If you’re an author, or you’re planning to become an author, and you’re looking for creative ways to use your book as a calling card, I’ve got great news for you. Using a book as a calling card is one of the most powerful ways to leverage authorship into other benefits. Whether you are looking to increase your worth, move up another notch on the corporate ladder, or gain additional credibility as a subject matter expert, a book can help you get there.

Other authors have done just that. Here are three independent authors who have used their books as calling cards or leveraged their status as authors to increase their stature as public speakers or on-the-go executives:

1. Patrick Schwerdtfeger – Patrick Schwerdtfeger uses his book to get speaking engagements.
2. Ruth Ross – Ruth Ross boosted her executive credibility by authoring a book.
3. Kevin Kruse – Kevin Kruse reaches more people with his message through self-publishing and interviewing other experts.

Your Book Can Be Your Calling Card

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A calling card is like a business card, but it is often used to promote an individual rather than a business. The focus is on showcasing the person holding the card as an expert in their subject area. A book is the perfect tool for such a task. Here are five unique ways to use a book you have published as a calling card.

1. Use your book as a lead magnet – This method works great in digital format. Offer your book for free to anyone willing to give you their contact information. You can collect email addresses by giving your book away as a digital download, or you can give away your physical book by collecting snail mail addresses and phone numbers. Either way is a powerful way to use a book as a calling card. Just turn it into a lead magnet. It can work for any type of business, but it works magic for solopreneurs.
2. Give it away as a prize in a contest – If you’re a public speaker, you can give your book away as a prize. Ask your audience to answer a question from your presentation. The first person who gives the right answer gets the book for free. Or, ask audience members to fill out a form or drop their business cards into a fishbowl, then you can have a drawing and give the book away for free. If you run a business, give it away as a prize to one of your customers for sending you the most referrals, contracting for the most business in a single month, or for answering a trivia question.
3. Use it as an add-on for a larger purchase – Do you offer a product or service that customers pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for? Give your book to anyone who purchases your product or service. This is a great tactic for public speakers and consultants.
4. Offer it to audiences at guest appearances – If you’re a guest on a podcast, someone else’s YouTube channel, or you are on the panel at a conference or trade show, offer your book to anyone who listens to or attends your presentation.
5. Start a partnership – Leverage someone else’s expertise to get in front of their audience. Know someone with a large audience who has expertise in the subject on which you have authored a book. Ask them if you can get in front of their audience. Maybe they write the foreword for your book so you can offer your book to their mailing list at a discount. Look for creative partnership opportunities that allow you to leverage your authorship status into speaking engagements, product offers, or other business benefits.

There are many reasons to author a book. It’s not always about sales. Sometimes a book can create new opportunities for you in ways beyond income or direct sales. A $20 book given away as a prize or a calling card–even if you give away 100 copies and it costs you $20 for each copy–can lead to thousands of dollars in sales on higher end consulting services, expensive information products, and public speaking gigs where you can get paid a lot more for your expertise.

Looking for someone to help  you write or publish your book? Let my knowledge and experience boost your authority.