Saturday, July 09, 2011

Changing Taglines

Over the next few weeks (and months) you should be seeing a few changes on my website and blog etc.
After taking a class in Marketing and Branding from Harlequin, I realised that my tagline -- Passionate about History, Passionate about Romance was too general.An author's brand is her voice and her tagline should reflect this. It needs to be specific to the author and reflect the heart of her stories. And that tagline could be applied to any number of authors.
 At the conference, Malle Vallik who led the course agreed with my assessment. It is fine but it could be applied to any number of authors and doesn't really go to the heart of what I write. I  trust Malle. She has forgotten more about author branding than most authors will ever learn.

Luckily, I had already come to the conclusion that it needed to be changed and had taken soundings. My editors were very helpful. Editors do know what they want from an author...
My new tagline is Warm,Witty and Intimate Historical Romance from Michelle Styles.  It is far more specific and goes much more to the heart of what I write. For the record, Malle thought it better as well.

I will be working to overhaul my website so it better reflects my warm, witty and intimate approach. So if there are elements that you think should be there, please tell me. One thing I know that has been missing are BUY buttons. I want to make it easier for people who might like my books to buy my books.
It will be a work in progress for awhile but the plan is to have it done before my books are released as digital exclusives. Funny how things can concentrate your mind!

1 comment:

Chris Olesen said...

That's a great tagline. I look forward to seeing what else you come up with.

I took a class once that included writing mission statements. That exercise really helps focus how you want to be know and your career identified.