“Know and Expressing Your Values and Value”
Dear Writer,
I hope you had a fantastic week as you considered how to grow the garden of relationships that endorsements and reviews spring from! This week, we’re going to fix our focus on the world of branding. Now branding may seem like an intimidating realm relegated to professionals and salesmen. But here’s the thing, writer. Branding can be a fun and exciting part of the marketing journey.
Branding gives you an opportunity to delve into your personality as an author and to explore the nature and value of the unique gift God has given you. It allows you to utilize images and colors and wording and tone to capture and express the heart of your story.
If your brand—your personality as an author and the value you offer—is strong and clear, it develops a connection between you and your readers. All relationships begin with getting to know another person, and branding is simply the process of introducing your readers to you and your work!
But before we dive in, let’s take a look at other who took understood and clearly expressed their value and values to their audience.
Branding in History
PT Barnum is an excellent example of personal branding. He crafted a distinctive persona and reputation for wowing audiences with the strange and spectacular at his fairs and created a whole arena of showmanship and entertainment that had never before existed. Though some of his practices may have been questionable, audiences grew to know and love the thrill of the strange and uncanny that Barnum provided them.
Branding in the Bible
John the Baptist is an excellent example of branding! His distinctive dress and lifestyle choices clearly set him apart from the religious leaders and influencers of his time, and his strong message of repentance drew people in droves who sought to know the true heart and will of God. John the Baptist’s clear expression of his God-given message was the Lord’s chosen instrument to prepare the way for Jesus and the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Branding in Life
I dove into branding during my work in Uganda teaching ministry staff to become professional reporters. While in Uganda, I was very intentional in my dress, communication, and work to exemplify professionalism and the proactive problem-solving and integrity that I knew my students needed to succeed as news writers. When they saw that I not only expected timeliness but would willingly run through the Uganda heat in full business casual garb in order to keep my appointment with them, it not only seared in their minds MY commitment to personal integrity, but inspired them to grow to new levels of integrity as well.
Branding in Your life
It’s the same with us, writer. Learning branding is really about learning how to recognize, express, and live out the values we and our stories embody. And when we express and live out those values with strength and clarity, they begin to catch the attention of others. Let me show you.
- And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. – Habakkuk 2:2
- The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. – Proverbs 20:5
- And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” – Matthew 13:52
- Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained; But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God]. – Proverbs 29:18
You see, writer, when we take the time to thoughtfully harness the power of images, colors, and words to express the vision and values God’s given us, it helps our audience recognize that this message—the words you’ve written—are words for them. And it creates an important connection with your story and with you yourself. Because here’s the thing…
Human beings are inherently relational. We were designed to learn best in the context of relationships. When we as authors take the time to capture the personality and character of our work, our reader begins to relate to that work and to us on a deeper level. Sometimes without ever meeting us. Think of it for just a moment. Some of the most influential people in my life (and likely yours) have been authors of fiction or nonfiction whose work I followed because I’d formed a connection, not just with their individual story, but with the set of values they embodied.
When you get down to it, that’s what branding really is. It’s about communicating your values and the value of what God’s given you to share. And when we begin to capture the passion God has given us, just like with John the Baptist or Barnum or myself, it wakes up the passion in others.
Where to Start with Branding
So are you ready to take a look at branding? If you are, here are a few ideas to get you started…
- Know Yourself & Your Story. Take some time to brainstorm what values, adjectives, and attributes that characterize you and your book. Sometimes the first connection point people will have with you is and your work is through a book cover, a Facebook or a blog post, a newsletter or a flyer. Creating each piece of content in a way that gives readers a glimpse of who you are will go a long way in helping those readers recognize your message as the one they’ve been looking for.
- Let Your Value & Values Drive Your Design. Allow who you are and what your work is to inform your style choices and branding. What colors, fonts, and tone convey the values you embody and the value you offer? For instance, the style choices of a regency romance novelist who loves whimsy and handcrafted lattes will be very different from the nonfiction work of a retired school administrator and political enthusiast sharing a timely message on the importance of education reform.
- Know Your Voice. Take note, not just of your values, but also of the way you express them. Are you and your writing fun and funky? Be sure to capture a bit of that in your branding and in your copywriting. Are you a quiet soul who loves to dive deep into the topics you write about? Try to convey that sense of serenity and depth in your author head shot.
- Be Yourself. Branding as an author is, in a large part, about learning to be yourself—the person God has made you to be—on purpose and strategically. It’s about harnessing visuals and the written word to share that God-given design with others. When we share who we are, we give people a chance to glimpse a facet of the glory of God because we are made in His image. And here’s the beautiful thing. In Psalm 42:7 the psalmist says, “Deep calls to deep…” as he refers to the response of his heart to the call of God’s own heart. When we allow God’s unique design in us to truly shine through, that call from His heart through us will resonate with the hearts of those who’ve been longing for the message He’s given us. Because here’s the real deal…
At the end of the day, branding is just another tool to help get the message God’s given you into the hands of those who desperately need it. But the interesting thing about author branding is that it recognizes the message God’s given you goes through you and that you are part of it.
So I encourage you today, writer, to consider the unique value God has given to you and to your story. Explore it. Embrace it. Allow it to shape the way you reach your readers. Because here’s the beautiful thing…
Freedom begets freedom. Just like with John the Baptist, whose distinctive uniqueness drew others back to the heart of God. Just like my value of excellence unlocked new giftings and vision in the lives of my students. When we truly begin to be who we were made to be, it opens the way for others to discover more deeply the glory of God at work in their own lives and who God has made them to be, too.
#branding #glory #ImageOfGod #everywriterwriting
