With so much divisiveness around the world today, more than ever we need leaders to provide hope, offer inspiration, and creative positive change. While you could, and perhaps should, be a leader in your own community, you can also have a greater impact through writing books and reaching people online.
How Books Make a Difference in the World
One of the reasons I am so passionate about nonfiction books is that they can have a tremendous impact the lives of readers. Whether a book teaches you something new, inspires you with a personal story, or enlightens you on a fresh topic, a single book can change the trajectory of lives for readers. Look at some of the books pictured below. Whether you write a memoir to inspire readers with your personal story, you teach readers something new, or you offer inspiration and hope, the fact is that the world will always need powerful nonfiction books.
Your book can also become part of your legacy, leaving your words to live on for decades to come. If you’ve been thinking about writing a book, trust me when I say this isn’t a goal that should be put on the back burner. We tend to put goals like this on the “someday” list, and then life gets in the way. If this goal is important to you, make it a priority to get it done. Reaching this goal is something to celebrate, and a choice you won’t regret.
Reach More People – Build Your Audience
Once you get your book on paper and get it published, then you need to determine how you will reach your audience. This is the biggest key of all—every author needs to build an audience. Not only will it help you sell more books, it will help you reach more people with your message. Perhaps if you can view marketing from this perspective, it can be more motivating to want to work on expanding your reach.
And by the way, marketing isn’t just about how many followers you have on Twitter (or other social network). The key to making a difference in the world is to build your platform with the right audience in ways that feel right to you. Your audience might like to listen to your podcast or read your blog or participate in one of your presentations. Determine who your ideal readers are and then build your marketing plans to focus directly on their needs, challenges, and interests.
Ideally, start with just one of the following marketing strategies and focus on doing that well. Then, once you’ve mastered it, consider adding one or two more to the mix. Your marketing plan can include any of the following:
- Host a blog
- Host a podcast
- Be a podcast guest
- Build a YouTube channel
- Cultivate a loyal list of email subscribers
- Deliver webinars
- Speak at events
- Get media coverage
- Write a column for a print publication
- Write for a popular blog
- Host a group on Facebook or another platform
- Join social media groups where your audience spends time
- Start your own trade association or nonprofit
- Partner with a related association or nonprofit
- Build a social media following on one or two platforms where your audience spends time (you don’t have to use all of them!)
Look at any successful author, and he or she is likely doing one or more of the above platform-building strategies. I personally began with a blog back in 2005, when I was focused on working with small business owners. The more content I added, the more traffic the site received. Soon I added an email newsletter, then I began distributing digital products, conducting podcast interviews, and speaking at events. All of this happened before social media even existed. And those efforts led to a tremendous amount of media coverage, consulting opportunities, speaking opportunities, and corporate sponsors. You can do the same!
If you want to make a positive difference in the world, it’s imperative to figure out how to cultivate your audience. Chose one lane and begin your journey so that you can reach your biggest goals.
By the way, your audience may already be bigger than you realize! Download our free report on How to Build a Tribe of Influence.
