We always hear that having a platform is important, and while the term is confusing to many authors, the breakdown of what it takes to grow or enhance a platform is pretty basic. Here are some tips to get you started:
Image via Wikipedia
1) Get to know your network: getting to know people, clubs, websites, social media and organizations in your network, market, or niche is important.
2) Starting working your market: You’ll want to begin networking with your audience, perhaps attending events or contacting groups to pitch yourself as a speaker.
3) Get a website: the quickest way to getting online exposure is to get a website. Remember your website is your 24/7 business card, if you’re going to market online or off, you’ll want a virtual presence.
Image via Wikipedia
4) Enhance your virtual presence: once you have a website, get some social networking real estate, too. Go after a page on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, or Squidoo and start building a presence there.
- Image by Getty Images via @daylife
5) If your business is your platform, start digging into your market by gathering names and email addresses of your customer base. These are the people you’ll want to market to when your book comes out, you’ll be able to pitch events, special offers, and future books.
Related articles
- Strategy Analytics: Facebook and Other Social Networks Will Double Users in 5 Years (eon.businesswire.com)
- 5 Common LinkedIn Fallacies and Why You Shouldn’t Believe Them (windmillnetworking.com)
- 33 New Social Media Resources You May Have Missed (mashable.com)
I’m working on my squidoo presence now. Hard to stay focussed, or sufficiently focussed on each…
Interested to see your Zemified links too… I’d been wondering about that.
We find it very useful, it’s a nice way to offer additional content and links. You can find out more at Zemanta.com, it also offers photos for the blog posts, etc. There are even more applications that we’re learning about!