Branding Your Book

Brand Yourself: Building Your Book Marketing Efforts on a Promise

Brought to you from the BookSurge monthly "Surge Newsletter" for self-published authors.

What's your brand? If you've put your pen to paper, you've already started developing a brand, even if you don't know it. A brand is a promise to your readers that you will deliver a specific value or benefit from reading your work that can help you develop your readership and expand your audience. Consider your own favorite authors- why do you read their books? You trust that when you pick up the latest Grisham or Rowling book that it will have the same memorable effect on you that the first book by the author did. Grisham promises to thrill you; Rowling promises to enchant you, and when choosing a book to read, time and again, you'll return to the authors who delivered on their promise. 

To begin proactively establishing your brand, you'll need to ask yourself a few questions. What value do you intend for your target readers to experience as a result of reading your book? What benefits can you give your readers in the course of reading? Is my brand an experience such as an emotional connection, or does it offer educational value?

The first place to start building your brand is in your writing itself. A distinct writing style will help you establish an expectation for the reader of what they will get out of reading your book, whether it's grim and terrifying or light-hearted and comedic. Readers who expect a certain kind of entertainment will be drawn to writing of that same style. A professional editor can help you improve your manuscript and writing in ways that are consistent throughout your book.

You can further develop your brand through your book's design and marketing materials. Choosing similar but distinctive layouts and book covers for multiple books can help you develop the brand of a series of books. Designing a website and press kit that are consistent with your book's themes will help you brand your marketing strategy.

But how can you develop your own brand in ways that readers will trust and return to you in the same way you choose books by your favorite authors?  Consistent messaging is the key to successful branding. As an author, establish your core values from the beginning of your body of work and return to them frequently. If the values you want to portray as a writer are different from your personal or professional values, consider adopting a pseudonym and establish an alternative brand for that identity. For example, the author of a weight-loss book could establish his or her brand as being reliable, easy to follow and consistently producing results. To reinforce that particular brand, the author could carry that "can do" attitude over in any further book or print publications, provide examples of success stories on the book's website and consistently update a blog with health tips.

Building your brand identity in these small ways will help build your credibility as a writer. If you consistently deliver on your brand's promise, readers will return time and again, bringing new readers as well.