Why You Should Write a Self-Help or Business Book in 2021
Are you an entrepreneur who wants to market your business with book sales? Even if you’ve never authored a self-help or business book before, there is a wealth of resources (and ghostwriters!) out there to help you bring your idea to fruition.
First, let’s take a closer look at how lucrative the self-help industry is, and how you can use this growing sector to leverage your business.
Then, we’ll get to the good stuff: how to choose a profitable self-help or business topic for your new book!
A quick word before we begin: I have always noticed that “business” books and “self-help” books were similar. Indeed, performing a simple search in Google or Amazon will return titles that overlap in both categories. Business books help people succeed in business! Many self-help books also help people succeed in business through personal transformation. So you can see why I consider both genres to overlap.
Why should you write a self-help or business book in 2021?
The self-help (also referred to as personal development) industry is projected to grow significantly in the coming years. Books will continue to play a huge role in growing the industry. According to Grand View Research, “[t]he books segment, including e-books, audiobooks, and printed books, is anticipated to register the fastest CAGR [Compound Annual Growth Rate] of 6.8% during the forecast period.”
And while printed books are still selling very well, ebooks and audiobooks are becoming more and more popular. From a customer standpoint, the convenience of getting the content instantly at payment, and the ability to view the content at any time across multiple devices, are convincing selling points. Technology is making it easier and easier for us to consume the content we are searching for.
But it’s also much easier for the authors! Once your book is finished, you can publish it in print form AND digital form simultaneously, allowing you to reach even more readers with one text. As a bonus, ebook formats allow you to update your text with new information or revisions. I’ve personally edited and proofread titles that were already published—and then all my client had to do was hit “update,” and the new version edited by me was uploaded instantly to their platforms.
Already have some books published? It’s not too late to polish them up—you can always retro-edit them! Contact me today for a quote.
Do you have to be a self-help guru in order to write a “self-help book”? Of course not! The self-help genre is broad—we’ll get into that in a moment with the most profitable topics—and the truth is, as long as you are writing with the goal of helping your readers, you could call it a self-help book.
What about business books, then? You don’t have to be a CEO with decades of experience. You can own any type of business and use a book to market and leverage your company or personal brand. If you’re skeptical, check out this article from Entrepreneur. The author, an SEO expert, makes the case for why his company uses books to gain visibility and attract leads.
He says that writing a book will lend credibility to your business. Not everyone takes the plunge to actually write a book. While self-publishing makes launching your book even easier these days, it still takes a lot of hard work and effort to be able to say you’re published. So if you are already a business owner or influencer, why not add author to your accomplishments?
But beware—you can seriously chip away at your credibility if your book contains confusing language and errors. Ensure your text looks professional by hiring me to make sure you’re saying what you really mean, and without any pesky typos!
The author of the Entrepreneur article goes on to say that writing a book increases the visibility of your business or personal brand. When marketed effectively, you can drum up some serious interest simply by letting people know that you’ve published a book.
You can also leverage your book as a lead magnet or tripwire on your website. Best of all, if you sell your ebook online, you can generate income from a new revenue stream! Most of my clients have business backgrounds but became hugely successful authors because people are searching for helpful, useful content for the price of a book rather than a course.
So you’re sold on writing and publishing a book in 2021. Now you need to decide what to write about! Let’s move on to the most profitable self-help book topics.
Most profitable self-help and business topics in 2021
What you don’t want to do is simply write a book about the first thing that comes to mind (unless you intend for your book to be a passion project). You want your book to sell! So you need to find an in-demand topic that you can relate to your business or personal brand.
What have readers bought and enjoyed in the past, and what kinds of books are they searching for today?
- Passive income
- Saving & Investing
- Retirement planning
- Personal branding
- Freelancing
- Forming habits
- Fitness & Weight loss
- Digital marketing
- Self-esteem
- Finding inner peace
As you consider the above topics, ask yourself: How do they tie in with your business? What in your business experience relates to these topics? Maybe you’re an SEO pro—write a book about digital marketing! Or maybe you have time management down to a T—why not pen a book about forming good habits?
Of course you should draw on your own experiences to make your book personal and relatable, but again, as you further refine your topic, make sure people are already searching for that information. You can use this awesome article for more info on how to do just that!
One last word of advice as you are outlining your book: whatever topic you choose, always write with your audience in mind! That means providing value and solving a problem for your readers.
Provide ultimate value by working with an experienced copyeditor and proofreader! Let me take these 2 tasks off your hands after you do all the hard work of writing your book. Get in touch with me today to discuss your project and publishing schedule.
Happy writing!