If writing is your passion or you are just an avid reader, you must have followed a particular author. Wonder what journey they took to reach where they are? Sure, no one can be a successful entrepreneur overnight, right? One has to start somewhere. Author branding is one part of the journey that a successful publisher takes.
The author’s brand is like your signature; it’s unique and represents your identity, just like a signature does. If you’re new to publishing or planning to enter it, know the author’s brand!
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Author Brand
An author brand is the unique identity of an author that readers recognize you by. It can be the writing style, grammar, formatting, and values. What you use in writing shapes your identity as an author.
Your brand is how people recognize you as an author. It’s a personal touch on everything you sign. An author brand identifies your work and makes it distinct from other authors.
Let’s say you are an ardent fan of science fiction novels. If someone asks who the father of science fiction is, Jules Verne is the name that comes to mind. You are aware of how he writes, what he writes, and his unique approach to the science fiction genre.
It is the brand of an author that readers remember when they see a name at the top of a book.
How can you build your author brand?
Building an author brand is like following a recipe; every step and ingredient matters. It adds the necessary flavour required for a dish. Meaning, every step contributes to building your author brand.
Know Your Niche
Perhaps the most important aspect of being an author is knowing your audience and niche. As a writer, you can have different preferences. But, as a publisher, you must narrow your niche to build a brand. Your niche produces the emotions that people feel and understand.
Finding your genre and niche is a significant way to target key demographics. It may not necessarily be done by all authors. Some of them write about what they love, and the fanbase just forms. However, forming a niche is a must to connect with a particular audience for author branding. Just like finding the right ingredient for your recipe.
Develop Your Unique Style
Every author’s brand is unique and represents the unique personality of the author. Just like presentation matters in a dish, the visual appeal of your brand is similar to that. Showcase your writing style, tone, and language. Deal with themes and elements in your storytelling that bind the audience.
For instance, in cinema, director Wes Anderson is known for his unique display of colour palettes and symmetry in his movies. People recognize his work, which sets him apart from other directors’ works.
Hence, building a brand can benefit from your unique selling point. Using a colour palette and logos across websites and social media platforms is good for book marketing.
Your Online Presence
Nowadays, social media is a powerful tool to develop author branding. It is a unique, effective, and memorable way to build your loyal audience base. The internet is a great place for book marketing and brand awareness.
Online publishing surpasses the geographical boundaries that might limit your target audience. Do you know what people love more than authentic dishes? A versatile dish that compliments a fusion of flavours. An online presence can draw a fusion of potential readers from multiple places, as indicated by your common author branding.
Catering to Your Audience
Once you have established a connection with your audience, it is good to stay updated. An online presence is a great way to boost your engagement. Try having interactive online sessions like Q&A and polling to engage with your target audience.
Creating newsletters and forums for discussion is also a great way to share exclusive content, updates, and promotions. Readers like to stay connected with the authors and share their progress. Not everyone likes to go out of their comfort zone to build an aura in the crowd. However, once you get the gist of it, it will be fine for your brand awareness.
Use Your Expertise
Be authentic in your writing career! Everything is easily available in today’s world. While creativity is appreciated, people like genuine work, especially in writing. In developing your own business, always showcase your expertise.
Whether it is your knowledge as a writer or the values that you share beyond the books. The experience and knowledge you share with readers reflect in your brand identity.
Mistakes to Avoid!
Content for Everyone
A successful author can be versatile with a publication, but not every type of content resonates with everyone. A common mistake is to cater to everyone’s taste. Now, you might get lucky and manage to sell more books. However, this is not a good idea, especially if you are just getting your hands on the world of publication.
You can’t be inclusive if you’re looking for author branding. The author’s brand reflects a particular niche and genre. Just like too many spices can ruin a dish, too much diversity can make you lose focus.
Not sticking with one genre.
This goes hand in hand with writing for everyone. Too much can be too little when it comes to author branding. Now, you want to be versatile in your approach, but this is not good brand-building.
Once you have established a brand identity, focus on it until you have made enough revenue from it. Rebranding yourself at the beginning can make you lose something and then gain it.
In short, for author branding, whatever you do, try to be consistent. To create an author brand you need a strategy that might seem complicated at first. It is going to take some time but it is totally worth it to build a successful writing career.
Please let us know your thoughts on this post by leaving a reply in the comments section. Also, check out our recent post on “How Should You Deal With Negative Book Reviews?”
