4 Quick Ways to Start Your Author Platform
Your platform is how you present yourself online, your brand, your persona. It’s a feed of who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and an ongoing conversation with your tribe (aka your followers). As an author, your ability to sell your book is tied to your platform.
Publishers want to know how many people you talk to, share your insights with, and most importantly, how many of them are engaging with you. In other words, have you created relationships with people who are willing to spend money to learn from you via a book?
Before we dive in, we recommend that you Google yourself. How easy is it to find yourself and what comes up in that search? You may find some interesting things to either build on or build over. Either way, here are four ways to start building your platform.
Write. We know we said not to write a book before you build the brand, but take your book idea, break it down into digestible chunks, and microblog about it for your website, your newsletter (assuming you have one), or that industry-specific media site you pitched to. This will help you refine your content and prepare you to write 65k+ words for that manuscript!
Share. Now that you have microblogs as content you can share your insights. Pick two to three social media sites where your target audience is and start sharing your content there. Be sure to stay active and post frequently (2-3 times per week) and engage with your audience.
Network. We all know your network is your net worth and it couldn’t be more true than when you publish and promote your book. Find your tribes online but be sure to connect with other thought leaders with similar platforms and ask to collaborate. Sharing content with like audiences is a great way to increase your reach.
Build Your Tribe. Offering advice and sharing it is a great way to build your platform. It opens the doors for people to learn about you. But before they stop reading that post, article, or watching your latest video be sure to ask them to share, follow, and subscribe to your social channels and newsletter.
Building a platform before you create a product is hard work but it’s also just plain smart. Having a platform allows you to test ideas, crowdsource a direction, and create a product that solves a problem for your tribe.
