Five Ways To Guard Your Brand

So last week I got a lovely invitation from a friend of a friend to join Triberr (called the reach multiplier). Basically what happens with this service is you get invited to join a tribe of other bloggers (it's by invite only right now). If you accept, then what you agree to is that anytime one of your tribesmates blogs, a link to their blog is automatically tweeted by all member of the tribe. In return, you get the same treatment, you blog and your link autotweets from every one in your tribe's twitter accounts. The idea behind it is that you get exposed to lots more people and your reach is thereby amplified.

Sounds cool, right? And it is. But as I dug into exactly what it all meant, my control freak side took over. Did I really want to auto-tweet twenty-something different peoples blog links without really knowing them? What if they didn't blog content that I liked or that was relevant to those who follow me on Twitter?

I put out the question on Twitter to see if anyone had experience with Triberr and guess who tweets me back? One of the founders of Triberr (oh, the power of following keywords on Twitter). But guess what he told me? That I shouldn't use Triberr. He also sent a link to this post: Why You Shouldn't Be on Triberr

It seemed a little odd that the owner would try to talk me out of joining, but I realized why. One of his reasons the service may not be for you is: Your Twitter Stream Is Your Brand

Well, bingo. That's exactly why I was hesitant.

Everything I put out on the internet (whether I intend it or not) is part of my "brand."

The things I retweet on Twitter aren't haphazard.

I'm tweeting it because I: a) read it b) enjoyed it or found it informative and c) think my followers would appreciate it.

I do that because I want the people who follow me to trust that I am going to give them good content. (Well, in between my ramblings.) They (hopefully) know if I tweet or retweet a link that it has a high chance of being something worth clicking on.

Your brand is the promise you make to those that follow you

--whether that be on your blog, facebook, twitter, and your books for that matter. For instance, I know if Elizabeth Craig retweets something, it's often going to be something I find useful because she's proven to me that her content is consistently great. If she started tweeting random posts that weren't worth my time, she'd lose some of my "trust." I know if erotica author Tiffany Reisz tweets a link, there's a sixty percent chance it will involve nudity, lol. So of course I always click on hers. ;)

So don't be afraid to be protective of your brand. Sometimes it can feel like you're being snobby or something, but it's vital to keep your arms around it. For instance, I get many requests from people to read their book and feature it or them on the blog. For the record, I don't do reviews anymore anyway. But I've had to learn to say no a lot, which goes against my nature. I want to help people out. But if I don't know you or your writing (and don't have time to read it), I'm not going to feature you on my blog and let it look like an endorsement.

See it sounds stuck-up, doesn't it? But it's the promise I've made to you. If a book or author is featured here, it means that I either have read the book and loved it. Or I know the author and am familiar with the quality of their writing and their guest posts, etc. That's why I handpicked the Monday genre guests. I knew those ladies rocked at blogging, so I felt comfortable (and honored) to have them be a part of my blog.

So here are some suggestions...

Five Ways to Protect Your Brand

1. Don't accept every offer people give you to guest blog on your site.

Make sure you like their blog and know that they can provide something your readers will enjoy.

2. Don't accept every "free book" offered to you in exchange for featuring that author on your blog.

With the onslaught of self-publishing, there are a lot of people looking for places to be guests. They will offer you a free book in exchange for the promotion. That's cool. But what happens if you don't like the book or don't have time to read it? Vet it before you promote it to your readers.

3. Don't give 5-star reviews to all your friends on Goodreads and Amazon simply because they are your friend. 

If you really love the book, then great. But just agreeing to give a perfect review just because you're BFFs will teach people not to trust your reviews. (If you do reviews.)

4. Don't auto-tweet things you haven't looked at first and don't only tweet your friends posts just to be nice.

I don't expect my friends to retweet me just because we're buddies. I only want to be retweeted if the post is worth it.

5. Be very careful with group blogs.

There are many awesome group blogs out there. But be careful when deciding to join or start one. You need to know absolutely that the people you are blogging with are going to be a fit with what you want associated with you. This is why my group Tumblr blog lasted about, oh, five seconds before I went on my own. (Kristen Lamb would also argue that group blogs aren't effective because no one remembers the individual bloggers' names.)

So what do you think? Do you feel there is an inherent "brand" trust between people and their followers? How do you feel about services like Triberr? Has any blogger/tweeter ever lost your "follower trust"? Have you found yourself saying yes to feature people or books that may not fit on your blog?

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Ten Components of a Rocking Author Website

Photo by Benjamin Cook

I've been mulling over the whole website thing for a while now. I have a separate, static author website (www.roniloren.com). I did it myself. It's fine. Meh. (UPDATE: I've now redone my website, so that link should take you to the new one! It's still one I did myself, but I think it's a whole lot better.) But I really want something swankier for when my book releases. Unfortunately, a professionally done site is not cheap. So for now, I'm going to have to wait.

However, that doesn't mean I can't research, right? So, spurred by a question from the lovely Ashley March, I started looking into what the best author websites do right. This time I will focus on published author sites because Sierra Godfrey did a post on here a while back with website tips for the pre-published author--see that here.)

FOR AN UPDATED AND EXPANDED VERSION OF THE POST see: 13 Steps to Creating an Author Website Readers Will Love

Makings of  a Great Author Website

1. Make sure a drunk monkey could navigate it.

Please, please, please make it easy for me to find whatever I'm looking for. I don't want to have to dig. I will move on. Make the design eye-catching but clean (ignore my busy blog design, this is a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do thing. I'm a mom, I get to do that now.) Oh, and DO NOT HAVE MUSIC that auto-plays. 

2. Make it easy to read about and buy your books.

I'm amazed at how many author websites bury the info about their books like they're some sort of prize at the bottom of the cereal box. I want to be able to see the following:
a) The books you have out now with blurbs AND covers
b) The books that are upcoming and their blurbs and covers once available
c) Buttons where I can choose if I want to buy it on Amazon or whatever.
d) If you write series, LABEL them and put the books in order so that I know which comes first. It's sometimes hard to tell on Amazon what the order of a series is. Please help your readers with this.

3. A photo of you. Not your avatar or cat. You!

Get over your I-hate-all-pictures-of-myself thing. EVERYONE except maybe those kids on Jersey Shore hates pictures of themselves. It's normal. But I as a nosy reader want to put a face with the author name. And I don't care if you don't look like a supermodel. But believe me, if you have no pic, I will imagine you as a wart-covered troll. Just sayin' Also, a bio that rocks is a necessity. (Tips on that here.)

4. Provide links to all the ways I can stalk you.

Have links on your contact page with your twitter, facebook, goodreads, email, etc. links.

5. If you blog, don't phone it in.

If you hate blogging, we'll be able to tell. So if you are going to do it. Really do it. And for the love of all things good and holy, please attempt to make it interesting. And it's not about YOU, it's about the reader. I'm going to quote from a fabulous post over at Author Tech Tips: "Yes, yes, you’re a big famous author. But people still don’t care about you. They care about themselves. Think that is selfish? Take the plank out of your own eye before you can point the finger. If you offer something of value, your readers will want to come back. Photos of your kids will not bring them back." 

6. Be addictive.

Give your readers a reason to want to come back. Do you offer something they can only get on your site? Contests? Super secret snippets from your current project? Pictures of your characters? Playlists for your books? Think of takeaways that would excite a reader.

7. A website is not like a cactus--you can't water it every six months and assume it's going to thrive.

Going to an author site who has an update from months ago is like getting served stale chips at a Mexican restaurant. It makes your image feel stale. Like, wow, nothing exciting is happening with his books right now. Even if you don't blog, make sure that your release dates and such are up to date. Don't say coming soon and the book release date has already passed.

8. Be newsworthy

Are you going to speaking somewhere or did you win an award? Have a news section that you keep updated. It's a good addition or even alternative to having an active blog. Just make sure you keep it fresh.

9. Pimp Out Others

On Author Tech Tips, they quoted a survey that said a third of readers like to see what books your recommend when they visit your website. I think one way to do it is having other authors stop by your blog and do interviews and contests. You can also put a Goodreads widget somewhere on your site (like mine over there on the right) that shows what you're reading right now. That's a form of recommendation.

10. Be likable

Please do not use your site for rants or whining. It should be a positive, happy place for people to be--even if you write about serial killers. You want people to leave your site thinking that they could enjoy being friends with you.

Alright, so those are my tips. What are some of the things that you like to see on an author website? What are some author sites you visit regularly--why? Oh, and anyone know any amazing web designers that would love to offer me a discount on services, lol?

Author Websites for the "Pre-Published"

Waiting by Eye of Einstein (click pic for link)Earlier in the year, I asked you guys your opinions on writers having professional (non-blog) websites before they have an agent and/or book deal. I was debating with myself over putting one together. Most of you said you didn't think it was something to worry about yet, so I just reserved my domain name and left it at that. Then I went to a talk at my local RWA meeting on branding and changed my mind because of some of the points they made.

So I set up a simple website for myself. You can check it out here. It only costs a few bucks a month and it was point-and-click technology using a template--therefore easy to put together with no HTML knowledge needed. I didn't really think anyone was going to actually look at, but I liked having it done and up there.

Then I started the querying process. I didn't even include the address, I just included my blog. But when Sara contacted me to request my full after reading the partial, she mentioned that she'd gone to my blog and website and really liked them. (She also promised that she wasn't stalking me, just doing her homework, lol. To which I replied, stalk away!)

Then when we had THE CALL, she mentioned the importance of promotion and online branding. She said a website shows that the writer is already taking that portion of the career seriously. (And having no online presence at all is getting to the point of being a deal breaker for her.) She also sends her clients' website information with their submissions to publishers to show that the author is already out there building a name.

Now this is her opinion and if you search around the net, you'll find agents with complete opposite opinions. And if online stuff is getting in the way of you writing the best book possible--then obviously you have to focus on that first because the best blog/website in the world isn't going to make up for sub par writing. But I think it's something to think about for sure.

I think it goes back to that old adage of "dress for the job you want, not the one you have." No, we may not have a publishing deal or an agent or whatever it is we're seeking yet. BUT we need to act like this is already our career (even if we can only dedicate a small amount of time to our writing.)

You don't have to be insane like me and have a website, blog, twitter, facebook, and goodreads A website can be static, so once you have that up,  it's not any work. And then if you like to blog--blog. If not, then just do twitter or facebook (I'd recommend Twitter over Facebook if you're only going to do one--it's more effective IMHO). But do whatever works for you.

All I have to say is I'm happy I got these things off the ground before this point. Otherwise, I'd be scrambling right now, lol. (Although, I'll be changing my last name soon for a pseudonym--when I choose it--so I'll have to go through and adjust domains and such.)

So what's your opinion? Do you have an author website? Do you feel pressure to be out there doing all these thing now or would you rather wait until the agent/deal comes?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Don't You Know Who I Think I Am" - Fall Out Boy

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Networking and Branding

I'm knee deep in rewrites already. If anyone is under the illusion that agents only sign on to represent books that are perfect, then let me relieve you of that notion. :) I have some BIG things to change--changes I'm excited about because they will make the book better and add depth--but definitely more than just simple line edits. So, I'm giving myself the morning for writing.

I was planning a post on branding to cover some of the things I learned at RWA about websites and social networking.  However, I stumbled across an article (thanks to my local RWA email loop) that covered it really well.  So instead of reinventing the wheel, I'm going to encourage you to check out the article on the Savvy Author website. (And if you haven't joined Savvy Authors, you definitely should check it out--GREAT info, workshops, and regular opportunities for agent/publisher pitches.)

Also, Natalie Bahm did a really nice blogpost about why she thought to refer me to her agent. :)

And, don't forget to stop by tomorrow.  Guest blogger/author Christine Bell is going to give us the inside scoop on her experience in digital publishing! :)

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

**Today's Theme Song**

"Have a Nice Day" - Bon Jovi

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Are You Tied to Your Genre?

There is a lot of focus out there on creating a brand for yourself.  This includes a number of components--your website, your voice, your blog, how you present yourself, etc.  (Sierra has talked about this recently.)  This also includes your genre.

If you write chick lit, you're probably not going to have a website with storm clouds and ominous music.  If you write dark paranormal, you better not have pictures of rainbows and puppies with a pink color scheme.  Wait...on second thought...NO ONE should have that theme, I don't care the genre.

But if you go through all this trouble to brand yourself before you're published, does this mean you're locking yourself into one genre?  I know nothing is physically holding you back from changing themes and images at any time, but it almost acts as part of the mental box we put ourselves in.  (I'm a YA Writer, I'm a suspense writer.)

I understand that in order to build readership once you get published, it's important to establish yourself in one genre before venturing into something else.  But, before we're published, we don't have that monkey on our back.  We can write whatever the heck we want--and some say it's good to do so.

When we're first starting, we're not always sure of our voice or where it fits best.  Instead, we usually just jump into writing what we love to read.  My first book was a darker YA paranormal because at the time that's what I was reading most.  But then I realized what I liked most about writing that book was the romance part.  And I knew if I changed to writing an adult romance for the next book, I wouldn't have to worry about those pesky restrictions about how sexy the book could be, lol.

So that's what I did.  And it was even more fun for me to write.  Now I'm finishing up an erotic romance--still under the romance genre, but a different market and tone.  Writing each has been a different challenge, but I've enjoyed flexing my writing muscles and testing out the different areas.  And I think hopping around genres has really helped me from getting in a rut or from having my stories/characters bleed into one another.

So I encourage you to not lock yourself into one box.  Sometimes the best palate cleanser after finishing one book is writing something in totally new area for the next one.  You might discover your niche is something completely different from what you originally thought.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts.  Do you stick to one genre?  If so, are you ever tempted to write something else?  Where do you think your voice could work besides the genre you're writing in?  If you have tried others, what genres have you experimented with?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Not Myself Tonight" - Christina Aguilera

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

Pre-Branding Yourself as an Author

A few weeks ago, I debated on here whether or not I should start up an official (non-blog) website before I've sold a book.  Opinions were mixed, but most people seemed to agree that it really wasn't something to worry about until you got "the call."  So, I decided to reserve my domain name and then put the idea of a website on hold until later.

However, this weekend I attended my NTRWA meeting and the topic was marketing and promotion.  And although most of the talk was on how to market and promote yourself once you have sold your manuscript, there was also information for the not yet published.  And lucky for me, the authors who were giving the talk, Nikki Duncan and Misa Ramirez, provided just the answers I was looking for.

They interviewed marketing and publicity people from a number of different publishers (both print and ebook publishers) and asked them the pros and cons of pre-branding yourself as an author.

On the pro side, each person seemed to say the same things:

--It is not necessary to have an online presence before selling the book BUT "there is little advantage to waiting."

--Having an established presence/professional website shows the editors you are serious about your career because you have put forth time, effort, and a little money to put together a website.  It also in an indication that you "understand the importance of branding yourself" and are committed to helping in your own promotion.

The cons these professionals outlined were ones we have complete control over:

--Don't put things out there that will hurt your image.  We talked about that here.

--And don't let it interfere with your writing because obviously the most important thing is that you write the best book.

So after the talk, I made my decision.  I went ahead and created a basic website for myself.  I was a little intimidated by the thought.  My technical savvy is relegated to putting widgets in my sidebar, but I went to homestead.com and found the site very user friendly.  I was able to find a template I liked, then replaced the pics and info with mine.  Everything is drag and drop; you don't have to mess with html if you don't want to.  The only thing I have left to do is transfer my domain there.  But I'm waiting on that to make sure I like homestead for my format (I'm on a free trial right now.)  So for now, www.ronigriffin.com will get you there, but isn't the official address.

In addition to my basic info, I have my queries up for both my completed novels.  So, go check it out and let me know what you think.  I truly value your opinions.   

So what do you think about what the industry professionals said about pre-branding?  If you have your own website outside of your blog, feel free to leave the link in the comments.  


 
 

**Today's Theme Song**

"Just a Girl" - No Doubt

(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)