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Have you ever thought about writing a book? Believe it or not, most people have thought about writing a book, but very few people follow through with it.
I ended up writing my book for fun, but I had no idea how many doors it would open for me. Not only has it opened doors for me professionally, but it also made it easier for me to make friends and date — and I’ve also been able to use it as a tool to get into certain rooms I usually wouldn’t have access to.
In this article, I’m going to share how I accidentally wrote a book and how I was able to accelerate my professional career with it.
Related: 5 Ways Your Business Will Benefit From You Writing a Book
How I wrote a book by accident
Writing a book is a huge commitment. Most books on the market have between 30,00 to 50,000 words, so writing a book by accident makes no sense.
Luckily for me, I was good at keeping a digital journal. In this digital journal, I documented the lows and highs of starting a company in my parents’ basement. In this journal, I wrote everything I learned, the mistakes I made and everything else in between.
At a certain point, I looked at my entire journal and realized it was enough to turn it into a book. Over the next two weeks, I put together a book cover and immediately ordered a marketing copy (an empty book for marketing purposes).
Once my marketing copy came in, I hired a photographer for a photo shoot and rebranded my entire online presence to pre-sell and build up hype for the book.
As I did this, I noticed some interesting things I initially never expected:
I started getting job offers (and accepted one)
One thing I did not expect from writing and marketing my book online was that companies would approach me with job offers for marketing and writing. I wasn’t getting dozens of offers each week, but once or twice a week, a new opportunity would make its way to me, specifically through social media.
This started to happen after I began marketing my book on Instagram. I took a part-time copywriting gig in mid-2022 and recently accepted a Chief Marketing Officer position at a commercial real estate company. All of these opportunities arose because of my book.
My book “pre-sold” me and made me stand out. It got me in the door. All I had to do was attend the interview and close the deal.
Related: The World’s Best Marketing Tool: Writing a Book
It allowed me to start charging what I am worth
Writing a book, especially within your expertise, is a great way to shoot your credibility through the roof. After I started publicly marketing my book online, I felt way more comfortable and confident charging exactly what I’m worth.
I already accumulated the skills and portfolio, but having a book helped me feel more confident when asking for those prices.
Whenever I am faced with objections, I noticed that they are more focused on the price, delivery of service and fear of taking action. I get fewer objections on the topic of credibility.
Networking is a million times easier
One thing that has gotten significantly easier after writing a book is networking. Not only have I been able to meet lots of cool and high-profile people online through platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, but I’ve also been able to connect with people in person as well.
One of my favorite tricks is bringing a physical copy of my book everywhere I go. Naturally, as I go through my day, people ask me, “Oh, what book are you reading?” This serves as the perfect transition for me to dive into the book I wrote and get more into exactly what I do.
These conversations lead to us exchanging contact information and potentially working together in the future. I’ve also been able to make lots of friends this way as well.
More speaking opportunities
Publicly advertising my book online has made it easier for me to attract and land speaking opportunities. Having a book is a great way to boost your credibility, but speaking about the book can open many doors as well. These doors include:
Plus so much more!
Getting book sales is amazing, but there is even more money to be made on the back end through various things such as speaking events, workshops, interviews, etc.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I never planned to write a book. It all happened accidentally, but I’m grateful I did it because the benefits are amazing — especially the professional benefits.
Don’t get me wrong: Writing a book takes some work and requires quite a bit of sacrifice. But if you want to take your professional career or life to the next level, you should highly consider writing a book. You’d be surprised as to where it will take you.
This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur
