Why building your holistic author platform is fundamental to the success of your book and brand You’re an author, not a salesman. Marketing sounds as appealing to you as hand-feeding a crocodile. You relish every chance you get at exercising your creative muscles, but maintaining a social media presence, conducting author-signings, or even maintaining a blog seems insurmountable. Apprehension to self-marketing is completely understandable. Even so, there is one factor that consistently delineates the success of an author in our contemporary media-saturated context; the quality of their platform. Whether this depiction fits you or not, developing your author platform is paramount to the effectiveness of your brand. Planning Your Platform With so many options, and with only 24 hours in a day, the task of developing your author platform may seem daunting. The great part is… YOU ARE NOT ALONE… and You Don’t Have To Be For all the complications that being in an internet-driven world may add to authorship, it also gives you access to many who aim to aid others in their authorial ventures. Just as there are many mediums through which you can promote your author platform, so too there are many mediums through which you can be equipped for it! Here are some initial resources to invigorate you in your platform development. Written Do you prefer to sit down and read a good article? Look no further. Author and strategy director at Blue Fountain media, James McCrae wrote for the Forbes Communication Council on “How To Build A Successful Author Marketing Platform.” In this article, McCrae hones in on strategies such as: creating a unique brand voice, utilizing social media, and creating a content funnel. You can read his full piece here. Audio Have your favorite podcast or audiobook that you listen to while you work on other tasks? Blogger, author, and speaker, Nina Amir identifies in an interview the three core elements to an author platform: visibility, reach, and authority. Further explanation of these core elements, and much more can be found in her full interview here. Video Need to take a break from writing, or watch something while you make your next meal? Writer and vlogger Jenna Moreci stresses that it is important to be marketing the writer along with marketing the writing. To hear her discuss this, and highlight helpful resources on https://www.skillshare.com check out her video here. Hopefully hearing from some of these voices motivates and equips you to develop, or further develop, your author platform. If you are passionate about your work, and the potential impact it can have on others, then make that platform development plan and stick to it. It may feel arduous, but remember that it is for the purpose of broadening, and deepening, your impact.
