Squirm at the idea of branding youself?
Here's a perspective that may change your thinking
Our first guest post! If writing books is in your product plans, Sharon Woodhouse of ConspireCreative is a great resource. She's got a wealth of experience in helping indie authors find publishing success.
Solopros, Do You Also Squirm at the Idea of a Being a Brand?
Here’s a perspective that changed my thinking on branding
Who knew that Coke would help me get over my distaste of branding? People as brands. Places as brands. Everyone needing a brand. Yuck. It matched the aversion I had to niching in my business.
Coke promises a smile and it delivered…in the form of this insight from its former CEO that changed the idea of branding for me:
“A brand is a promise. A good brand is a promise kept.”
— Muhtar Kent, former Coca-Cola Company CEO and Chairman
How did this help me? First, it helped a few author clients I work with. As in…I was mulling over this promise thing, when I started seeing it in my clients’ existing approaches, in their ways of being and doing. When I started hearing it in their own words. I saw and heard their brands and when I shared it with them, they were like, Oh, wow. Yes.
In a nutshell: What do you as a solo professional, owner of a one-person business, promise your clients and customers? What are you promising them every time they interact with you, your content, your products and services? What can they expect? What do you deliver every time? What can you guarantee?
A business book author-client of mine promises thought leadership, cutting-edge insights, chapters filled with real anecdotes, checklists, and bullet-point summaries — all in fewer than 150 pages.
A mystery author I know promises exotic locales, a fiery and quirky protagonist, unexpected endings, a deep dive into oddball subjects, stunning covers, an intriguing author persona, and one new book a year with a teaser for the next title at the end.
Bull Garlington is a comedic food and travel author who should be doing more events because he enjoys them, they play to his strengths, people love attending them, and it would bring him more money, exposure, and overall satisfaction faster. When recently listening to Bull mull over elements of his latest author event in the planning, I heard the promise of his brand and I realized he could deliver on the promise of his author event brand without breaking a sweat.
Could your business brand not only be your promise and that you deliver on that promise, but also something that’s easy for you to promise and deliver every time? I think it very much helps to think of branding this way and it can change everything for you.
Let’s get back to Bull and what I discerned from knowing him, his books, his events, and his latest round of questions and musings.
A Bull Garlington author event promises:
Schadenfreude. (He invites you to commiserate with his travel or other topical failures.)
Humor. (You can’t help but laugh. A lot.)
A you-are-welcome-here vibe. (Bull’s the consummate host. Charming, likeable, interesting, approachable.)
A cool setting. (His event locales are often mysteries until a couple days before. They ooze cool and escapism.)
Good booze. (Whiskey, wine tastings, craft cocktails…count on it.)
A bit of mystery-surprise-intrigue. (See above.)
Books included. (Bundled into the ticket price. At least two books. One to read, one to give as a gift.)
Cussing. (You’ve been warned.)
I’m still working on this for my company, Conspire Creative. We’ve grown a lot in the past couple years and I’ve been building it into a multifaceted agency. That means, I’ve been thinking about our brand. Our points of distinction. What differentiates us from others.
But the promise thing. That has made all the difference because it’s easy for me to know what we promise, what’s easy for us to deliver, and what we do deliver. Here are a few components:
Customized solutions. (There are an infinite number of paths to author success and we can help you find and forge yours.)
Creative approaches. (We have a massive and ever-expanding databank of new and old ideas that we can mix, match, experiment with, and draw from.)
Outreach-centric. (Our methods involve heavy doses of reaching out, person-to-person communication, asking for things, and proposing things.)
Sincere enthusiasm for and validation of clients and their work. (We are champions of all authors and their work and know there’s a role for them in the vibrant ecosystem and economy of the book world.)
Belief in and promotion of entrepreneurship for authors. (Entrepreneurial skills and attitudes are key, and we think authors can be leaders in a future economy where the creativity, knowledge, inspiration, and meaning-making sector is growing.)
Excellence. (Period.)
Customer service. (Deep listening and Old School attention.)
Your turn. What do you promise your clients? What does your solo business promise? What can your customers reliably expect from you every single time? Jot down 4–8 things and your brand is in the making.
Let us know below…did this make branding easier for you as it did for me? Leave a comment. Share your new brand promise.
Sharon Woodhouse is a former indie book publisher and current owner of Conspire Creative, a book business agency that offers coaching, consulting, project management, and business support services for authors and indie publishers. She writes about all aspects of creating holistic, income-generating author businesses you love and finding your place in the vibrant ecosystem of books on the Profitable Author/An Author Business You Love Substack
Hi Julie, Thanks for having me! Proud to be the first guest poster here.