A to Z Challenge - Day 4: D is for Dog Tags!

I'm participating the this crazy challenge on 2 of my blogs. This one and Paranormal Lounge. The A to Z Challenge is a blogging event that takes place every April. The challenge is to write a post for each letter of the alphabet and post nearly every day during April, omitting Sundays.

My theme for this challenge is: Marketing is like war. I'm going to try to stick to that theme as much as possible, but I may have to deviate. Today is the letter "D" and I'm talking about Dog Tags.

Dog tags are used to identify those who can't do it themselves or to carry information. Now, we are able to identify ourselves, but not everyone is doing it right, so essentially, this post is telling you HOW to identify yourself, or BRAND yourself. I'm also telling you how to identify your book. I believe in branding BOTH the author and the book!

In the marketing world, your Dog Tag is your brand. Part of that means having a business card, using the same name and profile picture on all your accounts and drawing other consistencies into your brand.

Your business card should have your name, website, email address and what you write primarily (Like "Paranormal Writer"). I also recommend getting a business card for all your books. You may say that's what bookmarks are for, but your book business card is a little different.

Book business cards are like dog tags for books. They can't identify themselves, so you need to do it for them. Get your book into the minds of the people.

The book business card should have only the cover on one side and on the other, the primary website, a tag line and where your book is available. Include a QR code when possible. Bookmarks are for giveaways and signings. These people already have your book. Business cards are for people on the street, slipping into library books and other settings. They are to give to people who don't have your book. The people who would be interested in possibly obtaining a digital copy int the near future, the people who ask you about your book, and the people who like to stay in the know. You can also give these to members of the media along with your personal business card.

To brand yourself, my advice is to be consistent. Put the same info on all your profiles, use the same color schemes and images on your website and blog, and make sure that people know they are on your site when they visit. Connect all your social media profiles so people can find you and link all your sites. The idea is not to have everything in one place or to spread everything out. It's to have everything in every place!