So, Author Branding...What is it?
Do you think it's about how good your books are?
Nope. It's about establishing yourself as an expert on the topic you write about.
It's also about knowing the difference between a writer and an author. As it says on the tin, a writer writes. A writer is someone who focuses on craft, style and structure as much as the story they're creating. And they constantly push forward to hone their craft and polish the voice they're establishing.
An author is those things and also a published writer. But more so, an author is someone who has a message they want to share, and they do so by writing those stories they can then share with like minded people...readers.
To do that, the author must establish their brand...why they are the best person to tell this story.
Before we continue, think about three topics you may read and if you can connect the author:
Scaring the bejeezus out of readers.
Dragons, Fantasy Realms, Warfare.
12th Century England, William Marshal dynasty.
20th century Irish history, Civil War, The Troubles.
Gentleman super spy, exotic locations.
Did you get:
Stephen King
George R.R. Martin
Elizabeth Chadwick
Morgan Llywelyn
Ian Fleming
If you did, it's not because of the books or stories, or even the movies.
It's down to Author Branding.
Now, let's go back to you...
Let's say you write historical fiction based on the Vikings and Norse. You're passionate about this part of history and, for years, have read everything you can about the time, the culture, ways of life and how these people influenced and change the world to the one we live in today. Now you have a message you want to share with readers and start writing your stories. After a few publications, you start establishing your brand...an author of Viking/Norse historicals. And being a branded author, you may start hearing readers talking...
"Hey, Joe. You like Viking history, right? I want to tell you about this great book I just read about Vikings in Ireland."
"I love Viking history and Ireland, Larry. Tell me about this book."
"You have to read Joe Smith's series. The Viking Chronicles series is set in the early 11th century and his characters are based on historical figures. They go all over western Europe establishing settlements, integrating with the locals...and the battles are epic. And I swear, when they were riding the open seas, I was sure I smelled the salty sea spray. This guy really knows his stuff about the Vikings in early Europe..."
That's Author Branding.
What's not author branding?...
"Hey, Joe. I just finished reading a book about the Vikings. You should read it."
There's nothing in Larry's statement that says he's excited about what he read. Just that it's a topic his friend Joe likes. He might as well have just seen the book on the shelf with a Viking longship on it.
Now, imagine you're Larry and you're trying to convince Viking story lover Joe to give your books a read. Go back above and pretend it's you. Tell your reader why you're the best person to write these stories.
Author branding also goes hand in hand with knowing the difference between Sales and Marketing...
Sales is having something with monetary value you want someone to buy: My book The Viking Story is available now. Preorder for $1.49... (effectively BUY MY BOOK flag waving)
Marking is telling readers why they need to read your book: My latest book, The Viking Story, is based on my 20 years of research and interviews with noted historians, attending Viking re-enactments, crafting Viking weaponry in my authentic forge, raising and training horses in the Viking style... I spent a week in Norway learning the ways of migration to other countries for farming and grazing...
This goes back to the old adage: Write what you know. You know Viking history. You've studied this period of history for many years...it's your passion...and you continue learning about it because history is always discovering new things. Unwittingly, you've become an expert in what you write about.
You get the point :-)
So, you have a writer selling books: BUY MY BOOK. This is simply what you're selling. Might as well be a used car...eventually someone may walk by and want to buy it, or it could sit there, rusting out forever.
And you have authors marketing their expertise: This is why you need to ready my books (no/little mention of spending money, just read my books) because you've proving you know what you're talking about.
Of course you'll want to back up those claims. Perhaps if you have a newsletter, add historical bits to it each time you send one out. They don't have to be long...300-600 words maybe. Tidbits but really interesting ones. You can talk about the books you've ready, the research you've done, quirky things you may never put in your stories but still want to share them...anything to get readers interested.
You can also copy those onto your website under a Viking History link as brief notes or slightly longer essay style posts. And when they publish, share the links around on your social media. This goes into another subject of engaging with your readers. But that's another topic for another day.
In the simplest of terms, let's think of it like this:
The heart of your author brand is your expertise.
Whatever your brand is, make it your own and become the expert.
That's the basics of author branding. What do you think? Ready??
