Imagine your reader’s experience when they pick up your book and can read it anywhere, anytime, at the office or in the comfort of their home or maybe on that long commute. Maybe there’s something in particular you want to remember or use. The information is a resource you can easily refer to. “Wow, I look forward to learning about _____. Pretty neat how they wrote a book about _____. I think I’ll suggest that idea to my boss tomorrow at work. Great idea. I need to check out the offers I found in this book and …”

I have a friend who sells custom-made suits. His online presence is mostly on Instagram. Great! No need for a website, right? Sure, but, can he get interviews quickly with his Instagram account? It’s doubtful. What if he wrote a book for men about wearing suits and he called it something like, Suits Really Do Make The Man: 101+ Quotes About Masculinity, Manhood & Wearing Suits? Wouldn’t that make potential buyers take notice? Talk about a great gift for women to give that special man in her life (i.e., boyfriend, husband, son, father, etc.).

In a book like this, he has full-color pictures of his suits, coats, pants and other attire for sale and showcase and pricing information. When he goes networking, which he does a lot, as a marketing expense, he simply hands out FREE copies of his book to prospective customers to look through. He’s always wearing one of his suits when he could tell a prospective buyer where he can be found on his website, which you know isn’t logical when networking … so, he hands them a book! They carry the book around and it’s a convenient reminder to check out his suits in his book. We spend a lot of time on the Web so when you can put a book in a customer’s hands, it makes a tangible and lasting impression.

Imagine if he handed out 10 books at a networking event. How many men (and women) would be interested in having a copy? I can see ladies saying, “What’s that book about, suits? Can I see it? Honey, you’d look good in one of these suits.” Or, “I need to get one of these books for my husband. Where’d you get this?” Try getting that kind of dialogue going with a web page or your basic social media account. It’ll never happen. A book in hand gets people talking. Websites get visitors and don’t provide opportunities for a personal show and tell.

What’s more? With a book like that, my “suit” friend would be able to get interviewed quickly and easily because he has an interesting book. Yes, there are pictures in it, but there’s also a message for men that they need to hear about dressing up, wearing suits, what kind to buy … it all leads to what? LEADS! “I heard you on the X-Show talking about your book and suits. I went to your Instagram page and checked them out. I have a few questions before I order.” How easy was that? NEXT interview, thank you!

Another client of mine sells real estate investment programs. All turnkey. You just supply the money and the company handles the rest. With this book, he talked about the mistakes and regrets people often make when investing in real estate when on their own and without a team of experts to help them. This is why it’s called turn-key.

In this book, he detailed his offer to subscribe to their real estate investment club, which costs $1,000 to join. He knows that it is well worth passing out a few books that cost him only $2.50 (avg.) to print. Obviously, he gives it to people he believes would be good candidates for his business. Think about pay-per-click advertising. How much does one click for certain keywords on a website like Facebook cost you to advertise? Estimate $1-$5 per click. Now, where’s the personal interaction or connection with that click? There is none. The individual who clicked on that link could get distracted and never spend any time on that website. That’s just how the “digital” world works.

With a book, you can be talking to someone about your offer at a networking event, give the person a copy and say, “Take the book home. Read it and call in a day or so. If you don’t think my offer is for you, share the book with a friend or associate. I’ll pay you a $500 finder’s fee for a new investor.” You can imagine that person asking for 5-10 more books to distribute, right? It can be well worth it to pass out a few FREE copies for those prospective leads. While books often sit on shelves and coffee tables, use yours to educate and inform and answer questions. You never know where your next lead will come from. “Oh, I need to look into that. I’ve been meaning to. I’m glad it’s somewhere where I can see it.”

With books, you can make a personal connection with readers who can review your book at home or the office while establishing a personal connection with you because you AREN’T digital. You’re REAL. Your book is REAL. You mean business. Yes, it can take time, money and effort to write a book and get it published, but for you, it’s very doable. Think about you as a new author.

Remember, what I said earlier about getting interviewed faster with a hard/soft cover book? What about creating a workshop based on your book? You increase the possibilities for interviews about your book, which allows you to promote your workshop before a potential thousands of people and voila! You win big time with seats filling up wherever you pitch your products/services and generate new leads because of your new book.