You’ve written a book. Now what? The next step is to brand yourself as an author. You might be thinking that you don’t need to do any branding because you write books and not cars or clothes or tech gadgets. But if you want your book to sell, then yes, you need to create an effective brand for yourself as an author.
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Establishing a unique author brand is essential for standing out in the literary world. |
| 2. Crafting a consistent and relatable author identity helps build a loyal readership. |
| 3. An author brand goes beyond writing style and includes visual elements and online presence. |
| 4. Consistency in messaging and engagement reinforces the author brand’s effectiveness. |
| 5. A well-developed author brand can lead to increased book sales and broader recognition. |
Know What A Brand Is
Everyone has a brand, whether they know it or not. A brand is your unique identity, the way you present yourself to the world. It’s who people think of when they hear your name or see your logo. Your brand is how you are perceived by others, and it reflects on the quality of your work and business practices as well.
When building an author’s brand, there are many questions to consider: Who am I? What do I want people to feel when they connect with my work? How should I present myself online, in person, and everywhere in between?
The answers aren’t always easy to come by on our own; but if you take some time out from writing (or whatever else) today and invest in answering those questions thoughtfully, then we can guarantee that tomorrow will feel like something worth celebrating!
Building a strong author brand is essential for standing out in the competitive literary world. Discover valuable insights and practical tools in our guide on Book Writing Guides & Tools for Writing and Publishing a Book to help you establish a unique and compelling author identity.
Decide What You Want Your Books To Achieve
The first step in creating an author brand is to determine what you want your books to achieve. You can think of this as a list of the things you hope will happen once you’ve created the brand. Some possibilities are:
marketing and publicity
acquisition of new readers (i.e., distribution)
increase in book sales (i.e., income)
increase in media coverage (i.e., exposure)
increase in social media followers (i.e., engagement)
Identify The Kind Of Book Buyers You Want To Attract
To create a book buyer persona, you need to know the kind of people who buy your kind of books. Know what they like to read and don’t like to read. Know what they buy and don’t buy.
If you’re writing a romance novel, for example, then you can probably narrow down your target audience to women between 25-45 years old who are married or in committed relationships with children.
They’re probably looking for escapism from their everyday lives for the same reason that people go on vacation and want to be transported into another world where everything feels new and exciting again (especially when compared with their daily grind).
So how do we find out more about our target reader? We do research! Search Google for “fictitious personas” or “marketing personas” and see what comes up on sites like Hubspot or Kissmetrics (or whichever tools/sites work best for you).
Embarking on the journey to become a successful book writer requires the right guidance and strategies. Explore our comprehensive resource on How to Become a Book Writer: Guides for Aspiring Authors to learn essential steps and advice for honing your craft and achieving your authorship goals.
Make A List Of Your Main Competitors
It’s important to be aware of who you’re competing against in any given field. After all, if you don’t know where your competition is, they can corner the market while you’re busy failing to realize what everyone else already knows.
So take a moment and make a list of the top three competitors in your field. (If there are more than three companies currently operating in this space, add in some more.)
What does their brand stand for? What do they offer their customers? Is there anything about this company that makes them unique or better than others—and if so, how do that impact its marketing and promotion strategies?
Research Your Competitors
Before you get started on your author brand, there’s one more thing you need to do: research your competitors.
First, look at the strengths and weaknesses of each of your direct competitors in the marketplace. This is an excellent way to see what the market will pay for a certain type of product or service and if there are holes that need filling.
Knowing how many competitors are out there and what they’re doing will also help inform how much time and energy you want to put into developing a strong brand identity for yourself.
Next, research the audience for each competitor’s offerings so that you know whether or not it makes sense for them to buy from any given publisher (or authors).
You can find this by reading reviews on Amazon or Goodreads and getting a sense of who these potential customers are through social media platforms like Facebook groups or forums where people discuss similar topics related specifically to their interests as well as general audiences like Reddit where anyone can ask questions anonymously via
“Ask Me Anything” events are hosted monthly by celebrities such as Bill Gates who have already found success within their industries but still maintain an interest in helping others succeed too!
View Your Author Brand as Your Product, and Yourself as the Product Manager
Your author brand is your product, and you are the marketing steward.
Your author brand is not just a name, but it’s also an identity that goes beyond just your name. Your author branding should be consistent across all of your online properties from Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to websites and blogs.
You need to have a unique voice to build up credibility as an authority in your field. In other words: if you want others to pay attention, you have to start by paying attention yourself!
Choosing the right topic for your first book can significantly impact its success. Delve into our article on How to Decide What to Write About in Your First Book to uncover tips and methods for selecting a compelling and meaningful subject that resonates with your audience.
Create An Author Brand Positioning Statement
The author’s brand positioning statement is a single sentence that defines your brand, conveying what makes you unique and valuable to readers. It answers the question: Why should I buy this book?
Consider your branding as a product a way to market yourself as an author. The PROS of doing so are numerous:
You can use it in all of your marketing materials (book covers, websites, social media bios) as a quick way to tell people what you do and what sets you apart from other writers.
When writing articles or blog posts about related topics, it will help guide their direction so they’re consistent with the rest of your branding efforts.
It’s great when talking with potential readers, including potential fans and reviewers who might give out recommendations for new books based on how much they enjoyed yours.
Understand The Concept Of Author Brand Personality
The concept of author brand personality is a powerful one. You’re not necessarily creating a character like you would in a novel or series of movies or TV shows; rather, you’re defining your unique presence as an author. What does your writing style say about you?
How would another writer describe it? Once you’ve answered these questions and come up with some answers that feel comfortable for you, write down what they are in a sentence or two (or more).
These Brand Personality Statements are designed to be simple and concise, but also give readers an idea of what kind of books they’ll enjoy reading by associating themselves with that particular author’s style.
This helps other writers understand why they should read your work—and it helps readers find new authors who have similar tastes as their favorite authors do!
Crafting a non-fiction book requires specific skills and approaches to engage readers effectively. Our guide, The Ultimate Guide to Writing Non-Fiction Books, offers expert advice and insights to help you create impactful and informative works that captivate and educate your readers.
Learn How To Define Your Visual Style
Your visual style is the way you dress, the way you present yourself, and how you want to be perceived. It’s your brand’s first impression it can help readers connect with who you are as a writer and make them feel like they know and trust you.
Your visual style is also the way you want to be remembered by your readers long after they’ve finished your book or read one of your blog posts.
It’s not just about what photos show up on social media; it might mean building a brand around a specific color palette or creating an overall aesthetic that carries through all of your promotional materials, including business cards and book covers.
Behave In Ways That Are Consistent With Your Author Brand Personality And Visual Style
It’s important to be consistent in your writing style, especially if you have a particular voice or tone. It can be okay for the occasional piece of content to deviate from this, but overall you should keep things uniform.
You should also be consistent on social media and in any marketing materials you create. If you are posting on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, use the same profile picture and bio everywhere so that people know they are following the right account when they see it pop up on their feed.
If you want people to recognize your image as an author and remember it makes sure all of your promotional images follow a similar theme and style.
Your author brand shouldn’t look like one thing at first glance (the cover), but then suddenly become something else entirely once someone clicks through into an article about your book or blog post about what inspires you as an author (the details).
Care About Appearances, But Focus On Substance, Not Just Superficial Aspects Of Style
As an author, you have a brand. It’s not just your name or face, though those are important parts of it; it’s also your style and who you are as an individual.
And if you want to reach readers, who are looking for authors who look like them or share their interests, then how you present yourself matters.
Your audience will be drawn to someone they can identify with on some level whether that’s gender identity or sexuality or race or political party affiliation. So care about appearances but don’t get too caught up in superficial aspects of style that aren’t essential to your success as an author (and may even hurt it).
In other words: Don’t be afraid to be different! Don’t be afraid to stand out! The world needs more unique voices telling stories through books right now and there should always be room for more because we need diverse perspectives right now more than ever before (even if we didn’t know it until now).
It’s time for all voices including yours to rise and make themselves heard so we can create better worlds together from within our narrative communities.#end
Achieving bestseller status within a short timeframe is an aspiration for many authors. Dive into our list of Top 15 Ways to Write a Bestseller in 30 Days to discover proven techniques and strategies that can boost your writing productivity and increase your chances of hitting the bestseller charts.
Be Consistent
Consistency is key. You need to be consistent in your branding and your behavior, as well as in your message, appearance, tone of voice, and style. In other words: if you want readers to recognize you as an authority on a particular topic (e.g., writing children’s books), then you should stick with that topic at all times.
If you’ve decided on a particular genre or subject matter for which you want to be known among friends, family members, and colleagues, and especially if it’s something that will take more than just one book then make sure that each subsequent book delivers that same message in its unique way (through different characters or settings).
Be Interesting. Be Unique. Be Truly Memorable. Don’t Be Bland or Generic. Don’t Try Too Hard. Don’t Apologize for Who You Are. Don’t Worry About Other People’s Opinions.
The most important thing to remember is that you are your person. No one else can be like you and no one else can live your life for you. So make sure to not let other people’s opinions dictate what kind of author brand you create, or how much work goes into creating it.
Be Interesting (And Unique), But Don’t Try To Hard Just Do What Comes Naturally!
Don’t worry about what others think of your brand or how they might react to it the only opinion that matters is yours!
It’s okay if some people don’t like the way your brand looks or the kind of stories that come out under it. The important thing is that they resonate with readers who will enjoy reading them; as long as there’s an audience out there who loves them, then everything else will fall into place eventually!
Conclusion
So, what have we learned?
The most important thing is to be yourself. This isn’t just advice for authors; it’s advice for everyone. You don’t need to reinvent yourself or spend hours trying to figure out how to be more like someone else.
You just need to go with your instincts and let those instincts guide you in developing an author brand that resonates with your readership and do so in a way that is authentic, genuine, and consistent with who you are.
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources for further exploring the concept of building an author brand:
How to Build Your Author Brand Learn practical steps and strategies to establish a strong and memorable author brand that resonates with your target audience.
Building Your Author Brand Discover insights into creating an effective author brand that not only reflects your writing style but also connects with readers on a deeper level.
What Is an Author Brand? Gain a clear understanding of the concept of an author brand and its significance in today’s publishing landscape.
FAQs
What is an author brand?
An author brand represents the unique identity and image an author creates to distinguish themselves and their work in the literary world.
How can I build my author brand effectively?
Building an effective author brand involves defining your writing style, identifying your target audience, and consistently conveying your message through various marketing channels.
Why is author branding important?
Author branding helps you establish a recognizable and relatable presence, making it easier for readers to connect with your work and fostering a loyal fan base.
Can a strong author brand impact book sales?
Yes, a strong author brand can significantly impact book sales. A well-defined brand can attract a dedicated readership and generate interest in your books.
What are some key elements of an author brand?
Key elements of an author brand include a distinct writing voice, consistent visual aesthetics, an engaging online presence, and a clear alignment between your brand and the themes in your writing.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.
