First, let me say this: You are not a brand. You are a person. Don’t EVER forget that.
I have for a time before, and it’s amazing how quick your life gets caught up in fitting into a mold.
That being said, branding your online presence can be a great tool.
What do I mean by “branding your online presence”?
First, let me explain what I mean by “brand”. By “brand” I don’t mean a company or a logo or a color scheme. I don’t mean a quirky little character to sell your tacos (looking at you, discontinued taco bell chihuahua). A brand is nothing more or less than a recognizable style. That style might include color schemes and characters. Hey, Chik-fil-a’s cows have done pretty well for themselves.
Mostly what we are talking about when we say “brand”, is how you conduct yourself when you are interacting with your clients (or in this case, your readers).
The basics of good branding starts with what you are sharing and where. If you want to reach a certain audience you need to a) go where they can see you and b) post things they want to see.
In a recent podcast I listened to, a YA author explained how she got all of her readers through her Instagram presence. She posts pictures of her hardcover books, bought a bunch of custom swag, and sent out a bookish subscription box. Most of these things are far too expensive for the average author, but she had the tools available, and did most of it free. More importantly, she knew what her YA audience liked to do and where to catch their attention.
One of my Critique Partners writes mature YA contemporary books about mental health. She is passionate about the subject, spends most of her time researching and writing about it, and reaches audiences who want to read similar resources. Naturally, she shares things like her review of “A List of Cages”, or articles and twitter posts about mental health and awareness.
If she occasionally shares a song or a picture she finds pretty, it’s not a big deal. But what she doesn’t do is share a ton of articles about the art of bow-making and tracking.
In contrast, one author I saw had written a rather serious Sci-Fi book. One I quite enjoyed. However, his twitter presence was almost entirely just one-liner jokes. People were really confused because his product didn’t match his persona.
Which brings me to the next most important part of branding: making it clear that you are a professional, and what your profession is.
We’ve all been to those websites: the modern, trendy business who does…what exactly? Like really, their mission statement is all about love and togetherness and their pictures are just a bunch of guys in front of pallet board walls with big smiles, man buns, and cups of Starbucks coffee.
I’d suggest that every author has a website (or at least a blog site), a business email, and easy to find links on all their social media. If I can’t find your book, I can’t buy your book. Even less so if I don’t know you wrote a book. So make it clear.
Finally, what you say matters.
Not every post you make has to be a quote from your book, or some sort of intentional means-to-an-end. You don’t have to sensor everything, or only speak to people who write in your genre, or never post that positive review for your carpet cleaning service. That’s ridiculous. This is SOCIAL media. The best way to draw other humans to you is too look human.
However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind when you are interacting on social media. With that in mind, here is list of “best ways to make your readers run away”.
- “I’m such a bad writer. I suck…buy my book.” Here is the thing. You don’t have to brag up your book if you aren’t comfortable. But you know that saying “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” That applies here. If you tell everyone your book is garbage, no one will want to buy it. Vent your frustrations somewhere else.
- “No one understands me.” The victim mentality. Some authors feel attacked if their book gets anything less than stellar praise. I get that. Some authors feel attacked if someone disagrees with their writing style. Okay, I understand it can be hard to hear sometimes. But your readers don’t need to know that. And the worst thing you can do, is to make your readers feel as if you are their enemy. Reviews aren’t for authors, they are for customers. Keep your nose out of it, with all due respect. And if another author posts advice you don’t agree with…ignore it. I’m sure you’ve given advice that others don’t agree with too. Don’t, I repeat DON’T, go on social media and tell your 3,000 followers how wrong a reviewer is, or how wicked a reader is, or how oppressive another author is, just for giving their opinion.
- “Can you believe…” This is an extension of the last point, I suppose, but in a more “professional” guise. Don’t be that person who makes fun of authors who are trying to get help from you. Don’t be that person who retweets political posts with long lists of reasons why they are wrong. Don’t be that person who accuses everyone who breathes of wronging you in some obscure way, and makes sarcastic comments to anyone do dare comment. I’ve been “told off” by some pretty well known author because I happened to misinterpret what they were trying to say. There are much better places to vent.
- “@sadpanda2 retweeted…” This is not just for twitter, but it I think you’ll get the idea pretty quick. If you have a twitter account that just retweets other people, follows and immediately unfollows, or copy-pastes the same adds endlessly, you are just going to annoy people. Better not to have an account at all. If your website never gets updated, your Goodreads is absent other than that five star rating on your own book, your instagram is a blank slate, your newsletter pops out once in a blue moon, and your FB is just a bunch of puppy videos…you are going to have an irritated audience. And I get it, I have a Tumblr that I completely ignore. My Pinterest got no interaction for the longest time. Things get busy. But the rule of thumb here is: be available. It’s better to pick one or two social media that you know you can handle than trying everything and falling on your face. If you can’t handle it, don’t try to keep up a facade. Your readers can understand that you are busy. Let them know that you might occasionally update but there are better ways to reach you. And once again. Make your website, your email, and your books easy to find. That’s the important stuff.
Building an author brand might seem intimidating, but once you start playing around and trying new things you will start seeing what gets people’s attention. Its all about enjoying the journey. Most of the biggest mistakes authors make on social media and with their brand, comes from stress. So if it gets too much, take a break. Step back. You will cause much more damage to your author name if you try to handle something you can’t and end up branding yourself as “that one author who…”
And just as a final reminder. You are not a brand, you are a person. So make sure that you have a life, relationships and a support system that won’t be posted on social media for the world to see. That’s the best way to find success.
