You put a ton of effort into getting the perfect cover for your book and the perfect image for your publisher imprint that best represents your author brand. Now, it’s time to apply the same level of effort to creating awesome printed collateral to execute some of your book marketing. In other words, we’re talking about swag. The best pieces of swag are those a fan can keep using long after he or she has read your book. Here’s how you can make your swag the one readers hang on to.

When you self-publish a book, you’re probably the one doing everything for it. Beyond being its author, you’re its publisher and its entire book marketing team. You want people to read your book—what publisher doesn’t?—and so to make that happen, you’ve got to do all you can to get your book into your target audience’s hands. Before you can do that, you need to define who you are and what a reader can expect from you. How? A good place to start is where other creatives begin to promote their work: with solid branding.