Brand Marketing Made Easy

Posted September 21, 2009 at 2:37 pm
In category: authors | blog   tags: Brand Marketing | Writing Brand   4 Comments

At a recent RWA conference, I listened to several conversations and sessions about “author Branding”, which I was surprised to find almost exclusively centered on “all the stuff you create to promote yourself and your writing.”

If you’ve read my work or taken one of my classes (or simply stood next to me for too long), you know that, for me, comprehensive author Branding goes well beyond websites and postcards, although those are certainly part of the picture. In fact, focusing so much on promoting your books can be exhausting, and lead many authors to think they’ll never be able to afford to Brand themselves well. (more…)

Putting Your Brand to Work for You

Posted September 3, 2009 at 10:00 am
In category: authors | blog | entrepreneurs | organizations   tags: Brand Marketing | Industry Brand | linkedin | pitching | Writing Brand   0 Comments

Part of a series of brief articles on the Power of Personal Branding.

Whether you’ve gone through a Personal Branding exercise or not at this point, it’s relevant to discuss what you’re now going to “DO” with your Brand. How can having a Personal Brand really impact your efforts as a writer, entrepreneur, or business professional, and what are some techniques for “showing off” your Brand?

You can manifest your Personal Brand in an almost endless variety of ways, from subtle to dramatically obvious, and how people experience your Brand is via its key Elements.   (more…)

But I could write that, too! The perils and promise of changing your Writing Brand

Posted September 3, 2009 at 9:55 am
In category: authors | blog   tags: Writing Brand   0 Comments

For writers, the grass can often seem greener on the other side of the genre fence. Maybe you’ve been toiling away at your Regencies… but you hear that Paranormal Romance is hot, and you think, “Hey, I’ve got a great idea for a paranormal!” Or, perhaps you’ve been making good sales on your contemporaries, but you long to sink your teeth into a sweeping historical.

Making the jump to writing a new type of book, however, requires more than just firing up your word processor and playing different music on your iPod. You have your audience to consider – an audience that can include your readers, your agent, your editor and your publicist. (more…)

Getting Your Brand Ready for Conferences

Posted September 3, 2009 at 9:42 am
In category: authors | blog   tags: Conferences | Industry Brand | Writing Brand   0 Comments

As we develop our Personal Brand as authors, we do so generally with some far-off goal in mind: positioning ourselves to our future readers, or giving an interview about our New York Times Bestselling status. But if we’re wise, our Writing and Industry Brands can receive a workout in the far more immediate future: this year’s Conference season.

As a brief review, I define Writing and Industry Brands as follows:

Your Writing Brand is the brand you communicate solely through your books or promotional efforts. As a result, you’ll probably find that a description that can double as a slogan will work best for your Writing Brand.

Your Industry Brand is the brand you present as an author—to your industry contacts, to your dedicated readership, and to anyone you meet as you pursue your writing career.

Both your Writing Brand and your Industry Brand can make the difference as you interact with your peers and industry professionals at conference, so take a few minutes to focus on yours! (more…)