The Importance of Brand Awareness In Modern Marketing and Publishing

In a competitive business such as writing it takes creativity that reaches above and beyond content. The greatest content can be down on paper, but if people don't feel a connection to the surface of your product then you might as well throw away your dreams of becoming successful in the world of words. It's no secret that we live in a visual world far more today than even ten years ago. It takes memorable elements added to great writing skills in order to excel in the business.

People want to be able to relate to the person they are reading. They want to feel a vested interest before making the decision to buy your book. First and foremost, your cover must grab their attention within one to eight seconds if you are to stand much of a chance. It must appeal to their sense of intrigue in some way. Obviously, as everything else in life, you can not please everyone. Your cover is a representation of your book. So, if it appears that you didn't place much thought or creativity into it then that is going to be the message to the observer. This is guaranteed to effect your sales.

The title of your book is an all important element as well. It must describe the depth or emotion of your book in a compelling way without seeming too cliche or conveying a theme that has been overused. The font used must be bold without overtaking your cover as to detract from its message. The color used also needs to stand out without overriding the image on the page. The synopsis on the back cover is something that many authors disregard or fail to place much effort into. It needs to describe, in a compelling manner, the overall theme of your book while creating within the prospective reader a sense of interest that makes them want to know more about what is inside. In terms of content, as many authors already realize, books that offer a chapter or a few pages of text on Amazon(a must for any book seller) always gain much more of a fighting chance than books that do not offer this benefit. This is a chance to show off your work and make the reader want to be able to finish the book. If you do not deliver on this then hang it up. Your words back up your name, which brings me to my next point.

Your name and brand as an author is the single thing that is one hundred percent unique to you. All other concepts and plots, covers, colors, and themes will always overlap with another work in some way. However, your name itself, along with your photo is what differentiates you from all other writers out there. If you practice consistency and use the same image among all social media sites as well as your books then, over time, your face and pen name become what is known as a brand. Steven Kings' face and name is one of the most well known faces in all of literature. He has been consistent and his work has become well known. His face pops up in cameos in the movies filmed from his books. People love what he does and his brand is known the world over.

If you want to take one step further, some authors use a quote to go along with all their books that might compliment their theme or brand that they build. For instance, Danielle Steel always uses the quote, "She'll keep you up all night." This creates a sense of what she writes about as well as etches into her readers minds something to make them remember her by. Although I am just getting into the business, my brand is something i am being consistent in. My theme is something that relays a personal story about my life. My quote that will be seen with all my books is, "He strikes your heart and drenches your soul." It not only tells potential readers about my work; It relays something intimate about who I am as a man.

No matter what you do or are doing to build your brand; The trick is to be consistent. Change things up if you feel the need to but try your best to find something that resonates with you as a writer. Something that builds a sense of excitement and allows those who come to know your work to be able to keep a marker or image in their minds of who you are and what you write about. The better the connection you are able to create with your reader; The better chance you have of them coming back to read the next book or blog that you write. Never allow yourself to be discouraged by low sales or lack of clicks because, one day, the right domino may fall that spreads your words across the globe like wildfire. What we deliver is something that never needs to be redone again. Once you create something, it doesn't need to be renewed. It is there for all time as a representative of what you love to do.

By Christopher Storm
-aka-The Stormcaller

Post Script: If you want to know the truth about what goes on behind closed doors in the rooms of the elite and what we as united spirits can do about it then check out my blog, Stormcalling