Tag: brand

Categories
Magazine, Freelance, and Copywriting

The Write Image: Crafting Your Author Brand Through Image and Packaging

As a writer, you probably didn’t give much thought to branding and marketing when you wrote your first book – you just wanted to write a great story. But, if you want to be successful and get your words into the hands of many, you have to start thinking of yourself as a business and a brand.

Branding your name and your work has many different factors, but it starts with your image. How will others see you? How do you want them to see you? What kind of message is your brand providing to let potential readers know who you are and what your writing is about?

Think of branding and your image as a way to make a first impression on people. Enhancing your personal image and packaging can amplify your professional opportunities and help you foster a unique authorial identity in today’s competitive literary landscape.

Align Your Brand With Your Writing Style

If you’re stuck on what your brand should be or look like, consider the type of writing you do and think about some other famous authors who seem to “fit” their style really well. Stephen King, for example, will always be known as one of the greatest horror writers of all time. That doesn’t mean he’s a scary person, but he’s created a specific brand of horror writing that is unique to him. His books have been adapted for TV and movies alike. Whenever anyone sees his name attached to a project, they have an idea of what to expect because he’s stayed true to his voice for so many years.

King, like many other famous authors, seems confident in his self-image. Popular writers know who they are and it undoubtedly influences success. Improving your self-image can help to enhance your writing career in a variety of ways, so do what you can to boost your confidence, including:

  • Dressing for success;
  • Setting goals;
  • Celebrating your achievements;
  • Seeking feedback;
  • Always looking to improve;
  • Prioritizing self-care.

When you are confident in who you are and your image, your writing is more likely to stay stable as you focus on one particular style. Eventually, you’ll become known for that style, and it will be much easier to brand yourself and your books because people will know what to look for.

Branding Consistency

One of the easiest ways to build your brand and become recognized quickly is to maintain consistency in everything you do with your marketing. That includes social media, websites, posters, mailers, and even book covers. Nowadays, it’s just as important to build your brand online as it is in bookstores and at signings. If you’re not consistent with your web presence, people are going to get confused.

Reinforcing your brand identity will differentiate you from other authors, build awareness, and foster brand loyalty.

If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to building a brand, listen to your readers and consider how your own interests can be reflected in your marketing materials. If you aren’t all in with your packaging and branding image, it’s going to be harder to stick with it.

Creating Perfect Packaging

Packaging isn’t the only part of branding, but it’s an important one. As an author, you’re selling something tangible, and you want it to stand out. Think about all of the options readers are given on a regular basis. What are you going to do to make a solid first impression with your book, especially to a potential reader who has never heard of you before?

If you’re stuck on packaging strategies, consider some of the following:

  • Use sustainable packaging materials to showcase your values;
  • Share your brand story in your marketing materials;
  • Get creative with book covers;
  • Use interactive packaging like QR codes or augmented reality;
  • Personalize your packaging.

If you’re a freelance writer or you’re just starting out after publishing your first book, branding is more important than ever. Now is the time to build consistency and create an image for yourself. Everything from color and font choices to characteristics that make you unique will stand out to potential readers.

You don’t have to be a marketing guru to understand the importance of image as an author. Consider who you want to be in the world of competitive writing, and you’ll have a strong brand foundation to start from.

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.

Categories
Magazine, Freelance, and Copywriting

Building and Marketing Your Brand as a Freelance Writer

When you’re a freelance copywriter or author, you’re not just your own boss — you are your own brand, too.

It’s important to think of yourself as a brand and business when you’re on your own so you can market yourself effectively. You could be the most talented writer in the world, but if you aren’t able to build a client base through your marketing efforts, you won’t be as successful as you could be.

With that in mind, let’s look at some actionable ideas you can use to build your brand and market yourself online. There are a few tools and tricks that can help your work stand out, and some marketing techniques that can help you build a brand and get noticed.

Housing Your Portfolio in Multiple Places

As a freelancer, you probably already know the importance of having a solid portfolio where potential clients can see your work. You can also use your portfolio pieces to pitch yourself and your ideas to new people.

Having a website is a great start when it comes to showcasing your work online. It’s even better if you’re familiar with SEO practices and can boost your site ranking on Google. If you’re not sure how to do that, start by taking a look at your content and determining if it’s “thin”. You can beef it up and get your page noticed by:

  • Boosting your word count
  • Making sure your content is completely original
  • Avoiding uninformative filler content
  • Avoiding bad grammar

Optimizing your website is important, but if you want to improve your visibility, put your portfolio on different platforms like LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Contently. You never know who could be searching these sites, and marketing yourself and your work across various platforms will get you noticed faster.

Making Marketing a Project

If you’ve never done any marketing before, it can help to break down the process and approach it as you would the five phases of project management:

  • Initiation
  • Planning
  • Execution
  • Performance and monitoring
  • Closing

All of these steps are crucial, but “closing” might be the most important, as it allows you to ask yourself what went well and what didn’t. What did you learn, and what can you do better? If your strategy didn’t go as well as planned, you might want to try an alternative platform, like relying more on social media or sending out newsletters to your email subscribers.

Nowadays, consumers are hungry for relationships with brands. They appreciate businesses that aren’t afraid to let their “humanistic” sides show. You might just be one person, but it’s still important for you to be yourself when connecting and interacting with clients. Doing so will also give your brand a personality — even if you’re just being yourself. It’s a great way to balance being a writer and being a business.

Start a Blog

Having a portfolio of your professional work is a fantastic way for potential clients to see what they’ll be getting if they work for you. However, as a writer, having your own personal blog can also make a big difference.

It’s another way to let your human side show and to let people connect with you. A blog also showcases your love of writing and allows you to be more creative and casual. Not everyone is looking for technical writing or a professional tone. Sometimes, conversational pieces and colloquial tones are exactly what a client needs.

Having your own blog shows that you’re a full-scope writer capable of taking on different niches. It also showcases your authority as a writer and can boost a client’s confidence in what to expect. Plus, having a blog can help you avoid burnout. When you’re doing so much work for other people, you’re not focused on your own creativity or writing the things that truly inspire you. Having a blog gives your that opportunity. If you’re a freelance writer, it’s time to start building your brand. Keep these tips in mind to market yourself effectively online, and it won’t take long before you see your business starting to grow and succeed.

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.

Categories
Platform and Branding

Hey, Writer. Let’s Talk About Your Brand!

Platform and Branding

Now more than ever, personal branding is important. Whether you’re scrolling through Instagram looking at the latest influencers’ posts, or on Twitter engulfed in a sea of book promotions, it may seem like everyone is pushing their personal brand.

Maybe you attended a writing conference and were declined representation due to your lack of platform. Maybe your book made it through pitching and garnered the interest of a publisher, only to have the marketing team squash your hopes of landing a contract. I’ve been there too. If you’re only here for writing, that’s ok. We have numerous articles on the writing craft. If you want to write for yourself, you can skip this article and go read another. However, if you want to write and build a career then keep reading.

Branding is a cornerstone to a solid writing career. That’s why we need to talk about it.

Writers embody their writing. Think of J. K. Rowling—a giant in her genre. But she is both known for what she writes and also who she is. The character of Harry is so endearing partly because we know Rowling’s past. To be an author with a career is to open yourself up to the public and show who you are.

That’s where branding comes in.

We don’t need to share every detail of our lives to get published, but we do need to share select details.

Notice the word select there. Brand comes down to what you choose to share.

What are you passionate about? What colors do you love? How do you decorate? Believe it or not, this all influences your brand. As a writer you will likely do some speaking and promoting. What you talk about hopefully comes from what you’re passionate about. How you dress when you speak hopefully is inspired by the colors you love. How you decorate will likely influence the type of photos you post on Instagram or your author Facebook page, or what you pin on your author Pinterest board.

We’ll continue future, in-depth discussions of author branding (as well as platform) but for now, can I assign some homework?

Look up your favorite authors and notice what they’re posting, tweeting, and blogging about. Notice trends. Notice recurring themes. Colors. Topics. Questions. Ways they engage with their followers.

Then look at your own social media and writer website. Notice trends, recurring themes, colors, topics, questions, and how you engage. Take note if there are discrepancies between your social media bio and what you’re posting about.

For now, that’s all you need to do—notice. Next time we’ll take it a step further.

Until then, happy writing!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Authorpreneur

Build a Brand: Identity

Indie authors often want to know how to build a writing brand. There are actually two sides of being a successful author: the writing side and the business side.

The writing side is self-evident, but many authors are surprised to learn that there is also a distinct business side to writing. Much like in any form of business, every author needs to cultivate relationships, build trust, and invest in his or her writing to achieve sales.

With this mindset, let’s define the word “brand.”  A brand is basically your identity in a business sense. I like how entrepreneur.com put it. “Branding is the process of creating a name, logo, symbol, and personality to represent your product or service (“Branding Definition – Entrepreneur Small Business Encyclopedia”, 2019).” This definition is useful because it clearly lays out what’s needed to create an effective brand. The three elements every author will need to integrate into the brand-creation process are:

To create an effective brand you need to establish an identity, a personality, and a memorable product—which in your case is a great book.

This article will provide three steps to establish the first element: an identity.

The first step in establishing a writer’s identity is to reflect on who you are and what you want readers to associate with your name. It’s important to remember that, as an author, your brand is typically your name. You are a business of one. Over time, your audience will associate your style of writing, your genres and subtopics, with your name (your brand). Reflect on the personal aspects to your life that helped you form your writing niche.

If possible, you want to build your brand around something that you’re already good at or something for which you’re already known. If people already associate your name with a particular skill, experience or topic, the foundation of your brand is already laid. Regardless of your audience size, you want to use that core group to help promote your message. For example, if you’re a cancer survivor and are writing about your experience, you may want to start carving out a niche that focuses on holistic wellness or the importance of positive thinking in adverse circumstances.

You want to be consistent with the products (or books) that are associated with your brand, because each one is going to reinforce what you’ve already written. While you can delve into multiple genres, be sure that your work has a common focal point that readers have come to expect.

But what if you aren’t known for a particular skill or are now starting out? That’s fine. Just make sure that at first you write in a particular genre or writing style so readers can associate your brand with a particular topic.  

Once you’ve begun to establish your identity, it is helpful to create a logo. We all associate the visual symbols with corporate identities. While authors have not traditionally recognized the need for a logo, without one they miss a low-cost, potentially high-yield opportunity to make people easily recognize and remember your brand. Writing is business and every author is dealing with readers who are already used to associating symbols with products.   

Craft a logo that incorporates your name, your “writing identity,” or a literary accomplishment. I was recently in contact with a Christy award-winning author who used a theme from one of her bestselling books as her logo. Why? It was easily recognizable and paid tribute to her accomplishment while subtly marketing her book.

But your logo doesn’t have to hark back to an accomplishment. In most cases, your name, written or designed in a visually-appealing way, works best.

Keep the following tips in mind as you take this important step in defining your brand identity:

If you’re self-publishing your books, you can integrate your logo with your book cover to give it a more polished feel. If you’re traditionally published, consult with your publisher’s marketing team to see if/how they’d like you to incorporate your logo on the final product.

Put your logo everywhere you can while including your website address, so viewers will be more likely to connect your site with your brand.

Finally, be sure that your writing and your logo reflects your creative personality. It is critical to learn from other authors while avoiding becoming other authors.

From a legal as well as professional standpoint, your work will be most effective when it reflects your nature, your life experiences and yourskills. Keep an eye out for my next article on building a brand: Powering up your Personality.

In my book, Write Business, I go into specifics on how to write your book with a specific audience in mind as well as how to effectively present your product to that segment of readers. If you need help building a branding model, I am happy to partner with you on your road to success.

JP Robinson gained experience in the marketing field doing promotional work for multi-million dollar medical facilities and non-profit groups over the past decade. He is an international speaker, educator, and prolific author of both fiction and non-fiction.

JP also conducts writing seminars in various parts of the country and heads Logos Publications, LLC, an emerging publishing and book marketing team.

When he isn’t writing or teaching, JP loves spending time with his wonderful wife and children.

Categories
The Intentional Writer

What is Your Core Message?

The intentional writer

Can you connect all your writing projects to one central theme?

If you are like me, it may seem impossible to find a single theme for my writing projects, let alone my other interests. I puzzled for years over how to connect historical novels set in first century Rome with a blog about intentional living, church dramas, and various other writing and speaking topics. How could they all fit into one brand?

Then I was challenged by an instructor at a writing conference to identify my core message.

You have a core message

The instructor looked at each student in the classroom and told us we each had a single core message, which should be at the center of our personal brand. We looked baffled. One core message? Didn’t we all write multiple genres for various audiences?    

Then she explained what she meant by core message.

  • If you could only communicate one message to the world, what would it be?
  • What is your heart’s cry? What truth beats at the core of your being?
  • What life lesson have you learned that you find yourself sharing time and time again?
  • What truth can you not help but speak to those who need to hear it?
  • Your core truth is probably connected to wounds in your past and how you have overcome them.

Then she put us on the spot. One at a time she asked us to identify our core message. No warning. No time to ponder. Yet we each came up with an answer.

Our answers weren’t eloquent. They didn’t perfectly capture our message, but at a gut level they were pretty near the mark. Because, deep down, we do have a core concept or truth that we feel passionate about sharing with those around us.

How your core message connects the dots

Next the instructor asked another question. “How does some aspect of your message show up in the manuscript you are working on?”

Again, we were able to identify something in our WIPs that related to the core message we had identified only moments before. A theme, a character arc, an inner demon. Without being conscious of it, we were communicating our core messages through our stories.

Why?

Because who we are comes out in what we write: Our beliefs, our sense of humor, our passions. And our core message.

Since that workshop I have pondered my message and how it shows up in my various writing projects. Now that I have identified that central truth I can be more intentional about expressing it in my writing.

Knowing my core message is yet another step in refining the focus of my blog. It has given me a new understanding of my mystery series characters and their inner struggles. What I once did by gut instinct I can now do with intention and clarity.

I have experimented with variations of my message and composed taglines to capture it succinctly. I have rewritten my social media bios to better express it. I am working it into the synopsis of my series and dust jacket blurbs for my novels.

I am reveling in the clarity and direction my core message gives me. And because it comes from my deepest soul, it feels right. True. Authentic.

What is your core message? How is a thread of your core message woven into your writing?

Lisa E Betz

Award-winning writer Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a unique story to tell the world. She loves inspiring fellow writers to be more intentional about developing their craft and courageous in sharing their words. Lisa shares her words through speaking, leading Bible studies, writing historical mysteries, and blogging about living intentionally.

You can find her on Facebook  LisaEBetzWriter Twitter @LisaEBetz and Pinterest Lisa E Betz Intentional Living.