329: 5 Ways Writing a Book Will Positively Impact Your Business: Fan Favorite Replay

Hi there. You’re listening to the Leading Lady Podcast. I’m your host, Alison Loftus, and I’m a certified professional coach specializing in leadership and work-life balance. I work with clients to shift their limiting beliefs, insecurities, and self-doubt. This podcast will be filled with tools and strategies to help high-achieving women like you feel connected, empowered, and in the lead of your life, both personally and professionally. Let’s transform your life starting now. Lead yourself. The rest will follow.

Hi there, leading ladies, and welcome to today’s episode. I’m going to be sharing with you five positive outcomes that I have personally experienced in my business since becoming a published author.

This year, I released my third book, We Lead: Building Connection, Community, and Collaboration for Women in Business, Volume Two. This is personally my third book, but I have been published in four books, as I was a guest author in Hot Mess to Hot Mom by Tara De Leon. I was one of the featured authors there.

And my initial reasoning for writing a book, my first book, Take the Lead, debuted in 2022, and I will say that my initial reasoning for wanting to publish a book was just that. I felt that I had a story that I could share. I found that I was repeating a lot of stories and life lessons that I had experienced, obviously, in my own life, and I was sharing them as I was coaching other women in business.

And so that naturally took me to the idea of, I think I’m going to write a book. So I did, and it published in 2022. We Lead, Volume One, published in 2023, and then We Lead, Volume Two, published in 2024. And I was a guest author in Hot Mess to Hot Mom, also in 2024.

I had no idea the positive impact that becoming a published author would have for me and my business, and for the other authors who contributed to the We Lead collaborative books, both We Lead One and We Lead Two.

So, for today’s episode, I wanted to share just the top five positive outcomes that I experienced and also invite you to perhaps think about if you are someone who thinks that having a book could be beneficial to your business, I invite you to reach out. Let’s have a discussion about that. I’m happy to share with you who I went with as a publisher and kind of what my experiences were with all of that.

It definitely is a labor of love. It’s not a fast project to have, but for this episode, I don’t want to get into the nitty-gritty of publishing. I really just want to share the outcomes that I’ve experienced now that I am published. Again, if you have questions specifically around publishing, I would be more than happy to have conversations with that.

And perhaps someday I’ll do an episode strictly around the publishing aspect of it. But for today, I just want to talk about the outcomes of being published.

1. Enhanced Credibility and Authority

So, number one, the enhanced credibility and authority that I experienced. And I’m not talking about authority of, like, my word is the end-all, be-all. But it definitely gave me credibility in my industry of coaching, especially coaching women in business.

Writing the book helps position you as an expert in your field because you are able to share case studies and personal examples of how you are taking your skills or tools that you are hopefully sharing in those resources that you’re sharing with your audience, and you’re able to show evidence and, like I said, case studies of how you applied that to your own life and how you were able to see those skills or tools or resources in action.

And the readers are able to view the authors as trustworthy and knowledgeable and as established professionals. I definitely experienced that through the stories that I shared. I’ve had numerous readers reach out to me and say that they felt that they really got to know me through those stories and trust me and see a different side of me as a person.

Hearing the stories or reading the stories in the book really brought the human side of me out, which is, you know, you’re like, of course I’m a human. But I think we kind of lose that. But through stories and getting to read personal accounts of what someone has been through, when done well, it does connect with readers and they do build trust.

And I think that even goes for even fiction books. I think that we’ve all read books where we have fallen in love with the characters and really deeply connect with them. And so to be able to write a nonfiction book and be vulnerable and show yourself as multidimensional, it just allows readers to really connect with you and build that trust with you.

And when people trust you in your industry, you become a credible professional to them.

Additionally, another avenue of credibility is it can open doors to speaking engagements, media interviews, and other collaborations with businesses. I know for me, I have been invited to speak at events. I’ve been a keynote speaker, a motivational speaker, a guest speaker. I’ve sat on panels, I’ve been on other people’s podcasts, I’ve been interviewed for various things in different platforms.

And because I have multiple books to share that, yes, these are, again, tools and resources and skills that I’ve practiced and I’ve put out there, and I have case studies and stories and experiences to share from that, it just makes it easier to be invited to participate in those things, again, to build credibility.

2. Increased Brand Visibility

Number two is increased brand visibility.

Your book can act as a powerful marketing tool that can introduce your business to new audiences. Many people who didn’t know me as a coach or didn’t know anything about Leading Ladies when they came across the book. That was just a new way for them to learn about me and about the Leading Lady community.

I wasn’t expecting that when I originally put, initially put, the books out into the world, at least Take the Lead. I thought just my friends and family would read it. I had no idea that it would become a book that a woman would pick up in a bookstore. I mean, that’s your dream, right? That’s the dream. Is that a random stranger will pick up your book.

But I didn’t really put a lot of weight into that. And so as more and more people outside of my immediate network were starting to find these books, it really opened up the visibility to my brand.

Having a book allows you to expand your reach through online platforms and bookstores and other networking opportunities, that you’re reaching new communities again outside of your direct network. And I personally, firsthand, experienced that. I’m so thankful. And I think that’s so, so important.

When you see a new book or if you have someone who is promoting their book, I think the best thing that you can do is give it to someone who has never heard of that person.

I myself like, even when I’m looking for a new read, I recently just did this with a dear friend. I said, hey, who’s a new author that you’re reading from? Or can you share someone with me? Like, something that’s not in my norm of reading?

And when authors are shared in other networks, you’re just amplifying that brand and that person. And I personally experienced that was that increased brand visibility.

My book became kind of synonymous with my brand. Obviously, my first book, Take the Lead, has the giant flamingo on it, the flamingo. It’s like a mosaic flamingo. All the pieces are falling apart or coming together. It depends on how you look at it. And that was a very intentional illustration of myself.

And sometimes falling apart looks like coming together, and sometimes coming together looks a whole lot like falling apart. It’s kind of an illusion.

But the book title, Take the Lead, We Lead, it’s all around leadership, which is what the Leading Lady brand is all about. And people have come to know that the We Lead books completely align with Leading Ladies, We Lead Leadership Symposium that we do.

It’s all about collaboration. It’s all about connection of women bringing communities together, sharing our stories. And it just took the brand that I had as Leading Lady and really solidified that concept and that message that was going out into the world.

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3. Improved Client Trust and Loyalty

Number three is improved client trust and loyalty.

By offering valuable insights in a book, it demonstrates that you’re truly committed to helping your audience, like really meeting their needs.

You know, I think about the books we read, Volume One and Two, and how each of the contributing authors, they share their story, and then they end their chapter with a tool or a resource that women readers or even male readers. I’ve been told that it’s not just for women, even though that was the intent. That was the purpose, the vision behind the book.

But I’ve had even men say what they really love, or what people really love about the book, is that tool that they can immediately apply to their life, and it makes the reader feel like we really wanted to provide value. We wanted them to not just like, oh, here’s my story. Now you know a little bit more about me, but it’s, hey, here’s my story and here’s how you can apply this lesson that I’ve learned to yourself and your life.

Clients are more likely to trust and engage with your business when they can see the depth of your expertise.

What the We Lead books did for Leading Lady is it really took the Leading Lady community and made it a robust network. It’s not just about me and my offerings as a coach, it’s about just the value of resources that are collectively part of Leading Lady. How so many members and women leaders in our community have contributed so much value.

And so I feel like what that did was it just allowed people to develop a deeper trust to the Leading Lady community as a whole. And both books really fostered a deep connection between Leading Lady and the greater audience and the authors.

I mean, it’s just when I think about We Lead Volume One and Two, how they have just brought people together, the authors, how we had to collaborate together and encourage one another to write those chapters and share our stories and look at each other’s tools and say, hey, does this make sense? Will this connect?

And then it going out into the world. And I think one of the greatest things that I’ve experienced through both of these books is that one author might have, like, a cousin or a colleague or a client that picks up the book because they want to support her, and they end up reading other chapters and just like, wow, they get introduced to somebody totally new and it really was the tool that they needed or the author that they needed, that they didn’t know that they needed.

And so just that deeper connection between the community of authors and readers and the Leading Lady community has just been really profound. And that trust and that loyalty of our community has never been stronger.

4. New Revenue Streams

Number four is obviously new revenue streams.

I didn’t know how many books I was going to sell. I had no idea that I would reach bestseller status. I mean, that’s always the hope.

Take the Lead was a bestseller. Hit bestseller in three categories. We Lead Volume One and Volume Two each hit bestseller in six categories.

So those book sales, obviously, you don’t make a ton of money on book sales. I’m not going to lie to you there, but it is a revenue stream. Small, but it is money coming in when you sell those books.

The really profound revenue stream was being able to create courses and workshops and coaching programs, or pulling people in by reading the book, and then they hire you as a coach, or they hire you to come do a course or a workshop with them.

And because I am a published author, because I have that bestselling status, I was able to charge higher fees for my services because I’m a little more established.

I felt like when I was brand new and nobody really knew who I was, and I had the credentials, I had the training, the accreditation, but didn’t really have that next level of credibility, I charged lower rates.

And now, having, you know, bestseller status four times over and three under my own books, but it just takes you to that next level. Like, people want to have a bestselling author come and speak to their group. They want to take a workshop from somebody who has established that expertise and that authority in there.

And so the revenue streams have really surprised me in how it’s not really about the book sales, it’s about the opportunities that the book can open up for you and make you more marketable, more desirable for people to hire you for specific things.

5. Expanding Your Network and Partnership Opportunities

And then number five is just expanding that network and that partnership opportunity.

Being a published author, it has attracted opportunities to connect with other professionals and experts and organizations. It’s a great conversation starter and it allows a platform for forming those valuable collaborations.

I have met so many incredible people in the author world, other coaches, getting to collaborate with the different authors, specifically in Volume Two. Because I did open it up, it wasn’t just Leading Lady ambassadors.

I’ve gotten to meet so many cool people through this. Editors and other publishers and publicists and marketing experts and just all kinds of people that make the publishing world go round.

The book world is actually pretty small, and authors are incredibly supportive of other authors. I have really experienced just such kindness and people really cheering and championing you on, because writing a book is really hard.

It can look easy. I’ve often had people say, wow, like you’re just cranking them out. And I have a fourth book scheduled to come out in 2025, and people are like, gosh, it must be super easy. And I’m like, no, it’s not easy at all.

I’m just really thankful that the people in the publishing world, fellow authors, people who understand the work that it takes, are so eager to champion you, champion me, and connect me in ways in other collaborations.

So each of these outcomes, they have significantly impacted my business growth and my reputation.

I see how it’s helping my contributing authors in We Lead Volume One and Two. I have seen how it’s impacting their business, how they’re now exposed to different opportunities, how they’re inspired to become lead authors themselves and have collaborative books under their name.

It’s just really created this ripple of empowerment, of saying, yeah, you know, my story matters. My story deserves to be out there.

And it’s just been beautiful to watch, to see how these businesses flourish through that.

So are you planning on writing a book? Have you been thinking about writing a book? Do you need to talk it out with someone? I have a wonderful publisher that I can connect you with.

If you’re looking to do a collaborative book, I can talk to you about the hybrid publishing process. I can share some stories with you on how Take the Lead was published, and what the lessons that I learned from that.

Again, maybe that’s a whole other podcast episode, but what I really wanted to share in today’s episode is that writing a book, for whatever reason, if you feel that you have a story in you, which, spoiler alert, we all have stories in us because our lives are unique and rich and full of experiences.

But if you have a desire to share your story, and I really hope that you do, because stories matter and we learn and grow with and through each other.

If you’re thinking, how could writing a book help me in my business, I’m here to tell you it can help you in your business in so many ways.

And like I said, I just wanted to share these five profound ways that really changed my business and how the books have helped me scale and refine and really shape my business to be what it is today.

And Leading Lady is such a trusted community, and that came with a lot of dedication and focused work. Having the books, having the podcast, having the community. It’s not putting your eggs all in one basket.

It’s really being able to diversify how you’re getting your message out there and making it accessible to people on different platforms, and how those platforms can talk to and support each other through that.

So I hope that this was helpful. I hope that this maybe gives you the inspiration or the courage to get your story out there.

Again, I do read and respond to every email sent to me. So if you are thinking about writing a book, I’m here to tell you it really can help your business and your community so much.

And like I said, if I can be a resource or just someone to cheer you on or champion you on that journey, I would be more than happy to do so.

Until next time. Take the lead.

Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the Leading Lady Podcast. You can find all of the links and information mentioned in this episode at LeadingLadyCoaching.com.

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