I attended the SF Writer's Conference this past weekend and had a wonderful time. The workshops were terrific, I met some great people, made some new friends, and learned a lot. I even attended a workshop by Donald Maass, but that I'll talk about next week. <smile>
A chunk of the workshops I attended were on publicity, on branding, on marketing. This is my business, for one, so I'm always on the look out for ways to help my clients. However, this is also about me. About my writing. I want to brand myself.
And one thing stuck out above the rest. One statement that I believe in wholeheartedly…about brand. Phillippa Burgess of Creative Convergence gave a workshop on Branding and she said that Brand is a promise.
That, by far, is the best definition I've heard. A promise.
A promise is a declaration that something will or will not be done by one. Your brand is a declaration that you will provide a certain experience…
A promise is based on trust. If you meet someone new and they make a promise to you, there's a 50/50 shot that they'll come through. You may or may not believe them. And based on that experience, the second time they make that same promise, you will be more or less inclined to believe it.
Your brand is a promise from you to your readers that you will deliver their expectations.
So how do you declare your brand? Your work speaks for itself, and when a reader reads it…they will know what to expect from you going forward. Based on the example above, the 50/50 chance means they like it or they don't. But even before that, you can and do build expectation that will either cement their trust in you or make them wary.
How?
Design.
Design — of your website, of your business cards, of your blog, of everything you do — matters. I'm sure at some level you know that. It's why writers build websites. Frankly, it's why I have a day job. <smile>
However, do you know why it matters?
Do you know what it means to someone when they see your website? Your ads? Bookmarks? Book trailer? Then ultimately, your book cover? It all builds an expectation based on the visual cues you provide them.
Think about movie posters. If you see a poster with a comical edge, would you expect it to be a horror film?
I'll give you an example of something that was a combination of design and words: a book trailer. I stumbled across this book trailer, I'd heard of the book, hadn't picked it up. So I watched, and I loved the book trailer. It was different and mostly, it was funny. The tone of the words and the borderline silliness of the trailer gave me a light feel, made me laugh, and it actually made me buy the book. I figured if the writer could make a trailer that fun, the book was a slam dunk.
However, the book wasn't funny. The book was excellent on its own accord, but I felt a little misled. The branding had set me up. I trusted it, so I bought the book. That promise, however, did not hold. Now, the next time I see something from that author, I'll be more likely to weigh my options. Uncertainty has now become a part of her brand, to me, because I can't trust what she promised.
As a writer, you have a voice. You've worked hard to develop that voice (or heck, even just recognize it). Your voice is your brand. Your genre is part of your brand. Your style is part of your brand. Are you funny? Do you write historical? Do you never use dogs in your books and always use cats?
That might seem like a funny question to ask, but imagine if that was you. You hate dogs, you adore cats. Your books feature cats. But your website, for some ungodly reason, has a dog on it. This is an obvious example, but the point is that every website is that obvious to the person looking for a promise. They want to know what to expect, and the design you wrap yourself in is the first clue.
Look closely at the design elements on your website. Are you a light-hearted historical writer with a website done in dark, gothic colors? Or do you write on-the-edge contemporary suspense, but your website is almost cartoonish? Does it give a promise to the reader that's true?
I challenge you to take a look at what your design is declaring you to be. And if you want an opinion, post in the comments with your website URL, what genre you write in, and how you describe your voice. I will be happy to offer my opinion as to the promise you are declaring. Perhaps some other readers will as well.
What happens if your brand is…cross-genre (for lack of a better term)? We had a visitor at our RWA chapter meeting this weekend and during the “Who I am” introductions, I introduced myself this way: I’m Silver James. I’m a cross-genre dresser. My suspense has a touch of the paranormal, my paranormals have suspense and all my books have a massive dose of romance.
This is a great topic, Jeannie and one I’ve been struggling with lately as I start gearing up for publicity and pitches of future books. Marketing has never been my strong suit so bits and pieces like this help immensely!
I’m looking forward to your discussion on Maass, too!
I think my website fits my writing. I would go with something darker usually but with WordPress themes you’re kind of stuck. I had to trade dark for something that looked nice, but that I also liked the function of. WordPress likes to list their pages on the side and I don’t like that so I had to find one that didn’t. I do paranormal romance, so it’s darker, but I’m also funny. I like to slip the jokes in. Sorry, done now. Half of the reason for commenting is to see if my picture shows up like it’s supposed to.
@ Silver.
This is a huge issue for someone who is looking to brand themselves, but ultimately, I think when you write in different genres, it’s going to come down to voice…and that’s the promise you are giving to your readers.
If the outside trapping (ie genre) switches, your voice is still you. You will likely carry that through all of your work. For instance, one client of mine writes in a variety of genres, but her promise to readers isn’t the genre, it’s what they can expect to feel. For her, the promise is heart-warming stories, heart-felt writing and a voice that is warm and fits like an old friend. If that’s the promise, you can branch out into different genres and maintain that promise in your style, your “look”. Look for the commonality in your work, what the emotions are, what readers will connect to in everything you write…that’s where your promise to them should be.
First glance at your website, I see mystical, possibly paranormal but it more says “fanciful” to me. The star streamers imply supernatural, but more of a fairy style than paranormal or suspense. It doesn’t feel romantic to me, so the tagline seems a little separate from the overall impression.
And looking at your first book cover, Fairie Fate that would seem to be exactly the impression you want readers to have? Yes? No?
@Honoria
Looking at your website,the graphics say light-hearted romance to me. The lavender/purple color with majority of white space, and the butterflies and flowers give a hopeful, youthful appearance.
Only after that impression did I notice the tagline, “Desire from the darkside” and I see from your works that you write paranormal with vampires and werewolves.
There is a bit of brand dilution there – it’s not quite clear what you are promising to the reader since the tag and the appearance aren’t quite meshing.
From a quick glance, here are a few free themes I found that might lend a give an idea of a theme with a darker edge:
https://wordpress.org/extend/themes/pixeled
https://wordpress.org/extend/themes/mt-dark
And to note, it’s really tough to create a sizzling brand when you’re working with pre-created wordpress themes. It’s very hard, I absolutely understand.
@Jeannie
Yes. No. Maybe. LOL The banner was a bit edgier to begin with but my tech guru started playing around one day and this is what he came up with. The tag line was something a friend of mine in advertising suggested as a hook. I had originally considered “Step into the shadows…” as a play on Penumbra. My other series are a bit darker, though with humor, than the Faerie trilogy. That just happened to be what sold first. You’ve given me a lot to think about. Thanks!
I can understand that for sure. In error the wrong blurb was posted with my book to readers and reviewers.
The publishing company required some changes which made the blurb incorrect.
Reviewers were feeling misled and I felt horrible. It was corrected but any thing like that can really affect peoples perceptions!
That is great info, Jeannie! A lot to think about. I know how a “brand” is important but the point about the expectation of the reader because of that “brand” really hit home.
Thanks for sharing that.
Christine
Jeannie – I considered the Pixeled theme but I didn’t quite like the way it was organized. I’m very picky, but I’ll consider it again. Especially since when I look at my site through my mums computer I can’t see all the pages. My computer is widescreen and hers isn’t, so now I’m guessing that any computer that isn’t widescreen can’t view all my page listings and that drives me nuts. And yeah, working with a pre-set theme is very annoying, but I don’t have the patience for HTML. I’d have to take a class to do it because learning it from the book is to daunting and unorganized. I also don’t have the money to pay someone to make it, and I needed something soon so I broke down and did it myself.
A promise. Yes, I think that’s a fabulous description. I, too, think that a brand is one of the most important marketing tools an author (or ever unpublished writer) can develop.
And, ah, Donald Maass. I’ve had the pleasure of attending two of his seminars and having dinner with him and a group of writers. I’ve learned more about writing from those experiences, than I’ve learned from nearly any other source.
Renee
I’m happy with my website and my blog and myspace. They all connect well with a constant theme that works toward my urban fantasy writing style. It took a while to get it right, although I’m probably going to be ready for a change soon now, since I’d like to get my website professionally done.
Great post!
Hi Jeannie,
Great post. Sorry I’m late! I write historical romance and historical romantic suspense. I label my writing “Sultry Romance With An Edge.” I wouldn’t call my writing light-hearted, but I do sprinkle humor throughout the story. For now, I’m using a template for my web site. I’ve tried to give it an edgier (word??) look through font styles and colors.
@ Mary — What an awful thing to happen! That couldn’t have been fun at all.
@Honoria — It’s a pain in the you-know-what finding a solid design that works across all platforms, all browsers, and beyond. Even with the theme I worked from for this blog, I discovered shortly after that it didn’t work with IE6 and what people saw wasn’t what I wanted them to see.
It took some time to find a solution, but I ended up changing themes and customizing that one more so that it was more user friendly.
But it’s tough, absolutely. I don’t always think that the design has be fabulous, I think it just needs to resonate with your promise, with your message. It can be very simple, as long as the colors match the ideal you are offering.
@JK — I absolutely think your website sells your brand effectively. Because I was a fan of the TV show long ago, your website reminds of the show Beauty and the Beast. Simply because it was about the hidden sides of the world we live in — the city of New York, its bustle, its glamour and its dirt..and underneath, there was an entire world separate, hidden, mysterious and romantic.
That’s what your website says to me. 🙂
@ Tracy. Hi! Thanks for coming by. 🙂
Your website does speak historical to me — the faded, almost antiqued graphic and the colors. I don’t see much in the way of suspense and if you wanted to add a bit of an edge to your look, I would actually use a contrasting color on your header fonts. Maybe a dark blue, dark green, dark red — something deep. Play with it, you’ll have to go with what looks good to your eye.
I also visited your blog quickly, and I like the small graphics you have in the header — the mask is a great way to show a little mystery, to hint at something secret, sultry. When we think masquerade, especially for historicals, we know that the rules don’t always apply and that inhibitions are much looser. It’s a great visual appeal to your message, one you may consider working into your actual website 🙂
Here’s an example of a graphic you could incorporate into your header:
https://www.dreamstime.com/mask-image7872853
Change the balance of lighting, darken it a bit and reduce the saturation on the color, blur the edges somewhat… Added with the rose you already have, it’s a sultry, edgier look.
Hi Jeannie,
Great post. I have a website and a blog set up, but am just starting to get my head around the notion of branding. I know that I need to make some adjustments and so am meeting with a web designer this week. I am a “hot historical” writer and I try to give my characters some kind of twist. For example, in my next release, set in medieval england, my heroine is widowed, ten years older than my hero, and runs her household without a man. I definitely know that my voice is not light, so I think I am in the right ballpark with what I’ve done, but any insights or suggestions you might have would be much appreciated.
Hanna Rhys Barnes
Wow! Thanks for your advice on my web site, Jeannie. I’m not even close to your genius when it comes to design, but I’ll give it a shot. Take care!