People do not buy books from an author they have never heard of before if they cannot find information touting the writer’s credibility and expertise.

Would you pull out your credit card? Doubtful. Although books are definitely not a high-ticket item, they are still an investment of money and time. Remember, people need to give their full attention to your book – no multitasking permitted.

This is where marketing your book comes into play. When you establish your authority online by implementing a book marketing strategy, people will not hesitate to press “purchase” and read your book because, after just a few clicks around your social media, they will see the value you offer and want to read more.

So how do you begin to build authority? It starts with what you put out online.

If you are constantly posting pictures of yourself with your book and using captions like “buy my book now”, you will not be building up your authority. If anything, you will be turning people off. No one wants to be shouted at and sold to 24/7.

Instead, you will want to offer valuable content to your community. Here are three tips to continually offer value that builds authority:

Write Thought-Leader Content

Thought leader content is content that positions you as a subject matter expert in your field. It can take many forms, including:

• Blog posts
• White papers
• Social media posts
• Live and recorded videos
• Submitting articles to publications
• Your own podcast

The approach to take when crafting this kind of book marketing content is that of serving up a ton of value. So it is less about selling your book and your services and more about showing how and why you are the guru with the expertise. The more thought-leader content you can create and disseminate, the more you will build your authority with your audience.

The types of information to include in thought-leader content can often come directly from your book. Any tips, tricks, and how-tos, as well as client testimonials and transformations will position you as a subject matter expert with your ideal readers.

Lead Magnets or Freebies

Publishers may suggest their authors create a freebie to help grow their audience. But I’ve often found that the type of lead magnet suggested is to give away the first chapter of your book.

Please do not give away the first chapter of your book as a lead magnet. If people come across your content, will the first chapter be the absolute best piece of information they can get from you? Will it show them exactly what you do and how you help people? Will it give them guidance that proves to them you truly are an authority? 

Probably not.

Your lead magnet should be something separate from you book, in that it is not advisable to offer a chapter. Think about it this way: if someone has never heard of you before, would they believe that a book chapter is worth their time and their email address? (Those things are highly coveted). Chances are, your first chapter isn’t the best chapter of your book and it certainly doesn’t paint you as the go-to authority considering you’re only just beginning the story.

Instead, I recommend creating a lead magnet that offers this new “cold” lead – someone who is new to your work – a quick win. Examples of lead magnets that convert well are:

• How-tos
• Checklists
• Journal with prompts
• Calendars
• Quizzes

They should contain guidance or tips that can easily be completed in 24 to 72 hours. Something that once the potential reader/client completes it, they realize you are an expert and they are primed and ready to learn more about you.

Then as you follow up in your email welcome sequence, they will discover your book and be excited to purchase it because they already view you as an authority.

Collaborate with Others

Do not underestimate the power of your connections when marketing your book to build your authority. As you collaborate with other people in your network, you will be utilizing other people’s platforms to help build your authority.

It’s one thing to say you’re an expert. It’s another thing if someone else says you are. That’s the beauty of leveraging other people’s platforms where there is already an established following. 

Wondering about the best ways to collaborate with others? How about offering to be a guest on their podcast or live show? You can even offer a signed copy of your book for the host to read ahead of time. Then when you record the show, you won’t be the only one with wonderful things to say about your book.

You can also offer to write a guest blog post or do a round-up blog post that features quotes from many people in your industry. Members of your network will be happy to share great information with their audiences and you will get another boost to your credibility and your audience numbers.

Being part of a live summit is another beneficial way to collaborate with others while developing your authority as an author and expert in your field. Many summits are free to join. They will often require you to have a certain number of people on an email list and ask you to sign a contract to market the event on email and social media a specific number of times. As you give a summit presentation that highlights your expertise as well as your book, you will be speaking to a wide audience filled with ideal readers.

Developing your authority in your space with book marketing will enable you to see the return on your investment with your book. With a combination of thought-leader content that you disseminate across social media and more, a lead magnet that grows your audience, and collaborations with key influencers in your network, you are sure to build up your credibility as a subject matter expert who not only knows so much on the topic, you ever wrote the book on it.