How to Improve The Author Brand

“Brands are valuable, but rarely established without quality writing and/or an effective platform.”

Brands are difficult to create. Companies spend a lot of money developing a brand — the look, the product and the catch phrase. (“Just Do It!” Godfather’s Pizza.) Authors must build their brand. Why? Because an author brand means a trusted, quality work and in turn, more sales.

In years past it was who you knew. You could be an unknown writer and ride the coat-tails of a best-selling author.

“The new era of author branding uses a famous author as the billboard and very carefully positions a secondary contributor as the actual writer of the piece. James Patterson is, of course, the master of this sort of publishing.” Writers Digest

Unfortunately, for most of us, we aren’t allowed near his closet let alone ride his coat-tails. So what can a self-publishing author do to improve or enhance their author brand?

Self-Publishing Options

You may not get a multi-book publishing deal, but how your books are “presented and the frequency of their release is entirely in your hands.” Here are few ideas to consider:

Writing a Series?

• Consider releasing the books individually and fairly close to one another.
• Incorporate a unified design element into each cover.
• Give the books a series name and use it on each cover.
• Consider using the same typeface for your Author name from book to book. This technique helps give one author a unified look. (Example: “J.A. Konrath’s Jack Daniels mystery series. Each book is instantly identifiable as being connected.”)

Ebook Publishing

Self-publishing your work in a digital format gives you control over the price of your books.

• You could sell your first book at a low price, attracting target readers with a “low-risk purchase.” Once you have proven you have something worth paying for, up the price on subsequent novels.
• Bundle sets of books into a single purchase option. If you have three books in a series, you could combine them together at a discounted rate allowing consumers to purchase them all at once.
• Listmania. Amazon.com has a Listmania service where you could group all your title together under one theme. Fans of your wok could create a list of “Favorite mysteries by Joe Smith” and as consumers search for mysteries on Amazon, Listmania recommendations will appear in the sidebar of the page.

  Here is where you encourage your reader/fans to make lists of your books. These lists provide you with additional exposure, even when readers aren’t specifically looking for your work.

Platform and Brand

When building your Author Brand, ask yourself the following question:

• What am I doing to promote my brand?
• What am I doing to lead my readers from one book to the next?
• How am I getting the word out about my brand and what it represents (i.e. what readers can expect from a book by you)?

“Keep in Mind, building an author brand is not the same as building a platform. A platform connects you to people and tells them who you are. It’s a personal effort that enables you to influence how people perceive you and your work.

A brand is a marketing tool. It’s an umbrella that ties your work together and suggests to readers what to expect – it doesn’t replace a platform and without a platform, won’t do you that much good.”

Source: “The Persistence of the Author Brand” from Writers Digest