Connection Is The Key
By Kylie Fennell
As we try to navigate these crazy times, which could easily be straight off the pages of a dystopian novel, I’m reminded of the importance of connecting with people.
Opening lines of communication and connecting with family members, friends, fellow writers and the community can make a meaningful difference to how we weather the impacts of COVID-19.
A recent article citing health professionals says “having a sense of connection and a feeling of community is essential for hope and healing” during this time. The article highlights that we are “social beings” who need to connect and be close to other people.
Fortunately for the introverts and the socially-isolated among us, connection comes in many forms. In this digital world we have many platforms we can use to stay connected with each other even if it is virtually.
Connecting with others in the writing community is particularly critical right now for writers, freelancers and authors struggling to deal with cancelled gigs and slumps in sales and revenue. Among the many casualties have been major literary festivals, author tours, signings and bookstore appearances – all significant opportunities for writers to stay connected with each other, our readers and the people who are important to us.
This doesn’t mean we can’t stay connected, just that it’s more challenging, which brings me to why connection is so important for author marketing and brand.
Author Branding & Connection
Establishing and managing your author brand is integral to the success of your writing career, and the foundation of branding is connecting with people. Effective author branding is no silver bullet, but it can make a real difference to your overall marketing results.
To understand what constitutes effective author branding we need to go beyond having a beautiful logo and business cards. We have to go back to what we are trying to achieve with our branding, and when you strip back the layers of ‘sell more books’ and ‘make more money’, we get to one common denominator – connecting with people.
We need to make meaningful connections with people who are important to our success, be it readers, bookshops or publishers. And our brand is the vehicle to achieve that.
Effective author branding represents an experience and a feeling you want people to get each time they interact with you or your work. It is the story you have to tell and how you tell it, as well as where you tell it to connect with the right people. The sooner you start establishing your author brand the more people you can connect with.
If you’re an aspiring author, start now so you have a ready-made audience when you do publish. If you’re an established author, also start now. Effective author branding may be just the boost you need to take your marketing to the next level.
If you want to create and cultivate an author brand readers will connect with and publishers will value, join me at Queensland Writers Centre’s Create Your Author Marketing Plan workshop on Saturday 16 May. The full-day workshop will be run entirely online.
In the meantime, stay safe and let’s support the writing community by buying more books – you don’t have to tell me twice!
For the last 20+ years, Kylie has worked as a Newspaper Journalist & Editor, Corporate Writer, and Marketing & Communication Manager, both in Australia and internationally. She is also a Content Writer, Certified Practising Marketer and author.