How to build an authentic author identity like Gino Wickman and Anne Beiler
Journal prompts included!
There’s something brewing on Substack.
It smells like…authenticity.
Those pair of jeans that fit just right. That drink of cold water after walking the dog. Your favorite pair of underwear that you gravitate to, happy they were just washed.
Relief. Sigh. Exhale.
The feeling of fluidity. Of non-strain. Of flow.
It’s authenticity that sells.
Why?
Authenticity is refreshing. It’s honest. It’s raw. It’s embarrassing, transparent, and vulnerable. It’s the bloody lip and the hairy armpits. It teeters on the knife-edge of oversharing.
Keep Them Listening
I won’t ever forget the first time I heard Anne Beiler’s story on the Abundant Ever After podcast; it was the first time that a podcast episode from an entrepreneur made me cover my mouth and sob. Oh, and she just so happens to be the exited founder of Auntie Anne’s pretzels.
Anne grew up in an Amish, hyper-religious community, where the only understood method of processing problems was through prayer. One day, Anne was told to visit the office of one of her congregation’s pastors, a highly-respected man. He sexually used Anne, but because of this community’s stigma around sex and the pastor’s station in the community, she didn’t tell a single soul. This pattern, unfortunately, continued for years.
It was only after nearly a decade, when she finally had the courage to tell her husband, did she finally break the chains that her shame had on her. Her husband luckily became one of her biggest advocates, and together, they decided to start anew. Their first idea was to purchase a failing pretzel stand. Anne used her baking skills to re-formulate the pretzel recipe, and because it was so delicious, word caught on, launching her new pretzel business into a pretzel empire.
When I first heard Anne’s story, I was astonished by her vulnerability. Her heart was ripped open for all to see and hear, including the unnamed pastor and anyone who was an advocate for him. Someone could have easily said she was, “Crude,” or “Throwing her community under the bus,” or “Distasteful for airing out her dirty laundry.” But, she did it anyway.
She could have sold me anything at that point.
You see, in the exercise of personal branding, you are the product.
The best way to tell your authentic story in a way that resonates with readers and listeners is through the structure illustrated in the graphic above.
How to Tell Your Story
Start with who you were and how you lived as you were cruising along before the “bad” thing happened.
You describe the inflection point, or the “bad” thing that happened, that caused you to enter your low(est) point.
You then take your time to explain how you didn’t understand how to solve this problem, and the journey you had to undergo to piece together your unique solution to this problem. Then, you describe your new, improved life having applied this solution.
Now that your life is better than before, you’re fired up, and you’re ready to share your new solution with people just like you.
These stories take the audience’s armor off. They hang on to every word, hoping the hero slays their dragon.
And when you do, the clarity of your message will be so obvious that it will cut right through the noise. This is true leadership.
Be courageous enough to embody a hard truth. Be courageous enough to stick “addict” or “survivor” on your personal brand and wear it with pride. This is the candlelight that will light a million more.
Your author identity
Your personal branding story, or author identity, is what will help you sell more books (and more high-ticket offers).
What is your story? What have you experienced in your life that breaks your heart? Melts it just as fast?
When they ask you on your first podcast interview after your book goes live, “So, who is [your name], and what is [your book’s title] all about?” what do you think you’ll say?
These questions are the basis of your authentic thought leadership.
As you begin to question yourself and your values, you begin to realize that you, author, are a distilled, balanced mix of beliefs, unique insights, experiences, and values. Once you clarify what these are, you will start to see how these can be expressed through colors, fonts, and other knick-knacks (but the essence always rings true.)
Click here for journal prompts to distill your story into an authentic, ROI-generating personal brand.
Anne Beiler is now an author and a speaker, and she uses her Amish heritage, history of trauma, Christian faith, and her unusual business savvy as the 4 pillars of her distilled author identity. When I look at and listen to her, I feel stillness, stability, and virtue.
Gino Wickman, author of world-famous Traction and Rocket Fuel, and founder of EOS®️ Worldwide, is famous for using his books as a way to generate interest in his entrepreneurial systems.
His authentic story was based on how he:
Inherited the operations for his family’s business,
Experienced the business’ near-failure, due to lack of knowledge of systems,
Developed his Entrepreneur Operating System®️ to turn the business around successfully,
And how now turned thousands of businesses around by sharing his system through his company EOS®️ Worldwide.
In his books, Gino distills his author identity into a few pillars, such as entrepreneurial systems, entrepreneurial identity, and entrepreneurial vision. When I see his orange books, I see optimism and assertiveness.
Stories help use relate to one another.
Stories sell.
If you wish to bring your story to life and authentically share your solution with the world, it’s time to build your author identity and distill your personal brand.
If you are fuzzy on you story, who you are, and who you will serve, click here for journal prompts to clarify who you are in relation to the person who needs you right now.
👇🏽 What questions do you have from this article? Do you feel afraid to share your authentic truth? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below.
Thank you for reading! ❤️ Hit the heart button on your way out to help spread this message.
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Much love,
Renee
Great wisdom here! Thank you.