Susie May here:  Marketing your book is an essential part of a author’s job these day. Whether you are a self-publisher or traditionally published, you’ll be expected to market your book.  MBT is thrilled to have a professional marketer in our coaching line-up; and we’re delighted that she’s joined our blog linedup for this year with easy tips – “One Thing” you can do to market your books.

Take it away, Melissa Tagg!

One Thing Marketing: The Three Bs—Part 1

When it comes to marketing, one of the best things we can do is make sure there’s a consistency and synergy between all our efforts—whether we’re talking printed materials like bookmarks and postcards or our online presence…or even speaking engagements. Enter, the Three B’s.

1)      Brand

2)      Bio

3)      Buy-in

I’m going to be honest and say I made up the Three B’s…BUT I pulled these must-dos from all kinds of marketing resources and from my own years working in marketing and development. The fact that all three happen to start with the letter “B” is plain ol’ good luck.

We’re going to take these one at a time in the next few weeks, starting with today’s topic: Brand.

I’m not going to attempt to put a firm definition on author brand, nor do I have a great formula for defining your own. People way smarter than me have great stuff to say about author brand.

• In this post, agent Rachelle Gardner points out that your brand is your name and your genre.
• I think Chip MacGregor’s definition of brand as your promise to readers is brilliant. (He writes about brand in this post and this post.)
• And I really appreciated a recent class from Susan May Warren in which she talked about brand in terms of the way your books, your website, YOU make people feel.

In addition to the points in those great posts, I like to think of brand as what makes you unique. What about you stands out? What makes your writing yours and yours alone? When people read your stuff, what’s the most common thing they say about it?

Well, that’s a key piece of your brand.

My point is simply this: In all your marketing efforts—whether in print or online and especially in person—know who you are. Know what you write and why you write it. Know your uniqueness. And then reflect that knowing each step of the way. This will create a synergy and a consistent feel from one marketing item to the next.

People will know you. And that’s marketing at its best.

So how do you convey your brand in your marketing strategies and to readers? A few thoughts:

• Color—Your website, printed materials, even the header images on your social media sites should incorporate the same colors. Pick one or two that fit with your genre and the feeling you want to give readers.
• Voice—The voice you use in marketing efforts should be similar to your writing voice. If you write quirky rom-com, then use that same voice in your blog posts. If you write edge-of-the-seat suspense, incorporate some of that same intensity in your book blurb.
• Just say it!—If your brand is your name and genre, then simply make that clear to your readers. Make sure your name is very visible on websites and printed materials…and if it’s not already clear from the look and feel of your marketing materials, go ahead and note your genre too.

ONE THING Activity:  Find 3-5 words that describe you, or your stories. Your uniqueness.  How can you use these words to create a feeling or image that would establish your brand on your website, in your blog posts, tweets and marketing materials?

Melissa Tagg serves as the MBT Marketing and Events coordinator.  When she’s not helping MBT, she serves as the Marketing coordinator for her other company, a non-profit in Des Moines, IA.  Melissa’s Debut book, Made to Last, hits the shelves in September 2013. find her at: www.melissatagg.com

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Quick Tips on building your author brand by @Melissa_Tagg http://ht.ly/gPnvI #mybooktherapy #amwriting