How to create your brand as a writer

Many years have passed since Tom Peters first spoke about the need for personal branding, but nothing is more true even in this age of social media, than the need to develop a personal brand. A personal brand communicates clearly what and who you are and what your area of expertise is, without you needing to hand out a card or doing an elevator pitch when you meet someone for the first time.

It isn’t something that can happen overnight though; you need to build on it, and be consistent. I have been a freelance writer for over 13 years now, and have only just cut down on freelance writing to concentrate on fiction writing, and I’ve learnt a few lessons on the way you can create your personal brand as a freelance writer. Here they are:

Develop your individual voice

You begin with your voice and your style, which is the first thing that a reader comes in touch with. What is your voice, what is your style as a writer? These are questions you should be asking yourself over and over again. And asking those around you who read your work and are in a position to give you their unbiased opinion. Ask them what kind of writing by you they enjoy reading the most, and ask yourself what kind of writing do you enjoy writing the most. In the answers to these questions is where you need to find your voice.

As a freelance writer, you will take on a variety of work—commissioned work and work you will pitch to publications; and in most cases, there is a certain house style that some publishing houses might insist on, although most publishing houses are comfortable with writers retaining their individual voice in their pieces. So, as a writer, it is important for you to develop a voice that is clear, communicates well, and most importantly, one that is distinctly yours. The style that comes most naturally to you, the one that flows from your fingers without you having to agonise over is your most authentic voice. Build on it.

Have a focus, an expertise

What is your area of expertise? You might want to write on everything possible, but often it isn’t possible to know everything about everything. Pick a topic that interests you, one you might be trained in, or have a career in, so you have some base of knowledge to work with. When editors want to commission an article on that particular topic, they should think of you immediately.

You could choose anything from fashion to beauty to HR to tech to science to education to spirituality to health and nutrition, as long as it is something you are passionate enough to read up on and keep abreast of the new developments in. Keep in touch with the companies and the authority figures in this arena, so they reach out to you when they have something to share.

Be clear on what your expertise is--you might love food and cooking, but that doesn’t make you qualified to write on food; likewise, fashion or beauty. Unless you are willing to invest the time and effort to study up or even train a bit in your chosen subject, you cannot claim expertise in it. Find your niche, and in that niche, go even more niche. For instance, if food is your forte—narrow down further to perhaps organic or vegan or traditional cooking.

Put your profile up on networking sites

Don’t underestimate the power of professional networking sites to get you new work, or at least to help people get in touch with you. Put up a short succinct profile of yourself and links to the work you do, along with contact points to get in touch with you for freelance work or otherwise. Keep the tone of your profile similar in style to the kind of writing you do. Never discount the value of a good professionally-clicked picture. Keep your photographs on professional networking sites the same to maintain consistency.

Keep your online presence and branding consistent

If you are on multiple social networking sites and promote yourself and your work online, do ensure that you use a common name through them all. It doesn’t make sense to have a funny quirky name on Instagram and Twitter, and to use your formal professional work name on your blog or your Linkedin profile. If you want to be taken seriously as a professional writer, use your byline as your handle everywhere.

Often, folks don’t take the time out to make the connection between the different names. Make sure you don’t post anything that is inconsistent with the personal brand you want to develop for yourself. If you are branding yourself as an expert on travel, for instance, if you suddenly begin tweeting like an authority on matters related to politics, it could catch people by surprise. Make sure you keep all the online platforms updated regularly. Out of sight is out of mind.

Deliver on your promises

It goes without saying that you will need be completely professional when it comes to deadlines, especially when you are a freelancer. If you are, for any reason, unable to deliver on a specified pre-agreed deadline, unless you are in hospital or dead, inform the editor in advance, and request an extension on the deadline. You don’t want to have your brand image include 'unprofessional' in it.

And finally, be your own strongest advocate. For, if you don’t believe in promoting yourself as a brand, no one else will. 

As you see, all these women and their campaigns come from a very personal space. In February 2022, when a public uproar followed the ban on hijabs in educational institutions in Karnataka, 15 Muslims women started petitions in favour of revoking the ban. The biggest petition among these was Change.org/MyHijabMyChoice, which was supported by over 330,000 Indians.