Author Marketing Styles Full Breakdown


Market your books in a way that actually works for you.

Discover the marketing style that fits you best and turn your stories into thousands of sales. 

Take the quiz here to reveal how your unique superpowers as a writer shape the way you market your books. Plus, you'll get to find what Author Superhero Mask, Cape, and Belt fit you best 😊.

Now, read on to find all the juicy details about each Author Mask, Cape, and Belt 👇

⚠️ First, a super important note!

Masks, Capes, and Belts are meant to be parts of your Author Superhero Suit.

Your primary Cape, Mask, and Belt may be the ones you wear most often and best suited to your superpowers.

📚 However, you can wear any Cape, Mask, or Belt at any time. In fact, you should be utilizing more than one Cape, Mask, and Belt throughout your book marketing. 📚

Different marketing styles are best for different occasions. Now, let's uncover what styles you have to choose from!

Mask (Your Marketing Voice)

Your Mask is the voice behind your marketing. It’s not just about what you say — it’s about who is doing the telling. Your Mask is your narrator, your face (real or fictional), and your storytelling lens.

Neon Mask

You’re the face, the voice, the heart behind your marketing story. Whether or not you show your literal face, your personality is the brand. You bring readers into your journey by simply being you — fun, relatable, and full of energy.

  • Think: Behind-the-scenes posts, personal newsletters, “day in the life” Reels.
  • Watch out for: Overextending yourself. Your energy is powerful, but finite.

Phantom Mask

This is your alter ego. The pen name that gets to do things you wouldn’t as yourself. You craft a full identity around this voice: aesthetic, backstory, tone. It gives you creative freedom to embody a marketing persona that feels larger than life.

  • Think: Themed content, stylized bios, turning your author identity into a character.
  • Watch out for: Ensure it aligns with your genre and doesn’t confuse readers.

Avatar Mask

Your characters are the ones doing the marketing. Whether it’s readers signing up to a newsletter from one of your characters or a Facebook ad written in your hero’s voice, your world becomes interactive, and your characters become hosts.

  • Think: Character POV emails and ads, social profiles for your characters.
  • Watch out for: Readers confusing the line between author and character. Make it clear who’s who.

Dragon Mask

Your readers are part of the story. You open space for them to contribute, share, and shape the world around your books. Your marketing becomes a celebration of their creativity, reactions, and voices.

  • Think: Fan art showcases, community newsletters, affiliate programs.
  • Watch out for: Losing your own voice. Your vision still needs to lead the way.

Oracle Mask

You step into the mentor role, helping your readers grow, transform, or learn something, often through your books or the themes behind them. You might share your process, teach, or inspire, positioning your story as part of their journey.

  • Think: Educational insights, taboo discussions, personal development posts.
  • Your style: Wise, thoughtful, encouraging.

Cape (Your Marketing Rhythm)

Marketing is more than ideas — it’s motion. Your Cape reveals how you move through the world when it’s time to take action. This is your marketing rhythm, your working style, your execution flow.

Lightning Cape

You move fast when the moment feels right. You’re a burst-of-energy marketer. When you’re in it, you’re all in. You might vanish between sprints, but when the lightning strikes, you create incredible waves of momentum.

  • Think: Promo blitzes, launch countdowns, writing 20 posts in a weekend.
  • Watch out for: Burnout between bursts. Your superpowers need recharge time.

Flow Cape

You like to keep things calm and steady. A little bit each day works best for your brain, and your marketing builds like a gentle tide. You don’t chase trends — you create presence.

  • Think: Weekly newsletters, drip campaigns, long-term collaborations.
  • Watch out for: Sticking too tightly to routine and missing chances to leap.

Forge Cape

You’re not afraid to try weird things, test new platforms, or invent a campaign from scratch just to see if it works. Your process is discovery, and your results often lead to breakthroughs others wouldn’t have found.

  • Think: Experimental ad styles, new tools, bold marketing ideas.
  • Watch out for: Shiny object syndrome. Remember to reflect and refine.

Patchwork Cape

You thrive when you’re marketing with people — other authors, your readers, or your team. You love building things in public, co-hosting events, and lifting others up. Momentum for you is a shared thread, not a solo one.

  • Think: Reader groups, launch teams, group promos, DM convos.
  • Watch out for: Over-relying on others. Your superpowers still count!

Prism Cape

You like to understand before you act. You research, map, plan — and only then do you launch with laser clarity. You’re not here for trends. You’re building a system that works for your brain and your readers.

  • Think: Funnel audits, content plans, launch blueprints.
  • Watch out for: Getting stuck in the planning phase. Action matters too.

Belt (Your Marketing Tools)

Your Belt is your utility kit — it’s what you reach for when it’s time to get things done. It reflects the tools, platforms, and methods that feel natural and powerful to you.

Web Belt

You build relationships into the core of your marketing. Whether it’s other authors, reader communities, or launch teams, you love working with people. You create marketing ecosystems that grow through connection and collaboration.

  • Think: Reader groups, newsletter swaps, group promos, co-creation with fans.
  • Watch out for: Doing too many small collabs. A few big ones go a long way.

Broadcast Belt

You shine when you get to speak, share, and perform. Whether it’s on video, audio, or a virtual stage, your message lands best when readers hear it directly from you. You bring charisma and clarity to your marketing channels.

  • Think: Podcasts, livestreams, interviews, YouTube, Reels.
  • Watch out for: Content fatigue. Plan for breaks and evergreen options.

Funnel Belt

You build systems that turn strangers into superfans. Whether it’s a lead magnet, a welcome sequence, or a paid ad campaign, you love to map the journey from first click to lifelong fan.

  • Think: Email funnels, lead gen, automations, reader magnets.
  • Watch out for: Losing the human voice. Keep it personal.

Content Belt

You grow your audience over time with consistent, high-value content. You enjoy teaching, sharing, and storytelling in public. You show up to entertain and serve, and in doing so, you build lasting trust.

  • Think: Blogs, short-form videos, newsletters, long-form posts.
  • Watch out for: Creating too much all at once. Focus and amplify.

Ad Belt

You love testing headlines, tracking results, and scaling what works. You see marketing as a puzzle, and paid ads give you the control and clarity you crave. You’re data-driven and unafraid to invest.

  • Think: Meta ads, BookBub ads, keyword testing, ROI-focused campaigns.
  • Watch out for: Focusing only on numbers. Your readers are more than clicks.

Now, you can discover each of the 125 Superhero Names and discover a special superpower for each one. Here they are 👇

And that's it for the Author Marketing Styles Full Breakdown!

I'd love to hear any questions you have about the quiz at hello@authorsidekick.com. Got an answer you don't think reflects you? Send your feedback — we’re always adjusting the quiz to be more useful and robust.

Likewise, we'd love to hear how we can make Author Marketing Styles more immersive and useful for you. 

Back to blog