Five Basic Steps to Build Platform and Start Marketing Right Now

Take some baby steps towards sharing your work and selling your book.

(audio coming in an hour)

I don’t usually post this frequently. But I just taught a webinar for Jane Friedman, Writer Mind Marketing Mind, and we got a great question in the follow-up survey:

…it would be helpful to have a list of “Do these five things now” for people who haven’t started or are JUST starting, as well as distinguishing between “five PLATFORM things” and “five MARKETING things”, since marketing doesn’t equal platform, including marketing our published short story or blog, as was discussed briefly.

Ask, and ye shall receive, my glorious writer friends!

For those just starting their PLATFORM building here are the five most important things to do FIRST:

Five basic steps to start building platform

1. Search your name and your name + author online. Notice anything you don’t like, misspellings, inaccurate information, old, unflattering photos? Correct where you can, and make sure your website contains the correct info and pics you love.

2. Author website. You need one. One page is fine. Bio (including a short version that an editor can copy-paste to go with your essay/article/story). Pro photos are great, but a flattering selfie is fine for now. Take 50 and you’ll love two of them.

3. Find your comp authors. These are the people who have the careers you want. Not the same as comp titles for queries. Identify their public behavior and make notes of what you want to do, too—this saves a lot of guessing, because they already know what works to reach their audience! Here’s another post I wrote about finding comps (both kinds) quickly.

   NOTE: the replay of the webinar ($35, get it here through Feb 9) comes with a Comp Authors Workbook that walks you through what to look for and what to do with the information.

4. Start your mailing list. It can be three people. It does not have to be your bestest writing ever. But get in the habit of writing regularly (monthly is fine, twice a month is better, more than weekly is too much). Substack is easy and comes with discoverability (more people can find you) so don’t overthink it.

5. Update your social media. Make your bio “reader-centered”—if your ideal audience member found you, what would make them say “oh, this person is totally making stuff I want”?

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For those just starting their MARKETING here are the five most important things to do FIRST:

Note: No writers pictured.

Five basic steps to start marketing your writing

1. Identify your mission and audience. What’s the effect you want to have on the world? Get specific: I want 500 new moms to know they aren’t alone. I want middle-grade readers to see their power in STEM. I want 30,000 women to achieve personal pleasure by reading my book. I want to write powerful literary fiction.

2. Identify where your audience already reads and acquires information. Are they listening to particular podcasts? Attending specific conferences? Scrolling for how-to videos? Reading literary journals or mass-market magazines? Make a list!

3. Start working to publish, share, and guest in those venues. Make sure you have social accounts where your audience socializes. Listen to the podcasts and note what makes a great guest. Pitch articles and write essays for those venues. (This is a big step: start by picking one or two venues to explore).

4. Start sharing your work more often and more widely. However you reach your audience, do it more consistently. Anything you publish, share quotes and the link 3 times on the first day it’s out, daily for a week, and weekly for a month, across your public platforms. Share it again any time it’s relevant to current events, or to a question someone asks.

5. Deliberately educate your readers. Most people don’t know why reviews matter, or pre-orders, or that commenting on a post boosts visibility. Put a specific, easy ask on all your marketing posts: Leave a comment, it lets Huffpost know you like me! Click here to leave a review—one sentence is enough! Click here to pre-order a signed copy at Favorite Indie Bookstore, because pre-orders teach bookstores they want to carry my book!

(Want to know a lot more about these things? Writer Mind Marketing Mind (90 minutes plus slides, transcript, additional Q&A and a link to the Comp Authors Workbook is available through Feb 9. Grab it here ($35))

The most important thing to remember…

Both of these lists feel like a lot. Don’t do it all at once. Pick one thing and take some tiny bites until it’s well underway. Then add one more thing. Platform is built, and marketing is effective, when you do it a little at a time, consistently.

The best time to start building platform is 5-10 years before you publish.

The best time to start your marketing behavior is two years before you publish.

The second-best time is now.

And please do forward this email to a writing friend who needs to hear it!