Personal Branding for Authors: Part 3

Making It Match

If you have made it this far through the three-part series, you have likely spent some time thinking through how to begin creating or improving your branding efforts. The purpose of this final installment of the series is to circle back around to where you should start, and figure out where you should end. Without further ado, let’s talk a little more about you.

It All Starts With A Name

Perhaps the biggest takeaway here is that your personal brand should be a reflection of you. Maintaining your branding efforts will be a lot easier if it is reflective of the person you are, what you like to do and where you want to go. Start with something catchy, ideally involving your own name, your book or some variation of what you do. For example, my own personal brand is called “Mapp It Out Write.” It is simple and catchy. I utilize my last name as a tool to describe what I do. I am a writer, marketer, brand developer, and a perfectionist (I know, I’m working on that last one!). If you aren’t much of a “punny” person, tap on a friend’s shoulder who is! Once you’ve got something good, don’t second guess it, just roll with it.

Be Impossible To Forget

Once you’ve got your new fancy branding name, use it everywhere. Make it impossible for someone who is visiting your website, Instagram or Facebook to forget who you are. All of your social media handles should utilize the name you come up with. If something is unavailable, use the closest thing to it that you can manage. For example, on Instagram my handle is @MappItOut because it was shorter than @MappItOutWrite. Purchase the domain for the branding name you come up with. Mine cost $12 a year, these prices vary so do your research before solidifying a name. Buy domains for similar names as well (i.e. www.mappitoutwrite.com and www.mappitout.org) and then using the place your website is hosted from, most commonly WordPress or SquareSpace, forward all of your domains to your website. 

That’s A Wrap

Branding is pertinent in today’s world. As a writer, author, content creator, whatever title you relate too, you are expected to be “in the know” when it comes to brand development. It’s proven that consistent and relevant branding increases your social media following and enhances website traffic, all of which improve your chances of selling your product or book. As always, if you have any questions at all, leave a comment below and I would be happy to answer!