Author Branding

By now you probably know that you’re supposed to be building an author platform and networking with your existing and potential readers. But did you also know that you’ve got some serious work to do BEFORE you start developing your author platform?

Don’t get me wrong, your author platform is vital to building your tribe of readers and selling your work. But in order for the platform to be effective, you have to start with the foundation: your author brand.

Did you secretly wince when you read that last sentence? Is this all starting to sound too impersonal and salesy? After all, you’re an author, not a major corporation, right? Right, except that selling books is a business, too.

And as a business owner, you need to develop a clear brand.

Both self published and traditionally published authors will benefit from building a solid author brand. And if you’re looking to work with an agent or get picked up by a traditional publishing house, one of the first things they’ll ask about is your platform…and a platform requires a clear brand.

Branding is not about creating a persona, like one of the characters in your books, and presenting it online for all to see. It’s about getting in touch with your authentic self and sharing it with the world, so potential readers will be attracted to your brand and purchase your books. It’s not about pretending to be someone else.

It’s about being YOU and you alone. It also helps potential readers clearly understand who you are and what your books are like so they can get an idea even before buying whether or not your books are for them.

Tapping into your target market of readers also ensures more five-star reviews of your books, because you’re not selling to the masses, but rather to the core group of people who are most likely to enjoy your work. If you try to be everything to everyone, you water down your brand and send mixed images to your potential readers. This means people who aren’t in your target market of readers may end up purchasing your book, hating it, and giving it a one-star review on Amazon.

You probably became an author because you are passionate about writing and wanted to share your work with the world…not because you wanted to be a business owner or build a brand. But if you want to share your work with the largest possible group of people (read: sell more books), first you need to get clear on your brand.

I work with authors like you, who want to sell books and get their work known without driving themselves crazy getting clear on their author brand. I have a solid background in business, online marketing, and coaching and I leverage this experience to help you achieve your business goals.

Working with me, you’ll learn how to answer the three vital questions required to build a solid author brand so you can get started on your path to develop a tribe of loyal readers and reviewers. I look forward to helping you sell more books and helping you get more positive reviews online.