Whether you’re just starting out as an author, or are a marketer trying to build a credible and authoritative presence in your niche, there’s no doubting that writing a book is one of the best things you can do – and there’s nothing quite like the thrill of seeing your work out there and published!
That said, if you want to actually make sales and start growing your author empire, you’re going to need to focus on building a brand. As most authors will tell you, it can sometimes feel like you spend more time marketing than writing these days – but if you want the lucrative sales and fame, then this is an unavoidable part of being a modern, self-published author.
The important thing to remember is that you are already a brand. This might sound strange, especially if you’ve never done any brand work before, but you already have a look, beliefs, and values. As a personal brand… well, that is the basic behind your brand!
In other words, you don’t need to invent a persona – although it’s never a bad idea to buff up some parts of your brand to make them a bit more distinctive. Take something that’s uniquely you and make it a bigger part of your brand. After all, you want to stand out from the crowd.
Whatever it is that you want to emphasize, remember that this will be what informs everything you do: your communications style, your content, even your look. In other words, make sure it’s something that’s really you, otherwise it will get old incredibly fast.
One thing you will need to do is be consistent across all your channels – and that means your social media, website, books, presentations (everything!) will need a cohesive look and feel. The idea is to make everything feel like a connected one and engage people emotionally so they feel like they’re at home when they visit your branded presence.
One good question to start building your brand if you’re feeling a little stuck is to answer a simple question: what is my purpose? Yes, I get that it’s one of those tricky questions, but try just autowriting out all the ideas that fall into your head.
This kind of subconscious writing, done without thought and just noting down the first things that come to mind over a brainstorm, is often messy, but almost always give you that gem. You might go “well, I just want to write” – but your writing might reveal that you want to change the world, or create something that a specific kind of person will love.
Once you know what this is, you’re in a much better situation not just to start building out a genuine brand, but also with how to start writing that brand’s content consistently across your media. You know why your brand exists – so you want to share that message. The people will come!
Branding is not something that traditional authors and writers ever had to content with, but in the age of information, it’s another string to add to your bow. Brand work can be fun and exciting, so have fun trying to build your personal brand.
Remember, it’s all about you and who you are, so create something that’s true to you – something that you can follow no matter what. From this knowledge, you’ll find that your career starts to bloom and grow. Good luck!
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