Prospecting, business development, client acquisition. No matter what you call it, one thing is certain: Top financial advisors know that continuously courting new clients is key for long term success.

Developing your business without coming off “salesy” requires a bit of creativity. Cold emails, sponsored luncheons or Facebook ads all run the risk of feeling impersonal. 

As a result, many financial advisors are discovering another path: sharing their unique knowledge in a book, and using the book to engage and educate potential clients, differentiate their services, build trust, and establish credibility in their market. 

Though too many financial advisors spend endless hours writing and publishing a book only to find that despite all their hard work in creating an amazing product, people don’t know about it. Their masterpiece ends up sitting on a shelf collecting dust, rather than helping them.

The dust-collecting stops here. Having worked with over 1,500 authors to successfully launch their books, I’ve pulled together five specific ways financial advisors can use a book to increase authority, generate referrals and open prospect conversations. 

1. Reach the masses by helping just one. First and foremost, your book should focus on answering a specific question. 
Why? Because readers who go to Amazon for a financial planning book know exactly what they’re looking for, and they type that question into the search bar whether it’s “How to save for college,” “How to plan for retirement,” “How to invest in cryptocurrency,” etc.

Your book should answer a question people are asking, and Amazon needs to know what that question is.

Does your book tell people how to invest in cryptocurrency? Title it something catchy, but then ensure your subtitle includes a line like “How to Invest in Cryptocurrency.” Amazon will know what your book is about, and readers will know that your book can answer their question.

Include the same phrase in your book description, and add it to your keywords too. The idea is to teach Amazon’s algorithm to send people to your book whenever they ask your specific question.

Once your book has answered that question successfully for even one reader, that reader will start recommending your book to other people. 

2. You already have a fan base. Use it.
When it comes to recommending your book, no one will do that more consistently than your best clients. Help them do that by giving them a few copies of your book to give away. 

You’re not asking them for a favor. You’re giving them a gift. Everybody likes getting something for free. And they’ll have friends who also like getting things for free. 

Remember, you’re not using your financial planning job to build a career as an author.

You’re using your book to build your career as a financial planner. So, don’t be concerned about giving your book away. The point is to use it to bring in new clients and make money by expanding your practice.

3. Your book is someone else’s value-add.
There’s no better way to expand your practice than getting other people to do it for you. If you’ve written a book, you can do that by connecting with a small handful of professionals in fields that intersect with your audience.

For example, if you wrote a cryptocurrency book, look up businesses that accept bitcoin as currency and offer them a free stack of books to give away in their own promotions.

They’ll be interested because you’re giving them something valuable that their customers want. 

Now, you might be thinking, “But those people don’t need my book. They already know about cryptocurrency if they’re using it to buy things.” Right. And they’ll be interested in hiring the financial planner who literally wrote the book on the thing they’re already into.

One of the great things about a book is that it works whether people read it or not. If they do happen to read it, and they start referring it to other people, that’s great. But the book did its job the second they flipped it over and found your website on the back.

Whatever book you wrote, focus on the question it answers, and think about what other businesses or professionals serve the same audience. Stores, lawyers, professors, real estate agents … the answers will be different for each book. But there are thousands of opportunities out there once you start thinking about who your audience is and who else wants to serve them. 

4. Connect with the people who reach and serve your audience.
You know who else wants to serve your audience? The media, bloggers, podcasters, Sirius radio programmers and local TV morning shows. The digital world is hungry for content.

TV shows are mostly interested in today’s hot topics. If you can find an angle that ties your book to current events, it’s worth giving your local networks a shot. But you don’t have to be on TV to make a splash.

You just have to get in front of the right audience.

For a cryptocurrency book, look up blogs, podcasts and Sirius radio shows that focus on that topic. They always need content, and they’ll be interested in your book because it speaks to their audience. Pitch them an article or show topic that draws on the content of your book to reach a ready-made audience that’s extremely interested in your practice area. 

5. Add your book to your digital footprint.
Include your book in your automatic email signature, and add your cover to your website. Once you have a few solid media credits, add the best of those too. A simple line in your email signature that says “Author of … As featured in …” is enough to be noticed by anyone who’s interested in your field.

This is a tough one for a lot of authors, but don’t think of it as bragging. It isn’t. It’s about putting your focus out there so people will know exactly who they should send your way—connecting you with people who share your interests.

Which, after all, is the whole point. You wrote your book to attract new clients who need your particular expertise. If you use it wisely, it will help you build a practice you love.

Zach Obront is the co-founder of Scribe Media, which helps busy professionals write and publish their books. He’s also the author of the Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Scribe Method, a step-by-step guide on how to go from idea to published book.