Writers Need A Brand

 

Lovely Lavender Lilacs

A number of years ago, I attended a conference at a beautiful state park in Virginia. One of the speakers talked about 'branding' for writers. The term was new to many of us, but for Mary it was more than familiar as she ran a company that helped organizations and businesses get known to others. 

Branding for writers is doing all you can to let people know who you are and what you write. You should stand out as an individual in a large group of writers. Why and how are you different in some way? Your objective is to get yourself known well enough in the writing world that, when people see your name, they will associate certain things with you. Maybe the genre in which you specialize or a special trademark that you have developed. Or a particular topic you write about. 

Think about a few well-known authors. Say the name and what comes to mind? John Grisham--mysteries. Nora Roberts--mystery/romance. Steven Spielberg--horror stories. Dr. Seuss--children's rhyming books. They have each developed a brand. Your readers' perception of you is your brand.

A lot of writers would be perfectly happy holed up in their home office writing every day, not meeting the public at all. You can do that, but you do yourself disfavor. If a writer, whether of books or short pieces or poems wants to be known by the public, he/she needs to work at it. He/she should work at creating a brand. 

A few ways you can develop your own brand: 

Use social media. I know that many of you don't want any part of the social media world. You should do it to keep your name visible. That means you don't hop around Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, or the newest one--Tik Tok once a month. Post something at one or more of these every day, or at least a few times a week. If you're a book author, start your own group page. Readers who like your books will gravitate to it quickly. Pop in now and then to make a comment or a new post. Readers love to hear from you, the author. Once you start using social media, you can easily develop the habit. 

Have a website or blog. Or both! If you're a well-known author, you won't have any problem getting viewers, but if you don't have a readily recognized name in the writing world, it will take longer to get followers. This is quite an important step in the branding process. Doing this will strengthen your image to readers and perhaps sell more books. Having a website or blog lets people know what they are getting when they read your work.

Be a Guest Blogger.  What better way to find new readers and let them know who you are and what you write than writing a post on someone else's blog. Bloggers are good about trading. You be a Guest Blogger for me, and I'll do it for you. Once again, you're getting your name out and letting readers know who you are, what you write.

Try a tagline. Not everyone can come up with a terrific tagline which they use everywhere they appear, be it social media, posting on another blog, their own blog etc. It should be short and tell who you are. Your tagline is no different than the slogan a major company uses for its product. You see them so often, you recognize them in a flash. That's the purpose of creating your own tagline. Perhaps mine is the title of my blog--Writer Granny's World. It tells you I'm a writer, a grandmother so family is important to me and in my writing, and I invite you into my writing world. I could even use something like 'family stories from the heart.' You want something catchy, not too long, and that people will remember. 

Writing involves far more than the writing itself. As writers, we need to sell ourselves to the readers. It's all part of the job.