Branding is one of those concepts that isn’t talked about that much in author circles. Defining your author brand is the first step in creating a foundational framework to support your business.

And, yes, as an author you are running a business. The only time an author isn’t running a business is when they write and publish a book purely to have a copy for themselves. As soon as you want to get your stories into other’s hands? That’s a business.

Let’s start at the beginning

Imagine you are on a first date with someone you like. They ask you what your favourite drink is and, in an attempt to sound sophisticated, the word “martini” suddenly flies out of your mouth. But when the drink arrives you hate it. You drink it slowly, not wanting to appear silly in front of your love interest, but you have regrets.

A few months later things are going swimmingly. When you’re invited to meet their parents, you discover your partner has told them you like martinis.

And so it begins.

Five years later and you have martinis thrust at you at every dinner party. Even your own parents have started buying you martini themed gifts. You have martini shoe laces, hats, and even a comically large martini glass you keep your beta fish in. You end up moving in with your love and for a house warming gift their parents buy you an expensive martini making kit.

How did this happen?

One word; association.

You were associated with martinis.

The kind of association that brands work hard to get and you’d done it without trying. Congratulations?

I hope you like martinis.

Brand Association And Readers

So what’s this got to do with books and readers? A lot, actually. And nothing to do with writing to market, before you ask.

As an author you are the best authority on what is in your books. Unfortunately, we authors can also be quite blind to what it is in our stories that appeals to readers the most. Oh, the irony.

An example. You might think “alien romance” and immediately Ruby Dixon pops into your head. And that’s true. She writes alien romances. But she also writes fantasy romance, and many of her readers cross over to her other books from her blue himbo barbarian alien books. Fantasy romance is not alien romance. So the association might not be the category she writes, but the feelings that are evoked? Possibly? Yes, they’re both romance, but a lot of readers are very specific about their likes. And romance is an ocean, not a pond.

In fact, romance as a genre has the largest market share of all literary categories. But let’s not get sidetracked. This is about branding, after all.

Readers of Ruby Dixon have a good idea of what they’ll get when they pick up one of her books. She is consistent and she meets her readers’ expectations. In short, she knows what her readers want and delivers on that promise.

Know Thy Reader

And this is the first lesson in foundational branding for authors. Know thy reader.

It doesn’t matter what genre, sub-genre or niche. Know your readers. Starting out and have no idea? Listen to readers. Read reviews of authors in your niche who have been publishing in it for a while and see what words pop up in the reviews.

It seems super simple, but too often authors do not understand who their readers are. This is where research can be super helpful. For your own readers, why not put a survey into your newsletter? Or, even better, your onboarding sequence to find out more about your readers and why they signed up to hear from you. Essentially conduct your own market research for the product you are producing.

Knowing your reader is the first step of author branding. The next step is to develop a strategy to consistently communicate the value you offer to readers. A clue for that value? It’s the hidden secret sauce that makes a reader want to pick up your book over any of the millions of others they could read.

What Makes Your Books Special?

Do you know what your secret sauce is?

What makes your books different from all the others in your niche?

Do you know who your readers are?

What is it about your books, and those in your niche, that keep them coming back for more?

It’s hard, isn’t it? Even those of us who have been in this industry for years find this tough. But, if you can be clear on what it is that sets your books apart and makes readers want to read them, it is so much quicker and easier to market those books. It can also make it easier to write them, because you have an idea already of what it is that makes readers want to read what you write.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it; if you had to convince someone to read your book over any other book, what would you say? Brainstorm this and try to get it down to one sentence. Do that and you have your elevator pitch for your brand.