Tony Schwartz, President & CEO, The Energy Project
We don’t typically write about our own clients on this blog.
But recently, one of our past clients landed such a huge media hit that I just simply had to share. Not just to celebrate his success – which is hard-won and incredibly well-deserved. But to share the important lessons for other authors trying to share their ideas through publishing a book.
Two weeks ago, I opened an email newsletter from Tony Schwartz, President and CEO of The Energy Project. Since launching his last book, BE EXCELLENT AT ANYTHING, Tony has done a number of things, including becoming a prolific blogger for Harvard Business Review. In fact, you have probably heard of him – his posts are consistently among the most popular, nearly always landing in the top seven list for weeks at a time. When I opened the email, I was expecting a link to another insightful piece about how to improve the way we work in the 21st century. Instead, I found a short, humble message:
“I thought you might be interested in seeing me on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning with Andrew Ross Sorkin, talking about the magic of doing one thing at a time.”
Now, if you’re impressed, multiply that feeling by A LOT – that’s how blown away I was. CNBC is at the top of every business book author’s media wish list, but in recent years, it has become by far one of the most difficult hits to get. Their shows are so incredibly focused on the market, that unless you’re the author of a book that ties into major business news of the day, or one who also happens to be the sitting CEO of a public company (and you’re ready to get grilled about your quarterly earnings report), the opportunities for authors with insightful, practical ideas about business seem to wane by the day.
So, how did Tony land such a coveted, hard-to-get spot?
Here’s the most important thing to know: he wasn’t on there to talk about his book. A book which, by the way, was released nearly two years ago, in May 2010.
Tony appeared on Squawk Box to talk about his latest HBR blog post, The Magic of Doing One Thing At A Time. And while I can’t speak to the intricacies of what led to the interview, my hunch is that this appearance can’t really be traced to this one blog post, or to a single pitch from a PR representative. Based on what I’ve seen Tony do over the past two years, it’s clear that this CNBC interview was not the direct result of a single post or pitch, but a long-term byproduct of the incredible platform he has built for communicating his mission, and pulling others – readers, media, and potential clients – toward him to engage in those ideas. And this platform is the result of a multitude of efforts (one of which was writing a book), compounded over years of time.
BUILDING A PLATFORM
Two years ago, Tony published a book called BE EXCELLENT AT ANYTHING: The Four Keys to Transforming the Way We Work and Live. The message of the book is simple: in a world where demand always exceeds capacity, we must learn to better manage our energy if we want to perform. In short, his mission is to help individuals and organizations solve the personal energy crisis in business today.
Tony assembled a great team to help him launch the book. His publicity team (of which we were but one part) helped him land traditional and online media coverage of the book, and orchestrate a multi-city media tour and social media campaign that encouraged people to personalize his message with one simple action: taking back their lunch hour. At the end of it, he had a few great national media hits under his belt, incredible amounts of buzz with influential bloggers, a growing following within social media, and local media interviews in nearly every city he visited while on the Take Back Your Lunch tour.
But it was what he did after the initial book launch that really brought him to where he is today. Tony and his brilliant team at The Energy Project recognized the foundation they had built via the book launch media, and they leveraged it into a strategic platform-building effort for the mission of The Energy Project. And they continued to nurture and grow that platform, reaping huge benefits in the form of increased social media engagement, major traditional media coverage (like his appearance on CNBC), and huge growth in their business, to top it all off.
As an author, your platform is like a garden – if you just plant the seeds, water it once, and walk away, it will die. Gardens need constant effort and tending, and you often need to wait patiently until you can reap the fruits of your labor. And if you want your garden to continue to produce beyond that initial harvest, you simply embrace the fact that you’re in this for the long-haul. Gardens – and platforms – only produce results as long if we continue to put in the effort.
Tony’s efforts over the past few years provide an excellent case study for what you can achieve when you use a book as a starting point for building, nurturing and growing a platform. Here are three lessons for business authors:
1. Write a book with a message that matches your overall mission. There’s a familiar saying that if you try to be everything to everyone, you will become nothing to anyone. Decide what your mission is over the long-term, and write a book that focuses like a laser on communicating that idea – whether that’s solving a specific problem, or changing the way people think about a specific issue. It seems obvious, but not everyone gets this part right. Some people write books with a message that doesn’t clearly trace back to their experience, or that doesn’t align with the mission of their work. Books are mediums for transmitting ideas, and those ideas lay the foundation of your platform. Make sure you’re communicating ideas that circle back to your mission, or your foundation will be faulty from the start.
2. Understand that your job doesn’t end when you finish the book. Barbara has a saying for authors – the amount of time you spent writing the book is at least the same amount of time you should be willing to spend promoting it. Often, it’s more. The publicity campaign for a book launch is time-intensive for the author – time spent doing interviews, guest-blogging, and writing answers to Q&As, let alone the time you spend collaborating with your publicity team on messages, pitch ideas, and media strategy. We strongly believe that the degree of success for any publicity campaign is directly proportionate to the quality of our partnership with the author. If you make yourself available and are ready to collaborate and, yes, WORK, you are well on your way to gaining the media exposure you need to lay the foundation for your platform.
3. Embrace the long-haul. If you want to share ideas that will have a measurable impact, a successful book launch is not the end game. Neither are major media hits like Squawk Box. Book launches, and the media opportunities they afford you, are mere vehicles for the true end game – a dynamic, ever-evolving platform that allows you to share your mission with others. Dedicate your time, energy and focus to successfully launching a book, and then find the determination and discipline to leverage and nurture those efforts over the long-haul. There is no end point. Your work – if you are truly dedicated to your mission – is never finished.