How to Develop a Personal Brand for Your Writing Career
Personal branding is important in your career as a writer. Your brand will blend your skills, interests, values, talents, and beliefs to show your readers who you are. A personal brand is what helps you determine what you do. A brand enables you to get a competitive advantage. So, how do you get to that? Find out below.
Find Your Style
Maybe you haven’t realized this, but you have a writing style that distinguishes you from other writers. A style gives you a unique way of communicating your idea. You have to understand your writing style so that you can stay true to it. You develop your writing style with your components of communication. To understand your style, first, understand your habit and pay attention to it. Notice the words you often use when writing as well as your use of em-dashes, semicolons, etc. Once you understand what characterizes your writing style, you can work on improving it and using it to develop your brand.
Consider a Pen Name
In your journey as a writer, you will find yourself needing a professional identity that is different from your official name. There are many reasons that writers need a pet name. Maybe they want to share stories in secret; they want a name that suits there a genre or market their stories without causing any confusion. This also works as a way of distinguishing yourself from other writers who seem to share the same name. You need to consider a lot of things when choosing one. You must be careful to avoid a name that is already taken or one that describes your gender identity. A pseudonym can be hard to use when building your career. However, you will need this to connect with the readers, editors, and other writers easily.
Take Professional Photos
Writing and photography are always complimenting each other in different ways. You can express your art through words or through photography and still get people to understand what you’re communicating. There are several photography techniques that you can use to improve your story. You, therefore, need to get some headshots on yourself and other essential things that compliment your writing. While your photographer will know how to get the best shots of you, you should practice posing techniques before taking your headshots. You need to come up with not only professional but also creative photos.
Grow Your Online Presence
Online presence is one of the most important aspects of personal branding. Your online presence should be engaging and should connect you with your readers, other writers, and hiring managers. There are many mediums that you can choose to grow your online presence. Even if you decide to use different platforms, make sure that your story looks different in the platforms you choose. You can also adjust your settings for platforms that are strictly for friends and family so that your potential clients don’t get to see the information you don’t want them to see.
Have a Tagline
Apart from coming up with a pet name, you also need a tagline. A tagline tells a lot about you in as little information as possible. The simple line is enough to introduce you to your audience and clients. It is a perfect representation of your work. Have your tagline published everywhere, including your social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. It should represent what people say about you even when you’re not around.
A personal brand for your writing career is crucial. Your brand tells people what to expect when working with you. This is a way to connect with your clients and build your business as a freelance writer. You should work hard to develop it.