March 4th Edition of the CraveBooks Author Newsletter
Your Author Brand Power is equivalent to Your Book² x You.
If you figure out this equation, then you are essentially on autopilot mode.
It means you’ve mastered the art of selling without selling.
It elevates your author brand and books above the sea of other authors competing with you for readers’ attention.
When you plug in the correct variables to this equation, you will stimulate the rate of growth of your brand, and thus, increase book sales (the ultimate goal, of course…)
Breaking down the equation
Let’s start with Author Brand Power.
Author Brand Power is how effective your name and the name of your book is at leveraging your readers to sell your books for you.
The higher your power level = The easier it is to sell books.
Your Book² is simply, how good your book is —and the power of your book is exponential.
The quality of your book will influence how quickly your brand grows and spreads organically, i.e. word-of-mouth marketing.
A great book will compel a reader to share it with other readers —even if they have never heard of the author or title of the book before.
Think Harry Potter fandom…
Write a great book and you’ll be primed (not guaranteed) for easier author brand growth.
You is your ability to polarize your readers outside of your book.
You can be broken down into its own equation.
You = Engagement + Humanization + Shared Values
And You is not exponential because no matter how much you increase the value of the 3 elements in the You equation if your book is crap, readers will be less inclined to share it with other readers.
How to increase your You value…
We can even go a step further and break down the elements in the You equation:
- 1. Engagement = Listening + Understanding + Responsiveness
Engage with your readers on social media, email, etc…
Engagement allows you to become more tangible instead of just letters of a name printed on a book or an unreachable author that sits on a pedestal. By engaging (through whichever medium you choose) you are providing accessibility of yourself to your readers.
It provides readers with a tool for communication to spread your ideas/books to more like-minded readers.
- 2. Humanization = Honesty + Courage
Build trust by sharing your flaws, mistakes, and misfortunes.
Trust building is what creates empathic connections with our audience which enhances reciprocity.
Emotional Validation → Feeling Understood = More Trust
- 3. Shared Values = Clarity + Advocacy
Share the values you hold based on your book and other similar subjects.
Value reinforcement strengthens and solidifies shared beliefs and interests, increasing brand and community loyalty.
I love what Seth Godin says about tribes, “A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, connected to an idea.”
Let’s swap out two words for illustrative purposes…
“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to an author, connected to a book.”
And with each book or series is an opportunity to build upon your tribe. It’s an opportunity to strengthen the power of your author brand.
The stronger your author brand is, the easier it is to sell your book.
Why is that?
Because your tribe will be doing the selling for you.
Join the thousands of authors on the CraveBooks Newsletter today.