Brand Yourself Before Someone Else Does It
I’ve always liked to create. I’ve always wanted to teach and inspire. I’ve always wanted to work in any medium I wanted. I wanted to work in any genre I wanted. I was so firm in my beliefs that I declined awards because I thought they would categorize me. I still remember their faces at PBS when they nominated me for an Emmy, and I told them I would decline. I believed and still believe that my work should speak for itself. It should. But I still need a brand. It wasn’t until I started working in marketing and advertising for Universal Studios and later my own company, American Blackguard Entertainment, that I realized it: we all need a brand, no matter how well we write.
It's not enough to think that if you write great stories, people will find them. Your brand is the breadcrumbs that lead them there. In today’s world, as it has been in all previous generations, writers aren’t just authors; they are brands. Something I learned the hard way is that if you don’t define your brand—the image you want to project resulting in the projects you will write—others will do it for you. You will become a brand in one way or another: a clear brand you create or a fuzzy brand that others will individually decide. Either way, a brand will be defined for you.
It took life to teach me this, and I learned this lesson the hard way. In my career, I’ve written across multiple genres: nonfiction, poetry, screenplays, children’s books, thrillers, short stories, and more. I’ve also worked as a filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright, novelist, and nonfiction writer. That range is something I’m proud of, but early on, it made marketing myself confusing. People weren’t sure what to associate my name with. Was I a crime writer? A literary writer? A children’s author? Was I a filmmaker first and a writer second? Was I a writer who educates? Or an educator who writes?
I realized a brand isn’t what you do but how people perceive you. (Man, I’d like to have that Emmy right now.) With no clear breadcrumbs, how people perceive you is going to be different, and the final result is a scattered image that dilutes and diminishes—not expands and diversifies—your confused audience.
Defining My Brand
When I decided to go down the long road of pigeonholing myself (that’s how it felt), the first question I had to ask was what I wanted to write. That was non-negotiable. Once I got that, I collectively looked for the common denominators to give myself some classification, some peg that others could hang me on. Once I found this, I immediately asked myself what I wanted people to associate with my name. The answer wasn’t just that I write across genres and in different media—it was more profound than that. At my core, my career in creating and teaching has always been about two things: telling meaningful, impactful stories (I hope) and helping other writers to succeed using my history and knowledge of the long road I had to take to save others from having to take so long or having to work so hard. That’s why my brand identity became: “Empowering Writers. Creating Stories That Matter.”
“Empowering Writers. Creating Stories That Matter” isn’t just an advertising slogan. It’s a phrase that guides everything I do. Whether it is writing fiction, nonfiction, short stories, essays, poems, or plays or helping writers through my speaking engagements, Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference, or The Balanced Writer, I am consistent. I want my life’s work to ultimately be helping other writers and sharing stories that I hope will resonate with readers.
When someone hears “Clay Stafford,” they immediately know what to expect (if they know my name). This also keeps me on my path, reminding me of what is important to me and where I should spend my day. It keeps my squirrely mind from getting distracted by a world of nuts.
Looking at the path I’ve taken above to focus my brand (“Empowering Writers. Creating Stories That Matter.”), look at what you are creating, what you wish to create, and the image you want people to have of you. Go through the process. Follow my steps to find your way. Decide on your brand. Don’t let others decide for you.
Your Brand is Your Promise
Think of your brand as a promise to your readers. What do they get whenever they pick up one of your books, watch one of your stories, or see your name online? That’s your brand. And once you define it, everything else—marketing, audience growth, career opportunities—falls into place.
Think of your brand as a promise to your readers. Think of your brand as a promise and roadmap to yourself. You’ll find the path much more straightforward and your success more significant. People will know who you are, and, oddly, you’ll begin to understand yourself. It will change the way you see yourself; it will change the way the world sees you. Define your brand. Take control of your identity. Someone will, either you or someone else.
