Category: Writing: It's a Business

My 3 Favorite Apps to Use for Marketing by Denise M. Colby

Your brand is your author name. Everything we post on our website, social media or blogs help add content to that author brand.  For someone like me, still unpublished, I want to create posts that are worthwhile even if I’m not selling books yet.  Figuring out what to do can be overwhelming and time-intensive.  Here I share with you three website/apps I use that have helped save me time and mental energy.

WordSwag

I love the WordSwag App.  For $4.99 in the app store, you can create memes for your social media fast and easy.  You can use any photo from your phone and customize the text using either the given quotes or writing your own.  I love to quote scripture this way using a nature pic I’ve taken.  There’s even a way to enter a watermark so you can have your website listed at the bottom, branding your memes.

Design-Seeds.com

One of the websites I like to use is design-seeds.com. There, you will find blends of colors that make a variety of color palettes. You can select the colors you like and write down the color codes.  Color codes are universal.  In different design software programs you can type in a color code and it will match.  So anyone you hire for cover designs or creating materials can use these codes and you can have a consistent look.

Having a recognizable color scheme with your author brand is a great way to build awareness and identity across your books, website and social media. Take a look at the books you read and notice the fonts and colors used on the covers.  Then go to their website and social media and see if you see a connection.

So what are the colors you want to associate with your author name? You can select 5-6 colors from light to dark and use them in everything you create. Your website, memes for your social media, and yes, even to incorporate into your book cover designs. (You can then select additional colors for that specific series or book).

I would recommend creating a Pinterest board where you save the photos of the color schemes you like and reference back to them.

Once you’ve selected a palette of colors for your brand, write down the color numbers to use in your graphics.

CANVA.com

Another website I love using is Canva. This website lets you create all sorts of media, including banners and social media sized for any app, to flyers, postcards and more. I created the image for this blog by uploading an image I purchased through a photo website.  You can upload your own pictures that you take or buy and you can use the color codes selected from design-seeds.com (the brown in the image is one of my colors).  You have the choice to use existing designs or create your own.  I use this program to create memes.  I even used it to design my son’s high school graduation announcement.

Creative Challenge:  Create a free account on canva.com and create an image using a photo you upload.

If you would like to learn more about these and other programs, I would highly recommend signing up for the teachable class Author Elena Dillon has created titled Visual Content Marketing for Authors.  Take a look at http://confused-and-terrified-writer.teachable.com/  Her videos offer step by step instructions and she provides written out lessons explaining things in detail. (More information here.)

Although new to the writing fiction world, Denise Colby has over 20+ years experience in marketing, creating different forms of content and copy for promotional materials.  Taking the lessons learned from creating her own author brand Denise M. Colby, Denise enjoys sharing her combined knowledge with other authors.

If you are interested in a marketing evaluation and would like help in developing a strategy for your author brand you can find out more here  http://denisemcolby.com/marketing-for-authors/