Our recent Beyond the Margins Power Hour featured Chicago-based designer and branding expert Lidia Varesco Racoma of Lidia Varesco Design, who walked us through her Author Branding as Business Strategy framework. Lidia has worked with nonprofits, small businesses, and authors for decades, and her approach to author branding starts with this reminder: Branding isn’t a logo, it’s a strategy, and this top lesson: Branding becomes strategic when you’re intentional.
Here are the top takeaways from what was one of best-attended and liveliest Zoom calls yet.
Branding is how people perceive and interact with you. It’s the experience readers have when they read your bio, hear you speak, receive your newsletter, see your social posts, meet you at an event, or get a reply to a message.
Your brand is both visual (book covers, headshots, typography, colors, website design) and emotional (voice, values, point of view, reader promise, consistency, emotional takeaway).
Both sides matter and require attention.
This was Lidia’s central message. Most authors have a brand whether they know it or not. The question is whether it’s working for them or just happening to them.
Strategic branding means making informed decisions about who to speak to, what to say, where to show up, what to say yes or no to, and how to help readers recognize you across every touchpoint.
Don’t overcomplicate branding, but do approach it with deliberation and purpose.
Lidia’s approach organizes author branding into four essential questions
WHO—Know your readers. Who connects with your work? Who is looking for what you offer? What do they care about, hope for, and expect? What do they already read, listen to, follow, or attend? The clearer you are about who you’re writing for, the more intentional every other branding decision becomes.
WHAT—Define your promise. What themes run through your work? What can readers count on you for? What do readers thank you for? What do you make easier, clearer, more bearable, more joyful, or more possible? Also worth asking: What are your brand guardrails? What do you say yes or no to? What do you write about—and what don’t you? Knowing what you won’t do is as clarifying as knowing what you will.
WHY—Claim your point of view. Why do you exist as an author? What do you believe? What are your core values? What lived or professional experiences shape your work and your thinking? What is your unique point of view that nobody else brings to this topic or this genre? Your WHY is the heart of your brand. It’s what makes you irreplaceable in a world full of content.
WHERE—Show up consistently. Where do people engage with you? Where can they have an experience of you—or with you? Which touchpoints matter most for your specific readers and books? Common author touchpoints include book covers, your author bio, website and blog, newsletter, social media, podcast appearances, events and workshops, your media kit, Amazon and Goodreads profiles, email signature, and reading group materials. The strategic question isn’t where you can be—it’s where you can be consistent. Inconsistency across touchpoints undermines even the strongest brand.
Lidia offers this simple template for crystallizing your brand clarity into one sentence:
“I write/create [WHAT] for [WHO] because I believe [WHY]. My brand is expressed through [WHERE].”
Getting this sentence right is one of the most clarifying things an author can do—and it becomes the filter for all branding decision that follow.
Lidia used Gretchen Rubin as an example of strategic author branding done well. Across books, website, blog, social media, and podcast, Rubin’s brand is coherent and consistent: the overall theme of happiness is ever-present, similar typography and color run across all her books and content, she cross-promotes related content (happiness, the Four Tendencies, home organization), she inspires action tied directly to her book content, and she shares personal stories that make emotional connections with readers.
The result is a brand that’s immediately recognizable across every touchpoint—and one that continues to generate readers, speaking invitations, partnerships, and business opportunities years after each book’s launch.
Lidia ended with a practical question where you can start right now: Which of the four elements is most in need of work for your author brand?
WHO: Do you know specifically who your readers are?
WHAT: Are you clear on what readers can count on from you?
WHY: Have you articulated your distinct point of view?
WHERE: Are you showing up consistently across your most important touchpoints?
Pick the weakest one for you and begin there. Branding work can be ongoing—no need to rush or overwhelm yourself—just focus on the above things and make deliberate choices.
Lidia Varesco Design
Lidia Varesco Racoma
Sign up for a complimentary 30-minute Brand Chat: tidycal.com/lidia/brandchat
A to Z of Branding (eBook)
Her blog posts on branding: www.lsvdesign.com/blog (search: branding)
Which element of Lidia’s WHO/WHAT/WHY/WHERE framework is most in need of work for your author brand right now? What would change if you got intentional about it?
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