10 Reasons Why a “Shook” Is the Perfect Lead Magnet Book
In this article, I want to share my personal insights for creating an effective lead magnet book using my short helpful book or shook™ template.
I have been helping business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders publish books and ebooks since 2008 and over the past 16 years I have perfected the recipe for creating a powerful type of lead magnet book for lead generation and to grow your business — the shook.
For MOST individuals who want to publish a book to distinguish themselves and their business and generate leads, a shook is the best type of lead magnet book to publish, especially if your focus is on:
- Helping your potential customers first with short, powerful information.
- Differentiating you and your business from the competition.
- Being the expert in your niche.
- Leveraging the power of being a published book author.
- Getting this all done quickly and effectively.
What Is an Effective Lead Magnet Book?
An effective lead magnet book is a short, value-packed book designed to attract and engage potential customers or clients by offering valuable information or insights in exchange for their contact information (typically their name and email address). This type of book, which can either be traditionally printed book or a downloadable ebook, is first and foremost a strategic marketing tool designed to generate leads and build a relationship with potential customers.
High quality lead magnet books:
- Are aligned with and highlight your brand.
- Offer helpful and actionable content.
- Can achieve a high conversion rate.
The type of lead magnet books I want you to create, shooks, are intentional—in the way they look, in their singular focus, how the helpful content is choreographed, and in their ultimate goal—to get readers to take action and ultimately become your customer.
Shooks are faster to create, easier to read, and are designed according to an intentional and proven direct response marketing formula. This is an important and critical differentiator from all the other types of books out there because direct response books are focused on getting readers to respond (not just read and put on their bookshelf).
With this in mind, let me describe 10 reasons why I think shooks are a valuable lead magnet book to create if you are looking to attract and convert new business.
1. Shooks Are Faster & Easier to Create
The biggest benefits to publishing a shook are speed and simplicity. The fact that you only have to create a 10,000-15,000 word manuscript means you can literally create your lead magnet book in a few short weeks (or faster). Remember, the typical business book contains 75,000 words or more, so you can see the immediate benefit of publishing a short book.
2. Shooks Grab Attention
Since the most obvious difference between a typical printed standard business book and a lead magnet book is the size, let me start by describing what makes a shook a shook. Printed shooks are professionally printed, perfect bound paperback books. They are similar in quality to the types of books you buy on Amazon or at a local bookstore, and they are designed and formatted by professional book cover and interior designers, so they look and feel great.
Rather than the 5.5"x8.5" or 6"x9" trim size of typical business books, most lead magnet books are intentionally designed to be 5.06"x7.81" in size, making them slightly smaller, and therefore, different looking than other books. This size creates a “pattern interrupt” when you hand a prospect your lead magnet book because it’s different from what they are used to. Today, appearing new, fresh and different is a smart strategy to get noticed, which is why lead magnet books are designed the way they are.
Instead of the “There is no way I am going to read that” response many people have when they get a standard book, a shook’s size invites them to read.
This smaller size also makes your shook easy to carry, share with others, mail and display. I keep several copies of my lead magnet books in my car and in my laptop bag, so I always have them on hand to give away when I meet business owners and potential prospects for my business. My shooks are my business cards.
3. Shooks Are Physically Easier to Read
Shooks are designed to be physically easier to read. I don’t know about you, but as I get older, reading printed text either on paper or on a screen is getting harder.
Most designers do not worry about the physical readability of books, marketing, and advertising materials, which is a big mistake. Instead of using design criteria and typography that are easier on the eye, they use a hard-to-read layout and hard-to-read fonts. Remember, if a person cannot easily read your content, there is a high probability he or she will simply give up trying.
For years, I have been preaching about the importance of making everything you create easy to physically read. As a side note, if you visit my Small Business Marketing Tips blog (https://mikecapuzzi.com/small-business-marketing-tips/) and do a quick search on “readability,” you will find many articles and examples where I discuss the importance of making your marketing material easy on the eyes.
4. Shooks Are Faster to Read
Most business books have 50,000–75,000 words, with many exceeding 100,000 words. They tend to be at least 200 pages and often can reach 400 pages. They take the average reader days, if not weeks, to read, and while my bookshelf is filled with these traditional types of business books, I wanted lead magnet books to be different. I am not saying the world doesn’t need these types of longer books; I am saying most business owners would be better served publishing a lead magnet book instead of a traditional book.
Shooks contain 10,000–15,000 words total and on average have 100–120 pages, but these are smaller pages, so they are faster to read and can be read by an average-speed reader quickly. This means you can have an hour or two of “quiet time” with your readers, where they are focused on your message, getting to know you, and how you can help them better.
5. Shooks Are Focused
Shooks are written for a specific and targeted reader, typically the type of person who would be an ideal customer for your business, and if you could wave a magic wand, you would be able to find hundreds if not thousands of similar people. They offer helpful information your target reader is looking for to address his or her goals or pain points. They are not meant to be the “complete and final” word on a topic. Instead, they contain highly focused content that offers helpful information, insights, tips, ideas, etc., on a topic.
Rather than teach a reader everything about the topic, lead magnet books enlighten readers with your unique knowledge, expertise, and opinions and then extend an invitation to get more from you as part of the “next step.” If your subject requires lengthy text, my suggestion is to consider a series of lead magnet books instead of one long, traditional book.
6. Shooks Provide Undivided Attention
When expertly crafted, a shook provides about an hour or so of focused “conversation” with your readers because you are helping them with a specific topic they want help with.
By providing this laser-focused message and related content, you are practically guaranteed your targeted ideal reader will devour your lead magnet book, cover to cover. This means you have their undivided attention and focus on you and your message.
The benefits of this undivided attention?
- Increased name recognition.
- Enhanced reputation and deeper trust.
- More transparency
- Established authority (notice how the word “authority” starts with the word “author?)
What other marketing media do you use that has these types of big benefits?
7. Shooks Offer Additional Information
Shooks are interactive and have various opportunities to offer something valuable to readers. You should boost the power of your lead magnet book with free online content that you can offer with a private, book-only landing page and opt-in. This allows readers to get more helpful information and gives you the opportunity to capture their contact information and build your email list for follow-up email marketing via a focused funnel.
The best lead magnets you can use in your lead magnet book are relevant to your target audience and help your audience with whatever the focus of your book is. Here are some lead magnet ideas you can offer a white paper, online course, valuable checklist, case study, templates and tools, etc.
Offering this additional information opportunities will be greatly appreciated by those readers who love what you are sharing and want more from you.
8. Shooks Offer a Clear Next Step
Shooks have a clear “next step” call to action to get interested readers to self-identify. When people read your book, there’s a high probability you will have intrigued them and provided value and reason to take the next step, whatever that is for your sales process. Working together, we will uncover this next step and incorporate it clearly in your lead magnet book.
9. Shooks Are Versatile Content Marketing Assets
The beauty of shooks is just how versatile they are in your content marketing and brand efforts. You can create digital and audio lead magnet books to be used on your website, dedicated landing page, and social media channels to grow your email list. You can use the print version as an event freebie and workplace display. You can give them away for free or sell them. The possibilities are vast!
10. Shooks Are Valuable Business Assets
When you put the effort into writing a quality lead magnet book, you can do it once and then use it year after year in your marketing efforts to attract new prospects and create new customers. Few marketing assets match the long-tail power and business value of a high-quality lead magnet book.
A Shook Is a Great Lead Magnet to Generate Leads
I can think of no other piece of content that has so many different and unique benefits as publishing a shook to promote your product or service, attract potential customers, and help you build your authority and expertise. Regardless if you market a B2C or B2B business, when you create a shook that is relevant to your audience you have a potent tool working for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you would like my help creating your shook, reach out to me. Schedule a Shook Strategy Session here.