Tag: Platform and Branding

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Platform and Branding

How to Create Branding That Lasts

Platform and Branding

Creating a brand that lasts can be a bit of an intimidating process. As a writer/author, you want to reflect your writing well, while also doing so in such a way you can keep up with your brand.

Your brand likely encompasses some, if not all, of the following: Running multiple social media accounts, a website, writing books, public speaking at conferences, interviewing on podcasts and TV, attending writing conferences, updating followers with book promotions, talking with editors and publishers, engaging with fans, etc. Doing all of this well could easily become exhausting.

If you create a brand that does not reflect who you are naturally, but is more of a highlight reel or façade, you could easily burnout. Building a lifestyle brand can not only help you avoid burnout, but engage your fans more than other types of branding might.

Even if you are a credible professional but want to build a lifestyle brand, you can do so.

Think of a lifestyle brand as simply focusing more on your life than your products. Instagram doesn’t only need to be inspiring quotes from famous authors, going live about your creative process, and posting stories about your writing deadline. Those are all great to share, but what happens when you’re not on deadline or you don’t have anything writing related to post?

Enter, the lifestyle brand.

Fans love connecting with the person behind the brand. The humanity behind the celebrity. The personality behind the grid. So how do you build a brand you can maintain long term?

Base your brand on your personality.

Search through different social media platforms to find authors using their own personality as the platform for their brand. If you don’t have a specific author in mind, search hashtags such as #WritingCommunity or the genre you write to help you get started.

Once you find 10-15 authors, browse their social media sites, website, and Goodreads to see how they engage with their followers and what they post. Take note of what type of content they don’t post as well.

Then step back, assess your own writing goals, your personality, and what you feel excited to share. Choose different aspects from the different authors, add in your own, and do a trial run for two weeks. Assess your analytics on all social media platforms. Choose the platform that’s done the best and continue working on it. Consider trying new things on the platforms not doing as well.

As you grow, don’t worry if you need to fine tune your brand. This is healthy and allows your fans to grow with you.

Put the time and effort in, but don’t take yourself too seriously. Enjoy the process. You are a writer, and this is your journey.

Have fun with it!

Sarah Rexford

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

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Platform and Branding

Many Interests. One Brand.

Platform and Branding

As you dive further into platform and branding it may be difficult to determine exactly what you want your brand to be. For instance, if you’ve written fiction but now you want to write nonfiction, knowing exactly how to brand yourself can be difficult.

Thankfully, it’s not as hard as you may think. With some careful thought and planning you can be a writer with many interests and one brand. Follow the three steps below to learn how.

Who Is Your Audience?

Your audience is you unique followers: the people who follow you because they love your content and want more of it. If you’ve built an audience around one genre or one target audience, how do you rebrand yourself as your interests grow? This can get tricky when it comes to branding or rebranding, but simply do your research: Know who’s following you.

We are much more adaptable than we realize.

Life is a journey and just as everyone else grows and changes, so do writers. Know your audience enough to know which of your interests they will benefit from and which projects they’ll jump on board with.

How? Research. Or literally ask. Post a question box on Instagram and see what answers you get!

Lead Your Audience

Once you know who your audience is, their likes, dislikes, and why they’re following you, you are better equipped to know how to lead them.

If your audience is made up of a loyal fan base who fell in love with your first middle grade book, its sequel, and the third installment, and suddenly you want to transition to writing cookbooks, they might have a learning curve. Understand this, and move forward accordingly. It may take you a little more time, but move forward with purpose and lead them into your new interests.

Show Your Audience The Full Aspect Of Who You Are

Creatives often have diverse interests. Don’t allow your online presence to hold you back offline. Yes, your online presence is a powerful tool when used rightly, but don’t let a free app on your phone hinder your creative potential.

If you have a large following on your fashion blog and Pinterest but want to try your hand at writing a novel, go for it.

Life is short.

 It’s important to steward the talents we’ve been given and pursue excellence. While you may lose some of your audience, you will likely grow in other capacities (whether that’s your social media numbers, or as an individual).

As you move into the next stage of your personal branding journey, be cautious but be bold. The creative world is constantly evolving. Grow with it. Take your writing interests to the next level. Rebrand. Revamp. Present fresh content in a new way.

And remember, you’re more than a social media following or a singular interest. You are a person who grows and changes.

Enjoy the process!

Sarah Rexford

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

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Platform and Branding

What Do You Want to Say, and How?

Platform and Branding

There’s a reason that one day you sat down at an empty screen or in front of a blank sheet of paper, and started writing. Maybe you had a character’s story burning inside you and just had to write it down, or maybe you wanted to express your own story.

But for whatever reason, that one day when you sat down to write, you started an incredible journey. You had something to say, and you wrote it down.

Great branding is a huge part of platform, and for today’s writers, platform can make or break your writing journey.

You’re here because you love writing. You have something to say. Now it’s time to determine what exactly it is you want to say, and how you want to say it.

As a writer in 2021, you have multiple avenues for communicating via writing, and choosing the best one for you can help take your writing from your desk to hundreds, thousands, and even millions of readers.

So, what do you want to say?

When determining this, think big picture. If you write young adult books, there’s likely a theme you want to communicate. For example, let’s say your work-in-progress is about a teenage girl growing up during the California gold rush and the bravery she must learn traveling west with her family. You likely want to communicate the theme of bravery, resilience, teamwork, etc., to your readers.

Now, other than your book itself, how do you want to communicate these themes?

You may want to consider creating a Tik Tok account and using those short videos to continue communicating these characteristics. Maybe you love the outdoors and your Tik Tok is full of videos of your summer hikes and camping adventures. Perhaps revamp your Instagram and post photos of your camping trips with captions talking about these topics.

If you write adult Romance, the themes you communicate will likely be love and other similar topics such as sacrifice, service, loyalty, etc. You may want to continue communicating these themes through inspirational quotes posted on Twitter or paired with a graphic and posted to Instagram. You could refocus your Tik Tok or YouTube channel by creating video content that reinforces this theme.

Being a writer today doesn’t just mean sitting down at the keyboard and writing books. That’s a big part of it, but writing and communicating stretches to social media and public stages.

As you continue to pinpoint exactly what your brand is and grow your platform, focus on why exactly you are passionate about writing the genres and characters you write. Use these insights to help establish your online presence with clarity. Then post regular, quality content, and enjoy the process.

Building your platform is often a slow and steady grind, but the resulting ability to communicate your passions to your audience is worth it.

Best wishes out there!

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

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Platform and Branding

How to Speak…Before You Say a Word

Platform and Branding

At some point in your writing career you’ll probably step on a stage and be expected to speak. It can be an intimidating prospect.

Many writers prefer to sit behind the screen at the keyboard. But stories are meant to be told. Audiences love to hear from the writer, and sometimes being onstage is the best way to communicate your message.

But nerves are understandable! To help you get over those nerves, leverage your personal brand to help you communicate before you even say a word.

Published or not, you have a brand. What you wear is part of that brand. So yes, let’s talk fashion.

Your fashion is the first impression your audience receives as you step onstage. What you choose to wear speaks for you before you ever say those first words. It communicates something about you: Are you laid back, professional, artsy, creative, relaxed?

Here are a few tips to help communicate your brand, while making you feel more at ease in the process:

Wear Something You’re Comfortable In

This is not the time to follow the old adage, “no pain no gain.” You want to put your audience at ease and you can’t do that very effectively if you yourself aren’t comfortable. A few days (or weeks, if you’re type A!) before your speaking engagement, look through your closet and notice the types of styles you usually wear and feel most comfortable in. Base your outfit off these styles.

Reflect Your Writer Brand

If you write books on how to be a standout business leader, you probably don’t want to show up in a multi-colored sweater with a mismatched scarf. However, if you write fantasy, this isn’t the worst choice you could make. Take note of what you write and who your audience is, then choose your fashion accordingly.

If you write children’s books and are going to speak in a classroom, maybe pass on the business suit and choose the teddy bear sweater instead. But imagine showing up to a conference to talk to CEO’s wearing the same outfit. Choose your fashion based on what you write and who your audience is.

Don’t Leave Your Personality Behind

While your fashion should reflect your writer brand and enhance rather than detract from your message, at the end of the day your brand is based on you, the individual. At the risk of being cliché, there’s only one you. Don’t let assumptions or your own nervousness keep you from being yourself. This doesn’t stop at fashion. Wear something you’re comfortable in so you can set your audience at ease, let your clothing reinforce your brand, and choose something you simply like wearing.

And then enjoy!

Enjoy the opportunity to share your passion with a live audience. Enjoy capturing the room. And enjoy vocalizing what you’ve worked so hard to take from your head, to the page, to the stage.

Best wishes out there!

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

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Platform and Branding

Creating Your Launch Team: Tactics to Help You and Other Writers

Platform and Branding

Marketing your book can be as difficult as writing it, but equally as important. If you don’t write the book you won’t have readers, and if people don’t know about it, you won’t have readers. A book launch team is a great way to help get your book off the ground and also give back to the other writers helping you. Incorporating a few easy tactics can help your book succeed, while taking your launch team to a whole new level.

Invest in Social Media Ads

Create a short application process, target ads to those you want to help promote your book, and wait for the applications to come in. Side note, make joining your launch team free. You’re asking people to promote you, so it’s probably best not to ask them to pay to do so.

Offer Tiers of Investment

Tiers will help your members know what they’re signing up for as well as what they’ll get in return. For instance, if members join tier level one let’s say they commit to do seven activities to launch your book, and you give them the standard level of free content such as going live within the Facebook launch group, or sending them a free PDF of free book study questions.

Level two requires a bit more investment from members, but with their added investment, you provide additional free content: PDF’s that will help them on their own book, a workshop maybe you usually sell but provide for free, etc.

Tier three members get an all-access pass. Along with the benefits of tier one and two, tier three members could also benefit from special live Q&A sessions with you, exclusive content about your book, free gifts like t-shirts or bookmarks, and anything else you think would benefit them. But, to have this exclusive membership they also invest in you and your book with pre-orders, reviews, and social media promos. The more they help you, the more they get out of it.

Once your book is launched you can still use your launch group to give back to the writers within it:

  • Change the group description and create a writing community for these writers to connect, network, and perhaps promote their own books. (You can make it private or public, depending on the goals you have for the group. If you do decide to keep the group going, don’t forget to have someone monitor the page.)
  • Host monthly interviews with other writers through a giveaway that involves members following each other and posting about your book on their social media (you can track posts by asking them to use a specific hashtag).
  • Run a poll asking members what would be most helpful to them, and go from there.

Launch teams can help with presales and influence the success of your book. But they’re also a great way to invest in those who invest in you—have fun with it!

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

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Platform and Branding

Branding and Twitter

Platform and Branding

Raise your hand if you’re a writer on Twitter! Same. Twitter is a great place for building that writing community and growing your visibility. However, simply building your brand through a follow-for-follow plan can cheapen not just your brand, but your writing.

So how do you build your platform and build the credibility of your writing?

As I’ve mentioned before, personal brand is not just what you write. It’s who you are. Your public, personal brand is what you decide to portray of who you are to your audience. Who are you impacts what you do or don’t write, how you engage with others on social media, and what you do or don’t post.

If you scroll through writers on Twitter, you’ll quickly see users who are there to promote their work, gain followers, and call it a day. Other than linking their book or blog, they don’t appear to be there to bring you, their potential reader, quality content.

Then you’ll see the few diamonds in the rough. The users who post quality content over and over, engage with other users, and work at pouring into the writing community, not just build their platform.

The great thing is, when you post quality content and genuinely engage with other writers, they’re apt to follow you. Thus, you build your platform.

So how do you bring your brand to Twitter? Ask yourself some questions:

Are you on Twitter to share what you’re learning from a come-alongside perspective, or to give writing advice from the standpoint of an expert? If you choose the come-alongside approach, you can share anything writing-related that you’re learning. If you choose the expert approach, to maintain brand integrity, only share advice you are an expert in. Do you write YA fiction in a specific genre, and have you sold thousands of books? You’re probably on your way to becoming an expert. However, you probably want to steer clear of handing out nonfiction advice.

Next, there are countless ways to engage with the writing community on Twitter. Choose what group you want to invest in, and go all in. Retweet pinned tweets, offer retweets on pitch fest days, jump into the comments to offer your expert advice, or share your own tweets as you progress through the writing journey.

Twitter is a sea of advice, book and blog promotions, writers’ lifts, etc., so choose carefully where you want to invest.

If you choose the expert sharing advice approach, writers’ lifts probably aren’t the best place to jump in. Twitter users who almost only engage in writers’ lifts, follow-for-follow trains, and endless promotions of their work are going to be viewed differently than those who genuinely engage, share writing advice, and provide great content every day.

Yes, follow writers, tweet, retweet—do all the things! Just choose how you choose to engage. What does what you tweet, retweet, and promote say about your writing brand?

With that in mind, happy tweeting!

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

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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