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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Marketing » Branding » Page 4

Branding

It’s All About You — Sometimes

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 18, 2018
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When I visit the bookstore or library, I seldom fail to see at least one novel where the entire back cover consists of an author photo. That’s it. No endorsements, no story blurb, no author bio. Just a picture of the author. And usually the front cover doesn’t offer many clues, either. Maybe a vague illustration, along with the title and author’s name. To my mind, this means this author has built such a strong fan base that they will buy any book the author writes, regardless, as long as the book shows the author’s name and image.

Likewise, when I was a teenager, I bought every recording by certain artists I enjoyed. I didn’t have to listen to the songs before plunking down my hard-earned bucks. These artists had proven to me that I would enjoy their work so I wasn’t taking much of a risk to buy their albums. Sure, I liked some collections better than others, but I could find at least a few songs on each album I enjoyed, making the investment of my time and money worthwhile.

Forming this type of fan base is what you’re doing by building your brand. You want to create a group of readers who will buy your books no matter what. How to do this?

Consistency Is Key

If your fans enjoy a particular genre, keep writing that. Why? Because if you make a drastic change without warning, your core readers will be disappointed and may not buy your next book. Or the next, or the next. Assuming there are any subsequent books after the switch.

But I Want to Write Something Different!

Anyone can understand the desire for a writer – or anyone else – to crave some variety in work. However, your readers are not buying your books to help you self-actualize. They buy books for their entertainment, edification, and knowledge. Through consistently high quality, you must convince them that they aren’t rolling the dice when they purchase your book. When you demonstrate to them often enough that you provide what they’re looking for, they’ll stick with you. Hence, the effort you have made to build your brand will come to fruition.

So don’t run away from your brand. Embrace it, and enjoy your fans. If and when you want to branch out, it may not be impossible to do so. Ask your agent for direction. It’s what we do!

Your turn:

Is there an author whose books you’ll buy no matter what?

What is your brand? How are you building it?

 

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Category: Branding, MarketingTag: Book Sales, Branding, Marketing

Dress for the Job You Want, Not the Job You Have

By Bob Hostetleron September 13, 2017
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You’ve heard the standard career advice, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have,” right? It’s not just about workplace wardrobe. It means, basically, don’t wait until you’re hired to start acting the part—because you may have to act the part in order to get the job in the first place. It means, if you work in the mail room, instead of pouting and grumbling, stand up straight when you’re …

Read moreDress for the Job You Want, Not the Job You Have
Category: Branding, Get Published, MarketingTag: Branding, Get Published, Professionalism

Books are Not Mass Media

By Dan Balowon August 29, 2017
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A hundred years ago, the most powerful media in the world were newspapers. Newspaper writers and editors were society’s thought-leaders and political kingmakers. The day-to-day influence of a major newspaper was unchallenged, no matter what city or country. They were the first truly mass media, defined as broadly available to everyone at a nominal cost and holding an extremely high level of …

Read moreBooks are Not Mass Media
Category: Branding, Craft, MarketingTag: Branding, Christian Market, Marketing, Message

We Need More Reader Segments

By Dan Balowon August 22, 2017
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In the bookselling world, books are categorized with a coding system developed by a collaborative industry organization called the Book Industry Study Group (BISG). They own and manage the BISAC codes, an acronym for “Book Industry Standards and Communications.” No matter how you are published, you will be required to categorize your book in one of the fifty-two primary categories, then by second …

Read moreWe Need More Reader Segments
Category: Book Business, Branding, MarketingTag: Book Business, Branding, Marketing, readers

How Do I Grow My Market?

By Steve Laubeon April 17, 2017
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I work with a ministry that self-publishes its own books. These are posted on our website, displayed at ministry-related conferences, and mentioned to donors via print and email. How can we expand our market? It depends. (For those of you following this blog regularly, I hope that made you smile.) It depends on a number of factors. In this case the question is more specific to non-fiction authors, …

Read moreHow Do I Grow My Market?
Category: Branding, MarketingTag: Branding, Marketing

The Non-Partisan Author

By Dan Balowon April 4, 2017
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The political environment has been toxic for author branding since the Internet debuted over 20 years ago, but has gotten significantly worse and more dangerous as social media grows in the last decade. When expressing opinions became as easy as a mouse-click “like,” authors entered a danger-zone. Unless your author brand includes political commentary, or a focused societal issue, it is probably …

Read moreThe Non-Partisan Author
Category: Branding, Career, Marketing, Social MediaTag: Politics, Social Media

Life Hands You A Platform

By Dan Balowon March 28, 2017
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Every writer’s conference or gathering includes at least one presentation about developing or maintaining an author-marketing platform. Social Media, public speaking, blogging, newsletters…everything working together to establish and support your personalized and unique author “brand.” This agency and other publishing blogs address various elements of the issue on a regular basis. If you are …

Read moreLife Hands You A Platform
Category: Branding, Career, Marketing, PlatformTag: Branding, Marketing, Platform

Author Platforms Can Destroy Your Life (aka Making Money from Friends)

By Dan Balowon March 7, 2017
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American society contains a very interesting subculture built around using your friends and relatives to make money, either as a primary or secondary source of income. I must admit it bothers me when an individual will view those around them mainly as a revenue source instead of relationships to experience and serve. It is also interesting that a number of the most successful multi-level marketing …

Read moreAuthor Platforms Can Destroy Your Life (aka Making Money from Friends)
Category: Book Business, Branding, Marketing, Platform, Self-Publishing, Social Media, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Marketing, Platform

Work First, Book Second

By Dan Balowon September 27, 2016
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For successful authors of non-fiction, no one career or life-path is common. Family situations, upbringing, education and experiences are unique to each person. Listening to an author explain how they became successful is always a combination of things someone else could never duplicate perfectly. It’s like someone giving a business seminar titled, “This is how I did it.” It is rarely an exact …

Read moreWork First, Book Second
Category: Book Proposals, Branding, Marketing, Pitch, Pitching, PlatformTag: Nonfiction, Pitching, Platform

The Bestseller Code: Decoded

By Steve Laubeon September 26, 2016
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Last week, to great fanfare, a new book analyzing bestselling books hit the market. In my opinion, The Bestseller Code: The Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel by Jodie Archer and Matthew L. Jockers is intriguing and provocative, but ultimately an exercise in futility. Every author wants a short cut to achieve bestseller success. What if there is an algorithm that, if followed, will produce a …

Read moreThe Bestseller Code: Decoded
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Branding, MarketingTag: Bestsellers, Book Business
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