I've taken a few marketing classes and branding is a big topic. How would you brand yourself as a travel writer? Do I need to hire a marketing firm? Not sure that would be economical for me...
How do you brand yourself as a travel writer?
(5 posts) (4 voices)
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Hi Angela
I think it's important to decide what you want your brand to be.....your name? Do you use a pseudonym or something related to your niche (such as 'Angela's Adventures', 'Visiting Italy with Angela')? That would be the first step is figuring out exactly how to brand yourself.....
Another important question to ask yourself: What is your long term goal? To build an empire that you can sell? Or just to make some money on the side doing some freelance writing. Brands that are based on a single person can rarely be sold down the road, unless you 'sell' someone your name as well, and change the one you use.
An example of this is the travel blog MatadorNetwork. Founded by just a couple of individuals, they didn't name it "Ross & Ian's Travels", because it would have been difficult to grow it beyond just the two of them, without continually recreating their brand identity, not a good thing to do.
Once you've mapped out a plan for your brand, then you need to start making sure it stays consistent in everything you do - it's critical to get the domain name for your brand, set up accounts with ALL the social media networks with your brand name, develop a logo that can become identified with your brand, and start taking small steps. This applies even if you've decided that you do want to go ahead and brand your name. Can't get the domain name that is your name? Rethink your brand, because people will wind up at the wrong site.
I don't think you need to hire a marketing firm, certainly not right off the bat - there is so much free information available online if you search for it, you're bound to find enough helpful tips to get the ball rolling.
Posted 2 years ago # -
While I understand the use of the word "brand" it is more helpful to think of yourself as a personality, which is the same thing as a brand on a personal level, but it clarifies what you need to be doing.
You certainly don't need a marketing firm unless you are getting so many requests for your time that you can't keep up. Until that point, you can do everything yourself.
Here is my advice:
- Be yourself
- Be opinionated
- Be Everywhere
- Be Engaging
Posted 2 years ago # -
Ashis
MemberI think the primary question on branding is - What do I (or the company) want to be perceived as?
In term of travel writing, this can be: as an expert on responsible travel, expert on Arctic, Adventure travel, High-end, Historicity, etc.
The other way of branding can be as a celebrity travel author, like Paul Theroux.
There are still other ways.
The point being, that first we need to answer ‘what’ we want to be seen as, before getting into the ‘how’ of marketing. For it is the ‘what’ that would drive the ‘how.’
Cheers,
AshisPosted 2 years ago # -
What is your background? What are you interested in?
I've seen people who focus on family travel, single women travel, gay travel, cruising, backpacking, etc.
Pick what you love and run with it. Anything else will make you miserable in the long run.
Posted 2 years ago #
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