Want rabid fans? You need a legit author brand and NO that does not mean a cool logo! 🛑 FIRST, have you planned out your author career with a series? Get my free workbook, One Book to Bestselling Series, here: http://kelseyhumphreys.com/writing 🖋️ Submit your in-depth author questions: kelseyhumphreys.com/writing 👋 If you’re new here I’m Kelsey—rom-com author, stand-up comic, and mom of six. I make real-life rants about writing, creating and staying delulu with our creative dreams. I am a lot. Subscribe for weekly humor, heart, inspo, motivation and zero perfectionism. "Kelsey Q&A" street cred: I have published over 13 novels over three pen names, made six figures in just over a year from book sales, with profit!, and have thousands of reviews and over 33 Million Kindle page reads. ________________________________________________________________ 🔗 JUDGE ME 🎁 Get a FREE full-length novel and see what you think: https://kelseyhumphreys.com/freebie ______________________________________________________________ 📌 STALK ME Instagram → http://instagram.com/thekelseyhumphreys Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/author/kelseyhumphreys ________________________________________________________________ ⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS 0:00 Intro: The Kind of Fans You Want 2:08 What Is a Brand? (It's Not a Logo) 3:22 What's the Vibe? 4:06 Who Is Your Reader? 5:08 Logo, Tagline, Website & Showing Your Face... 6:29 Case Study: Brand Promise Across Genres 7:34 My Brand Promise & My Rookie Mistake 9:48 Logo & Tagline Must Haves 10:55 The Website Test 12:14 Why Professional Branding Matters 14:47 Consistency Across All Platforms 16:00 Your Brand is Not About You (what?!) 16:44 Pick Something You Won't Get Sick Of 18:01 How You Win 18:54 Avoid Being Overly Specific or Overly Generic 21:20 Book Cover Examples: Matching Visuals to Content 22:17 My Background in Branding 22:57 Who Are you as an Author? (Questions to Ask Yourself) 25:20 What Do You Want Readers to FEEL? 26:11 Don't Copy Your Favorites 28:09 What Do You Want to Be Known For? 30:07 Let Real Life Show Up in Your Writing 31:30 What Will Tick Off Your Reader? 32:46 Rabid Fans & Merch (in the future) 33:30 Invest in a Designer for Your Worlds 34:47 You Don't Need to Start Expensive 37:36 Final Advice: Set Yourself Up for Success If this helped you, drop a comment with your biggest takeaway. And if you need longer than a youtube comment don't forget you can submit your questions at kelseyhumphreys.com/writing for a chance to be featured in a future video! Stay delulu, and I'll see you next week! ________________________________________________________________ 🏷️ TAGS: author branding, what is author branding, brand promise for authors, ideal reader, author logo, author tagline, author website, author brand identity, indie author branding, self publishing branding, how to build an author brand, author brand promise, reader expectations, brand consistency for authors, professional author branding, author logo design, custom logo vs Canva logo, author website design, author visual branding, author merch, author swag, author business, writing as a career, full time author, indie author income, author entrepreneur, self publishing business, Kelsey Humphreys, authortube, author YouTube, writing YouTube, romance author, rom com author, women's fiction, fiction writing tips, writing advice, connected standalones, series writing strategy, Kindle page reads, KDP publishing, indie publishing, stay delulu, fighting AI with human connection, Ali Hazelwood branding, author rebrand, brand recognition for authors, reader retention, diehard fans, rabid fans, author marketing, book marketing for authors, how to sell more books

Need to sell more books without spending more time or more money? Here's some real talk about how to get started from literally nothing. 🛑 FIRST, have you planned out your author career with a series? Get my free workbook, One Book to Bestselling Series, here: http://kelseyhumphreys.com/writing 🖋️ Submit your in-depth author questions: kelseyhumphreys.com/writing 👋 If you’re new here I’m Kelsey—rom-com author, stand-up comic, and mom of six. I make real-life rants about writing, creating and staying delulu with our creative dreams. I am a lot. Subscribe for weekly humor, heart, inspo, motivation and zero perfectionism. "Kelsey Q&A" street cred: I have published over 13 novels over three pen names, made six figures in just over a year from book sales, with profit!, and have thousands of reviews and over 33 Million Kindle page reads. ________________________________________________________________ 🔗 JUDGE ME 🎁 Get a FREE full-length novel and see what you think: https://kelseyhumphreys.com/freebie ______________________________________________________________ 📌 STALK ME Instagram → http://instagram.com/thekelseyhumphreys Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/author/kelseyhumphreys ________________________________________________________________ ⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS 0:00 Intro: Finding New Fans from Zero 0:24 Viewer Questions 1:28 My Cred 3:21 Mindset Shift 5:19 Quick Fixes with What You already Have 6:23 Optimizing Your assets 8:35 KDP stuff 9:13 Pricing stuff 10:32 Email List stuff 11:39 Bonus Scenes!!! 14:25 Consider a Free Novella 16:08 Newsletter Swaps pros/cons 17:32 Promo Sites 19:03 Borrowing Other Audiences 20:40 Ads vs. Free Real Talk 21:26 Social Media in 2026 22:13 What's Working on Instagram/Tiktok? 25:03 Reader Spaces 27:35 ARC Groups 29:28 In-Person Signings 30:49 Indie Bookstore Partnerships 32:21 Farmers Market, Cons, Craft Fairs 36:52 Live Streaming & Your Branding 37:33 Snail Mail & Swag 39:01 Final Thoughts: Think Like a Business!!! If this helped you, drop a comment with your biggest takeaway. And if you need longer than a youtube comment don't forget you can submit your questions at kelseyhumphreys.com/writing for a chance to be featured in a future video. Stay delulu, and I'll see you next week! ________________________________________________________________ TAGS: zero budget book marketing, free book marketing, how to find readers with no money, indie author marketing, self publishing tips, author business, book marketing for authors, how to sell more books, author email list, Mailchimp for authors, bonus scene strategy, newsletter swaps, BookFunnel, promo packs for authors, KDP keywords, Amazon blurb optimization, book pricing strategy, indie book signings, indie bookstore partnerships, farmers market book sales, author branding, BookTok, Bookstagram, Instagram reels for authors, short form video for authors, reader Facebook groups, ARC readers, freebie seekers, author email list growth, writing as a career, full time author, indie author income, how to make money writing books, author entrepreneur, self publishing business, Kelsey Humphreys, authortube, author YouTube, writing YouTube, romance author, rom com author, women's fiction, fiction writing tips, writing advice, connected standalones, series writing strategy, rapid release books, Kindle page reads, KDP publishing, indie publishing, stay delulu, fighting AI with human connection, author merch, swag for fans

Wondering when your writing will actually pay the bills? In this video, I break down the 4 stages of an indie author career, plus the mistakes I made along the way and what it really takes to go full-time. This video is not financial advice. I am not a financial professional. Results may vary. 🛑 FIRST, have you planned out your author career with a series? Get my free workbook, One Book to Bestselling Series, here: http://kelseyhumphreys.com/writing 🖋️ Submit your in-depth author questions: kelseyhumphreys.com/writing 👋 If you’re new here I’m Kelsey—rom-com author, stand-up comic, and mom of six. I make real-life rants about writing, creating and staying delulu with our creative dreams. I am a lot. Subscribe for weekly humor, heart, inspo, motivation and zero perfectionism. "Kelsey Q&A" street cred: I have published over 13 novels over three pen names, made six figures in just over a year from book sales, with profit!, and have thousands of reviews and over 33 Million Kindle page reads. ________________________________________________________________ 🔗 JUDGE ME 🎁 Get a FREE full-length novel and see what you think: https://kelseyhumphreys.com/freebie ______________________________________________________________ 📌 STALK ME Instagram → http://instagram.com/thekelseyhumphreys Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/author/kelseyhumphreys ________________________________________________________________ ⏱️ CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS 0:00 Can I Quit My Job? 0:18 Welcome Back + About Me 0:59 Today's Question from Kira 1:26 Don't Compare Yourself to Other Authors 2:16 Traditionally Published vs. Indie Authors 2:58 Be Careful Who You Compare Yourself To 3:20 Decrease Your Bills First 4:16 Stage 1: Pay to Play 5:47 This Is a Normal Part of Business 6:09 Stage 2: Beer Money 7:39 Build a Series to Grow Faster 9:26 Stage 3: Real Side Gig 10:13 The Mistake I Made in Stage 3 11:09 How to Scale in Stage 3 11:45 Stage 4: Real Money 12:04 The Volatility of the Writing Business 13:04 Don't Rely on Your Latest Release 14:26 Scaling Beyond One Sale Per Book 15:10 Swag, Special Editions & Merch 15:30 Audiobooks & Foreign Editions 16:08 Events & Kickstarters 16:44 Think Like a Business 17:23 Traditional Publishing Reality Check 18:52 You Still Need a Long-Term Plan 19:13 Tough Love: This Can Happen for You 19:55 Resources & Submit Your Questions 20:13 I'm Still Writing Books Too 20:57 Stay Delusional If this helped you, drop a comment with your biggest takeaway! And if you need longer than a youtube comment don't forget you can submit your questions at kelseyhumphries.com/writing for a chance to be featured in a future video. Stay delulu, and I'll see you next week! ________________________________________________________________ TAGS: when will writing pay my bills, full time author, indie author income, author career stages, how to make money writing books, self publishing tips, indie author tips, author business, writing as a career, quit your job to write, Kelsey McPhee, authortube, writing YouTube, author YouTube, book marketing for authors, how to sell more books, series writing strategy, rapid release books, connected standalones, how to write a series, backlist strategy, author branding, Kindle page reads, KDP publishing, indie publishing, Amazon ads for authors, author email list, building reader fans, reader expectations, short form video for authors, BookTok, Bookstagram, romance author, rom com author, women's fiction, fiction writing tips, writing advice, author income, making a living as a writer, self publishing business, author marketing strategy, traditionally published vs indie publishing, author merch, audiobooks for indie authors, foreign editions, Kickstarter for authors, signed special editions, writing full time, author entrepreneur