May
7, 2021
5 min read
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Writing a book is a lot of work — after all, you’re not only drawing on your own knowledge and experiences, you’re also working in case studies, statistics and more to prove your point. While finishing that book is a big accomplishment in and of itself, you shouldn’t consider yourself done with it after you’ve finalized it for publishing.
For your book to have the greatest possible impact on your business, you need to leverage its content throughout your content marketing plan. In reality, writing a book can make the rest of your content marketing plan easier, not harder. Let’s outline how.
1. Transform chapter sections into blog content
While you don’t want to copy and paste content from your book into your blog, each chapter can serve as the basis for one (or several) blog posts. Grammar Factory recommends that each chapter in a business book break a main topic into several subtopics that allow you to explain the main subject in greater detail. By focusing on “the what, why and how” for each subtopic, you create rich, engaging sections for your book.
Following this basic outline also makes it easy to transform each chapter into several blog posts. Each subtopic from your chapter should be rich enough to be repurposed as a blog post. Simply adjust the wording to reflect its new format, and you’ll be able to produce blogs at a rapid clip.
Related: 3 Ways to Create More Content (and Views) from Your Blogs
2. Pull key stats or stories for social media posts
For the arguments in your book to be truly persuasive, you need to conduct a fair amount of research. Industry statistics and case studies are invaluable for proving your point in the book itself, but they also serve as a goldmine for generating social media posts that will catch your audience’s attention.
As Aaron Orendorff explains for Write to Done, “Evidence-based posts are ‘viral gold’ because they establish your authority, credibility and individuality. Whether you are sharing the results of a personal test or the outcomes of an online survey, providing original data or displaying existing data in a novel format, this one is always a crowd-pleaser.”
3. Transform select sections into video content
Video is generally considered to be the most engaging form of content on the web — in fact, 68% of marketers get a better ROI from video than Google Ads. By transforming subtopics from your book’s chapters into video, you will have a highly engaging library of content for Facebook, YouTube and other channels.
Video content can (and should) be much more engaging than a simple reading of your book. Make your video as dynamic as possible with a personable presenter who can provide a brief overview of the topic. Focus on highlights or key statistics so you can keep the videos under two minutes.
4. Use chapters as a starting point for podcast episodes
Podcasting has also become increasingly valuable in the world of content marketing, providing a unique avenue of reaching your target audience while they are commuting, working out or relaxing at home. When listeners find a podcast they like, they will be intensely loyal; 61% make purchases from ads they hear on a favorite podcast.
Your book’s chapters are the perfect starting point for creating an engaging podcast episode. You and your guests can discuss the ins and outs of your topic, going beyond what is written on the page. You can even use subtopics to develop question prompts when interviewing guests.
5. Build a webinar from book content
Most business books are educational in nature. After all, few things are better for establishing your expertise than helping your readers develop a new skill or improve their capabilities. But not everyone learns best by reading a book. Many people prefer a classroom-style learning experience.
To accomplish this, your book can be used to generate a series of webinars based on each chapter. You can adapt the book’s content to provide a script for a webinar that is up to an hour long, presenting key insights and information. Many businesses use webinars as a client-onboarding tool or as an additional revenue source, making this an excellent use of your book’s content.
6. Provide the foundation for guest posts and appearances
Your content marketing strategy should extend beyond your owned platforms. Writing a book gives you authority and makes you much more visible to others in your industry. This can be leveraged to get guest blogging opportunities, podcast appearances and more that might not have been possible before.
When you conduct outreach for these appearances, you can now include the fact that you’ve recently published a book. The added authority that comes as an author will make you a far more appealing guest.
Related: 4 Innovative Ways to Get Media Coverage
When you take the time to write a quality book with meaningful insights, it can become so much more than something you occasionally incorporate into your marketing. It can become the foundation for all your content marketing efforts, serving as a rich source of materials that can be used for almost any medium.
In this sense, a book becomes the gift that keeps on giving. Not only will it help grow your business’s audience, but it will also ensure that your content marketing remains consistent to your brand and helps engage your followers.