Beyond the Business Card
Write Better Books to Enhance Your Career
When I was new to Chattanooga, my husband and I started attending networking events—to make friends, get connected with other business owners, and, of course, find more work. Chattanooga is not a literary town, so when I introduce myself and explain my work, others often look at me like I’m a unicorn. The responses range from “huh” to “WHOA—that is so cool!!!” (and those people are my favorite!)
Once, when I was at one of these events, I was chatting with a business owner who said he was interested in writing a book.
“You know, as a business card,” he said. He went on to describe his vision for a book that shared fun stories from his career, mostly emphasizing how good he is at his job and what cool things he’s gotten to do because he’s such a baller. As if that kind of bragging was going to impress his potential clients.
I nodded as I listened, but I didn’t have the words right then to articulate why my heart died a little bit inside, and simultaneously why I felt a rush of righteous indignation.
Now I know that part of it was the off-handedness, the way he shrugged off the monumental craft to which I have devoted my life as if it’s no big deal, not worth any more than the 3.5x2” pieces of cardstock we had been collecting all night, and which would inevitably end up in the recycling bin.
Ouch. Is that all a book is?
What also bothered me was the blatant disrespect for the reader, his potential clients. What a waste of their time!
It’s been years since that night, and that conversation has stuck with me, grating at me every time I hear people say something to the same effect.
Because on one hand, I get it. A book is a good way to promote your business and a good way to help people remember your name and what you’re all about. It’s a great way to attract speaking engagements and media opportunities. You could even include your contact information in it and encourage your readers to contact you.
But a book differs from a business card in so many ways.
A business card asks the receiver to do something—first, to reach out regarding the connection, and then, presumably, to pay you money for a service you can provide them. Except in rare circumstances, a business card often offers the receiver very little in return.
Books, on the other hand, should always be an incredible gift to the receiver, an act of generosity so impressive and touching—even life-changing at times—that they leave the reader better than they found them. Regardless of whether the recipient pays for the book or is given the bookfor free, books are a colossal commitment of readers’ time. They expect and deserve to get high value out of them.
Because of that, books should take a lot more work and investment from an author than whatever it takes to have a business card created—even a really cool business card.
Here’s what I wish I had said that night:
If what you want is a fancy business card, then spring for the gold foil embossing and die cut edges. But don’t write a book.
Not only do readers deserve better, but I would argue that a book like the one he described—one that functions more as a highlight reel of how awesome you are—is actually completely ineffective at getting you closer to your career goals.
So let’s talk about what kinds of books would work better to get you more speaking engagements and media opportunities, build trust with your potential clients, and effectively grow your career.
It is possible—but only if you do it right.
Meet your readers’ needs.
Let’s look at five of the top selling business/money books on Amazon right now and the compelling messages they offer to readers:
Atomic Habits: Change your systems & environment, change your habits.
The Mountain Is You: The hard things you’re going through are an invitation to become better.
Hidden Potential: Everyone has hidden potential, if we can learn how to access it.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: Change your mindset about money, change your finances.
How to Win Friends and Influence People: Your success in life depends on your ability to effectively inspire and connect with the people around you.
Those last two messages are so compelling that those books have been bestsellers for decades.
Here’s what all of those messages have in common.
First, they are focused on the reader’s transformation, not the author’s. The #1 mistake I see in “business card” books is that they’re about the author—just like a business card. But great books that enhance careers are not about the author; they’re about the reader.
These books have found a way to solve a sticky problem for their readers—the kind of problem that, if it was solved, would permanently change the reader’s life for the better. That promise is catnip to readers!
Related to that, these books offer concrete hope for the future, and a promise that unlocking that hope is within readers’ grasp. Want to get rich? I’ve got the secret, and I’m going to tell you… While getting rich might feel out of reach for many readers, the core promise of the book is that success is within reach. This deep desire that readers have suddenly seems attainable. The hopeless are suddenly offered real hope.
Third, these books have specific readers. While some of these books’ messages might feel a little bit stale or over-obvious to some of us, they don’t feel that way to the readers who need them.
For the person who just got passed over for a job and told that they just didn’t have the “people skills” or didn’t seem like the right “culture fit” for the company, How to Win Friends and Influence People might appear as just the thing they need to help them land the job next time.
For the person who feels stuck in a mundane job and who knows, deep in their bones, that they could be doing more, Hidden Potential is going to look really good.
For the person facing something terrible they don’t know how to get over, The Mountain Is You offers a way to make sense of that tragedy and grow despite the circumstances.
These books tap into something at once both specific and universal that will keep them selling for a long time—because even if we’re not facing that exact problem right now, we all know what those problems feel like, and we can imagine a future where we face something similar again.
This is the kind of message that will get you invites to keynote a conference and interview with a top-rated podcast. This is the kind of message that will attract potential new clients to your book.
By the way, my Hungry Authors cohost Liz and I are teaching a completely FREE webinar on how to come up with bestselling book ideas next Tuesday, based on the lessons we’ve learned from dozens of bestsellers just like these.
You’re going to learn:
Two ingredients that ALL bestselling book ideas have
Six time-tested approaches for finding your unique idea
How to test the market to make sure your idea lands
We’d love to see you there!
Pack your book with value.
I often hear authors say things like, “I don’t want to put everything in the book, because then the reader will have no reason to work with me.”
This mindset is logical, but it doesn’t take into account that readers want personalized help.
Books come with the expectation that the reader will figure out how to apply the lessons inside to their own lives. And, while many readers want to know what the lessons are (so they’ll buy the book), most of them also want the author to come alongside them to do the hard work of figuring out what those lessons look like when applied in the unique context of their own lives.
I promise you, if James Clear offered 1:1 coaching for people who wanted to change their habits, hundreds of thousands of people would line up around the block and pay good money for the chance to tell him their unique problem and ask him for his advice—even if what he told them was exactly what he wrote in the book that they already read.
That’s just human nature. We all think our situation is unique and special and different from everyone else’s, even if it’s not. Smart authors know this, and so they don’t worry about sharing their “secrets” with potential clients.
Plus, giving abundantly and generously of your knowledge and insights to readers builds trust with potential clients. They think, “Wow—if all of this is in the book that I bought for $25, imagine how much more value this author could offer if I work with them directly!” Because you have exceeded their expectations with the book, they will feel more comfortable investing even more money into working with you directly.
Keynotes, workshops, and speaking engagements work the same way. If you deliver something outstanding in your book, conference organizers, HR trainers, and directors of professional development will trust you to deliver even more value when you are with them in person.
Plus, you owe it to your readers! They are investing $$ and time into the book; make it worthwhile, and they will know that you’re good for it—and more. In our forthcoming book, Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Creating, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book, Liz and I wrote:
When you write a book, you make a pact with the reader. That pact is:
You (reader) will give me approximately $20-30 of your hard-earned money and several hours’ worth of attention, valuable time that could be spent playing with your kids or making money or planting vegetables or sleeping or zoning out in front of the TV. And I will make it worth it.
A book asks a lot from the reader. They deserve your very best in return.
Make sure it works.
Writing from your experience is a great place to start, but in my opinion, it’s not enough for prescriptive nonfiction books. If you’re writing a memoir, great—readers know that this is one person’s experience.
But if you’re promising the reader a transformation in their lives, they expect you to have the goods. They want to know that what you’re offering actually works.
Here’s how you can do that:
Include real life stories of clients and people you’ve worked with who have applied your lessons/insights and seen transformation in their lives. (Note: You’re going to need their permission, but if their lives have truly changed for the better, then they’re highly likely to give that permission.)
Do your research. Academics are always conducting studies on what works and what doesn’t, across every field imaginable. Don’t be afraid to give readers the hard numbers that back up your claim. It doesn’t have to be dull or dry; it can impress them.
Empower your readers to tell their stories of transformation once they’ve applied the lessons in your book. Give them a platform to share the good changes they’ve made. Create a community where they can connect with other people facing the same problem. Celebrate their successes. Their wins will convince other people that what you’re offering works, and will build their trust in you as well.
Collecting these stories and this research also gives you more fuel to promote your book and your services. The media will love you if you know how to tell compelling stories of transformation around your ideas!
Write with them, not to them.
Your voice, your tone, your humor, your warmth—all of it matters. Deeply. Because it helps readers get to know you more personally. It makes them feel like they know you. Familiarity is one of the best advantages you can have for selling. 71% of people are more likely to buy something from someone/a brand they recognize (Global Banking & Finance Review).
Readers want to feel like you’re in the trenches with them, that you’ve been through exactly what they’re going through and you genuinely understand and empathize with their plight.
A friend of mine just went to a conference where she heard speaker and author Lysa Terkeurst give this advice: “Write with them, not to them.”
I couldn’t agree more.
I often tell my authors to pretend like your best friend came to you asking for advice. What would you say to them—and more importantly, how would you say it? You would be respectful. You would honor the experiences they’ve been through. You wouldn’t talk down to them or act like you know everything and they know nothing. You would be generous. You would assume the best in them.
But writing with them is more than just your tone. It’s about offering insights that show you take the reader seriously. The deep problems they’re facing deserve deep answers.
Too many books offer surface-level half-truths that sound good but ultimately don’t fix anything.
Forget the platitudes, idioms, and cliches. They’ve already heard those. Challenge yourself to think deeper, to dive past the crud floating on the surface of the problem.
Build in shareability.
The dominance of social media means there is a premium on shareability. The shorter and the pithier you can say it, the more likely it is to catch fire.
Practice writing shorter sentences that pack a punch.
The necessity of this seemingly trivial idea was driven home for me in Verlyn Klinkenborg’s book Several Short Sentences About Writing. (One of the best books about writing, by the way.)
He says,
We take for granted that what we love in our reading is perception, wisdom, poetry, wit, irony.
Yet it’s surprising how often what we love is really found in the material structure, the concrete details, the rhythm of the sentences.
Readers don’t just want to share ideas; they want to share ideas that look and sound good—especially on social media, since that’s where most of us do our sharing.
More potential clients, media, and speaking engagements will find your work and book you if a lot of other people are talking about it.
Make your ideas shareable.
Work on refining your sentences so that there are interesting zingers and pithy one-liners that people will want to highlight, underline, text to their friends, and post to their Stories on Instagram.
Your readers will thank you for it—and they’ll come clamoring for more.
This is the essence of a great book that builds careers: It makes readers feel that they have gotten more out of it than they’ve invested into it, and that makes them want to continue investing in you, the author.
Write a book like that, and watch your career take off.
Tips & Tidbits
Trust Your Woo When Picking Books
I love Melissa Urban’s method for picking the books she reads. My process is probably 90% woo—whatever I’m feeling in the moment is what I read next. Sometimes it’s a book I bought yesterday or two years ago, and sometimes it’s a book my neighbor loaned to me three months ago. Who knows? How do you pick books?
Two Books Available for Preorder
Calm in the Chaos: Ancient Stoic Wisdom for Successful School Leadership is my latest collaboration with Ruckus Maker and school leadership expert Daniel Bauer. It’s my favorite of all the books we’ve written together (four so far). This book offers educators (and humans) insights and applications for the four Stoic virtues: wisdom, justice, courage, and temperance - all of which lead to equanimity. The book publishes February 6!
Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Creating, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book is now available for preorder! Barnes & Noble is offering 25% off to BN members when you preorder using discount code PREORDER25. What a great deal!
Your Book Idea Is Too Small
Author and literary agent Lucinda Halpern is a treasure. I am SO excited for her forthcoming book, Get Signed. She’s also going to be a guest on Hungry Authors soon, so keep a lookout for that! In this recent post, she walks readers through how to broaden the scope of their book idea so that it is both timely and timeless.
A Different Perspective on “Book Bans”
I have to admit—the idea of “banning books,” any books, no matter what they are, rankles. I have a visceral reaction every time I see a headline about such-and-such school district “banning” a book. It makes me want to grab my pitchfork and head out to the picket line. But when you dig deeper into each supposed book banning situation, the story gets more complex and, dare I say it, the motivations for “banning” become a bit more understandable. My friend Ericka Andersen wrote a great article clarifying what’s actually going on when some groups protest certain books and what it actually means to be “banned.”
On the Hungry Authors Pod
Sometimes we dream of writing a book before we even know which book idea to start with! So many possibilities. Do you start with the poetry collection you've always dreamed of, or the novel that's been sitting in a folder on your desktop, or the practical how-to book that you could probably write in your sleep?
That was the dilemma for Claire Williams, an executive coach who took the Hungry Authors Map Your Book cohort course last summer. In this episode, she talks about how mapping out her ideas helped her decide which one to pursue. Now she's writing a book proposal, launching a PHENOMENAL Substack, and guesting on pods!
What’s Bringing Me Joy
The snow is gone. Warmer weather (albeit rainy) has arrived. The baby is getting more confident standing (with support) and crawling on her hands. The five-year-old called me “Mommy” and told me she loves me. She tossed it over her shoulder on her way to the bus, but I caught it and have been holding it close to my heart ever since.
I’m treasuring these moments in foster mom life. They make it worth it.
May you treasure the moments of wonder in your weekend.
Ariel
I love the idea to “Make it shareable.” That’s one of the aspects of the comp book I’m reading that I realized I liked after reading this. (Love the moment with your foster daughter! That speaks volumes about the safe space you’re so generously providing.)
Soo much value and goodness here! Thank you!