Building Your Indie Author Brand: Ideas to Get You Started
Just like your book’s cover, readers will judge you by your author brand.
So, when thinking about the vibe you want to put out into the universe, there are some important considerations.
Your brand is more than your color palette: it’s what you want readers to associate with your author name.
Let’s take a look at what to consider when you tell the story of YOU!
How to Create and Build Your Indie Author Brand
Just like anything else in your bookish business, know that your author brand can grow as you do. But, essentially, your brand lets your readers know what to expect when they read one of your books. Your brand should conjure and embody certain feelings and values that are shared among your books.
It might also help to remember that your author brand isn’t necessarily you as a person. Hopefully, this alleviates some self-imposed pressure and allows you to have fun as you create another character of sorts!
And, remember, you don’t have to be everything to everyone!
What is an Author Brand?
Branding is what readers associate with you, both online and in person. It’s not only your logo, your colors and your hook, it’s the unique perspective you bring to the world.
Your branding lends credibility to your reputation. It’s how others find you, and it’s the consistent messaging in all that you do.
Your hook is the guarantee you make to your readers: what will they get every time they read one of your books?
Strong FMC
Witty banter
Guaranteed HEA
Spicy scenes
Consistent Messaging = Branding
Whenever you reach a crossroads in your career and are not sure what to do, look to your branding and ask yourself, “Does this make sense for my brand?”
Your brand provides clarity for both you and your readers.
Where to Start
To help define your brand, look at some popular authors:
What do you come to expect from their brand?
look
feeling
What sets them apart?
Is there variation?
pricing
wide vs. KU
publication frequency
What element(s) is/are similar to your brand?
visuals - colors, tones, spice levels
values
family oriented? Is it found family? Or does everyone in a family have magical abilities?
suspense?
romantic > guaranteed HEA?
Now do the same with a variety of cover designers’ websites:
What is similar among genres?
Make It Your Own
When readers pick up you book, what are they going to get? What experience are they going to have? What makes you stand out from the others in the genre? This is part of your hook!
Consider this in terms of:
Cost
Spice level
Guaranteed HEA
Characters
Tone
Style
Now, think of this in terms of visual elements. For example, if you were to pick up a cozy mystery, what kinds of colors 🎨, fonts 🔤 and images 🖼️ are typically representative?
Telling Your Story
Readers connect with you because of YOUR story. Even though your books aren’t autobiographical, readers immediately connect with you through the conduit of your book.
There’s an innate level of intimacy that comes through reading like nothing else in life.
By creating a cohesive brand, you build loyalty and trust with your readers.
Branding = Connection
Consider sharing relatable moments from your own life:
Have your characters gone through something similar?
challenges
successes
situations
pivotal moments
Sharing Your Story Through Your Brand
Across platforms, your branding is what makes your books stand out from the rest.
Visual Identity
Your visual identity is what readers immediately recognize as yours.
cover design
font
colors
images
style
swag
website design
Content Creation
Use your visual identity across platforms as you create content. This is done at events and signings, throughout your author website, in your newsletter, and on social media.
Events and Signings
When you attend in-person events or signings, your branding is evident in your banner, on your table, on your book covers, throughout your swag, and even in what you wear.
Additionally, your branding comes out in how you connect with your readers. After all, branding is how others perceive you.
Author Website
Your indie author website is critical to marketing your books and to building your brand and platform. Read 5 Ways Your Indie Author Website Does the Marketing for You and Easy Indie Author Website Tweaks to Boost Book Sales to learn more and Dos and Don’ts of Indie Author Website Design about what to include on your site.
Usually, the main objective, or “call to action” of your website is to sell your books and to build credibility. Additionally, use your website to collect email addresses of your readers, so you can build a relationship with them and share your journey through your newsletter. See Why Every Indie Author Needs a Newsletter to learn how to create your own author newsletter.
Use all of your brand elements (colors, fonts, logo) to tell your story on your site. Share the details of each of your books, as well as links to where your readers can buy them.
To build your reputation and to lend credibility to your work, include reviews and any articles, photos and events where you’ll be signing.
Having your own author website is invaluable when it comes to marketing analysis. With the click of a few buttons, you can track platform growth. That way, you know where to best allocate time and energy.
Author Newsletter
Your email list subscribers will likely be your biggest fans and serve as another opportunity to build a consistent brand 🥳.
They subscribed because they want to keep in touch with you and to support you! They are readers at the ready, clamoring to read your newest release, to receive an ARC, and to shout your name from the rooftops.
Through your newsletter, you’re building relationships with readers and other stakeholders. You’re able to communicate directly with your readers and to develop a long-term relationship.
Plus, your newsletter and your subscribers are not subjected to the fickle nature of social media and its mysterious algorithms. If something were to happen to your Instagram, for example, all of your followers would be gone 💨! With your newsletter, your subscribers are YOURS and so is all of the content you took the time to create!
To learn more about what to include in your author newsletter and how to set it up, please see Why Every Indie Author Needs a Newsletter for more information.
Social Media
Be consistent in your branding and in how you show up across your social media platforms.
Post on social media to attract and to connect with your readers. Make posts that are about you but are for your audience.
Consider posting “content pulls” from your book, so your followers can get a feel for your vibe and the promise inherent in your books.
Just like at in-person events, how you interact with your readers on social media is representative of your brand.
Engage with your readers, whether through comments or DMs. Take advantage of this opportunity to build and nurture relationships.
Social media lends itself to collaboration. Whether it’s with authors in your genre or with influencers, these opportunities allow you to get in front of their audiences. Plus, doing so lends credibility!
Use your tagline or a paragraph to help define who you are. Often referred to as “brand copy,” it helps you, and others who work with you, adopt your consistent brand voice, meaning and story that you seek to convey throughout all of your messaging. It doesn’t need to be official, just something to help guide communications.
No matter where you are in your author journey or in setting up your website, newsletter, or social media, I am happy to help!
Especially if ensuring your branding is consistent across platforms isn’t in your wheelhouse, this could be a perfect job for an author personal assistant (PA)!
Not sure what you need? Let’s chat and plot next steps together!
Your supportive side character,
Lisa