If You Think You Need a Brand Now, You’re Already Late (with Jessica Sorentino)
Jessica Sorentino is an author brand strategist with more than a decade of experience helping writers and thought leaders connect with their audiences in meaningful, lasting ways. She has worked with top publishing houses, including Simon & Schuster and Macmillan Publishers, where she developed deep expertise in positioning authors for commercial success and authentic reader engagement. She is the voice behind Open Book: Where Storytelling Meets Strategy on Substack and co-host of the Third Glass: Reading Between the Wines podcast, where she explores the intersection of storytelling, publishing, and personal brand. Her insights have also been featured on many industry podcasts.
In this episode, Tom and Jessica discuss why authors and thought leaders should build their brand early.
Jessica distinguishes branding (what you’re known for) from marketing (targeted, ROI-driven campaigns) and argues that branding belongs at the start to give time for building trust. She recommends clarifying who you serve rather than focusing on logos, websites, or origin stories and recommends identifying a specific audience, finding non-transactional common ground, and using relationship-building tactics to shape messaging and niche. To round out the conversation they talk about balancing one-to-one relationships with scalable systems, the importance of word-of-mouth for books, avoiding the “professional persona” trap, and protecting creative wellbeing to prevent burnout.
For anyone looking to build a personal brand or write a book, this episode is a must-listen.
DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE
~01:59 Branding Versus Marketing
~04:11 Start With Audience
~06:31 Stop Making It About You
~10:37 Niche Down With Joy
~15:07 Relationships And Scale
~19:28 Sell Books Like Readers
~24:16 Creative Wellbeing Boundaries
~31:00 Where To Find Jessica
~31:47 Final Thanks And CTA
FULL EPISODE VIDEO
CONNECT WITH JESSICA
Social Media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicasorentino
Substack: https://jessicasorentino.substack.com
Recent Episodes
