Building Your Author Platform

Building Your Author Platform

As an aspiring author do you want to build an author platform? Your answer should be “Yes” as it’s an essential step to establishing a strong presence in the book world. 

Building an author platform is not just about writing and publishing your book. Nor is it about doing lots of promotions to make sales.

Your Presence as an Author

Yes, you do sell your work, but you sell books because of who you are and the people that follow you.

An author platform is your name, your personality, your reputation, and the connections that you have. 

Authors who self-publish need a platform to promote their books and become successful. This is not only for self-publishers; it’s for all authors and for those who publish with mainstream publishers. These days publishers expect their authors to have an author platform.

When you have an author platform: 

• you stand out from the crowd 
• you are set apart

But building an author platform is not something that you establish overnight; it takes time to develop.

Building your author platform means that as time goes on you have a presence, a personality, expertise, and a brand. Your personality and branding come across in the online space as well as outside the internet.

You have a presence that is communicated to your followers in what you’ve written, the information about you, your blog posts, and your social media posts with all of this accumulating on a platform in which your personality shines through. 

It takes time

Building your author platform is a long-term process.

You start small and slowly over time your presence grows and is established. There is no end to it. 

You’ve got to work at it and let your presence evolve.

You will establish your brand and this helps your audience to recognise you and form an opinion about you. 

The foundation and starting point for building your author platform is your expertise, your personality, and the books that you produce. 

Steps to building your author platform

Here are six steps to take to build your author platform.

1. Define Your Brand

Define your Brand. Identify your target audience, the topics you want to write about, and the tone of your writing. This will help you to develop a clear brand that will attract readers who are interested in your work.

2. Build a Website

Build a website. Your website should be the hub of your author platform. It should include your author bio, a list of your books, and information about your upcoming projects. You can also include a blog where you can share your thoughts on writing and your life as an author.

3. Engage on Social Media

Engage on Social Media. Social media is a powerful tool for building your author platform. Choose social media platforms that are most popular with your target audience, and engage with readers by sharing updates about your writing process. Share insights into your life as an author, and provide interesting links or articles that are related to your work.

4. Build an Email List 

Build an Email List. Email marketing is a highly effective way to reach your readers directly. Offer a free gift or incentive in exchange for readers’ email addresses and regularly send them updates about your writing and upcoming projects.

5. Network

Network with other authors. Collaborating with other authors can help you reach a wider readership base and build your reputation as an author. Consider guest blogging on other writers’ websites, participate in online writing communities, or host joint events or book launches.

6. Events and conferences

Attend events and conferences. Attending events and conferences related to your writing can help you network with other writers, publishers, and industry professionals. This can lead to valuable opportunities to showcase your work, gain new readers, and establish relationships that can benefit your writing career in the future.

Building an author platform takes time and consistent effort, but it can pay off in the long run. 

By following these six steps and staying focused on your writing goals, you can establish a strong author platform that will help you reach your audience and build your career as an author.

If you want to learn a lot more about building an author platform there is an entire module devoted to this topic in The Self-Publishing Genius.

I want to personally invite you to my FREE training where I’ll walk you step-by-step through The Self-Publishing Genius which will change your results forever. Click the button below.

Marji Hill

Author and Coach

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