As promised, the answers to your most pressing branding and marketing questions! Plus some bonus questions me and JJ had for each other, given our respective areas of expertise (I wanted to know about getting in house support and she wanted to know more about hashtag relevancy).
If you’re new here:
Hi, I’m Lemon! I’m the author of DONE DIRT CHEAP and the Sr. Brand and Content Manager for a non-publishing company.
Joining me on my brand musings, as she usually does in real life lol, is S. Jae Jones (JJ), a former editor, the author of the WINTERSONG duology, and the author of a forthcoming fantasy series that is REALLY FUN AND JOYFUL but the title hasn’t been released yet. You can follow her here.
We opened up my DM’s for questions last week and here’s what you guys had to ask:
Q. What even IS a brand for an author?
Brand is your voice made manifest.
It’s a tangible part of your creative expression, the part that people see and interact with—in person, online, in your books. Your public face, your public persona, the part of you that is an Artist as a concept, not you the Person. A brand is comprised of your artistic persona, and how you communicate that persona to the public. The clearer the message, the more effective a brand is at connecting with their audience.
A brand is not a vibe. It’s not three tropes in a trenchcoat. It’s not an aesthetic. It’s also not your books.
Q. Why do authors even have to worry about a brand?
I (JJ) think the concept of a brand is tied in with the concept of SELLING something, but the honest truth, a “brand” is just shorthand for a company’s “voice.” What they are promising with their products, what their ethos is, etc. But more than that, understanding and clarifying your brand helps your audience FIND you, because the clearer the message, the easier it is to stand out and be discovered.
Q. What can I do to make myself into a brand?
A brand isn’t something you make. You have one, you just may not know it or be aware of it yet. A brand is something you refine in order to find better ways to communicate effectively. Once you start identifying your creative ethos, it will be easier to understand your persona, how you communicate, your appeal, and how to tie that together visually.
Your creative ethos: The reasons why you create, but more importantly why you put that creative work out in the world. It can’t be just “sales” or money; you’d be doing something far more lucrative otherwise lol.
What are you trying to say? A lot of times the problem with brands is that they don’t know what they are saying, and therefore don’t know how to effectively communicate or find their audience.
Q. Does posting on social media even matter at all (in terms of time investment).
Yes and No.
Yes, you should post something on most platforms that are relevant to your brand/book and audience. If you write non-fiction essays and your audience is primarily millennials, you would probably focus on Twitter and Instagram. If you write YA and your audience is primarily Gen Z and Millenials, you’d probably want to focus on Instagram and Tik-Tok. So know the platform you’re choosing and why you’re choosing it. Next, you should have a content strategy based on your brand—your persona, your appeal, and communication style. We tend to treat social media content as one-size-fits-all and it is not—where you post, the amount you post and what you post should all be intentional and specific to you. Don’t make the mistake of chasing algorithms or just copying what other people do! But while you should have some kind of “presence” (even if it’s just the handle where you occasionally post a news update—also: CLAIM YOUR HANDLE EVERYWHERE YOU CAN SO SOMEONE DOESN’T TAKE IT FIRST) on all platforms, the key term you actually need is ROI, or Return on Investment.
No, posting does not matter if it does not have a good ROI. In my (Lemon) day job, we do not sell on Twitter as a brand–the traffic just isn’t there, the conversions (traffic to sale) are basically non-existent. We have a following and plenty of activity, but activity and followers do not mean sales. I post there twice a week and check in once a day, but I do not invest much time in Twitter content because it does not result in sales, which makes sense, based on our product and the platform. We have probably less or the same activity on Instagram, but we do more sales there–a pretty okay chunk. So I invest more time in developing content there, because it has a good return on investment. I also invest more time in my strategy there.
“Sales” in the author space can mean literal book sales or email/newsletter subscriptions. Beware of only looking at increased followers or engagement—though those often all come together. What metrics are meaningful to you are going to be defined by your goals. Do you want a loyal following, no matter the size? Maybe responding to all comments is needed. Do you want your work to be shared so you become more discoverable? Maybe invest in making something that can be shared, like memes or funny observations or reels. Do you want to connect to your audience on an artistic level, or give advice? Then maybe create stuff that can be saved.
Lastly, don’t confuse a low return on investment with ignorance. If something seems to work, but you don’t know quite HOW it’s working, it’s worth (IMO) the time investment to figure out WHY it’s working. Time of day? Type of content? This means looking at your social media output as a whole, and also learning how to interpret your Insights tabs correctly. When you get real data that shows, despite a solid strategy, that something is NOT working, that’s when you can feel free to abandon a platform and let it be a handle and a news update account.
Q. Do I have to post on Twitter?
Only if it makes sense WITH your brand strategy. And then only WHAT makes sense with your brand strategy. And then only WHEN it makes sense for your brand strategy.
Q. Do I need to use hashtags?
I’m (Lemon) going to answer specifically for Instagram, because that’s where hashtags were considered a big part of strategy–but you should understand that all platforms are operating on the same technology and what applies there can be extrapolated to other platforms.
No. Not at all.
Hashtags used to function as a way for the algorithm (and users) to find the content they wanted to see. But the algorithm technology has outpaced the need for this feature. The algorithm on instagram no longer uses hashtags–it uses your caption, your images/video, any sound, and your alt text . Yes, you read that correctly, the algorithms can gather data from the image or video itself in order to serve that content to who they think will find it relevant. This means the algorithm is so adept at serving the content it thinks you want, that users don’t rely on the hashtags anymore either. The only people who use hashtags are people taking marketing advice from 2010.
Q. Lemon: This is MY question for JJ, I know success for a book often means having a lot of in house support, but how can authors drum up in house support?
JJ: Have a clear vision for your book. I don’t mean just the story; I mean where you think it will be on the shelves, who is the ideal reader, what sorts of books it will be most like. I know a lot of authors would ask, “But isn’t that the publisher’s job?” It is, but guidance from the source is utterly indispensable. You would say, “I think readers of X book would probably really enjoy mine.” You talk about that with your editor and marketing and design team and you show them examples of titles and covers and all that so you can collectively come up with a game plan. That clarifies the message for the sales force, who then knows, “Ah, it’s this kind of book; we know where and how to best sell that.”
Also, don’t expect the moon.
Of course, I worked in publishing, so I know what they would consider “reasonable”. The first thing people have to make peace with is that not all books will be treated equally. Every season, there will be books considered “lead titles,” meaning they are the ones getting the majority of the marketing and resources. I think editors really ought to be more transparent about letting their authors know if their books are considered leads or not (and that determination is honestly made by the house as a whole—sales, marketing, editorial, etc. and often has to do with the size of the advance, but can also just mean the book has struck some sort of nerve in-house and everyone is excited about it regardless of the advance size), so they can better manage expectations.
If you’re not a lead title, it’s not the end of the world, but you can’t complain about not getting lead treatment. Focus instead of what’s in YOUR power to do.
Lemon: Okay, so my follow up question is what can you expect if you aren’t a lead title and what can you do for yourself if you aren’t?
JJ: Midlist authors usually get a “standard” marketing and publicity plan, which varies from house to house, to be completely honest. But generally your publisher will be looking at which outlets will cover your book, asking for reviews from the trades like Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and School Library Journal (all these outlets can decline, by the way!). Bigger publications like the NYT Review of Books can depend on the publicist’s connections, but usually that’s reserved for lead titles. Lead titles and authors can sometimes also be sent to conferences to meet with various booksellers and librarians pre-publication, although midlist can also sometimes be sent, depending on the size of the house, etc.
Midlist authors can often do this on a smaller scale. They can contact their local media outlets—radio, newspaper, etc.—they can contact schools and bookstores and libraries and give them an ARC, explain that you are a local author, etc. If you have a little more money, then I would look into sending yourself to festivals and conferences to meet other authors. Booksellers and librarians also turn up at these places. Introduce yourself as an author. Have copies of your books.
It will take a lot of effort. And possibly a lot of money, but you can do a lot of these things for cheap. The difference is it’s the AUTHOR doing the work, not the publisher.
Is that fair? No. Is that something an author can change? Also no. But if the publisher senses there is genuine buzz and excitement building around your book, they can absolutely be persuaded to help you out, either through their connections or with money. A lead title is where their support is already committed, but a midlist can convince their publisher to give them more support by showing their own work.
Backstory Interlude To Show the Difference between What an Author can Do and What a Publisher can Do
Lemon: I sold my debut YA in 2015 for $15K or $18k (can’t remember). At some point during the editing process, I lost in house support completely and sales was instructed not to push my book, so it did not have good distribution. (I was informed of this well after release). 95% of my festival or book events were arranged by me, and 85% of it was also funded by me. My publisher sent me to things where organizers specifically invited me, like the Texas Tea at TLA. My first print run was small, less than 10k. I sold less than 300 copies my debut week. It came out in 2017 and as of 2022, I have not earned out.
JJ: I sold my debut in 2015 for $10K. I was initially offered $7500 for my book, but we negotiated a slightly higher advance, as the plan then was to publish it as an adult. As midlist advance for an adult fantasy, this was very typical. Later in its publication journey, marketing and sales decided it would be easier to break it out in YA rather than adult, so the season was pushed back—so I could edit the book to be more age-appropriate, but also to give the sales force time to adjust.
My book had robust in-house support, although it was not initially designated a lead title. It was quiet, but there was a frisson of excitement when people talked about my book. I did not have a tour—most events I did were arranged and funded by me. My publisher sent me to a bookseller conference, like the Southern Independent Booksellers Association, but not bigger ones like ALA. I also earned out before my book was even published due to audio rights and UK sales. My publisher didn’t go out of their way to reach readers, as I was a debut, but they did all the right things to get my book DISTRIBUTED. Like Target. My first print run was 23K. I hit the NYT bestseller list and started making royalties immediately.
Lemon: Without in-house support or distribution, no amount of my work was going to make up the sales. That’s not on me. I did everything I could–I wrote the best book I could, I was professional and gracious, did the best work I could for my brand, and worked my ass off to take any opportunity that came my way (and I had tons of peer support!!), and ultimately, I just had to make peace with how it turned out. My sales record has definitely hindered me from selling again. But no one suggests that I change my name in order to sell (a common tactic used in publishing) because my name means something as a brand. So, it’ll just take time to start again. (??) BUY MY BOOK YOU COWARDS!
JJ: Here’s my question for Lemon: Hashtags, consistency, accessibility. Those are like, the bricks “branding” is built on. (And by accessibility, I don’t mean like disability access, but being available and accessible to your readers or customers). How important are they?
Lemon: Hashtags, we’ve already covered. They are a form of technical SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy and you just need to update your understanding of how SEO works on those platforms. SEO will not save you from everything else, so do the basics and move on. The algorithms are reading your alt text and captions–so if you’re worried about it, always fill out the alt text and if it makes sense use a keyword in your caption–like, use books if you’re posting about books. Basic shit.
Consistency and accessibility are different–they are content strategies, so they are determined by your specific brand. Not all authors/brands need to be accessible! Yes, the algorithms reward consistent posting, but they also devalue content that doesn’t get a lot of engagement and if you’re the type of communicator brand that doesn’t connect with consistent posts, then your brand ends up fighting itself and getting devalued anyway. These algorithms are complex and they are constantly being changed, so I recommend people build brands for people, not algorithms.
Same thing applies for accessibility–some brands end up devaluing themselves by being accessible. It’s key to know who you are and then be confident enough to build a strategy off that, not off what other people are doing or what the algorithm is doing.
JJ: I think SEO ought to be the province of publishers for your book, not something the author has to worry about, but are there any ways to organically boost your reach and impressions?
Lemon: PARTNERSHIPS! Doing things with/for other authors/brands that align with your vision and purpose is the best way to organically boost your reach (and often just outright conversions). But I cannot emphasize enough that this MUST BE ORGANIC. It only works when the partners are aligned in vision and purpose. Look, we all know an inorganic partnership when we see one–when people are just boosting or asking for boosts. It has to be bigger than that to have impact. I reached out to interview Melanin in YA earlier this year for my newsletter, not just because I thought it was a good opportunity for both our brands to increase visibility, but because our visions aligned as brands in the first place. Promoting and partnerships should be incorporated into your brand’s strategy just like which platforms you use and how you post.
Partnerships are really part of networking and it really does work for publishing–I know that’s hard for people to hear because we think of it as a popularity contest, but it’s all what you make of it. Authors looking to network and build organic partnerships need to approach it with professionalism, not the need to be liked or popular. They need to make sure who they choose to promote is intentional, equitable, and ethical. They should also not trust everyone who offers to help them–a lot of authors are snakes! Or at least, narcissists! Lol. A red flag is definitely an author who only promotes people who are “bigger” than them (or doesn’t promote others at all!). Be professional and cautious. Don’t agree to support books you haven’t read. But do wholeheartedly support other authors' careers in ways that make sense for your brand. And remember that not all support is visible, the people who support your careers are not often posting about your books, they are bringing your name up in rooms where you haven’t been invited yet. That’s how festival invitations happen. That’s how events get scheduled. That’s how careers are built.
At the end of the day, there are things that are in a creative’s control and things that are not. The things we can control are: messaging, image and persona. The things we cannot control: opportunities and sales. It’s important to focus on what we do have control over and try to not to stress about what isn’t. Easier said than done, we know, but a skill that is necessary to have a career as an author.