it read it, cover to cover. One of those is your neighborhood’s weekly newspaper. How else will you know when community activities are being held? And how else will you know which one of your neighborhood teen age hoodlums was caught shoplifting at the video store?

The other publication is the trade association journal. People want to know who and what is happening in their industry. They want to pick up tips, tune in to trends, and find out what the leading companies in their industry are doing.

If you work hard (you won’t be the first person pitching this idea) and get the editorial people on your side - when you articles begin appearing regularly in the trade publication your target market belongs to - your phone will begin to ring.

Over the years I have asked clients why they contacted me. Again again they said it because they had read something I had written in their trade association’s magazine. Each of them figured that the association executives had searched high and low to find the most knowledgeable expert possible and then pleaded with me to write a few words of wisdom for their members.

That wasn’t it at all. I was the one scrambling around doing this and that to get in a position where they would be willing to publish something I wrote. Naturally you’d think that because now I am a recognized expert, that they really would be bombarding me for article submissions. Wrong again. I still have to keep pitching in order to stay in front of my audience where they read and believe every word!

So, if you think writing a book will make you rich, famous or respected think again. First, 99.9% of the books published each year sell fewer than 500 copies. You’ll get famous by doing good work for your clients. Help one person solve a problem that has been plaguing them and they’ll become your unpaid marketing team.

And about getting people’s respect. The only people who will be impressed are those who are so out of touch that they don’t realize you can have a beautiful book with your smiling face on the cover for a thousand dollars. Is that who you want to impress?

If you think you will impress your in-laws by writing a book, you are too optimistic for your own good. And your mother will love you no matter what. So if the only one you want to impress is yourself, well I’m sure there is medication for that.

Write articles, get published where it counts. You’ll make a lot more money. Articles will make  selling what you’re already selling easier. That’s where the money is.

Take my word for it.

 BTW: We have just updated our Internet Marketing Strategy, something those of you whose success depends on your ability to market, sell, and deliver your professional services might find interesting.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 6th, 2006 at 12:59 pm and is filed under Coaching, Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.