First of all you have to figure out your target audience. Who are you writing for? Perhaps it's children, or even more specifically 8-12 year-old girls. Perhaps it's men struggling with men's issues.
Once you have that idea clear, you design your website and/or blog to appeal to that audience. For example, look at Paul Jennings' website (here). It is not designed to attract the parents, but the kids. Our kids are more and more web friendly, so they need to see what appeals to them. Another good is example is our very own Dorothy Adamek. Her blog (here) screams Victoriana and romance, and that's exactly what you get when you read her posts.
Which brings me to the next thing - a tagline. At Ink Dots you might have seen this phrase - 'The heartbeat of yesteryear.' A tagline sums up what you're about, nice and succinctly. You hear these kind of tags all the time on TV ads. If you heard the taglines without the company's name, ten to one you would know who they are. 'Because you're worth it,' for instance. Or 'melts in your mouth, not in your hand.' Your tagline identifies you as an author and your USP (Unique Sales Proposition). For me, I created one (for now) based on a lot of feedback I get from my novels - 'keeping you turning pages past midnight.' You can use a tagline in your email signature, on your blog, website, business cards, brochures etc.
Even if you are as yet unpublished, you can begin building your brand using these ideas. It will help establish your platform for the future.
I am still trying to define many of these things, and even writing this post makes me realise I still have a lot to work on. I'm curious to know what other ideas any of you have, or do you find it overwhelming to think about?
http://www.amandadeed.com.au/
http://amanderings.wordpress.com/
You made my day, lol :)
ReplyDeleteI found it easy to identify my 'brand' as it's pretty much a parcel of all things I love. Anything old fashioned, romance and stories.
Not sure what happens if I'm ever inspired to write a contemporary suspense!
(Pretty sure I'll never exhaust my pile of historical inspiration, so I've no real cause for concern.)
PS - I'm so loving that new cover of yours!! Can't wait to feature it on Ink Dots soon.
Thanks Dotti. I do love your blog! :) And as I've said before, it makes me drool to read your novel when it is launched on the world. XXOO
DeleteThanks Amanda. I was forced to give a tagline as I created my website - and prayed and wrote mine 'Words that bless,joy that inspires. And then had to give a website name which I did - Dancing in the Rain'. All of it occured because I had to. I didn't spent too much time thinking of it - but praise God - He did have His Hand on it - since it worked out to be exactly towards the target audience I wanted to reach and what I set out to do most in life - to encourage others.
ReplyDeletePraise God - He did the neeeful without me realising it. And yes, it's what I set out to do in all my writing. Isn't God good?
Thanks for sharing,
Anusha
God is great like that, guiding us even when we don't know what we're doing. Blessings, Anusha. :)
DeleteWow, I also can't wait to read Black Forrest Redemption. First - an intriguing name that hooks! Second - a lovely cover. (We still tend to judge books by their covers, at least I do.)Third - excellent branding, Amanda. It holds a promise of suspense.
ReplyDeleteRecently I found my brand:EVERYTHING CAN CHANGE IN A HEARTBEAT. I'm going to put that in my signature line from now on. Are you doing do that with your brand, Amanda? It covers all the themes in your writing.
Thanks for your encouragement on the cover, Rita! Love your tagline - it makes you think of all the circumstances that can make life change dramatically.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteBranding is interesting and I completely get your analogy, as my oldest son participated in archery for a few years.
Wise advice. In the past, when asked my target audience, I used to say, "People like me" but as my family said, there surely aren't many people that weird.
Reading through these comments, I love all those simple and powerful little tagline sentences too.
It's not easy though, is it Paula? I can rack my brain for days and not come up with anything. Trying to define your brand is really hard I think.
ReplyDeleteSorry I'm late here, Amanda. I haven't been able to come up with a tagline but I know I need to - especially with a series. Maybe 'stories from the tropical north' or something like that. Needs thought.
ReplyDelete