Developing Your Personal Brand

The reason why celebrities, presidents/ex-presidents/presidential wannabes, and reality stars sell a lot of books is because they have a strong brand. Love them or hate them, they've had plenty of time in the spotlight, and most likely millions of dollars spent developing their brand. And their fans have a connection with them.

What's a normal person to do? You don't fake-bake yourself orange and get wasted in front of a TV audience, you don't videotape your intimate life with athletes or celebs, and you're too honest to become a politician. And you don't have a wad of cash to spend on building "brand you."

People hunger for truth. Let them see the real you. While it is important to be yourself, don't be afraid to highlight your uniqueness. If you have a secret talent, like brushing your teeth using your toes, feel free to give out that info. If you have a My Little Pony collection, let people know. If you make an animated video of yourself being interviewed about your book by a clown, share the link.

Even with a good book and an intriguing premise, you still need to market yourself along with your novel.

In addition to Amanda Hocking's great stories, she also puts a lot of time into her blog--revealing things about herself, writing articles her readers are interested in, and responding to her followers' comments.

Joe Konrath, a talented writer with a lot of thrilling content, is the king of indie authors. He didn't dub himself the king, but to his followers he is, including me. That's one heck of a brand he's developed. His blogs about self-publishing offer fantastic insight into the ebook world. Joe's followers love his bold voice and his brash words aimed at the big publishers.

Amanda and Joe are accessible to their readers, and they both give something back. And you have a sense of who they are. When you're developing your brand, make sure you offer something, most importantly, yourself.