I didn’t at first. I thought it was just a lot of
hype for us to spend even more money to sell our products. After all, what did
it matter if at a glance people recognized me? Did it mean they’d rush off to
purchase my books?
I’ve grown up over the last few years in the
industry and I now realize that I was an idiot in my earlier thinking. Of
course branding is important. It’s a reflection of the outer image you want to
portray to the world. And darn right it
matters.
It matters that you attract people at a glance
enough for them to follow through to get to browsing. And who knows where
browsing can lead… hopefully to my beautiful new books page full of excerpts
and buy links.
One of the things I always liked about my blog is
that I felt comfortable there and hoped it made others feel the same. Like an
easy chair that just fit. But those old Lazyboys can get pretty shabby over
time.
So, with the help of a professional, all my pages
are now sleek and slim, no more extraneous links, no more jumble left lying
around because I didn’t know and didn’t take the time to learn how to clear it
away…. I’m so ashamed, gulp!!
My old Vicarage Bench on my newsletter and website
are gone to be replaced with the image I’ve chosen to be branded with. In my
opinion, today it fits my writing perfectly. A bit of fun mixed with drama to
evoke suspense and fantasy.
So… if you are on the fence right now, wondering
whether to take the leap to improvement, I have one piece of advice. Take your time. Make sure that the replacement
is actually better. And if at all possible, think ahead to where you’d like to
be in a few years. Brand yourself in such a way that those later decisions will fit
into the choices you make today.
I have chosen to put my contemporary romance,
The Surrogate’s Secret,
Free Partay.
who have books in this promotion,
so please check to see
if there’s anything that interests you.
let your friends
know about these wonderful FREE books.
surrogate mother, Sheri O’Connor. Since the donor parents were killed before
their birth, she gladly takes on the responsibility to raise them herself. When
their Chilean Uncle, Miguel Rivera, arrives unexpectedly to take them back to his
country, she unravels and coldly informs him that isn’t going to happen. Because
they’d used her eggs in the process, her claim supersedes anyone else’s. Never
in a million years does she dream that the South American heartstopper wants
her babies so much that he will force her to marry him by threatening to
withhold the money she needs for an operation for her tiny son.
to be trusted. After all, didn’t his devious fiancé give him up for dead and
marry someone else while he spent months being held hostage in the jungles of
Columbia? If his mother hadn’t brought a team to save him and end up getting
shot during the rescue, he wouldn’t be alive. Therefore, if the only thing that
can stop his Mamacita from succumbing to her wounds is to adopt his dead
brother’s surrogate children, then he will do anything to see that happen. Even
marry the ditzy blonde whose saving grace is her gorgeous body, beautiful face
and her absolute devotion to her babies.
Your page looks beautiful Mimi and I know what you mean by branding. When I first had my page done my son asked, 'so what do you want for a tag line'- Huh, I had no idea what he meant. Maybe Writer of Romance he said. 'OK, but I like mystery too.'
I still have the tag line – Writer of Romance and Mystery – and if anything I think it works better now than it did then! But I'm sure if I spent more time on it my web page could be better.
You are absolutely correct about your 'branding comments'. And you chose a perfect time to refine your web-site and blog. Congratulations!
It's nice to know that you considered getting professional help in fixing your site. It's hard to improve your site so it really takes so much time to make the right developments. I believe, however, that your programmers made the process a lot easier, right? Hope you enjoy your improved site! 🙂
Deborah Miller @ BestAtIt.com
Hi Deborah, You are so right!! I haven't the time, energy or know-how to do this kind of programming myself and professionals do. Thanks so much for the kind comment. Now, I love my site! xo