Thread by @KateBrauning

Some quick Monday morning #subtips on author branding! In an age of so much information and access, a solid brand becomes a goldmine for authors.

What is a brand? It's the core elements that readers can expect from you-- it lets them know what to expect before they buy.

Your brand is made up of who you are + what you write. You + your books = your brand. #subtips

But of course it's not THAT easy, right?

Your brand is not a logo, a business card, your website, your colors. Those are all products or expressions of your brand. Your brand guides them. Before you jump into branding with hundreds or thousands of dollars in purchases, hang on a second. #subtips

The start of your brand, and often the most important part, is free.

To get started with figuring out, or realigning, or changing your author brand, do a deep dive into yourself. Start with who you are. #subtips

Who you are is a central piece of your author brand. Ask yourself: What are my hobbies? Do any of them match up with what I write, like knitting, baking, hiking, volunteering with incarcerated teens, foster care, animal work? #subtips

Then ask: what do I believe? What's my worldview? What's my philosophy? If I could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

Do you believe in hope over everything else? Are happy endings for everyone? Is justice never truly achieved in life? #subtips

These beliefs that are core to you are also core to your brand. You don't HAVE to state it to the world, but it likely does show up in your books, it can center you as a writer, & it can be so helpful in building reader trust in your brand. #subtips

HEA lovers can trust you to deliver something hopeful no matter how hard the story gets, readers who have seen the raw side of justice can know you'll honor that reality, and people who love pets and cakes know you'll bring them to the pages no matter the genre. #subtips

Then ask yourself "how were these beliefs formed in me?" What experiences and personality traits and people helped you form those beliefs?

Recognize this in you, let it inform those beliefs or add to them, and decide whether you want to add those things to your brand #subtips

Adding a bit about your experience with justice, foster care, adoption, baking, rural life, etc can show readers the authenticity of what you write about.

But there may be a privacy or trauma line to not cross-- you don't have to market your pain to the world. #subtips

If your grandpa taught you to make the world's best Parker House rolls and it started your love of baking, and that's why your heroes are always heroes in the kitchen, PUT THAT IN YOUR BRAND. #subtips

Then ask: What makes me different from other thriller writers? Romance writers?

Maybe it's that you are an engineer too. Or you're a chemist. Or you're passionate about climate change. Maybe you love plants & know some of them have more complex vision than humans! #subtips

See what of those elements can or do line up with what you write. Maybe your cozy mysteries always have a real science element. Or your thrillers always include climate change or natural science. Maybe in your romances, someone is always a botanist or gardener. #subtips

Finally, ask: "how do I want people to perceive me?" Maybe it's endlessly kind, or ruthless & sharp, or always teaching and educating others. Maybe it's the consummate professional, the poetic philosopher. It should be true to you, but let it focus your heart and content #subtips

That's who you are, right? What you do, what you love, your experiences, what you believe, all narrowed down to how it applies to your content, and therefore how it applies to your brand.

Next up is what you write! #subtips

What you write is the second key part of developing, changing, or focusing your brand.

What experience will people receive when they read your book? Readers are buying an experience. What experience do your books offer? #subtips

Start with genre and category-- mysteries, romances, self-help, and YA, picture book, adult.

Maybe you write many of those-- that's more complex but still fine! Look for other commonalities. #subtips

Next, what are your primary themes? Secondary themes?

Maybe you always write honestly about sexuality. Maybe you layer the imagination and flexible reality of childhood into everything. Or it could be the beauty of the ordinary. #subtips

In my work, I'm always discussing the powerful and broken bonds of family, rural life, and sexuality, often with a twist of weird.

For genre, for me it's always a contemporary or a side-step of it.

For category, it's always YA.

Collect these things about your work. #subtips

Next, discover who your primary audience is-- not just "teens" or "adults." More specificity.

Then find out where they get their information from. Not just social media, but which social media? Which podcasts? Which news sources? #subtips

Finally, push yourself to articulate the 3 key words that describe the experience you want readers to have in every book. (The words need to be an emotional experience.)

Suspenseful, thrilling, shocking?
Thought-provoking, hopeful, uplifting?
Funny, sweet, affirming? #subtips

Now you have you + your books = your brand.

Collect your articulated beliefs, experiences, skills, what's unique about you, your themes, genre, category, your audience, and the experience they'll have. This is your brand rough draft material! #subtips

From this, hone and pare down.

Create a branding tagline of no more than 6-10 words that encapsulates the heart of your brand.

Then write a branding statement about a paragraph long.

Revise, revise. Get feedback, revise.

Check the websites of your favorite authors to see how they do this, and revise again!

Then, start executing your brand.

Remember that brand shows up in 3 ways: words, images, actions. Make them all cohesive. Make them all true to you. And that's a great start. #subtips

If you learned something or enjoyed this, consider buying me a $3 coffee? ko-fi.com/A778QA3 It helps me keep my content free for everyone, and though I tried paying my rent with holiday spirits, my landlord wasn't having it.

Thanks for following along with my #subtips!