If you’re an aspiring author and you’re having trouble gaining the exposure you need, then there’s a very good chance that your branding is lacking. First impressions really do count, so if you want to secure those guest blog posts, interviews, and in-store appearance ahead of your competitors, it’s important that you market yourself properly.
Marketing and promotion are aspects that you can’t ignore, so whichever way you go about it, you need to address it. Now, as most cash-strapped indie authors have neither the time nor the resources (not to mention the skills) to make it happen, you need to outsource the work. But that’s going to cost a bundle, right? Well, no, that’s not necessarily the case.
In this article, we look at hiring Fiverr designers, the process, and the great value that’s available from some of the talented people that call the platform home. At Selfpublishingwithdale.com I’m committed to helping up-and-coming authors to get the success they deserve and if you’re ready, I’ll now take a look at how I used very affordable Fiverr services to make my branding look super-professional.
The Elements of Great Author Branding
If your current branding consists of a photocopied sheet with a picture straight from your smartphone, it’s not likely to hit the mark. First impressions really do last, so if you want publishers to take you seriously, you’ll need the minimum of the following:
- A professional headshot
- A well-written bio
- A great-looking email signature
- An author media kit created from all three of the above
When conversing with publishing professionals, these elements can literally be the catalyst that makes them notice you and not paper-sift you out into the ‘maybe not’ pile. You’re probably thinking “that sounds expensive”, but it doesn’t have to be.
Outsource in the usual way and it might well cost you a bundle of cash, but the great news is that by hiring Fiverr professionals, you can achieve everything mentioned for between $35 and $75! I spent $175, but that was only because I went for a selection of gigs to see what was out there.
A Professional Author Headshot
I started looking for professional headshots on Fiverr and I took the initial picture on my iPhone. If you’ve got a professional camera then great, but a modern iOS or Android smartphone is usually good enough for a decent-looking headshot photo.
I found:
- A service that draws a headshot avatar from a phone for $5
- A headshot touching-up service for $30
- A headshot touch-up service that provided the source file and 3 images for $40
As you can see, none of these options will break the bank and after waiting around 5 days for delivery of all the orders, I got a neat avatar headshot (which I thought made me look a little freaky, but I was still happy with it) and I was most pleased with the $30 retouch service, as she cropped out the background, cleaned up the photos and actually made me look younger!
The Results for the Author Headshots
A Great Email Signature
If you want to add a real touch of professionalism to your author branding, then an email signature is a great way to do it. Just bear in mind that it’s best to have your headshot ready before you start placing orders with Fiverr sellers. This extra pro touch is very low on the cost scale, with $5 around the going rate for the job.
The variance in price is often down to whether you get the source file included, whether it offers clickable icons, multiple images, and more. Again, after waiting the requisite few days, I got three really good, professional-looking email signatures. For 5 bucks each, I got three clean designs, but my favorite came with a simple, yet sophisticated design.
The Results for Email Signatures
A Bio That Sells You Effectively
The purpose of a bio is to get readers to become invested in you as an author, so having a great one can really make a difference. The trouble is that even the best authors sometimes have something of writer’s block when trying to talk about themselves in a humble, yet self-promoting way. A 3rd party writer is often better for that reason alone.
Again, these skills are available in abundance on Fiverr, with two paragraphs available for around $10 (I didn’t think one would be quite enough). I picked one that came with two revisions (something else you should watch out for when choosing the right seller), placed my order, filled out the required questionnaires, and sat back and waited to see what they came up with.
All three ended up being very professional, with just one having a few issues with timing and asking for a brief extension request on the order. They all did well in describing me and what I’m about and all had contact links to all of my important information. I went with the most detailed of the three, which cost just $10.
The Results for Author Bios
Russ41burg – $10 Basic Gig – I will write an amazing author bio for you
‘Embrace the perfection in imperfection. Don’t sweat the small stuff, because it rarely will make a difference in the grand scheme of things…’
Dale L. Roberts is a multi-award-winning author who has written more than 40 books in the health and fitness genre and has received critical acclaim for his books on self-publishing. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife Kelli and their rescue cat, Izzie.
From college dropout, aspiring rock musician, and professional wrestler, Dale certainly had a varied career path, but finally found his own niche in life when he started writing. His books on health and fitness recently gave way to helping others find the right way to promote their books online and he now works full-time as an author and video content creator. His book, Amazon Keywords for Books, has won five awards.
In his free time, Dale enjoys traveling with his wife whenever they get the chance, reading and playing guitar. He has also devoted some of his time in the past to volunteering at animal shelters and in assisted living communities.
For Dale, the future lies in helping aspiring authors transition to writing and publishing full-time. While he feels that his life is as complete as it can be, he would love to continue to live it to his own agenda, without having to clock on to a day job or work on someone else’s terms.
You can contact or follow Dale L. Roberts at:
Website – https://selfpublishingwithdale.com
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/selfpublishingwithdale
Twitter – https://twitter.com/selfpubwithdale
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/selfpubwithdale
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/selfpubwithdale/
Email – dale@selfpublishingwithdale.com
christianfreed – $10 Standard Gig – I will create an author bio for your book
Dale L. Roberts is an award winning author with over forty published titles to his credit. Originally from CITY/STATE, Dale found inspiration as a child after delving into the dark and twisted worlds of Stephen King. Don’t let the love for horror fool you, Dale is an expert in the health and fitness fields and has recently pivoted his business model to writing about the self-publishing process.
He has coached and assisted thousands of independent authors through his unique process on his YouTube channel. Dale’s dedication to enhancing the craft through giving legitimacy to self-published authors has been recognized and noted throughout the industry. Knowing he has been able to help others inspires him to continue creating and sharing the wealth of knowledge he has accumulated over the course of his career.
When he is not writing, Dale enjoys ADD A FEW HOBBIES. Every action and interaction helps focus his writing development while making him an indispensable asset to the writing world.
Living his childhood dream, Dale continues developing his skillsets and networks in the hopes of helping others realize their dreams. To learn more about Dale and his books you can follow him @ ADD SOCIAL MEDIA/ SALES LINKS.
brittanyhest514 – $10 Standard Gig – I will create unique author bios your readers will love
Five-time award-winning author Dale L. Roberts has risen to the top of the indie author charts since 2014. After falling in love with the thrilling, haunting, and disturbingly real style of thrillers by Stephen King as a boy, Roberts always dreamed of one day becoming an author as well. Devouring everything readable from horror to autobiographies, Roberts began to unlock the secrets of top-selling indie novels and translated those into a thriving writing career. He has published over forty books about health and fitness between 2014 and 2016 while achieving international bestselling status for several titles.
In 2016, Roberts began his highly successful YouTube channel, “Self-Publishing with Dale,” to educate and inform other authors who struggled to turn their passion into a career. Through his constantly growing channel and dozens of self-help books, Roberts has coached, taught, inspired, and motivated thousands of indie authors to make their dreams a reality. When not writing, Roberts still enjoys sinking his teeth into a good book. To find out more about him, visit his channel YouTube.com/SelfPublishingWithDale.
Put it All Together In Your Media Kit
Ok, so we’ve now got our headshot, email signature, and bio. With these in our possession, we’re going to put all of these things together to make up an impressive-looking author media kit that has everything a potential company, blog owner, or publisher needs to know about you as an author.
Ranging from $15 to $20 for a single page layout, there are a number of sellers that can create designs that are print-ready and suitable for commercial use. Again, awesome value! When all the buyers delivered their work, most of the instructions I gave during the gig purchase process were followed, but if I had to be nit-picky, there were a few parts that I would alter in retrospect.
However, for the money, they all offered fantastic value. The winner in my opinion was the most proactive who actually went and found an image from my Instagram page to use in the media kit. A nice touch that went a long way with me.
The Results for Media Kits
Professional Author Branding on a Budget
So, the result of this process was that I got myself great-looking author branding from a group of talented professionals for what is a nominal fee. As I mentioned, I spent $175 by placing multiple orders, but you could achieve this by hiring Fiverr designers for as little as $35 – and that’s a figure that’s suitable for even the most modest of marketing budgets.
I’ve been hosting Self-Publishing with Dale on YouTube for years now where I share my experiences as an award-winning author to help others make the same successful journey as I did. I hope that by reading to the end, it has shown there is an affordable way for any author to get professional branding and take their marketing to the next level.
Sure, like everything, you’re going to get both good and bad when ordering stuff on Fiverr, but as I’ve shown, the talent’s out there and at an incredible price when you think about what you’re getting. That’s it from me for this time. If you’d like to know more about me or about self-publishing, take a look around at my website and perhaps take a look at some of my previous blogs.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you again next time.
Hiring Fiverr Designers for an Author Branding Overhaul Video
This post was written in coordination with forcontentworld on Fiverr and featured on the video for I Hired 5 Article and Blog Post Writers on Fiverr.
A Note from Dale
While most of my blog posts consist of what I write or guest blog posts, this article was different. I wanted to illustrate how easy it is to build out a blog site hiring out content writers. The blog post writer did almost all of the work, while I produced the original content with the embedded video about hiring Fiverr designers above. Forcontentworld simply used the video as the framework and developed a post about book marketing services I bought on Fiverr.
The question is:
Was the ghostwriter worth the investment?
You judge! Also, find out more about it in my latest video where I Hired 5 Article and Blog Post Writers on Fiverr.
This Is very extensive! Thanks so much for all of the examples. I know that I struggle with the branding side of things, so this gave me a lot to think about!
I’m glad you found it helpful. It was a fun project!