Marketing 101: Logo, Business Cards, and Social Media
“There are 1000 ways to skin a cat”
“I arrive at the starting line five hours after the marathon already began. The stands are empty beside a few forgotten articles of trash. I take my position next to the ghosts of the other racers. The rubber of my shoes is stiff and the leather hugs painfully to my toes when I press down into the asphalt. My heart races, yet there is no gun fire telling me when to start. Swallowing heavy, I take off with the worn track acting as a guide. I run in silence, cheering my own name in my head…”
We’ve all heard the saying before before.
“There are 1000 ways to skin a cat.”
I know what you are thinking, “Who is out here skinning cats? stop it.”
But when it comes to standing out, or making a name for yourself there is no right or wrong answer. The only thing that matters is you get yourself seen.
No press is bad press. Get people talking. Get your work into people’s hands, and their money into your wallet.
Start.
Get your name out there.
Build a network.
Take over the world
In today’s world where every 16 year old is an overnight millionaire and every social media platform is already fully saturated by the time anyone is talking about it, starting seems impossible. The mountain is too high to climb. The only recourse is to give up before you’ve even began.
How can you keep up in a race where everyone is already so far ahead?
You run.
You run and you don’t quit.
No matter how far behind you are, you are so much further than you were yesterday. You are further than every single one of the onlookers cheering for the racers. Heck, there are millions of people who don’t even know there is a race going on at all; how much further along are you from their position?
At 26, in 2022 I’m starting my race.
And my fellow denizens, let me tell you — I feel behind.
But at least I’ve taken the first steps.
My partner signed up to vendor at a horror convention. They will actually sell their art work, because they are good at what they do. I’m taggin along to help. Then I’m also going to network.
But wait…
In order to network I need to show people I exist. Give them someone to follow. Something to have interest in.
I don’t have a book, I don’t have short stories to sell. All I have is a name, and what good is a name?
Some will argue and say their name is simply what people call them. A name is a name, and it is meaningless. I beg to differ. A name is a brand. You don’t think so?
OKAY.
Tell that to Supreme. Or Nike. Or Howard Johnsons. Or Wendys.
But some of those aren’t people names…
OKAY.
Cher, Les Claypool, Justin Bieber, Ringo Star, Britney Spears, Prince. The name you call a band is what is printed on their shirts. ‘Fender’ was someone’s name before it was a guitar. Ford vehicles, Harley Davidson, Armani, Lisa Frank… The list is almost endless.
But these a STILL aren’t writers.
FINE.
But the biggest writers- the ones with estates- They ARE writers. Ever heard of J.R.R. Tolkien? Stephen King? Anne Rice? J.K. (She who must not be named) Rowling? H.P. Lovecraft? Dr. Suess?
Their signature alone sells products. People wear clothing with their name or their characters on them…
LIKE A BRAND.
your name is your brand — like it or not. Fight me if you must. But I’m right, and you are wrong. A name is a brand, and a brand needs a logo.
This was what I came up with initially:
It was a start. It says my name, and it has some character. BUT… It’s kind of ugly.
I can’t tell you how to make a GREAT logo. There is so much science to graphic design and Typography in general, that it would take a few years worth of blog posts to explain. People go to college to learn the ins and outs of good type. All I know is what I wanted. My focus was on something legible, unique, and matches the horror brand I plan on creating. I want someone to see the logo and understand what I do, and know who I am.
I am a schlocky, gore hound horror nerd:
I need something sharp.
Who wants to add class and art to the media:
I need the font to flow with an artistic flair
And knows you need to be able to read the words for them to stick in your brain:
The font cant be too confusing or noisy (no black metal or overly flowery script).
It took 2-3 days and hours and hours of fiddling, before I generated something I was sort of happy with. I now understand why graphic designers get PAID. When I’m in less of a rush, I will likely pay one to give me an upgrade:
Once I had some kind of signature together, I created a brand mark. This is basically an icon that defines your brand. Being as the brand is “me” The brand mark I developed is me.
Not to get too marketing nerdy here — but a brand mark is basically the image that you see and recognize the brand.
Some prime examples are Target’s target, Nike’s Swoosh, or Apple’s ‘bite taken out of it’ apple.
Often a brand wants to wait until they are established more to make a brand mark, but I’m used to evolution.
If I have to rebrand down the line I’ll look at that as success. That means I’ve done enough to even think its worth upgrading.
I think this is a fun brand mark. This can be my video watermark, and even a stamp on the back of every book.
When people see this face they will know it is me, and that’s what I want from my brand mark.
“Dang, that’s one sexy looking, depressed and angry writer ”
Now, the only thing left for me to do, is to print business cards. The logo and brand can be vomited all over my social media accounts. I can spam it on my writing and so on, but what difference will it make if no one sees it? I need to display it somewhere. Put my brand into people’s hands.
no awkward, “Hey, can I get your number?” or “Oh, yeah so I kind of make stuff… you know… if you wanted you could; follow me? on social media?”
instead, it’s just the giga-chad move. “It’s been fun talking to you. I’d love to keep in touch, here take my card.”
An additional benefit; it gives a new contact a reason to remember you. Let’s say I don’t hit it off with someone, so we lose contact. Five years from now, they might be cleaning their house find the old business card and wonder, “He was boring as a person, but what is he up to these days?”…
Could that be a new follower? Maybe even a new fan? Only one way to know for sure. Give them a piece of paper, they will likely forget about in a desk drawer.
But for every 1000 people who throw a business card out, one might be a huge fan. Better odds than a lot of things in life.
Now, with a few hundred of these bad bois on hand, I’m ready to say hi to people. I made a whole bunch of social media accounts, and they are all full of approximately zero content.
My first book is months if not years away from publishing.
I have nothing besides a name; but that is where it all begins. I am running my race, are you?
“… I have no idea how far I’ve come or how far is left to go. My lungs already ache, without hide nor hair of another racer. My feet feel like lead weights attached to bottom of my legs, but I press on. I don’t know if I can make it to the end. I was warned this marathon is treacherous and long, and not everyone can make it all the way. I curse my arrogance for starting this journey. My breath is fire in my chest, but for some reason, I feel a smile creep across my face. No matter how far I am able to go, I am running. I am trying. The path ahead is unknown, and I might be behind where I would want to be, with the runners who are in the lead; but nonetheless, I am here. I am going to give it my all and not give up.
Gritting my teeth, I press on; every step bringing me closer to my goal of being further along than when I started…”