Establishing Your Brand's Values

Writing has come a long way since the days of Jane Austen, and people want to know what a brand stands for.  Over the years you may run different marketing campaigns, but your author brand should never change.

People are looking to connect with their favourite authors and writers through social media and websites and this happens through engagement and can create  a powerful bond between author and reader.

Through thick and thin your values will stand, but finding your brand values can be a little bit challenging if you're not that sure of what it is you stand for.  

So how do you define your author brand values? What makes them so important, and where can you search for inspiration?

The Best Writing Tools to Add to Your Armoury

The task of writing can turn into an arduous task, even when it's a passion. But you probably know that already.

Sometimes it can feel:

• Really discouraging
• Totally overwhelming
• Thoroughly exhausting
• Completely frustrating

But when you've completed your writing assignment the rewards are:

• That feeling of real accomplishment
• Knowing that your words are going into print
• Realising the impact of your writing on your audience

Never fear, these things can all be done with the right tools and resources. Most of these tools and resources are free but some cost. If you purchase through this page I receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

 

How to Plan Your Writing

Every writing project needs to be planned.

What is Your Main Aim?

There are no two writing projects the same and each needs a new plan.  This is because you're writing a different message or you might want to reach a slightly different demographic each time you write.

Think of your goals as levels: 

Read - The most important part of your job is that your audience reads your text.  If this doesn't happen all time spent has gone to waste. 

Understand - Your next job is to make sure your readers comprehend what they're reading.  If you can't get your message across you might as well pack your bags now. 

Remember - You need your audience to learn and remember after they've finished reading your work.

Think and feel - You need your audience to think and feel about what they've just read.  This makes them more open and receptive to whatever subject you've chosen to write about and more open to new thoughts and ideas.

Act - And finally you want your audience to act on your ideas and thoughts by asking them to try something different and look outside of the box.

We've all read hundreds of articles and books but how many messages have we acted on that have really made a difference in our lives?  Probably not that many.  Changing someone else's belief system is unusual and very hard to do.

How to Select the Right Author Brand Archetype

Brand archetypes can be a useful marketing tool for writers wanting to promote their work through something that is relatable and recognisable to their audience.

They can be useful as a starting point to build a brand from, and enable the writer to start building their own brand identity.  But, which author archetype suits your personality?  

By finding your brand archetype you can:

1. Start to build your brand identity around your chosen archetype and begin to add that personality into your writing and social media posts.
2. Mould your writing and business values into your desired brand archetype.

How to Work Out Which Archetype Suits You

Your author brand archetype needs to fit in with your genre of writing but doesn't need to illustrate what you're writing about.  This is because it's about you and not your writing.

You should be aiming for one brand archetype, anymore than that will start to diminish the essence of the archetype.  If you do choose more than one you should choose one to be your main focus, while your secondary archetype is there to make the odd contribution.

How to Reach Your Audience When You Write

 "My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way."

Ernest Hemingway.

The secret to writing clearly is knowing who your audience is, knowing what they want and what information they already know.

Focusing on Your Reader

Once you know what your message is, the next step is to write for your audience.  

You need to write to your audience the same way you would write to your best friend.  If you were writing a letter to someone you'd grown up with you would know what to say and what not to say.  The same principle applies when you start writing for your reader's.

Knowing Your Audience

Once you know who your audience is you can begin to structure your work, use the right kind of language, include the right kind of information and also how to approach each topic.  

Everyone has shorter attention spans these days so you should aim to get your point across fairly quickly, and be able to include as many important points within your first few paragraphs.

What is Clear Writing and How Can It Help You Be a Better Writer?

"Good writing is clear thinking made visible."

Bill Wheeler.

Some reasons why you need to write clearly:

1. You might be writing a letter or email to a friend.
2. You might be writing a thesis or doing some academic writing or publishing in a journal.
3. You might be at work and you need to create a presentation or write an email explaining your thoughts on a particular matter.
4. You might be the owner of a business and need to write a strategy plan, or maybe you're bringing in some changes to your company.
5. You might be a marketer online, or you may need to create a new brochure for the company you work for.
6. You might be a teacher that needs to write a lesson plan.
7. You might be a student with an important essay to write.

Writing is part of life and for most people writing isn't something that comes naturally.  One of the first things you need to understand is that you're writing for an or a particular reader.

It stands to reason that you use your own thoughts and feelings when you start writing, but you need to understand that writing is a two way street, and it should be more about the reader than the writer.  The reader is the one that has to understand the message that is being put out.  

Writing in a Nutshell

To put it simply, writing is all about putting your thoughts and feelings into someone else's head.  The words, grammar and punctuation are the tools to make that happen.

5 Best Substack Newsletters on Writing

I've recently discovered a new place to publish, it's called Substack.  An easy-to-use emailing platform that allows you to earn, if you so wish, and enables you to do email marketing without the complicated setup of other paid for email marketing programs.

Substack is more like a publishing platform than email marketing tool and enables anyone to publish an email style blog post for their readers without paying a penny for the privilege of using the platform.  The really unique thing is most people that enter the platform don't have to subscribe, they can just read whatever is on offer.  And you don't need any techy knowledge to start your own Substack newsletter.  Oh and did tell you there isn't an advert in sight, nor are there any algorithms at work when you use it.