Friday, June 02, 2006

Branding And The Romance Author

I'm just finishing up a 4-day promotions class, and there's been a lot of talk about branding.

There were three things the presenter kept emphasizing:

1) You need your name to mean something
2) People remember what they heard most recently first
3) Repetition gets you remembered.

Think of these people: Oprah Winfrey, Rush Limbaugh, Howard Stern, Martha Stewart. When you hear these names, you know exactly who they are and what they stand for.

So, I've been thinking. The branding (tagline, slogan, whatever) I've been associating with my name is "Romance With An Edge."

Does that fit? When people see my name, do they think of that? Or is it not catchy enough? I don't want something that would define me too narrowly, but I need something that's not too broad, either.

So, I did a bit of tweaking with the help of the instructor, and this is what I came up with:


Well? What do you think?


(P.S. I'm blogging over at Torrid today, talking about nasty books. Come on over!)


The Master said, "To see what is right and not do it is want of courage." ~ Confucius

14 comments:

Sherrill Quinn said...

You know, Paige, after I'd worked with it awhile, posting it here and there, it Buzz's voice started echoing in my ears... But it's kinda fun! :)

T.A.Chase said...

I like it, Sherrill. Not very confining at all. :)

Sherrill Quinn said...

Good, T.A. I think it has an "edge" of fun to it... LOL

Sloane Taylor said...

I have to agree with Paige. Your writing is too good for "The Beyond" part.

Back to the drawing board, Missy.

Sherrill Quinn said...

Well, Ms. Sloane, I'm open for suggestions. Please! I am so not good at this!

Sherrill Quinn said...

Well, hopefully my "brand" will be "hmm. Sherrill Quinn? Damned hot books!" LOL

As far as tagline... it's a work in progress.

Maya Reynolds said...

Maybe it's because I don't have kids--I did see the movie, but that tagline didn't stick with me--so I like your new tagline much better than the old one.

I agree with Cheyenne; a brand includes a tagline, but that's not all. It's the overall reaction that your fans have when they see a new book by you: what they come to expect from you.

Good work.

Sherrill Quinn said...

Thanks, Maya! With the head for business you have, it means a lot that you like it. :)

Anna J. Evans said...

Hey girl,

I have to agree with the Buzz Lightyear crew. I do have kids, but even if I didn't, I think I would have thought you were venturing into the uncharted regions of space, sci-fi erorom or what have you, lol. I have really no concrete advice. I'm "Anna J. Evans, Laugh out loud sexy", but I've had problems with this for 2 reasons.

1. Sometimes my stuff isn't all funny, it's dark and twisted and the funny lovers get bothered by my abrupt changes in tone. I can't help having multiple personalities, however, so there.

2. A LOT of erorom readers think funny is not sexy. They hate comedy or humor in their erorom (or I like to think they hate it until they read my stuff and see it can be done well, lol). So I turn some people off with my slogan from the word go.

Bleck...why can't we just write and everything else fall into place?

Hugs, Anna J. Evans

Sloane Taylor said...

Okay, I've put my foot in it. I'm working hard here for an alternative, but all I can think about are those damned eclairs in the fridge!

Sherrill Quinn said...

Anna: Oy. Well, having people associating Buzz Lightyear with ero-rom is so not a good thing... LOL

Sloane: Yes, my love, you have indeedy stuck your foot in it. And now you must help!

Suzette: Thanks for visiting!! I'm glad you like my tag. (sigh) I'm just not sure what's going to happen to it.

Jeanne Laws said...

Hmmm. I get the Buzz Lightyear connection, but I like the tagline anyway. Maybe without the exclamation point would work better for people?

Passion to the edge, and beyond...

vs.

Passion to the edge...and beyond!

Sherrill Quinn said...

Jeanne, please tell me it's not as simple as changing the punctuation... LOL

Jeanne Laws said...

I think sometimes it is. ;-)

But really, either way works for me.