Branding yourself

Your brand is a fancy way of referring to the presence you provide to the people who connect with you. As a writer with professional aspirations, it’s important to think about this as a step on your career path. Creating a few simple designs for your brand can help elevate everything you do in the public sphere, whether on Wattpad or social media. We’ve broken some ideas down into concrete steps for you to follow on your journey to becoming a household name.

A great headshot goes a long way

A great photo should be used consistently across all channels—even if it’s a great selfie, it should be treated as your headshot. Taking a high-quality headshot of yourself is easy, especially with a self-timer. Simply set your phone somewhere shoulder height and far enough away from you that your shoulders and chest are visible. Pick a spot with great natural light. Snap a shot (or twenty) and pick your favourite. Now, it’s time for the real fun!

Kick your profile picture up a notch

Did you know you can use Canva to remove the background and place your profile picture on a clean backdrop? Cool, right? And for that extra polish, Canva also lets you add filter overlays on your images. Adding special touches to your profile picture will help you get noticed on Wattpad, and demonstrate that you take yourself seriously as a creator.

Create a look and feel

This might feel like overkill, but hear us out—when it comes to developing content for your social platforms, you are going to find it so much easier if you know the following:

• What’s my brand color? 
• Do I have a hero (main) font?
• How do I use images in my content?

Luckily, platforms like Canva are built to streamline that thinking for us amateur designers! Dig around the template gallery for a look & feel that aligns with who you are and what you want to say. Make sure it’s something you can adapt to a few different types of content. Here are some suggestions: 

• Your profile headers: Keeping it consistent across platforms makes it easier for your readers to find and recognize you outside of Wattpad
• Quote art: Got a snippet from your story to share? Canva can help you style it in a way that aligns with your brand
• Self-promo assets: Maybe one day this will be real-life book signings. In the meantime, it might be chapter updates, fun facts about you, or advice for burgeoning writers