I know you don’t want to spend the money on a brand consultant. Trust me, I didn’t want to spend it either. Why pay for a branding consultant when you can consult YouTube for free? There’s only so much money you can justify tossing into a project that isn’t making you any money yet.
Believe me, I get it. But as I will share, just one session with a branding consultant radically changed the way I approached my journey to become a published novelist. I would like to posit to you that it will radically transform your approach, too.
What is a Branding Consultant?
A branding consultant is a marketing expert. They are an individual or company who stays up-to-date on the latest trends in social media and marketing so you don’t have to.
Branding consultants help you strategize the most effective way to use your presence in media and on the internet to reap maximum benefits. To put it another way, branding consultants help you succeed in finding your audience.
Different consultants offer different services and different levels of assistance. From a one-time brainstorming session to building and maintaining your website, there is something out there for every type of struggling novelist who just wants to get noticed.
Why I used a Branding Consultant
It’s not a secret that I don’t know what I am doing on this little (big) adventure to becoming a published novelist. In fact, ignorance is my entire platform.
But as much as I am loving this mantra of “learning together” and “writing in community,” the truth is at some point, I need to get to actually figure out what I’m doing. Vague notions of hashtag strategies and SEO methods will only get me so far. I need to actually make a plan.
Brand consultants help you form that plan.
When I decided at the literal end of 2021 that I was going to pursue publishing a novel, I had no plan. What I initially envisioned was me having an excuse to spend twelve hours a week guilt-free writing because now it was my “job.”
Sounds like a dream come true, right? Except we’re all writers here. We know how well actually sitting down and writing goes.
I’d probably still be languishing away my days, struggling to find a muse to write a story I could publish instead of the fanfiction which had captured my creativity. I would have long since talked myself out of this dream and back into doing “productive” things with my time. I would be no closer to being published than I was this time last year, if it wasn’t for Moriah.
How a Brand Consultant Changed my Strategy
Moriah is the name of the wonderful and amazing consultant I hired. I paid her for a one-hour consultation, and that one hour transformed my entire journey. Seriously, y’all. She’s incredible and you need to check out her work.
My favorite part about the time we spent together in a video conference was the moments she thought I was zoning out on her because I was looking down at my phone. I wasn’t zoning out–I was frantically trying to record every word she said because her advice was that good.
Moriah is the one who taught me that the first step to getting published is just stepping out. She encouraged me to set up a website and start an Instagram to build a following. She listened to the ideas I had about blogging and vlogging my journey and validated my ideas. Not only that, she gave me pointers on how to execute it well and–my favorite part–told me I didn’t have to abandon my current WIP, Forsaken by Shadows. Instead, I could levy the story as an example of my writing to build up my audience.
All of that in one hour.
I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for Moriah, I would not be doing half the things I am doing now. I wouldn’t be publishing Forsaken by Shadows on Substack because I didn’t even know what Substack was until she introduced me. I wouldn’t have the courage to record it as an audio drama that will be released as a podcast and on YouTube.
Moriah’s consultation gave me clarity of my vision and roadmap of how to get there. More than that, it gave me the courage to step out and get started.
We Can’t Do This Alone
If you’re someone struggling to get started on your road to becoming a published novelist, I encourage you to look into hiring a brand consultant. I’ve said before and I will say again, we can’t do this alone.
Writing a novel is not an isolated activity. We need help. If nothing else, we need someone who will objectively tell us whether our plans need more work or are on the right track. Some of us just need inspiration; some of us need accountability.
All of us benefit from the help of a professional.
YouTube and Skillshare might give you tips, tricks, and strategies, but a brand consultant will help you get to where you want to go. It will be a two-way conversation, where your consultant listens to your needs and tailors your path to your individual style.
So I say again, you should probably hire a brand consultant. Seriously.
Your story is too important to be left unread. Get someone to help you find your audience and speak directly to them.
