Speaking from personal experience, we all must have thought about becoming a successful author of a best-selling novel! Right.? If you haven’t, then it’s alright because there are people out there wondering every day about showing their work to the people, but it is considered where to start.
If you are one of those people, then sit straight; you have stumbled across the right place.
Table of content
Author Branding
For a successful author, a successful brand identity is the first step of the ladder that is going to take you to the top of the building. Hence, establishing an author brand is a must-have as a self-publisher. An author brand is an identity you showcase to the readers. The identity tells them about your unique voice, approach to storytelling, writing style, etc.
Traditional publishing involves publishing houses taking charge of an author’s work, from sales and distribution to marketing. Self-publishers are on their own for marketing. Hence, a strong author brand is extremely important for a self-published author.
Now we know you, if you are interested in self-publishing. It’s scary to figure out everything on your own at the beginning. The blog is trying to break down the build and author brand in steps.
Step 1: Determine your new identity.
Now defining brand identity means everything that sets you apart from other authors. Your genre, the niche you are targeting to build your fanbase, determines your unique brand identity. Author branding is all about cracking key demographics as your audience. People should see your name and automatically associate it with a particular niche. That’s how important it is to form a niche within your brand.
Step 2: Online presence
Now you have to figure out the genre and niche you’re targeting and form your book. This step can come before or after, as you wish, but building an online presence gives your brand a strong suit as a self-publisher.
Now that the internet is a platform for marketing, the last two decades have been all about digital presence. Create an author’s website and showcase your style where you can feature your books. Promote your content online and use advertisements to target your niche.
Social media platform
Social media profiles are great for connecting with the audience. As a self-publisher, reach the maximum audience possible that surpasses physical boundaries. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are powerhouses for sharing content. The more you engage with people, the more fan base you will build. Hold Q&A sessions and live videos, and create polls to know readers better.
Be creative about your content.
Book readers love an original piece; hence, be creative with your work. Even if you are starting from scratch, create from personal experience to narrate a story. Readers always want to connect with new ideas that resonate with them. Even some of the most successful self-publishing authors. Knowledge given as an author is beyond the book and attracts audiences.
Collaboration and community
As a self-publisher, you need as much networking as you can. Connecting with fellow authors is a great way to build your author brand. A community of authors has industry insight and experience, which can be valuable for you. Collaboration with authors promotes your content and helps you reach new audiences.
Since you are in self-publishing, you need people to share your work with others. That’s how a community grows from one to another. Especially if authors fall within the same category as yours. Share, reflect your opinion, and be curious about others’s work. Over time, stronger connections are superb for learning and boosting personal branding.
Online communities are successful in the mainstream. They always have networks and groups and engage with forums where people can critique your work and share it within the writing community. Be active in communities, and most importantly, take part and share your insight, a demo of your releasing work, a private reading session, etc.
Marketing strategy
As you grow as an author, always evolve, but stay genuine with your content. In self-publishing, marketing strategy is your best friend. As a self-published author, self-promoting requires lots of work in marketing. Use the right strategy to promote brand awareness.
Newsletters, panel discussions, virtual events, etc. are marketing mediums to swear by. Ask for feedback to know about readers’ opinions. Audiences love to get involved.
A random giveaway now and then wouldn’t hurt. But trade carefully; you would not want to go heavy on cost at the beginning of your career.
Consistent brand identity
Be consistent with your brand image. The work you are putting forward as self-publishing should promote your brand message. Consistency forms a strong connection with the audience so they can always know what they can expect in your work. Your work needs to be consistent, yet evaluate your strengths and weaknesses to create better content.
Plan your journey ahead.
An idea without planning is baseless and uncertain. Further, define your path as a self-publisher, plan your strategy, expectations, and obstacles you can face while building your brand. What if things do not go as you expected? Can you afford to change genres in the middle? These are things you should consider while building your brand identity.
Self-publication requires a lot of commitment combined with uncertainty. In the beginning, you should be sure what path you’re going to take. Find a niche, explore it, expand on it, and make it profitable!
Conclusion!
To sum up, personal branding requires extra time, energy, and effort to build a successful writing career. Hence, consistency is needed in self-publishing, combined with the right audience and the right niche. Promotion and marketing always go hand in hand, serving as the building blocks of author branding.
Please let us know your thoughts on this post by leaving a reply in the comments section. Also, check out our recent post on “What is the ISBN of a book? How to get an ISBN? Learn everything about ISBN!”
