Four Measures to Self-Audit Your Author Brand for Consistency

If you are a writer actively pitching your novel or non-fiction, but you still dabble in children’s books, and you’re feeling the hankering to ramp up your YouTube channel, is it helpful or harmful to broadcast all your creative outlets to your audience all at once?

It’s not uncommon for me to hear pitches at writers conferences from authors who lay down four or five one-sheets, including two novels, a non-fiction book, a children’s book and their memoir. One of the first and biggest questions I’m asking as a literary agent is this: Who are you? My follow-up question is: What do you want to be known for?

While you ponder those questions, here is a scenario to illustrate this point: I live in an area of the country connected by the 80/90 Turnpike through multiple states. There are Starbucks locations dotted along that route. While I only drink one or two cups of coffee per month, I always stop at Starbucks locations when traveling. Road trips aren’t my favorite, so I appreciate the consistency of stepping into a Starbucks space and experiencing the familiar while I embrace the adventure of road-tripping. I like gazing at the order board and reading through the familiar menu of cold brews, lattes, espressos, teas, and the popular Pink Drink, which some claim can help a woman go into labor. I order the same drink each time, and it’s the consistency that keeps me coming back

Imagine if I’d pulled off the road and the Starbucks in the middle of Indiana decided that they’d start serving burgers and fries and eased back on the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches. Then the Starbucks in Breezewood, Pennsylvania, had the bright idea that pop or soda could be much more popular and cheaper than the Starbucks Refresher’s special drinks. Instead of the Pink Drink, the Starbucks on the New Jersey Turnpike subbed in raspberry slushies.

While some of us would fist-pump the decision to change up the menu and embrace the thrill of wondering what each Starbucks location might offer, the reality is that in time, Starbucks’s rock solid brand identity would blur. When people aren’t sure what makes a product or service stand out, they gravitate toward products and services that do and abandon products and services with fuzzy “we-do-a-little-bit-of-everything” identities.

Back to you. When readers stop by your website, social media or other online outlets, like YouTube, do they see a simple, consistent message about you and what you offer them?

This doesn’t mean that you must only do one thing, but everything that you do should point to one consistent message or identity. This is a key feature of branding.

I’m about to share something, and if you take nothing else away from today’s article, please understand what branding is about. Here’s a simple definition:

Branding is “Hi everyone! This is who I am, and how I’m here to serve you.”

Most authors I know hate the idea of self-promotion. It makes them twitchy. Many equate words like branding and marketing as different ways of saying, “Look at me; I’m a big deal.” Yet that isn’t the case. Branding is how we “speak” the voice of our product or service into the fray of options out there. Starbucks is known for selling coffee. People can debate about the quality of the coffee, but the company built a business based on the brand consistency of their coffee and their experience.

If you aspire to publish, or you’re already published, consistency is key to all aspects of your pursuit of publishing or your ongoing career. Here are three reasons:

1. Consistency builds TRUST.
2. Consistency supports GROWTH.
3. Consistency maintains RELATIONSHIPS.

Without these three, it will be a heavy lift for you to distinguish yourself from others, attract new readers and, most of all, keep them. Contrary to our belief that people love options, people love simplicity when it comes to making choices. Decision fatigue is a real thing, so make it easy on existing and new readers by honing your message and brand into a consistent identity they can rely on.

Ready for some homework on how to audit yourself for brand consistency?

1. PRESENTATION: Do your website and your social media channels maintain a consistent color palette and design vibe/aesthetic? If you aren’t sure, check out Canva’s resources on creating brand kits. They provide an online space for you to store your logos, color palette and images to keep your website and social media looking consistent.
2. HOW MANY LANES DO YOU HAVE? Audit your social media and recent web content to see how many different lanes you drive in. If you’re writing or posting about food, then music, then travel, then children’s books, then novels – think about your readers’ experience and whether they can truly identify what you’re about.
3. LOCATE EXPERTS – Pick three “online mentors” or three established authors who write in your desired or same lane. Study their brand consistency, including any mission-type branding statements usually located at or near the top of their websites. Note: with their established audience, they can switch lanes a bit because they’ve earned the right to, but you can usually see a connection to their main message.
4. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR? This is the question that I hope you can answer by the end of this exercise. The answer can save you time and frustration by clarifying what you’ll write, post about, and how you’ll connect with others.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: How do you maintain brand consistency on your website? Did you discover today that you might have too much going on in your social media or website? What questions or solutions are you now contemplating?