The lost art of getting lost in a book and it's relevance to brands.

Despite my attempts to be ‘cool’, I could never let my reading habit go.

An avid reader all throughout my childhood and into my teens and then all of a sudden, just as peak puberty hit, it was ‘no longer cool’ to read. Despite my attempts to be ‘cool’, I could never let my reading habit go.

My reading credentials

Starting young, I was obsessed with fairies and fairy princesses, secretly deep down hoping that I’d be whisked away by the fairies that lived under the my mums rose arbour. I desperately wished I would sprout wings and become ethereal and peacefully rule over a kingdom.

Once I get my own library card (because mum got sick of buying books so often) it was a slippery downhill slope. I would browse the shelves and come out with a stack of 10 (the max you could borrow, dw, I checked) books from the YA section filled with stories of vampires and dragons and heroines and fierce, witty female characters.

Then like everyone, life, uni, a real paying job, travelling and a healthy dose of ‘reality’ settled in and that reading habit slowly became less and less.

While I still read, it transitioned into self development books and non-fiction (it was a weird time in my 20s and everyone goes through it, ok? ok) and would average 2 books a year (because helloooo Sapiens: A brief history of humankind — kind of a snore fest).

Fast forward through that boring chapter (pun intended) and I jumped head first into a hefty 5 book UNIVERSE aka ACOTAR and I have never read so quick in my life. These books were demolished in mere weeks, which is more than I could say for those self development books still collecting dust on my bookshelf. The love affair with romantasy was rekindled and it was like, coming home.

To this day, romantasy and romance novels are the only genres allowed near my kindle or bookshelves.

Stick with me, there is a lesson to be learnt here.

Now, in the thick of the Fourth Wing series, the death grip these books have on me is unparalleled. Me, a 31 year old adult, in a happy, long term relationship is currently kicking and screaming and overheating just reading these books.

HOW? WHY?

Now now, before I get too carried away, how can a book like Fourth Wing turn my ‘only reads true-crime and non-fiction exclusively and never picked up a fictional book in her life bestie let alone a romantasy’ bestie into a raving mad kicking and screaming fan?

Because each of these series has built a universe. An experience. A community.

Yes, theirs is more literal, BUT to attract, entice and hold your audience, this is what you must do. You must creative a sticky little brand universe/experience that acts like your spiders web. Once you’ve got them, there’s no way they’re leaving.

Like what this fantasy genre has done to me in my reading in the last 20+ years, you need people to keep coming back to you. Give them a reason to. The experience they have is what they’ll remember, what hooks them in and ultimately what keeps them.

So, how do we turn this ^^^^ experience into a lesson in how people experience your brand? For starters, stop treating your business like a one-off transaction, start treating it like a universe people want to crawl inside and live in.

Edit relentlessly. In the exact same way authors cut and cull chapters that don’t serve the story, you need to cut offers, content formats and messages that dilute your point of view; consistency isn’t boring, it’s comforting.
Develop your signature style to be instantly recognisable. Not just brand elements (yes, important) but rhythms, opinions, pacing. People should know it’s you before they see your handle.
Obsess over onboarding like it’s chapter numero uno. If the first interaction is confusing, clunky or doesn’t GRAB THEM INSTANTLY, they’re not emotionally invested enough to keep reading.
If your brand could belong to literally anyone, it deserves to be forgotten babes! Fantasy works because it excludes as much as it includes and your business should too.
Create a world so coherent, so intentional, so emotionally specific (and devastating) that walking away feels like leaving a story unfinished.

[mic drop incoming] That’s how you stop being a service provider and start becoming a place people come back to, again and again, slightly unhinged but oh so loyal.

Just think, if your brand was a romantasy novel, are you seeing TikToks of people fancasting their fave characters?

Your brand can be that bitch. Ready when you are, partner.