author marketing Archives | Jennifer Lancaster

May 17, 2024

Selling Personal Branding to a Sceptic

I often imagine a sceptical consultant, leaning on his metaphorical shovel, and asking, “I’ve already got a brand, why do I need a personal brand too?” The latest book, out soon, My Personal Brand covers much of this reasoning in detail, so here are the crib notes. (Incidentally, ‘sceptic’ is spelled with a ‘c’ in British English.) Click to view. Get 5 Tips to Get Unstuck as a Thought Leader – in printable format. A Personal Brand will carry more trust. While companies can build up trust in their brand over time, a personality-rich soloist can build trust faster, simply by showing their face to the camera. People like doing business with people, those they like. It has been shown that video content is the preferred format for viewing promotions, and Facebook Lives get 10X the engagement of other videos. Facebook…

Using LinkedIn as an Author with Sue Ellson

May 14, 2025

Publicity

Using LinkedIn as an Author

This article is a guideline and challenge for authors who believe their LinkedIn presence could be better. Let’s call it the “7-Day Challenge to Expand and Capitalise on our LinkedIn Presence”. Preparations for your Profile Sprucing You won’t need a LinkedIn Premium account, but you will need an account. Don’t forget your email and password (cursed passwords that always change when you’re not looking). Squint now at your current photo. Are you not smiling? Do you have a tropical shirt on? Has it got a weird background? Is your honey’s arm cut off? It may be time to pick a new one and send your best photo, preferably smiling, to a photo editor. Here I recommend Mr Wikus, as he can do any type of design work and will spruce up your pic in a jiffy. https://www.fiverr.com/wikus1208 These days you…

May 17, 2024

Personal Branding

Making a Personal Brand, in Plain English

Of late I have been navel-gazing, I mean, assessing my values and brand. I’ve also been doing a content marketing course, which prompted me to gain further understanding about what information nonfiction authors look for. Then I realised that there is no such thing as a typical author. There are many reasons to write a book and just as many reasons to build a personal brand. This branding and values exercises is valuable. It had me thinking about things like: how does my personal brand portray me? How can someone create an authentic vibe? What puts people off… and what do they really want to know about my background/values? Amy Green recently wrote in SmartCompany that personal branding is: “How you are recognised and remembered. It is the art of bringing together your strengths, skills and your true essence, then…

May 14, 2025

Book Marketing, Publicity

Media Kit Template – Free

Have you ever thought of creating an Author or Speaker Media Kit? It’s a boon for many reasons. Media Kit Templates are not exactly created for authors or bloggers, so I created my own two designs. Media Kits can be used for: Podcast guest appearances/question prompts Giving credibility by mentioning your audience numbers or articles A PDF version of your book data and photos Public Speaker pitches Approaching news media editors & journo’s for an expert article or interview, etc. A good media kit for authors or specialists must adjust to suit them. Every specialist likely has something different they want to include, including perhaps a listener special offer. It’s important to think about what the podcasters or magazine editors you are approaching will want to know. See Free Book Marketing Resources guide for more goodies. Hints for…

February 25, 2022

Blogging Strategy

Starting a Blog from Scratch

If you want to know how to start a blog from scratch and build up so your books can become well-known, then start with a strategic plan. It will help a lot over the coming months and years. Here are some lessons I learned, along with some thought leaders’ lessons, like Ali Abdaal, who is more on the YouTube side of things. RESEARCH STAGE Start with a mindset of giving and dig into why you want to start this blog. You’ll find a selfish reason first no doubt, then ask why is that important? What will it achieve for others? Do you have a once-burnt story to share that will help them? Can you inspire through your openness? 2. Research your ideal readership. Use value-priced tools like Ubersuggest (not just for SEO), AnswerthePublic.com, and ask similar people on Twitter or…

September 15, 2025

Book Marketing, Personal Branding

Author Brand Cheat Sheet

If you’re lagging in social media followers and personal brand style, then you’ll want to read these cheat sheet tips for author brand strategy. While others specialise in marketing books, I prefer to focus on helping authors market themselves first. But why? This focus puts the author in the best place to then sell books, with simple tactics like emails to their list or a series of content posts. The trouble I had with launching earlier books was I had no platform. First steps were a simple blog site and a Twitter account (this was in 2009). Author Branding First Steps—Shoot First! As a relatively high-quality image of your good self will give you instant credibility, it’s wise to put aside modesty and get pro photos taken. There are many uses for these. Head Shot – studio ‘Doing’ shot –…