Yesterday I wrote about the importance of knowing your readers. This post was inspired by best selling author Seth Godin’s announcement that he would no longer use traditional publishing for his books. Additionally, I wanted to comment on the great points made in a blog post written by Shiv Singh, head of digital at PepsiCo Beverages, in response to Godin’s announcement.
Today, I’d like to discuss the importance of author branding and continue comment in Singh’s blog post. Singh wrote: “Seth Godin believes in the power of his brand and is betting everything on it. At the most fundamental level, this is a brand play. You’ve got to believe in yourself and in your words if you want something to work, he’d say himself. And that’s exactly what he’s doing. He’s putting his money where his mouth is.”
I have to admit that I am not an expert on branding and I am only now beginning to work on clarifying and strengthening my own brand as an author and as a businessperson. That said, I know the importance of branding for any author—and authors must look at themselves and their books as a business that, indeed, does need to be branded. The biggest mistake most writers and authors make is that they don’t see themselves as businesses. Thus, they see no need for branding.
Brands are easily recognizable by consumers. Readers are consumers. They buy brands.
Do you have a brand? Would anyone recognize it? Is it time for you to begin thinking of branding yourself and your work so you, like Godin, can bet on it when you decide to independently or electronically publish your work? If you are considering following in his footsteps, you better answer emphatically, “Yes!”
It is true that most of the writers and authors don’t see themselves as businesses or a brand. It is high time to move on and create a brand for themselves in the ocean of authors.