“Brand” Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

One of the things that I find really interesting, is how many authors and publishers treat their public relations and marketing channels. (This can include reviews, interviews, appearances, etc.)

The “old think” was that PR was something you needed to pay for. You’d incorporate your PR with your marketing, and you’d work with other “paid” professionals like reviewers or reports to see what fit into their schedule. The “new think” is that you, as an author or publisher, can leverage a lot of free methods to generate buzz and PR for your career.

Regardless of what side of the fence you fall on, there are a number of mistakes I see people making when it comes to dealing with their “brand.” Whether you work for a company or not, brand management is a lofty phrase that deals with how others perceive you or your works. Here are some of my biggest frustrations:

    1. Being “Brand” Arrogant – Do you believe that everyone knows your name or product? Guess again. Just like not everyone on the planet has seen Star Wars, not everyone has read your books or even knows you exist. Sure, everyone wants to feel proud of where they are in their career, but I’ve seen how brand arrogance hurts not only an author and/or publisher but the reader. The minute you publicly tell someone that “they’re wrong” and forget to keep your customer service voice on, the greater you’re at risk for that customer talking shit about you. No, not every customer is “right,” but you have to remember that the conversations you have with a single reader online are read by countless readers that are not commenting on the review or your conversation. You shouldn’t have to “defend” your products or your brand in a hostile manner — I don’t care how crappy the comment was. A mistake is one thing (and there are ways to handle that) but trying to “sell” yourself or your brand to someone who doesn’t want to have anything to do with you is entirely another.
    2. Not Understanding “Who” is Talking about You – There are two types of reviewers: those who work for places like the Chicago Times or the New Yorker and those who don’t. The cold, hard truth is that the bulk majority of reviewers on the web are not getting paid to write your review. They are, simply, readers who love to read books or play games and watch movies. (The jury is still out on which reviews “sell” more books. After all, are you influenced more by your friends’ opinions or a professional reviewer?)
    In many reviewers’ minds, the unpaid reviewers are doing their fellow reader a favor by providing their honest review of what they’ve experienced. This is part of what’s called “grass roots” marketing. In many ways, these reviews are more like testimonials, because these opinions are coming from “a customer.” Yes, reviewers appreciate it when they get a review copy, but often publishers see this as an expectation to get a positive review done ASAP. With “grass roots” marketing, many reviewers don’t feel an obligation to write a review in a timely manner, especially if they didn’t like the book. With “grass roots” marketing, often reviewers will get to it when they can, not because they don’t want to.
    Unfortunately, I’ve seen one too many authors and publishers alike bashing reviewers. Here’s what that gets you — negative press. Publicly bashing a reviewer is a big “no-no” for many reasons, but partially because a reviewer is not expecting flak for providing an honest opinion about what they’ve experienced. Just like you, as a customer, don’t like every brand of coffee — reviewers are not going to enjoy every book, game, movie, etc. they come into contact with.
    3. Trying to Control the Message – Once people start talking about you or your brand, don’t even think about trying to “control” what people are saying. Most people do not engage with places like Facebook, Goodreads, MySpace and Twitter to be deluged by people shilling something. Why? Because social media is all about people interacting with other people. It is not there to “serve” you personally in the way that you expect, nor does it happen on your schedule. In fact, some of the most popular content are the things that don’t cost “money” (e.g. not including time as a resource here) to make. Yes, comment moderation is necessary and you can post your policies for that. That, however, is different from “controlling” what people say about you. Only posting positive, corporate-sque comments about your brand is a dead give-a-way and a big turn-off for people who follow you religiously. In my experiences, people respond better to humans, not robots. Ignoring or divulging everything that people are saying are two, other tactics, both of which can blow up rather poorly in your face.

Instead of trying to control the message, I try to be a natural part of the message regardless of what I’m doing. This comes pretty easy for me, because I believe in being genuine and passionate about whatever I’m writing.

I recommend not only defining what your brand is, but also what message you want to portray and how you want to engage with other people. Once you do, you’ll be able to remind yourself what you want to accomplish in your marketing efforts. (e.g. Maybe you’ll think twice before posting a nasty comment on a bad review.) For more about how to request a review for your book or product, read Matt Staggs’ latest post entitled: “Critics on Rookie Mistakes and How to Avoid Them when Submitting Your Book for Review.”

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment below.

Lessons in Personal Branding for Writers: Day One

One of the most challenging things to do in today’s competitive market is to develop a personal brand. A writer whose name is recognizable will find work not only based on their skill, but also on their reputation. It’s very easy to understand this from a publisher’s perspective, because a well-known author who writes a book might sell more copies of their new release than a “new” writer that has never been published before. While that might be the most straightforward example, the same can be said in the business world, too. Would you hire someone as a corporate blogger if they didn’t have their own blog? Aren’t you more likely to take “how to” advice from someone who has experience doing the things they’re advising?

This week I’d like to share with you twenty-five lessons I’ve learned over the years. Each day I’ll cover five lessons that have helped me develop my brand as an author. I hope you enjoy reading this series and invite you to offer your comments on these lessons that I have learned.

1. Don’t Plagiarize

Plagiarism. Although the very word sends many writers into raging fits, the fact remains that plagiarism does exist. I covered this a little earlier when I talked about how search engine technology helps to catch plagiarists. In that post I gave an example of plagiarism in action, and how the author was caught by two readers who had used Google to double-check the originality of her work.

As a professional writer, engaging in an act of plagiarism is probably the worst thing you could do for your career. Not only will you lose professional credibility, but your readers will probably feel that you betrayed them, too.

2. Consider Writing Under a Pen Name

Are you a fantasy author but plan on writing political satire? Do you enjoy online marketing but want to write about the negative effects of the internet? There are many reasons why a writer might choose to write under a pen name. These reasons range from protecting their identity to distancing themselves from their current “brand.”

Building a brand around a fictitious identity seems pretty challenging to me. If I were going to write under a pen name, I’d definitely seek out advice from publishers and agents before deciding on a course of action.

3. Specialize in a Particular Form of Writing

Are you a better technical writer than a fiction writer? Know how to write screenplays but not great at writing short stories? One of the ways you can take control of your brand is to play to your strengths. By making a name for yourself in a particular style of writing, you can really focus your efforts and increase your chances of getting published. I’d like to mention that there are drawbacks to specialization, because once you develop a brand in a particular market it’s really hard to shift gears.

I navigate around this issue in two ways. First, I choose more than one speciality. Secondly, I force myself to have a clear understanding why I’m writing a particular style or subject. For example, I write horror and dark fantasy genre fiction because I enjoy writing about what makes a hero a true “hero.” Most of my stories have either a hero or a villain at the heart of the plot for that reason.

4. Don’t Make Claims You Can’t Support

Have you ever met a writer who claimed they had a book published but really didn’t? Agents often hear about writers who have a book to pitch, but don’t have it finished yet. (I made that mistake early on but learned my lesson since then.)

It is natural to talk yourself up when you’re networking and trying to get published. Even though the competition is really fierce out there, there are ways to promote yourself without stretching the truth. When you make a claim, be ready to back it up because you never know who you’re talking to. The same person you’re promoting yourself to now might be a contact that influences your career later on down the road.

5. Beware of “Over” Self-Promotion

Developing your personal brand goes hand-in-hand with the phrases “online reputation management” and “online self-promotion.” Even though there are a number of free tools out there to help you develop your brand as an author, be careful not to overuse these tools and talk about yourself too much. It’s exceptionally important to remember that while your online activity may only be for professional use, people use these same tools every day to share details about their personal lives and talk with friends.

For examples of how other authors use these tools, all you have to do is ask your fellow writers and readers. Since other writers are more likely to support you and maybe even promote you, they’ll give you the best feedback money can buy.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this first installment of “Lessons in Personal Branding for Writers.”




Monica Valentinelli >

Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

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