Excerpted from my FREE ebook, 50 Ways to Establish Your Platform. Download your copy here: http://www.patriciafry.com
Begin These Platform-Building Activities Now
It is never too soon to start the following eight platform-building activities. (Note: I’ll share four today and four tomorrow.) In fact, I recommend that you take action today and keep the momentum going throughout the life of your book project.
12: Create a marketing plan.
Rather than relying on a scattershot method of book promotion, make a plan. It may change with time—that’s okay. But get something in writing so you have a direction and some ideas to pursue.
What can and will you do in order to get your book noticed? Make a list.
Where can you get exposure? List the obvious venues and avenues and then note those that are not so obvious.
13: Submit articles/stories to appropriate publications.
You should have been doing this all along because it is an excellent way to build credibility as an expert or professional in your field/interest or creating an audience for your fiction.
You already know about some independent as well as organization magazines, newsletters and enewsletters related to the theme or genre of your book. These are the publications read by the audience for your book—the same people who read these publications will likely be interested in your book.
Use publication directories to locate others—“Writer’s Market” and the Wooden Horse Pub Magazine Database, for example. Do an Internet search to find others.
Always locate or request a copy of each publication’s submission guidelines. These are usually available at their website. One-size-does-not-fit-all. Different magazines have different guidelines and it’s important that you follow them.
Remember that the purpose of your article is to bring something of value to readers who are interested in the topic of your book. Demonstrate that you are well-versed in your topic. People who are interested in this topic and are impressed by what you write, will surely be interested in your book when it is available.
For fiction—readers who have enjoyed reading your short stories will be delighted to know that you have a novel on the horizon.
Include something about your upcoming (or published) book in the bio at the end of the article or story. Say, for example, “John Phillips is the author of his first novel, “Racing for the Stars,” available at Amazon.com in print and Kindle or order it here: (Give your website)
14: Conduct workshops.
For a nonfiction, how-to, self-help or informational book, you might be able to devise workshops and even online courses around the theme of your book. The benefits of doing this are many-fold. You will gain credibility among your audience—your students and others who learn about your workshops. Each time you put up a poster, advertise in a library or college flier or the local newspaper, your name with regard to your book topic or genre comes before anywhere from dozens to thousands of people. Every time you mention your classes in your blog or on your website, you are getting publicity—everyone seeing this publicity now knows you as an expert in your field or a writer of science fiction, for example. This, folks, is what a platform is all about. I hope you’re starting to get it.
15: Teach classes.
Many junior colleges have extension programs for adults interested in learning how to use a computer, memoir-writing, woodworking, photography, investments and so forth. Why not teach your specialty and add even more credibility to your platform.
If you have enough skill and knowledge about writing fiction, you could teach courses in some aspect of this topic.