Why should someone hire you as a coach or consultant, subscribe to your blog or newsletter, come to see you speak, or hire you as a speaker?
Because, of course, you are awesome, original, and a unique expression of divine light in human form.
Okay, but besides that, why should someone pay you attention or money, or give you opportunities, when there are a umpteen people who do something similar?
Because truly, you are unique—and that allows you to create a brand for yourself that is different from every other brand.
Branding yourself with a book is an excellent way to expertise yourself and convey to potential clients, followers, and fans who you are and what your message and work is all about. Maybe you will give away your book, maybe you will sell it, and maybe you’ll do a combination of both. Whatever you choose, figure out your brand and brand yourself with a book that serves as your credibility card, giving weight to your credentials.
For branding purposes, you don’t have to write a full-length book of 50,000 to 80,000 words (or longer—self-help books years ago were typically 100,000 words but the average length has shrunk considerably). You don’t have to get a book deal, although you might want to work with a book publisher or a book publishing coach or service to handle the technical issues involved with turning your document into an actual physical book and eBook (electronic book).
Focus on these editorial questions: “What is my book about, how does it help the reader, who is my reader, and how will my book help establish my credibility as an expert?” for that’s at the heart of writing a book will solidify your brand. You can give the book away or sell it when you do personal appearances and have interviewers hold it up to the camera when you do local (or national) television shows or Skype interviews that get shared on social media. A snappy title for a book will help people remember you and do an Internet search to find you. Books help you build your platform for your work (consulting, teaching, etc.) just as your work helps you build your author platform. Your work supports your book and your book supports your work.
To start conceptualizing a book that fits into your brand, take your personal story of how you became interested in the work you do. After all, that is the very foundation of your brand and what sets you apart from others who do similar work. You have to be present in your brand, and your followers will want to know about you and your life. I give parenting advice and my brand is the Sensory Smart Parent, which derives from my coauthored book Raising a Sensory Smart Child. My expertise is in raising a child with sensory processing disorder who has “sensory smarts,” that is, he understands his sensory processing differences and can meet his sensory needs and self-advocate in a socially acceptable away. You, too, will want to be able to sum up your brand in a few words that capture what kind of parent, teacher, entrepreneur, healer, or speaker you are that sets you apart. You’ll want to be able to quickly describe your expertise.
My other brand is Cinematherapy, which is the title of a book I coauthored with my cousin Bev West. Like so many women, we find that movies are more than just entertainment, they’re self-medication that can cure anything from a bad hair day to the dumped-and-out-for-blood blues. (That’s a carefully crafted pitch we used everywhere in promotion.) Bev and I learned the art of Cinematherapy from our mothers and mutual grandmother who made time to watch movies as part of self-care, which for them meant letting themselves feel their emotions fully. Notice that Bev West and I are not film experts or therapists, yet we have an identifiable brand we can describe briefly and that is captured in the book’s title. Our story gives our spin on talking about movies a personal touch. And now you know the story behind the brand!
So let’s start with your story of how you came to have the idea for your work, whether it’s paid work or volunteer work, volunteering or coaching, healing or teaching, or whatever it is.
Know how to pitch your story. Everyone has a life about which a story can be told, says my client Carl Greer, PhD, PsyD, a Jungian analyst, clinical psychologist, shamanic practitioner, and author of Change Your Story, Change Your Life. But if you had to summarize your story of how you developed your message or came to do the work you do, what is your story? Take a look at short author biographies on the back of books you admire that are in your genre (for example, inspirational self-help or memoirs centered around life lessons the author learned). Take a look at what authors write in the introduction of their books. They don’t go on for many pages, but they do succinctly tie in what happened to them with how they became interested in their topic and developed expertise.
A book can serve as a credibility card. Figure out your brand based on your story and start thinking about a book tied into your brand.
Know what is universal about your story. Your personal story is absolutely key to your brand. Your unique perspective is shared by no one else, yet what you do can’t be so very personal that people who hear about you have no idea what you have to offer that they can use. They have to make a connection and say “I can relate to that person’s story! He seems like someone who would understand my situation and could help me.” Your message has to be clear, and people have to know what they are getting from you that will help them with their problems and challenges. Your services may be nutritional coaching, helping mothers of babies to find time for self-care, or training professionals to be better at creating YouTube videos that help sell their products and services. Those are common services with universal appeal. A story such as “I came to be a nutritionist because I grew up eating poorly and after becoming very sick, I taught myself about nutrition” is universal. That’s a good start to branding yourself because it’s rooted in your story, but you need to go further, so read on.
Know what is compelling about your story. Perhaps there is a startling, dramatic detail to your story, such as that you nearly forgot your baby in your car because you didn’t take time for self-care and that woke you up to the urgency of this common, universal problem of new mothers not taking care of themselves. Perhaps your own YouTube videos got such devastating bad reviews saying that you seemed stiff and authentic that you vowed to learn how to overcome your stilted performances and now you teach and coach others into creating awesome videos that sell their products and services. Think about emotional extremes–what would make someone go, “Wow, that’s devastating/hilarious/amazing!” when hearing your story. Strong emotions strengthen brands, so find the emotionally compelling aspects of your story.
Find what is different in your approach or voice. Maybe your business model is different from others’ because your approach is different: You coach people with check-ins every week, or you send them daily reminders through mobile devices to keep them on track. Maybe your gentle, warm, kind approach sets you apart from others who coach people who are used to a “boot camp” approach. Ask your clients, fans, followers, and friends what they find different about your approach if you aren’t quite sure what makes you different. And really ponder what’s different in your approach or voice. Close your eyes, meditate for a moment, and pose the question, “What makes my approach unique?” See if an insight doesn’t appear.
What makes you different is key to your brand and to branding yourself with a book. Now I hope you are closer to figuring out your brand and a book that will establish that brand.
Questions? Comments? As always, I’m here to help you!
