The Methodology
The 3-phase Author Brand Strength™ Method is designed to clarify, design, and launch (or re-launch) your author brand, so you can attract more readers & build a fulfilling, lasting career. Created by Andrea Guevara.
The process is always customized to your unique needs, but these provide a list of the services that are available during each phase. For example, if you already have a great website we’re not going to force you to have us build you a new one. 😉
Phase 1, Clarity:
Phase 2, Design:
- Visual Brand Design: Logo, Brand Guide, & other brand design elements
- Website Strategic Plan & Messaging/Editing
- New Author Website Design (or redesign)
- Upgrades to your existing website
- Online properties design coordination
- Author Website Build and Content input
- Implementation of Customer Journey
- Social media graphic design
- Email newsletter, opt-in form design, templates, & setup
- Media Kit design, Book Club Guide design, Lead magnet design, and more!
Phase 3, Launch:
- Website, online tools, profiles testing & trainings
- PR & Media plan support
- Coordination with your publisher, agent, marketing & pr teams throughout
- Revisit brand recognition & marketing plans, including content strategy
- Content marketing support and implementation
- Author Brand launch & support
- Book launch consulting & support
- Social media & marketing support & implementation
- & more!
Get started on your author brand!
There are several ways:
Client Case Studies
A sampling of client author branding and platform building projects.
FAQ: Author Brand Versus Author Platform, Marketing, Publicity, etc.
What is branding?
Jump right over here for an easy-to-understand definition of Author Brand and Author Branding.
How is Author Branding different?
I have a better breakdown of the differences between author branding, publicity, public relations, marketing, and advertising here.
But in short, branding is focused on building a reputation and career that is grounded in your strengths and values, not just for a book launch, but for the long run. Because it’s not based on a scarcity mindset like marketing, it allows you the freedom and strength to make better decisions about your work, opportunities, and pretty much anything you can think of. It’s a little like personal development in that way, helping you own who you are in a way that attracts exactly your kind of people.
What’s the difference: Author Brand vs Author Platform?
These two terms are often used interchangeably which causes a lot of confusion. Author platform is often confused with author brand because they have some crossover, but the primary difference is that platform is really more of jus a measure of your effectiveness as a brand. In other words, it’s the sum of all the parts of your brand put into metrics that make sense for a publisher. It can include follower count, number of people on your email list, engagement rate, sales numbers of previous books or products, your network and connections, your level of fame, etc. Essentially, it’s shorthand for “how well can this author potentially sell books?”
Your author brand and branding, is the strategy and actions behind the platform. Your author brand acts as a consistent representation of how you want to present yourself and your work. Your branding strategy is the work you put in to really understand your Ideal Readers and how to reach them effectively, nurture engagement with them, and the plan and actions you take to do so.
In short: Author platform is a measure of your ability to sell books as a result of how you’ve leveraged your author brand.
For more of a breakdown of this as well as how branding compares to publicity, public relations, marketing, and advertising check out this post.
Why does branding work better than marketing?
Branding is focused on the long game, not just closing a sale. So, when it’s done well, it’s not cringey, salesy, gross. Good branding works because:
It builds trust. People know what to count on.
It fosters genuine, deeper emotional connection.
It represents bigger ideas than just a book. The focus is on connection instead of only commerce.
“People ask me, ‘How did you write a book that landed on The New York Times best seller list?’ It’s not even about the book. It’s that I positioned myself for success before I wrote the book.“
Your Ally & Trusted Advisor in Author Branding
One of the most common misconceptions about personal branding is that you have to become something you’re not. That you need to fake it, or mass-produce social media content, or do some other cringey things to promote yourself.
This is simply not true. Yes, you do have to put yourself out there, but there’s a better way, I swear.
There’s a method to get out of the madness of marketing. It’s something I’ve developed in my years as a brand strategist, entrepreneur, and writer.
I’m here to help make sense of it all and be your best branding buddy through the process. I’ll help you tap into what makes you and your work so irresistible to your Ideal Readers™ so you can grow your readership while remaining true to who you authentically are.
“Working with Andréa is a profound experience. While most brand strategists offer mass-produced, superficial advice, Andréa challenges you to dig deep into your creative identity, articulate your unique gifts, and communicate them to your target audience. Don’t be surprised if this work on your brand spills over into all aspects of your life—getting to know who you are and what you really want to achieve is a powerful invitation to make all kinds of positive changes. Andréa’s warmth, sincerity, and good humor make her a joy to work with. She is the real deal and worth every penny!”
“Working with Andrea is a fantastic experience. She brings the perfect balance of strong expertise and insight and an intuitive, client-centered approach. The consistency of my website design and branding with who I am and what I do makes me confident to invite people to look at my work, knowing that it’s an authentic representation. Andrea went on the branding journey with me, and was patient and thoughtful as we went through the process. For all of my design and troubleshooting needs, I go directly to Andrea because I can’t imagine working with anyone else.”
“My consult with Andrea opened up opportunities I didn’t know existed for sharing my books without losing my soul. I refer back to her wisdom whenever possible. She is the rare marketing expert who understands that creatives aren’t in this business to push product at all costs, that the work itself is what matters most, both to you and your readers. Working with her let me keep my integrity and find new places to grow.”
“My hour with Andrea yielded more than I expected. She shared grounded, practical guidance on how to approach social media without the turmoil it usually causes me…Now I’m thinking about my possibilities from a wider view. Thank you, Andrea, for your candor and warm, genuine style.”
She is a leader of the best kind: an addictive, loveable personality and a serious, tactful mind, she imbues trust and confidence in all her clients and partners. Not only that, but she’s a great marketer, too, with an alchemistic ability to create brands or ideas that are pure gold. Highly recommended.
Unfortunately, Andrea is missing one thing… a cape.
She is super-creative, super-personable, super-talented, super-knowledgeable, super-business, super-super. When Andrea jumps on a project you don’t just get standard designs or standard ideas, you get super-designs and super-ideas.
Will someone please sew her a cape.