Coaching Quote of the Day 9th June 2015
“The story I am writing exists, written in absolutely perfect fashion, some place, in the air. All I must do is find it, and copy it.”
(Jules Renard)
writing
Why every coach needs to write a book 1
In this week’s guest post business coach and book mentor Karen Williams focuses upon:
Why every coach needs to write a book
By Karen Williams
When I qualified as a coach in 2006, I got caught up with the hype of the industry. I was hooked with how I could create a decent living, make a bigger difference in the world, and that this would be easy to run a successful business. But it never happened that way in the early days.
Although I was told about niching, and I knew it was important, it wasn’t drummed into me that I had to be an expert.
Even though as a coach you don’t need experience of a topic to do an effective job, many clients will be seeking someone with expertise in the area where they need support. It’s not enough to ask a few good questions as people don’t buy coaching, they buy the result and outcome that they are looking for.
Plus if you think about your niche – if you have one – there are plenty of people doing something similar to you, so you need to know what makes you stand out.
When I did research for my first book in 2009, I was horrified by the statistics that indicated how few coaches are successful. So what is the difference that makes the difference?
Did you know that most successful coaches have written a book?
That’s why you need to do the same!
Of course if every coach wrote a book, then the market would be saturated with knowledge (and books!). Also it’s not just about writing any old book, it’s about writing the one that supports your business and showcases your expertise.
Many of my clients are writing their books, and I’ve had three published myself, so this is why you need to write and publish your book.
- It helps you to get clear on where you are an expert and what it is that you actually do.
Finding the thing that you do well is notoriously difficult as it’s hard to see what others can see. The stuff that you find easy and what you are good at is often where you need to specialise. And working on this stuff – like doing the passions and talents exercise that you can find in my third book – will help you to discover where you shine.
- It enables you to put your mark on the world, and reach more people who need your help.
When you write a book you lift your head above the parapet. Although scary, it makes it easier for others to find out what you stand for and reach the people who need you. There’s only so much networking, social media and speaking that you can do, so it allows you to maximise your time too.
- By aligning your book with your business you can use it to leverage your expertise – it is a marketing tool that can get you more clients.
A great book is a better marketing strategy than an email, business card or a tweet. When you have the systems in place to take people to the next steps in your product funnel, you can grow your business, have multiple streams of income, and get noticed by the people who need your help.
- It is cathartic to get your thoughts and ideas on paper, and it helps you to develop tools to assist your clients.
Many of my clients find that writing a book is incredibly empowering, as it allows them to get their stuff out of their head. They get clear on what they know that helps their clients and also do research if there are gaps in their knowledge. It can help you to develop your personal signature system, the thing you want to get known for, and also enhance the toolkit that you regularly use.
- When you write your best book, you will get noticed by the right people.
Writing a book will help you to demonstrate your credibility. It shows where you’re an expert, and allows you to display your wisdom. Not only will it increase your reach, you’ll be able to attract bigger players in your industry who are potential joint venture partners, affiliates, and willing to support you to create the change you wanted when you started.
Are you ready to write your book?
I’d love your comments on this post as I know that writing my three books (with two more on the way) has certainly grown my business, and my clients are sought after speakers, are getting great PR, and are known for what they do.
To find out more about why your business needs a book, you can download your free eBook at www.yourbookisthehook.com/ebook.
About Karen Williams
If you’re ready to write your book, stand out and become more visible, contact Karen Williams for a free business strategy session.
You can also sign up for her next event Your Book is the Hook Live on Saturday 25 April where she’ll be showing you how to write the book that will get you more confidence, credibility and clients. She also runs an annual writing retreat in Spain and you can join her this year from 24-29 September 2015.
Karen is a Business Coach and Book Mentor and has been running Self Discovery Coaching since 2006. She predominantly works with coaches, consultants and therapists who want to write a book that is the hook to grow their business. She helps them to plan, write, publish and promote their book and use it as a strategic marketing tool to get more clients, make more money and do what they love.
She is known for helping her clients to succeed by standing out from the crowd, getting noticed and being an expert in their business. She is the author of Your Book is the Hook, How to Stand Out in your Business, and the Amazon no. 1 bestseller The Secrets of Successful Coaches.
Your Book is the Hook 1
In today’s guest post business coach and mentor Karen Williams shares her personal experience and some advice:
Your Book is the Hook
Have you got a secret desire to write a book?
You know you’ve got something to say; if only you had the guts to do something about it. You know you want to write, but perhaps you don’t know what people want you to say or how to share your message.
I tell you this. Writing a book is something that will change the direction of your business. Although very few people make millions from writing a book – it won’t be your retirement plan or the thing that allows you to give up working – but a well written book will help you to stand out in your business.
Your book is the hook that allows you to:
- Build your credibility, allowing you to get noticed by your ideal clients
- Grow your community, reach more people and change more lives
- Position yourself as the go-to person in your area of expertise
Writing a book certainly changed the direction of my business. It was a little over 3 years ago that I published my first book, so let me share with you some of my story.
Why I decided to become a writer
When I started out in business, I didn’t have a clue where to start. Although I’d studied business at College, putting the theory into practice was very different. Making the transition from a pretty secure corporate job to the uncertainty of working for myself was tough. I had to put myself out there, develop the courage to do new things and I had to stand out to get noticed. And it was my first book that allowed me to do that.
However, I never set out to write a book. I did research for a project where I was modelling the mindset behind a coaching business. I contacted and spent time with some of the best coaches in the industry – including Michael Neill and Dawn Breslin – and learnt strategies that changed my life.
When I put these strategies into place in my business, it turned it around. I realised that I had cutting edge information that I had to share, so I decided to write a book. . The Secrets of Successful Coaches came out in 2011, which was followed 18 months later by How to Stand Out in your Business, which shared my own step by step guide to get noticed.
Is your business book ready?
Writing a book, however, is not the start of your journey; there are certain things that you need to do initially. You’ll struggle to achieve success if you just put pen to paper or hand to keyboard without nailing some of the fundamentals first. Your business needs to be book ready.
Without a clear target audience or a message that resonates with them, any book you write is more likely to fail. Without having a specific focus for your book or knowing what you want your reader to do next, you will struggle to make a difference.
Also, as I said earlier, your book is unlikely to make you millions, but when you develop a strategy to use the book to raise your profile, and have a process that allows your readers to work with you on a more intimate level, it will make a huge difference to your business success.
Want to write a book?
If you want to write a book, here are some questions to get you started:
- What is your goal or intention for the book?
- What is the topic that your readers need to know now?
- What is your hook?
- What else has been written about your subject?
- Who is your ideal reader?
- Why should they read your book?
- What do you want your reader to do once they have read your book?
- What makes your book different from those of your competitors?
- What else do you need to do to get your message out?
Then writing it is actually the easy part as you’ve got to get published, promote it, and then you might choose to do it all over again!
Take the next steps
If you know that writing a book will set you aside from other people in your profession, contact me to find out how I can help you.
To find out more about why writing a book will help you to stand out, you can download a copy of my brand new report ‘Your Book is the Hook’ here, where you can also find out more about the writing retreat I am running in Spain later this year.
About the Karen Williams
Karen Williams is the founder of Self Discovery Coaching and is a Business Coach and Mentor, Author, Speaker and Fire Walk Instructor. She predominantly works with solopreneurs (coaches, consultants and therapists) who want to make a difference, but know that to do this, they need to learn the skills to create and grow a successful business. She helps them to get more clients, make more money and do what they love. She is known for helping her clients to succeed by standing out from the crowd, getting noticed and being an expert in their business.
She is the author of The Secrets of Successful Coaches, which reached #1 in the Business charts on Amazon. Her second book, How to Stand Out in your Business, was published in 2012. In the second book she shares the 7 Step Success System that she uses to help her clients to become more visible and create a successful business. She is half way through writing her third book.