Get Your Business Book Adopted in MBA Courses

Why MBA and Executive Education Adoption Is a Power Play

Most founders write a business book to build authority, nurture pipeline, and open doors. Few pursue the most durable revenue and credibility channel available: university course adoption. When your book becomes required or recommended reading in MBA and executive programs, you unlock predictable bulk orders every semester, targeted exposure to rising leaders, and long-tail influence that compounds.

This playbook shows you how to position, package, and pitch your business book to instructors and program directors. It includes timelines, assets, pricing models, and outreach strategies—plus practical notes on accessibility, rights, and distribution that academic buyers care about.

How Course Materials Are Chosen

Understanding how instructors select texts will focus your strategy and assets. In practice, several stakeholders are involved:

• Instructor/Professor: Owns the syllabus and learning outcomes; primary decision-maker.
• Program Director or Area Chair: Oversees coherence across sections and may influence text choices.
• Course Coordinator/Teaching Assistant: Manages logistics and interacts with the bookstore.
• Campus Bookstore/Procurement: Handles ordering, ISBN logistics, and student access options.

Instructors weigh several criteria before adopting a book:

• Fit to learning outcomes: Can your frameworks be taught in 1–3 sessions and assessed?
• Instructor support: Slides, discussion questions, assignments, and case prompts ready on day one.
• Edition stability: Minimal changes mid-year; clear versioning.
• Access and cost: Print + eBook availability, inclusive access options, and academic pricing.
• Assessment: Quizzes, rubrics, datasets, and example answers.
• Accessibility: EPUB3 with alt text, readable diagrams, transcripts for media.

Instructors rarely have time to build from scratch. A solid Instructor Kit often matters more than your publicity or bestseller status.

Design Your Instructor Kit

Your Instructor Kit (sometimes called an adoption packet) turns a strong book into a teachable system. Package these assets on a private URL and in a single ZIP file:

• Instructor Guide (20–30 pages): Chapter-by-chapter teaching notes, learning objectives, class timing, and common pitfalls.
• Slide Decks: Modular slides per chapter and one master lecture deck. Include editable formats (PPTX/Keynote) and a PDF.
• Discussion Questions: 5–10 questions per chapter tagged by difficulty and learning objective.
• Assignments and Rubrics: Individual and team assignments with grading rubrics.
• Mini-Cases and Datasets: Short, anonymized cases with numbers students can analyze.
• Quiz Bank: 10–20 multiple choice and short-answer questions per chapter with answer keys.
• Assessment Map: Which questions/assignments test which learning outcomes.
• Desk Copy Request Form: Simple form for faculty to request a complimentary copy.

Packaging and Pricing for Academia

Academic buyers want clarity and predictability. Offer formats and pricing that fit campus workflows:

Formats

• Paperback: Durable, affordable; ensure standard trim sizes for campus bookstores.
• eBook (EPUB3 + PDF): Distribute via IngramSpark to reach channels like VitalSource and Perlego used by universities.
• Inclusive Access: Work with the bookstore to enable per-student eBook access on day one at a negotiated rate.
• Bulk Orders: Offer tiered discounts for 50/100/250+ copies.

Pricing

• Academic Discount: 10–25% off list for bookstore orders.
• Desk/Exam Copies: Complimentary eBook or print for verified faculty; limit 1–2 per section.
• Custom Editions: Optional school logo or foreword for large adoptions (e.g., 500+ copies).

Distribution and Metadata That Help Bookstores

Make campus ordering easy and reliable:

• ISBNs: Separate ISBNs for print and eBook. Keep metadata synchronized.
• Global Distribution: Use Ingram for wide print distribution; many campus stores order through it.
• Returnability: Enabling returns can increase bookstore confidence for new adoptions.
• Metadata Fields: Academic subject codes, audience, and edition notes clearly set.
• Availability: Keep a buffer of inventory during adoption windows (May–August and November–January).

Finding and Prioritizing the Right Courses

Map your book to specific course types and then identify decision-makers:

Course Types That Commonly Adopt Business Books

• Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation
• Product Management and Innovation
• Marketing Strategy and Growth
• Operations and Scaling
• Leadership and Organizational Behavior
• Analytics for Managers and Data-Driven Decisions

How to Build a Target List

• Syllabus Search: Use site search queries like site:.edu "Entrepreneurship Syllabus PDF".
• Conference Programs: Review session chairs and presenters at Academy of Management, AMA, and MBA Roundtable.
• LinkedIn: Filter by title (Professor, Lecturer, Adjunct) + department + course name.
• Textbook Platforms: Scan VitalSource and Perlego catalogs for adjacent titles and faculty reviewers.
• Alumni and Advisors: Warm intros from your network can speed evaluation.

Outreach That Respects Academic Calendars

Timing and tone matter. Faculty plan syllabi months in advance and prioritize teaching fit over marketing polish.

Timeline

• January–March: Outreach for Fall adoption; offer desk copies and Instructor Kit preview.
• June–August: Finalize materials; support last-minute section adds; ensure bookstore stock.
• September–October: Outreach for Spring adoption; gather early course feedback.
• November–December: Update Instructor Kit based on classroom results.

Sample Faculty Email

Subject: New teaching resource for [Course Name] — free desk copy
Hi Prof. [Last Name],
I teach growth strategy to founders and wrote [Book Title], a practical framework used in [X] companies. Several instructors asked for a ready-to-teach kit, so I built slides, discussion questions, assignments, and a quiz bank mapped to learning outcomes for [Course Name].
May I send a complimentary eBook or print desk copy? Here is a 2-page Instructor Guide preview: [short link].
If helpful, I’m happy to share a 15-minute walkthrough or guest lecture outline.
Best, [Your Name]

Make Your Content Easy to Teach

Books that win adoption are modular and assessment-friendly. Strengthen teachability:

• Modular Chapters: Each chapter should stand alone for a 60–90 minute session.
• Named Frameworks: Clear diagrams and stepwise methods (e.g., a 5-part model) ease recall and grading.
• Realistic Exercises: Short prompts tied to datasets or public company examples.
• Case Linkages: Suggest popular cases your chapter complements (by topic, not specific proprietary content).
• Assessment Alignment: The quiz bank should map to your stated learning outcomes.

Accessibility and Academic Compliance

Meeting accessibility expectations not only expands your reach—it’s increasingly required.

• EPUB3 + Alt Text: All images and figures need descriptive alt text.
• Color and Contrast: Ensure slides and diagrams meet WCAG contrast ratios.
• Transcripts: Provide transcripts for any audio/video materials.
• Captioned Images: Avoid text baked into images where possible.

Measuring Adoption and Iterating

Track the signals that matter and feed improvements back into your Instructor Kit:

• Adoption Count: Number of sections and institutions per term.
• Enrollments: Total students impacted (adoptions × students per section).
• Reorders and Retention: How many sections adopt again next term.
• Asset Usage: Slide and quiz downloads; feedback from instructors.
• Student Outcomes: Where possible, capture anonymized project outcomes or competition wins.

Ethical Guest Lectures and Co-Curriculars

Guest lectures can accelerate adoption—when done with care.

• Value-first content: Teach frameworks and exercises, not a product pitch.
• Slides provided in advance: Make it easy for instructors to integrate or adapt.
• Recorded or live: Offer an asynchronous 20-minute talk with captions.
• Co-curricular events: Book clubs, workshops, or hackathons tied to your frameworks.

A Realistic Path: From Pilot to Portfolio

Start focused and scale what works:

1. Pick 25 target courses where your content is a tight fit.
2. Mail desk copies to warm prospects; offer eDesk copies to the rest.
3. Deliver one guest lecture and collect student engagement data.
4. Refine your kit, publish a 2-page Instructor Guide preview, and secure 3 endorsements from faculty.
5. Expand to 100 programs with a repeatable outreach cadence and a simple adoption form on your site.

Where AI Helps (and Where It Doesn’t)

AI can speed up asset creation, but editorial judgment remains essential.

• Generate first-draft slides: Use AI to summarize each chapter into bullet-point teaching slides, then polish for accuracy.
• Draft discussion questions: Produce question sets and refine to ensure they map to learning objectives.
• Create variant assessments: Version A/B quizzes reduce cheating across sections.
• Format checks: Use tools to validate EPUB accessibility and alt text coverage.

If you’re using a book creation platform like LibroFlow, you can structure your manuscript around modular, session-ready chapters and then export PDF/TXT versions of the Instructor Guide. LibroFlow’s plan generation and draft-chapter tools can help you spin up the core kit quickly, leaving you more time for classroom testing and refinement.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Marketing-first outreach: Leading with bestseller badges instead of learning outcomes.
• No assessment materials: Instructors can’t grade effectively without a quiz bank or rubrics.
• Unstable editions: Changing page numbers or frameworks mid-year creates grading headaches.
• Accessibility gaps: Missing alt text or low-contrast slides can block adoption.
• Overpromising guest lectures: Offer limited, high-quality sessions instead of saying yes to everything.

Your 90-Day Adoption Sprint

Weeks 1–2: Positioning and Assets

• Define 3–5 learning outcomes your book supports.
• Draft a 2-page Instructor Guide overview and one sample slide deck.
• Set up a password-protected Instructor Resources page with a desk copy request form.

Weeks 3–6: Targeting and Outreach

• Build a list of 100 instructors across 25 programs.
• Send personalized emails (20–25 per week) with a link to the guide preview.
• Mail print desk copies to top 10 prospects; offer eDesk copies to the rest.

Weeks 7–10: Pilot and Feedback

• Deliver 2–3 guest lectures or virtual walkthroughs.
• Collect feedback via a short Instructor Survey; refine slides, questions, and rubrics accordingly.

Weeks 11–13: Scale and Support

• Publish v1.0 Instructor Kit; announce availability in relevant educator communities.
• Ensure bookstore distribution and inventory buffers for the next term.
• Schedule a quarterly kit update cadence.

Academic Partnerships and Long-Term Reach

Beyond single-course adoptions, consider partnerships that scale impact:

• Executive Education: Short courses often adopt concise, practical texts and can include custom-branded editions for cohorts.
• Centers and Labs: Entrepreneurship and innovation centers run bootcamps that need modular content.
• Competitions: Startup or case competitions can bundle your book for participating teams.
• Corporate Education: University-corporate programs often seek applied frameworks for manager training.

Quick Checklist Before You Pitch

• Clear learning outcomes mapped to chapters
• Instructor Guide (preview + full)
• Slides, questions, assignments, rubrics, quiz bank
• Accessible EPUB3 with alt text; high-contrast slides
• Easy desk copy request and bookstore ordering info
• Edition plan and update schedule

Bottom Line

MBA and executive education adoption is one of the most reliable, reputation-building channels for business authors. By aligning to learning outcomes, delivering a professional Instructor Kit, and respecting academic cadences, you can turn a single book into a durable, semester-over-semester asset—for students, instructors, and your business.

If you need a faster way to draft modular chapters and companion materials, platforms like LibroFlow can help you generate structured outlines, chapter drafts, and export-ready files, so you can focus on classroom-fit and instructor relationships.