Here's how author Crystal Smith Paul and I are pivoting her brand right now.
With just under 5,000 followers on Instagram but well over 7,000 reviews on Goodreads, author Crystal Smith Paul is best known by her audience for her debut novel Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? that was featured as Reese's Book Club book of the month in May 2023.
But now, almost 3 years later, Crystal and I are building a sub-brand and an entirely new offer — not to mention business model — to her personal founder-facing brand and online image.
For context, her debut novel Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? has a subplot called Blair House. I don't want to give away too much because you honestly should read the book. It's amazing. Plus, my name is in the acknowledgments, which is pretty cool.
Now we are building Blair House as its own sub-brand of the Crystal Smith Paul brand, but we also needed to communicate that Blair House is not another book. It is a short story subscription that we are building inside of Substack.
The challenge here was not building the brand itself, especially because it's something that Crystal and I have had an idea for the last three years while we waited on getting the OK from her publishers — and the fact that she has written a whole other book in the meantime.
The challenge was how to communicate to her existing audience what this pivot is and to help them connect the dots between who they understand Crystal to be and what Blair House is.
Here's what we did:
Rather than positioning Blair House as a departure from Kitty Karr, we framed it as a continuation and deepening of that world:
- One-sentence positioning: "A short story subscription where historical fiction meets mystery. Know the women of Blair House's names? Now you’ll know their stories.”
- We identified that readers were left with unanswered questions about secondary characters (Wilma, Billie, Nina)
- The pivot wasn't "I'm doing something new"—it was "Here's what you've been waiting for"
- Built a 4-Phase Pre-Launch That Gradually Reoriented the Audience
We are still in the early stages of our pivot with the launch scheduled for mid-March, but our pre-launch efforts show that the audience is connecting with this pivot so far.
With only a handful of posts published on Instagram, each are already littered with comments excited about Blair House and what's next.
We haven't actually even asked anyone to join the waitlist yet. We've only been teasing the link as for those who are curious and want to learn more, and after only two Instagram posts and three emails, we gained 18 new email subscribers and 35 people on the waitlist in only a week and a half after not sending an email to her list in a couple of years.
When it came to the identity for Blair House and how we differentiated it as its own offer while still having it feel cohesive as a part of Crystal's brand and website, we used the same approach I use when building most umbrella brands or sub-brands, which is to incorporate some of the same brand colors and fonts as the main brand.
We are using the same main two neutrals and blue pop of color from Crystal's main branding, but then incorporating other colors and imagery in Blair House. So much of Crystal's brand is based on world-building. My job as the designer is to bring her books and stories to life in one brand, so her main branding is built on Crystal's own world and the values and narratives that appear in all of her current & future stories, but then the branding for her book Kitty Karr had to be aligned with the book cover that the publisher chose as well as the timelines in the book itself.
Blair House is a continuation of that book, so I wanted the identity to feel like a continuation as well. Her website as a whole is easily one of my favorites, and one of my focuses in the month of January was bringing Blair House's identity to life in her all-new sales page and the social graphics and illustrations so far. Click here to check them out.
4 Ways to Create Connection During a Pivot
1. Test your new direction with your current audience first
Before you officially announce anything, use your existing audience as a test group.
Share content that hints at your new direction. Post about topics adjacent to where you're headed. Ask questions: "I've been thinking about offering this—would that help you?"
Track what gets engagement. Which posts get likes, saves, or replies. By the time you officially pivot, you'll have proof your audience is already interested—not just hope that they'll follow.
P.S. This is exactly how I decided to overhaul my Brand Identity & Logo Design offer that most every brand designer has — and instead differentiate it based on illustrations. Because of the interest & feedback I got from 1 Instagram story and one thread.
2. Use stories to bridge the old and new
Don't just state the connection—tell the story of how you got from Point A to Point B.
Confusing: "I used to be a life coach. Now I do business strategy."
Clear: "For years, I helped clients work through limiting beliefs. But I kept seeing the same pattern: they'd have these huge breakthroughs in our sessions, then hit a wall when they tried to make changes. The answer was always 'I don't have time' or 'I'm too tired after work.' That's when I realized—the real block wasn't mindset. It was their business draining all their energy. So I started learning business strategy, helping them restructure their work so they'd actually have the energy to build the life they wanted. Now I help business owners design businesses that support their personal growth instead of depleting it. Same mission—helping people get unstuck—just a different way in."
When your audience can follow the story, the change doesn't feel random. It feels natural.
3. Acknowledge what's staying the same
During a pivot, people get nervous that everything is changing. Reassure them by being explicit about what's staying consistent.
"My offers are evolving, but my approach to working with clients stays the same—collaborative, strategic, and focused on sustainable growth."
"The visual identity is getting more cohesive, but the warmth and personality you know isn't going anywhere."
"This signature offer is retiring — but my values are totally the same — or — something even better, the next evolution of xyz values is coming soon."
4. Show them what's in it for them
People care about your change to the extent that it affects them. Make it crystal clear.
If your audience is your target client: "I used to offer wedding photography. Now I'm focusing on brand photography for creative business owners. If you're building a business and need updated photos, this is for you."
If your audience isn't your target client but you want them along: "I used to teach yoga to beginners. Now I'm training yoga teachers. If you're not a teacher, my content will feel different—but I'll still share movement tips and wellness thoughts you can use in your practice."
If you're shifting completely: "I'm moving to a new audience, so if my content isn't helping you anymore, no hard feelings. But here's a resource for someone who does what I used to do."
Don't make them guess if they still belong!
