I can't pinpoint the moment I stopped being a person and became a brand. But I think it was the first time I signed an email with www.deborahsharp.com instead of my actual name.When I decided to leave USA Today to become a mystery writer, I didn't realize I'd also become something I never planned: A saleswoman. My product? Myself.
Pretty weird considering my only sales experience was pushing Girl Scout cookies in 5th grade.
But now that I am a brand, I'm all about marketing. "Positioning'' myself and my upcoming novel. Breaking out of the pack of some 276,000 other new book titles released this year. And, oh yeah, always remembering to repeat the name of the book (See above. Can't miss it)
I've learned:
* To keep my new business cards in a pocket instead of buried in my purse, should anyone show the slightest interest . . . and even if they don't.
* To forget my mom's oft-repeated advice: ''Never toot your own horn, honey.''
* To ignore the cringe I feel when I see my humongous photo on my website.
''My picture's WAY too big,'' I protested to the guy who helped design the site.
''It can't be too big,'' the web guy said. ''You're the brand.''
Just like Paris Hilton, Tide detergent and the George Foreman grill.
I knew I'd gone to the dark side when I seriously considered repainting my Miata in a mock-up of my book's cover. I could become a mobile ad, I figured, kind of like the Roto-Rooter man in his red-and-blue van. Of course, I wouldn't actually kill anyone. The hand dangling from my turquoise trunk could be a dummy's.
Now tell me again about self-promotion . . . how fine is that line before shameless?
I'll be out on the circuit this fall with Mama Does Time. I hope y'all will say hi. I'll be the one slipping my card into your palm as we're introduced.
''Nice to meet you,'' I'll say with a saleswoman's smile. ''I'm www.deborahsharp.com.''
6 comments:
Welcome to the darkside, Deborah. We're all going to shameless self-promotion hell. Let me scoot over and make room for you in the handbasket. Wheeeeeeeeee!
It sure does not come naturally to me - this self promotion thing. But I don't know if this is good or bad, but it gets easier with time....
As Obi Wan Kenobi warned us, the darkside is very powerful....
In the official writer's training manual—you all got a copy, right?—it doesn’t really go into detail about this self-marketing, brand awareness thing as much as it should. As a matter of fact, my copy had some pages missing, and I think they dealt directly with self-promotion. Anyway, I stopped reading after the part about writing a book and gaining instant fame and fortune. So you're telling me there’s more to it? :-)
Okay Deborah, you've convinced me! When my webmaster asked me if I wanted to put a picture of myself on the front page, I shrieked, "No!" Now I will tell her to post it and repeat like Dorothy, "I am my own brand...I am my own brand."
Good post!
Okay, you made me look. That's half the battle.
Your website is fabulous. Clear, concise, chock full of interesting stuff.
Congrats, you're well on your way to being a brand.
Welcome, Deborah, to the Shameless Club. You couldn't find a better place to be branded with a hot poker.
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