Welcome back my devoted followers and fellow writers of the word. How was your weekend? Restful I hope. Well, shall we begin?
How is your platform coming along? Platform, what platform??? I hear you saying it across the country. Do you even have a platform? Do you know what a platform is?
A writing platform is, for lack of a better definition, how well you are known as a writer, and how you promote your writing. It is the accumulation of your marketing efforts and your selling tools.
Of course, if you have no desire to sell your writing then a platform is unnecessary. If, however, you have visions of one day publishing a book or selling magazine articles, then you really need to get with the marketing program and start selling.
And what are you selling? Make no mistake about this….you are selling you! The author is the product and as such the author must sell…the author.
So, I repeat….how is your platform coming along?
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Pop culture is not about depth. It’s about marketing, supply and demand, consumerism.”
Trevor Dunn
Think about that quote for a second….okay, times up. J Pop culture is about marketing….true? I think so, and I think, to a certain degree, it is true for writing as well. There are few “truly great” books published today. You know, like one of the classics that we all read in high school….and in all honesty some of the classics were not truly great. They reached that status because of marketing, hard work, reputation and consumerism.
How many bestsellers have we seen over the years by self-help gurus who burst onto the scene with the latest message of self-esteem and self-love? Have you noticed that they all say the same thing but just word the message differently? So if they all say the same thing, how did they become bestselling authors?
Marketing!
TIP OF THE DAY
Give a business card to everyone you meet, and if people ask you what you do, tell them that you are a writer.
Business cards are cheap….the message they deliver is vitally important. If you are a writer then present yourself as a writer. It is time to come out of the closet and announce to the world that you are a writer and a damn good one.
Build your platform….go to VistaPrint and order some business cards today.
SITE OF THE DAY
And that brings us to VistaPrint, a site I have used often. I got my business cards from them, my flyers, my magnetic car door signs….I love them and they have great specials running most of the year. You can find them here.
BOOK OF THE DAY
“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey is one of those self-help books I mentioned earlier, and as such it is a rehash of many other books that have been written. However, it is written well and it delivers some interesting insight into people who have succeeded and what they all have in common.
And so I ask you again…..how is your platform coming along?
PROMPT OF THE DAY
Take a look…what do you see? My friend Joe wrote a great article today about picture prompts…see it here.
THAT’S MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR TODAY
I’ve given you a few things to think about, so now get out there and build that platform. I want to see each and every one of you successful in this writing dream….but it will only happen if you are the driving force behind your product. J
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.
Bill
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 