Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Branding YOU. And I don’t mean hot iron pokers or rings through our noses.




So what DO I mean?

According to Wikipedia a brand is: 

a name, logo, slogan, and/or design scheme associated with a product or service.’ 

Think of some of those biggie companies everyone knows … Coke, Nike, Budweiser. Each of these brand names brings a picture to mind, do they not? 

Statistics show it takes an image & associated name to cross our vision 10 – 15 times before we’ll remember it. Those companies have accomplished that, and we as authors need to brand ourselves just as they did.

How?  

We need to choose images, logos, colors, & fonts that reflect who we are & what genre we write.


Horror writer?

Don’t use tweety birds & flowers of every pastel color imaginable in your websites header.

YA writer? 

I certainly won't 'get' that if you use whips, chains, & handcuffs.

Romance writer? 

Sure – use those images mentioned above if you tend toward the kinky side of the genre.


Whatever public information you use reflects on YOU, so be sure it all fits your brand. Pictures – weather it’s a head shot, email siggie, or logos. Colors. Fonts. Stories. 

Need some ideas to get your brain moving? Check out your favorite authors and their websites. Learn from those who have gone before us - and became successful.


The real key? Be consistent. Then get your brand out there as much as possible, but I'll save my tips on how to do that for next week.

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What genre do you write & what's your brand? As a reader, what nabs your eye? As a consumer, what words entice you to purchase?

6 comments:

  1. Science fiction writer - and I think my icon and blog header and background reflect that.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you are an excellent example of proper branding. :)

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    2. Alex, your blog header doesn't seem to load on my end.

      ?

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  2. I spent all weekend thinking about this exact thing as I redesigned my blog. My novel is contemporary and the YA I'm working on is contemporary too, not really fantasy and not really romance, so I tried to go with something more abstract/pattern that is clean and will hopefully express me without giving any wrong impressions/information.

    Sarah Allen
    (From Sarah, With Joy)

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  3. Very informative post! There is a lot of information here.

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