Doug Crowe is a best-selling author, brand strategist, and media expert known for transforming professionals into thought leaders through powerful storytelling. A Dale Carnegie Highest Achievement Award winner, Doug’s background spans business, investment, and broadcasting. He’s travelled to 43 countries across all seven continents, combining global insights with deep experience in human connection and communication. His work has been featured in Bloomberg, Entrepreneur, Thrive Global, and Yahoo Finance, and he’s appeared on TEDx, CBS News, and major radio networks including WIND AM 560 and WLS AM 890. With decades of experience in publishing and branding, Doug helps business owners decide if writing a book will elevate—or distract from—their goals. His approach ensures every message builds lasting credibility and genuine influence.

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Should you write a book to grow your personal brand—or could it actually slow your success?

In this eye-opening episode of Talking with the Experts, host Rose Davidson interviews Doug Crowe, a best-selling author and renowned brand strategist who has helped countless entrepreneurs decide whether publishing is the right step for their business growth.

Doug believes that a book can be a powerful asset—but only when written for the right reasons. He explains how the best books act as strategic credibility builders, opening doors to media opportunities, partnerships, and speaking gigs. Yet he also shares the pitfalls: the financial, emotional, and creative costs of writing a book too soon or without a clear goal.

Drawing on decades of experience across media, business, and publishing, Doug helps listeners separate the myth from the method—revealing when storytelling builds influence and when it drains momentum.

If you’ve ever wondered whether publishing a book is the key to your next breakthrough, this episode gives you the clarity and confidence to make the right choice.

✨ Three Key Takeaways

1. Decide with clarity – Learn the exact signs that show when writing a book will enhance your credibility.
2. Avoid costly traps – Understand when publishing becomes a distraction, not a strategy.
3. Explore alternatives – Discover powerful, time-efficient ways to build authority and visibility.

• Books alone accomplish nothing without strategic marketing and distribution, as approximately 2 million new books are published annually competing for the same audience attention.
• Modern automation and Amazon’s platform have made self-publishing accessible to anyone within minutes, eliminating the need to seek traditional publisher approval.
• Pre-marketing should begin nine months before writing starts to establish audience understanding and positioning before investing time in manuscript creation.
• Page Pulse software analyzes three-star Amazon reviews in specific book categories to identify what readers want and don’t want, providing data to draft better manuscripts.
• Strategic collaboration involves including influential podcast guests or business leaders with large distribution lists and PR departments as featured content in books.
• Intentionally mentioning organizations like Vistage and American Cancer Society in book content can lead to keynote speaking opportunities with those same organizations.
• Most people should publish books but avoid writing them personally unless they are professional storytellers who understand character development, hooks, and narrative tension.
• Professional ghostwriters, journalists, and editors with five different skill sets are recommended to capture the author’s voice, personality, and cadence effectively.
• Book covers should either answer existing reader questions, create curiosity, or present puzzles rather than featuring author photos, which serve vanity over marketing purposes.
• Books provide permanent foundational branding elements that work continuously and never get discarded, unlike temporary social media content that gets forgotten.
• Revenue comes because of books rather than from book sales directly, as demonstrated by a software client who generated massive referrals by mailing books to 250 existing customers.
• Producing well-positioned books requires significant resources, time, patience, and professional teams, but creates permanent digital assets unlike typical marketing expenses.

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