The Power of Publishing for the Social Entrepreneur

Are you combining the passion of a social mission with your innovative but practical business solutions? If so, then you face the ongoing challenge of describing and explaining your vision and strategies. The most versatile and virile/viral medium to tell your story may be in a book.

Don’t scoff and tune out yet! The definition of “book” has radically changed in just the last few years, and its dizzying evolution presents opportunities for the nimble business leader. We may be talking about a printed book with all its traditional impact, or a short-run, print-on-demand book available on a just-in-time basis, or perhaps an ebook—more concise and far more portable—but just as professional. We may also consider a multimedia “book” combining your hard facts and your impassioned descriptions. Here’s the tip: Your audience defines the best format of your book—you apply market analysis as you would with any product.

Consider these five solutions your book will provide:

Define yourself as the leader. Lay out your vision and plan with confidence and clarity. Guaranteed, that message in print sets you at the vanguard. It gives others a flag to rally around. Your perspective becomes the leading edge. You are the one invited to be the keynote speaker, because you literally wrote the book on the subject.

Recognize the pioneers and innovators of the field. Honor them in your book. Suddenly you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them, humbly perhaps, but indivisibly. By placing your work in context to those you admire, you connect yourself philosophically or literally to them. Do you think someone you dream of working with will be more receptive to your proposal if you have respectfully referenced them in your book?

Make your case. You have a unique perspective on the social cause your business is addressing. In a book, you have the stage—front, center, and solo. Here’s your chance to crush the misconceptions, spotlight the toughest challenges as you see them, and redefine the game. Then you cannot not be misquoted and misrepresented. Refer them to page 32 of your book to set them straight.

Gather the powerful network you need. Now, as an established thought leader associated with the icons of the field and empowered by a compelling strategy, you can nurture collaborations that were if-only pipedreams when you started. New links in your network enter the conversation holding the high concepts from your book already in mind. With the unambiguous authority of your book as a velvet hammer, you can forge alliances that will rock your world. That’s what you want most, isn’t it?

Sell it. The book is part of the enterprise. You have a product or a process that offers a sustainable solution the world needs. We also need your story, your visionary version of how this could go. Give journalists covering the social problem and your industry colleagues real news in your book. They will tell the world about it for you. Feed inspiration and insights to everyone working in related social enterprises. They’ll pay you for it, gladly. The book earns its own place in your successful business.