Episode 9: Erik Nelson on Branding and Marketing

The BookSmarts Podcast, with Joshua Tallent

In this episode, Joshua talks with Erik Nelson, a friend and marketing consultant, about how publishers can approach rethinking their own branding, and develop a more powerful approach to marketing based on their passion and mission.

Publishers, like other businesses, will fit broadly into three categories: 1) Those who are starting from scratch, have no major direct-to-consumer approach or marketing to speak of; 2) those who have a customer-facing brand, but know some things are broken and they don't know where to start on the repairs; and 3) those who already have some momentum on branding and direct-to-consumer, but want to throw some rocket fuel on that area. This podcast will be helpful for publishers in all three of those situations.

Before you jump headlong into marketing and advertising, though, you have to start with the "Why". Where does the passion behind your company infuse your work? What's the deeper, more aspirational thing that got you in this business? What gets you jazzed and excited? You want to bottle that up and show it to your customers.

After you know the Why, think about how you want to express it. That is where branding comes into the picture. Branding is like a mental shortcut for consumers. You want them to think of your brand when they think about the topic of passion behind it. Branding comes out in two areas: in the aesthetics or design, and in the messaging.

Only after you have defined the Why, and developed the branding around that Why, can you start approaching the question of how to implement the sales and marketing aspects of your direct-to-consumer strategy. And that strategy will need to take on different forms in the pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase stages.

Joshua and Erik get into all of this, and more, with direct connections to the publishing business and suggestions for helping you get more out of your branding.

Erik has agreed to offer a free 30-minute call with anyone who wants to talk to him more about these topics, and about ways that he might be able to help you. Please visit his website at https://nelsonconsulting.co/.