Do you have a blog? Do you send out a newsletter? Do you post on Twitter, Facebook, or Good Reads as part of your Marketing Plan to have readers learn about you and your latest release? Great! Most of us use social media, even those of us who are traditionally published. I'm primarily a short story writer. A couple of weeks before releasing an anthology, a publisher usually asks me to promote the book to my social media following. They send me a graphic to post and ask I include an announcement on my blog or contain information about the anthology in my newsletter.
Most writers' typical reaction is to sit down and dutifully post the pre-made Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc., images that the publisher sends and tell people they should buy their book. I've done this myself. However, you have an opportunity to use the release as a way to build your author brand that many of us miss. If you write a post that reflects your author brand, you will be helping your editor or publisher sell more books, but you also be contributing to your marketing efforts, and ultimately that means selling more of your books.
Common wisdom says you don't sell anything by posting on social media.
More often than not, posting a jpg of your latest book will not increase your sales. However, marketing is a process and not a quick one. On average, a reader needs to see your name seven times before they recognize you. (This is called the Rule of 7.) But what if readers do remember you? Will they picture yet another mystery book with an intriguing photo of a woman peeking behind a door at a guy in a black fedora? That isn't the reaction you want. You want them to say to themselves, "I remember this writer." They are more apt to do this if they recall something unique about you.
You want them to remember your name, but you also want them to recall you write the types of stories they like to read. The next time they see your name, you want those who would like your books to buy one of your books. If they have purchased and read one of your books, you want them to form a favorable opinion of you. Eventually, you want them to become loyal fans. At that point, you want them to buy every book you publish because they like what you write and can't wait to see what you have created for them. How do you develop that following?
First, you need to determine what makes you unique. How do you do that? Start with looking at what is important to you.
I know you have heard this advice before, but let's do a quick review of what goes into creating your author brand. Start with who you are and what life lessons are important to you. Writers write about what they care about, so don't be shy letting people know you. Most writers find the process of determining what makes them unique complicated, so write down three beliefs that govern your life. These will be the basis of your author brand.
As an example, here are my three statements:
· Make the most of your opportunities.
· Lend a hand to those who need help.
· Where there is a will, there is a way. (Or never give up until you reach your goal.)
The way to have a strong author brand is to consistently reinforce the basic principles you believe in and use in your writing. Don't write down what you think readers want to hear. That isn't unique, and your brand won't be authentic. If you try to make your author brand something you don't believe, you won't sustain your author brand over a career.
Now think back over the short stories, novels, or non-fiction books you have written. Do you find any of these three sentiments in your writing? Chances are you will.
I found writing the three statements an eye-opening exercise for me. Later I realized my three sentiments appeared in everything I had written, whether in my latest historical YA novel or my thriller short stories. I even found these beliefs incorporated into my Star Trek short stories in the Pocket Book's Strange New Worlds anthologies, where I got my career start. In other words, these guideposts I had created for myself carried through all my writing, no matter the genre.
Your branding statement
This next exercise is more for you than for your readers. Summarizing three deeply held beliefs of what makes you different into a single concept helps you remain consistent in portraying your author brand. (Check out the link at the bottom of the page for an excellent article for more ideas on creating your branding statement.)
Take your three values and write one sentence that incorporates these ideas.
Examples:
· I write riveting stories that explore the extremes of human behavior.
· I teach writers the business skills to build a career as a professional author.
Consistency is what makes for a strong author brand.
Now you will want to incorporate your author brand into your social networks. (You only need one or two social media accounts, especially if you are starting to employ your author brand intentionally.) Here are some ideas for integrating your author brand into your social media posts.
Twitter or Facebook
You want every post to refer back to at least one of your core values. Write tweets or messages that incorporate these beliefs.
· One way to inform your potential readers (and remind them) of your brand is to show your support for causes that reflect your three values by retweeting or liking these posts.
· The same advice goes for only liking posts that are compatible with your brand.
· TIP: Don't share your friends' Twitter or Facebook messages unless their posts strengthen your author brand. Save comments on your friends' tweets for your Social Media accounts, not your author account, unless their tweets align with your author brand.
Whenever anyone sees a post from you, they should see evidence of what is important to you. Why is this valuable? The people who share your three fundamental life guidelines are the people who will like your writing because they will recognize aspects of themselves in your characters, plots, and themes. One favorite way of doing this for some writers is to mix in their photos or book covers with a statement or quote they wrote or someone else has written that reflects at least one of the writer's three personal beliefs.
Instagram
Your strategy on Instagram should be the same as on Twitter and Facebook.
· Have links to your books or videos with comments that reinforce your author brand.
· In an interview, talk about what you have found significant throughout your life. Refer to excerpts of the book that incorporate these principles. Help the reader see how the underlying story illustrates your values.
Your fans will hear the same message repeated once again and believe that you indeed are committed to living your life according to these values. The things in your life that you feel strongly about are admirable traits. What fan wouldn't like someone who lives by high ideals and consistently reinforces that view in every media she uses? They will view you as authentic in a way most people are not on social media.
Your Website
Review your website. Have a consistent message that reminds readers how you are unique.
· Integrate your three principles into your bio.
· Highlight any of the three values that are in your story when you write your book description.
· Don't be afraid to mention causes you support that show your commitment to your author brand. In your blog posts, highlight news about things you care about most.
Your newsletter
Choose topics, information, and story excerpts in your newsletter that reflect your brand. Adopt a charity that reflects your brand and tell your readers why their mission means so much to you (but only if you support the charity. Never be dishonest, or readers will figure out that you are not truthful.)
Conclusion
The next time you launch a book, don't go on social media and put up a photo of your book cover and say, "Buy this book." Craft a post that reflects the core values you identified and made into your author brand. How do you do that? When you announce your new book, say why writing the book means a great deal to you, and below your sentence, show your latest book cover photo.
There is more to building an author brand.
You may be surprised that I haven't talked about using a consistent color scheme, fonts, voice, writing style, image size when you post on social media, etc. These are all strategies for ensuring that your potential readers recognize your posts. You should be consistent in your social media comments' look and feel, but your posts will have little impact if you can't convince readers that you are an author they would enjoy reading.
Remember, communicating to your potential readers what makes you and your writing unique is the foundation of building a solid author brand.
Link for more information on developing a personal brand statement
"8 Personal Brand Statement Examples To Help You Craft Your Own Brand," Influencer Marketing Hub, https://influencermarketinghub.com/personal-brand-statement-examples/
Tonya D. Price is a multi-genre published short story writer and the author of the non-fiction series, Business Books for Writers. Her thriller short story, "Payback," in the Fiction River anthology, Hard Choices, was selected for inclusion in The American Best Mystery Stories of 2019. She holds an MBA from Cornell University in Marketing and Finance. You can follow Tonya at Business Books for Writers and Tonya D. Price or on Twitter: @BusBooks4Writer.