Welcome to this week’s One Thing Marketing your “One Thing” you can do this week to buildyour  platform, connect with readers/reviewers, and garner some exposure for you and  your latest book or WIP. Last week I talked about Finding Your Why. How did you do with the evaluation questions? This week we’ll be using those answers to craft your mission statement.

The definition of a Mission Statement (as defined by Wikipedia) is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It provides the framework or context within which the company’s strategies are formulated.

This is what every author should start with before they decide on writing projects, accept assignments, or begin marketing themselves and their work. One of our clients recently  attended a blogging conference and used the below steps to create her mission  statement. This client, Tricia Goyer(http://triciagoyer.com), has been writing  for over ten years with thirty plus titles under her belt, but it wasn’t until  she sat down to really think about her mission statement that she felt like she  understood for the first time her purpose and mission.

Why is this even important for an author? Your mission statement is used to create your “brand  identity.” Your brand identity will guide how you want your readers to perceive your platform or your message—your brand. It’s the main message you want to communicate to your potential readers with the “product” you’re offering – you and your words.

Tricia is not an author who  sticks to one genre so this makes her brand identity a bit difficult. She  writes Amish, but she’s not just an Amish writer. She writes parenting and  marriage books, but she’s not just a family life expert. She writes historical  fiction, but she’s not just a historical fiction author. She writes books for teens, but … well, you get the idea. When Tricia thought about her Mission Statement she longed to capture all that is Tricia Goyer—this also included teen mentoring, speaking, and being a radio host. Tricia says that when she began  to evaluate her mission and brand she broke it into three parts:

1. My brand promise is what I weigh my writing and ministry by.

2. My tagline is what readers can expect from me.

3. And the emotional relevance is the feeling my reader gets after reading one of my books or blogs or hearing me speak.

As Tricia thought of all these  things one word came to mind, “Inspiration.” To her inspiration is the  “breath of God.” And the message that resonates in all her books is  our need to allow Him to breathe strength, creativity and purpose into our  everyday lives. She discovered that whether she’s writing about personal issues or sharing the lives of characters in her novels,  “ordinary” becomes  “extraordinary” as we give Jesus space to live and move in us–and  through us. And as we impact the world for His kingdom. With the help of her blogging  friends (and Facebook friends), this is what Tricia came up with. In Tricia’s words:

#1 Brand Promise Statement (My mission statement): Inspiring ordinary women to follow an extraordinary God.

#2 Tagline from my website. (What readers can expect from me): Authentic Fiction, Real Life Truth

#3 Emotional Relevance Word: Inspiration

Tricia says that this has helped  her to see why certain projects she proposed got rejected—they didn’t resonate  from who she was deep inside—and somehow publishers could see that. It has also  helped when she’s been approached to write books. There are many great projects, but knowing her mission helps Tricia determine if the project is  right for her. Your one thing for this week is to use this model, take your WHY from last week and create your own mission statement and brand Identity.

1.Brand Promise

2.Tagline

3.Emotional Relevance Word

And like Tricia, don’t be afraid to reach out to your friends, readers and critique partners for help. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

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Amy Lathrop is the lead hen at Litfuse Publicity Group. Come see what’s stirring. We offer a wide variety of services ranging from marketing, publicity, social media campaigns, Facebook launch parties, interactive websites, author assistants, custom apps, event planning, ghost blogging, and more. If you need your own nest put in order, look no further. Go ahead, put all your eggs in one basket and contact one of the hens today, www.litfusegroup.com.