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Do or Do Not, There is no Try When it Comes to Building your Brand

May 12, 2020 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as author branding, Denise M. Colby, encouragement, SEO Marketing

Since May is all about Star Wars, I thought I’d start with a famous Yoda quote and apply it to a building your brand message:

“Do or Do Not, There is no Try”
Yoda

How does this apply to your author platform?

We write or we do not write.
We post social media or we do not post social media.
We start building a brand or we do not.

When it comes to building your brand, there’s this fear of getting things wrong.

And sometimes this fear prevents us from doing anything about it.

But that’s exactly what I want to encourage you to do. Do something! Don’t just say you will try. And know, whatever you do, it doesn’t have to be 100% perfect. It’s most important for you to do.

Yes, I know, all the different variables to building your author brand can be stressful. But keep in mind, I’ve seen several small businesses evolve and grow in their online presence. It has opened my eyes to the fact that they did not get to their current place overnight. There’s not a magic switch that turns on everything perfectly. Most sites have evolved over time, trying things that work and don’t work and making adjustments as they work out the kinks.

Our author websites and social media are just like this.

We need to do some things first before we figure out if it works or not.

That’s what happened with my Marketing for Authors newsletter. I saw a graphic I liked and wanted to make it into the brand for Marketing for Authors. But no matter what I did, it wasn’t working the way I pictured it. And so I put off sending out my newsletter, or doing anything else for that matter. Not very business-minded, was it? So, I too am right in the thick of it, challenging myself with starting over and moving forward.

I’ve since chosen a simple design (thanks Canva!) and color scheme that I can incorporate into my training materials easily. And if I need to change some things as I go, I’m okay with that.

Here’s my new logo.

What do you think?

I’m super excited about it. I didn’t overthink it like I usually do, and I can incorporate the colors into my training materials. The only issue is when I print it on my home printer, the color comes out a little more blue than what it looks like on the screen. Since most of my stuff will be digital anyway, I’m moving forward with it. And boy does that feel freeing.

I understand how much establishing brand and building content is complicated and time-consuming. That’s where I want to help you in figuring out what works and to offer encouragement.

As a writer and a small business person, every little action can help propel your brand forward.

For myself, I’ve written my first newsletter and I’m ready to send it out (you can sign up for my free newsletter here). I’m also preparing to teach my first online class and give my first zoom interview. I’m trying not to over think things, but just take baby steps, one step at a time.

I hope to encourage you in the same way.

If interested in learning more about brand and SEO, take a look at some of my past posts:

Why it’s Important to Have a Blog and What to Write About

Why Link Building on Your Website and Blog is Important

Why SEO Should Matter To An Author

Or you can visit my website by clicking on the button below.

www.denisemcolby.com

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It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year…To Reflect on Your Accomplishments

December 12, 2019 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as encouragement, Writing Goals

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

To reflect on our goals and all that we’ve accomplished, so loved ones will hear!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Many times when we are working by ourselves, at our desk, with our words, we find ourselves deep in the minutie and seeing only all the things we have still left to do.

We may not have met any of our aggresive goals each month, or even each week, as life intrudes on a daily basis for us all.

Yet, there are things we do that we should say, “yes, I did that.” And feel good about it.

For me, I’m rounding into my eighth year and still haven’t published my book. (I started this journey in 2012). If I focused only on that one thing, I would be frustrated, disappointed, and inclined to throw my hands up and say that I’m done.

But if I count

Webinars I’ve attended
the magazine articles I published this year,
my monthly blog posts at A Slice of Orange,
my blog posts on my own website,
the conference I attended and taught at for the first time,
the monthly meetings where I got to talk shop with other writers,
and all the emails and social media posts I read and shared over the past year,

I’ve actually done a lot.

Not to mention the weekly critique meetings with my two lovely critique partners, where I’ve gotten some fantastic feedback on my manuscript, and the helpful feedback I’ve been able to provide in return.

Then there’s the pitches I’ve submitted for teaching at more conferences for next year and the deadline dates for contests I hope to be ready for.

All of that tells me I’m making progress.

It may be slow, but progress is progress.

And I wouldn’t be able to track my progress, if I didn’t take the time to write out these things I’ve accomplished throughout the year.

So, I encourage you to take a step back and think about what you have accomplished in 2019.

Did you write any new words?
Did you edit any words?
Did you publish a book?
Or an article?
Or a blog post?
Did you attend a meeting?
Or a conference?
Take an online class?
Read a reference book or a craft book?
Listen to a webinar?
Listen to a podcast?
Ready a blog post or newsletter from another writer?
Did you meet up with a writing buddy?
Do you have a website?
Or a newsletter?
Did you post a social media post related to writing?
Or read a few?
Did you read a book for fun?

There’s a lot of things we do to put words on a page and turn them into a great story. Don’t discount any of it. Whether it just fills our soul to inspire, or gives us tools we can apply to our writing, it all helps us continue on our writing journeys.

Have a very Merry Christmas! I’m thankful for you all.