Getting featured in anthology books is a great way to get some attention on your business and the work you do while exploring if writing as a larger marketing strategy could be a good fit for you and your brand.
What is an anthology?
An anthology is a collection of writings that are compiled into a single book. You may be familiar with the classic Chicken Soup for the Soul series or fiction anthologies of mysteries, sci-fi, or romance short stories. In non-fiction anthology books the writers are often professionals that come together to provide insight or share their experience about a given topic. They’ll each contribute a chapter of anywhere from 1,000 to 6,000 words, with the average chapter length being approximately 3,000 words.
Who can participate in an anthology?
Whether you regularly write a blog or you have written nothing longer than a price quote in the past 20 years, with the right support, any small business owner can capitalize on the benefits of participating in an anthology book and market your business. As time goes on, I’ll post additional articles with tools and tips that can help you in this journey. But in the meantime, let’s discuss why someone would want to take part in an anthology book project to begin with.
Business Benefits to Publishing
There are many benefits to publishing a book and as part of an anthology book project specifically. Today we’re focusing on the benefits of becoming a published author as part of an anthology book project. Here are a few reasons you should participate in an anthology project to market your business.
Low Effort Requirement
A typical low content book can run 50,000 – 80,000+ words. In an anthology you’ll only need to contribute 1,000 to 6,000 words. In our anthology projects here at Beverly House Press, we aim to support our authors in putting out chapters of approximately 3,000 words. At about 500 words per typed page (single spaced with paragraph breaks), you’re looking at about 6 pages typed. I think you’d agree that’s probably manageable, especially if you’re receiving guidance on the outline and structure of the chapter.
Awesome by Association
By being listed with other outstanding individuals, some of their credibility will rub off on you. Now let’s be real, this will not be enough to get you the big clients you may hope for, but it will certainly improve your chances of having that clients give you more of their time and listen or read what you have to say. Your editors and publisher should also be on your team and helping to ensure that your chapter is clear, engaging, and well-written for an excellent reading experience.
Professional Credibility
Having a book published is a great way to market your business. It underscores the fact that you have experience, a plan/system that is unique to you, and serves as an indicator (whether or not it’s true) that others recognize your authority. These days it’s like a high value business card that’s much less likely to get tossed away. However, I’ll add here that for this to work in your favor, you MUST put out a well-written, high-quality book. It would be better for you not to publish at all than to put out a poor quality book, as it can sabotage your reputation. If English is not your first language, or your grammar is a bit shaky, be sure to work with a team that you know will ensure that what gets published is something you can be proud of.
Marketing Strategy
Just like a catalog of your work, or the ‘freebies’ most business coaches advise you to put out, your book chapter can be used as a way to provide potential customers and clients with insight into the work you do, how you do it, and why you may be the best to work with them. This sample of your work is all presented in a no-pressure, non-salesy way. The purpose of the book is to help or inspire (or both) the reader. Give them a taste of what they can expect from you and your business and make sure it’s representing you at your best!
Amazon Searchability
Don’t deceive yourself into thinking that Amazon is only the world’s largest online retailer. It’s also one of the largest search engines in the world for people ready to spend money on solving their problems and making their lives better. Just like small businesses should aim to ensure they are easily findable via their website, or their local paper, so too should you be positioning yourself and your business on Amazon’s platform. As an author in an anthology book, you’ll have your name listed on the book as well as on an individual author page on Amazon’s site. You can include relevant info there on who you are, how you help others, and how people can get in touch with you — and it has longevity. Books stick around for a long time and many authors of anthology books see an uptick in activity not only when their book is published but also later when additional books in the series are published — even if they didn’t take part in those later books!
Next Steps
If you’d like to discuss taking part in a group author book to support your business marketing, book a time for us to chat. We’re starting an anthology series this year and would love to see if you might be a good fit!
Tiffanie Yael Maoz, Ph.D.
I'm blessed with a full life exploring this beautiful world with those I love most and helping good people reach and help more clients and customers. Ways I help: business strategy, tech-operations wizardry, scientist, wife, mother, author and publisher.
