If there’s a season for reading, it’s summer — a time for family vacations, for afternoons at the beach, for weekends in the backyard hammock. We Americans love to get outside in the summer, and many of us grab a book as we head out the door.

In fact, 50 percent of book lovers change their reading habits over the summer, according to a survey by TFW, a lifestyle magazine for professional women.

That’s why so many publications, along with radio and TV shows, create summer reading lists. While some of these showcase classics, most are designed to introduce people to new books and new authors.
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Take My Quiz to Find Out
In my book, Celebritize Yourself, I write about my three-step method for increasing your visibility in order to promote your business, product, professional practice or book. It’s all about becoming an expert “celebrity” – someone journalists and talk show hosts turn to for informative and/or entertaining content.

Celebritizing yourself offers a number of benefits over other forms of promotion. First, it lets people really get to know who you are and what you’re about. Second, it gives you the implied third-party endorsement of media professionals – valuable! And, finally, if you’re providing valuable content, audiences are more likely to buy from you than from your competition.
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Publishing a Business Book? Make Sure It Looks as Smart as You
I’ve said it before and I’ve done it myself:

If you’re a professional or business person, writing a book that shows off your expertise is a wonderful way to market your service or product. It sets you apart from your competition and readers will view you as a respected authority on your topic. Include your contact information in the book, and they may become your next client or customer!
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What Is The Book Industry Telling Fiction & Business Authors About Traditional Publishing?

The same things we are!

It was nice to get that validation earlier this month at the 31^st annual Cocoa Beach Writers Conference. Our vice president for media operations, Alex Hinojosa, attended as a workshop speaker – and took the opportunity to attend a few workshops himself.
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Tips, Tricks and How a Book Can Help You

Writing a how-to business book or CEO memoir has become a recognized tool for marketing yourself and your business. It’s a great way to stand out from the competition, establish your expertise and share helpful information with the public. Plus, it can introduce you to a vast new audience of potential customers.

I discovered this almost by accident a few years after launching EMSI Public Relations in 1990. I noticed it was much easier to get clients on as talk show guests if they’d written a book — even when their credentials were otherwise very similar to other clients.
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Last week I wrote about the foundation of my “Celebritize Yourself” method for gaining visibility and credibility for your product or company. It involves establishing yourself as an expert in your field, which gives the media a reason to interview you.

And it all starts with a book – your book.

Writing a book is not as overwhelming a task as you might fear. In fact, book promotion is usually the bigger challenge. There are basically three types of books for this purpose: a story about your life and the lessons you’ve learned; a how-to that walks readers through solving a problem; and a novel that encompasses your message. All offer expertise of value to readers, whether you’re a financial adviser, an entrepreneur with a line of hot sauces or a day-care operator.
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How a Book Can Boost Your Profile – and Business
After several years in public relations, I noticed a distinct pattern among my clients: The entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers and business owners who’d written books were hands down far more successful in getting media attention than those who hadn’t.

We were easily able to position them as experts in their fields by mentioning their books in our pitches. Journalists and talk show hosts responded by turning to them as knowledgeable sources for their stories and shows. That implied endorsement of their expertise influenced their audiences.

Our clients’ credentials – their education, experience, successes, etc. – were and are valuable. But having their names on a book that showcased their expertise catapulted them above the crowd of others with similar backgrounds.
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Have you written a great book, but it seems no one beyond your mother and your spouse is interested in it?

You may have one of two problems – or both of them:

1. Your book has wonderful information, or a compelling story, but it lacks a professional polish. If it’s not well organized or written with clear, precise language, it may be hard to read.
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Naturally, if you get publicity for yourself and your book, you expect sales to start ringing up. Sometimes they do, but just as often, they don’t.

Why?

Because getting media exposure is just one element involved in marketing a book. When authors ask me, “I’ve been on the radio and in the newspaper, and it got me just three book sales, why am I not selling books?” I respond with a few questions for them.
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It’s understandable, really. People who have the passion necessary to write a book usually have just one thing on their minds: writing their book. Some may think ahead to getting it published, but, tragically, that’s where the planning often ends.

I’m not exaggerating when I say “tragically”! I talk to many people who’ve poured years of effort, money and sacrifice into their books, which wind up sitting in boxes in their garage. They never thought about how they might market their books themselves or budgeted for book promotion services.

When’s the best time to start thinking about marketing a book? Ideally, before you even sit down to begin writing. Because — and I speak from experience here — the first step will help in your writing.
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