YOU HAVE the right skills and background to build a successful business. What you don’t have is brand authority.
There are millions of others in your field, so how do you create authority with that kind of competition? How can you get your audience to listen to your message?
There’s no right way to build your brand’s image. But one of the easiest ways to create instant authority in your industry is to write and sell your own eBook. It may sound too easy, but becoming a published author (even a self-published author) is one way to showcase your talents in a credible way.
And don’t worry, I’m not asking you to write Kindle’s next runaway hit. Not all of us are born writers, and the thought of writing an actual book can be overwhelming. But don’t think about trying to become a best-selling writer. You’re transforming yourself into an authority figure.
This short guide will help you understand that the process doesn’t need to be stressful or overwhelming.
Choose How to Share Your Expertise
This is where you get to shine! You already know something fantastic that your potential audience will love – you just have to figure out what that is. And it doesn’t need to be a traditional eBook. It can be any digital creation that you come up with.
Think about what you can share that will be valuable to your market needs. Something unique, clever and useful. Something they would love to learn more about.
Here’re a few examples:
- how to’s
- templates
- share your experience
- lessons learned
- checklists
- tutorials
- best practices
- guides
- strategies
A great example is Jessica Sepel, a health and fitness blogger, who sells a wide variety of eBooks including meal plans, shopping lists, and guides. These products highlight her knowledge of her field, increase her authority, and create a new profit stream.
Create Your Digital Masterpiece
Creating a killer authority eBook is different from trying to create a piece of fiction. You’re just sharing your knowledge with the world. Writing may be challenging if you don’t have a lot of practice, but you’re only sharing your existing knowledge and expertise and not writing about topics you don’t know anything about.
The actual process of creating a digital eBook isn’t that hard, as there is support and guidance if you need help. There are just a few key details you should keep in mind:
Writing
This is what scares us the most – the actual writing part. But there is help available, like Jeff Goins Writing Resources or Bryan Hutchinson’s Positive Writer.
Editing
You can make a few editing mistakes in a blog post and maybe no one will notice. But make a mistake in an eBook, and it’s there forever (or until you make a second edition!). Be sure to use an editor who will help you refine your work and ensure you don’t have any grammatical issues. There are a lot of freelance editors available at Fiverr or Freelancer.
Cover
The cover of your book needs to be both professional and eye-catching. Like editors, you can outsource a graphic artist to design your cover. Or you can try designing a cover yourself at Canva. They have a ton of eBook templates for you to choose from, and it’s an easy program to use.
Choose an Easy eCommerce Platform
As you want to grow your authority, it’s important that you promote your new eBook on your website. Selling from a website is extremely easy when you use the right eCommerce platform. Selz specializes in helping self-published authors sell their eBooks. It’is fast and easy to use option, and can be integrated into both WordPress and Blogger sites. You can add a buy button, widget or embed an online store directly into your blog.
Author Tara Gentile writes business-related books directly from her blog using a Selz plugin. Selz handles the entire sales and downloading process. The topics of Tara’s books highlight her authority as a business coach.
Showcase Your Talent – Grow Your Authority
This makes it sound simplistic and easy to accomplish, and it’s actually a lot of hard work. But don’t overthink this. Creating your own digital product based on your expertise is easier than you think.
There are no limitations on the type of eBook you can create. You’re only limited by your imagination. Think of a unique aspect of your industry and share something valuable. With the right product, you’ll grow your authority and create a profit stream at the same time. With a little hard work, you will increase your brand’s image and showcase yourself as an authority in your field.
