If you’re already neck-deep in digital and/or other marketing goodness, this seems like an insultingly obvious distinction. But for folks on the outside of the profession, it can all seem like a big casserole of confusion. So many ingredients! So much measuring! What to do?

To break it down to its most simple Lego-block pieces, branding is who you are and marketing is what you do to let people know it. Might be a good idea to think of nouns and verbs, here. What did we learn from Schoolhouse Rock?

• A noun is a person, place, or thing. Are you a person? Is your business a thing? That’s a brand, baby.
• A verb, well, that’s what’s happening. Are you trying to increase customer awareness of your company? Creating or prettifying an online store to sell more stuff? Announcing a new product to the universe? That right there is marketing.

In completely related news, I’m going to be speaking on this very topic (and how to handle the basics of both branding and marketing) in October.

Yep, yours truly has been asked to help authors get their digital on at the Roanoke Writer’s Conference. I’m stoked, y’all. Gonna be a good time. Come by and check it out if you’re feeling writerly.