 Hello, hello, writers. I'm Kristen Kiefer, author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources, and you are listening to the Well-Sturried podcast, where I share insights, encouragement, and actionable advice designed to help you craft sensational novels and build your best writing life. Always in 30 minutes or less, so you can get back to writing, of course. Ready for the show? Let's get talking. Grab a cup of coffee or your beverage of choice and come settle in for another episode of the Well-Sturied podcast writer. Again, I'm your host, Kristen Kiefer, and today is Monday, May 24th, 2021. You are listening to our episode titled How to Build an Effective Author Platform, which translates the latest article from the Well-Sturied blog into audio so you can listen on the go. If you'd like to read along as you listen in, head on over to well-sturried.com-platform. Now, without any further ado, let's dive into today's episode. Every successful author needs a platform, which publishing professional Jane Friedman defines as the ability to sell books because of who you are or who you can reach. Unless you're a celebrity, politician, or public speaker, you probably won't find commercial success as an author simply because of who you are. Instead, it will be your ability to reach and engage with readers that will ultimately determine your success as a writer. So, how do you build an author platform that will help you develop a readership and writing career? The first thing to bear in mind is that you don't need an established platform to publish a novel. Think of your author platform, in part, as the proof of credibility that will help you sell books. If you're a regular Joe Schmoe with no credentials or notable online following, then you're going to struggle to pitch prescriptive or educational nonfiction. You simply don't have the qualifications to impart business advice or teach the basics of neuroscience. But novelists don't need to prove that they're qualified to write stories. Their credibility comes from the quality of their work and the extent of their readership, which is why publishing your debut is a major first step toward developing an effective author platform. But before we discuss the various components that comprise an effective platform, let's discuss the foundational key that can make or break your success as an author. The importance of defining your creative niche. The key to developing an engaged readership and successfully marketing your work lies in a strong understanding of what you write and who you write for. The combination of these two factors, your personal brand of storytelling and your ideal reader, is what I like to call your creative niche. To define your creative niche, consider what makes your work unique. What genre or subgenres do you write? What topics or story elements do you frequently include in your books? Who do you write for and how would you pitch your work to a new reader? For example, you might define your creative niche as fast-paced epic fantasy set in a world inspired by pan-African cultures, contemporary middle grade novels for children who struggle with difficult home lives, young adult romances that feature hijabi heroines, or adult international thrillers that cater to older male readers. If you're interested in writing multiple genres or for various age markets, such as middle grade and adult, then your creative niche might be more difficult to define. If you write vastly different types of fiction, such as picture books and horror novels, then you'll probably want to develop separate platforms for each type of work. However, there is often a common thread that draws readers to most of an author's stories. Consider writers like Stephen King, Leigh Schwab, and Neil Gaiman, whose avid fans read everything they publish. Despite the various types of stories they write, the distinct tone and unique style that carries through each of their stories is what draws readers to their work. If you can identify a similar thread in your own stories, then you may be able to develop a single author platform as well. Next, let's discuss the cornerstones of an effective author platform. There are many activities that can help you grow your readership and market your work, but a readership is not an author platform in and of itself, and neither are your marketing efforts. Remember, an author platform is your ability to sell books because of who you are or who you can reach. Ability implies action. If you can reach out to your readers tomorrow with an announcement that will immediately boost your book sales, then you've built an effective platform. To develop your own, you'll first need to establish four platform cornerstones. First up, a backlist. As a novelist, your backlist, which is the extent of your published books available for sale, is perhaps the most important aspect of your author platform. Published books, especially those with positive ratings and reviews, provide the social proof and credibility that many readers need to take a chance on a new author. The readers who enjoy your earlier books are also the most likely to continue to buy from you as you write and release new stories. That's why I encourage new authors to invest the bulk of their time and energy into building their backlists as their primary platform development strategy. Cornerstone number two is an author website. An author's website is their online headquarters, a place that readers can visit to learn everything they need to know about who you are, what you write, and where they can buy your books. An effective author website lends professional credibility, proving that you take your work seriously. It also offers readers the ability to connect with you via email, whether through your contact page or cornerstone number three and email list. Without the ability to contact readers directly, you'll struggle to thrive in your career despite the readership you build. That's why I encourage every author to maintain an email list. No one signs up for more email unless they're excited for what they'll receive. That's why your email list is such a powerful tool. It's a direct line to your most ardent fans. You can nurture your readership via email by sharing sneak peeks, excerpts, and other exclusive content. Then when you have a new book to launch or a discount to announce, you can harness your email list to sell more copies. And finally, cornerstone number four, a social media presence. While you can use an email list to engage with your biggest fans, it's a strong social media presence that will help you connect with your wider readership, as well as offer the opportunity to introduce your work to new readers. Maintaining an active social media presence takes time. I recommend starting small, cultivating a community on just one or two platforms where your ideal readers hang out. In today's episode transcripts at well-storade.com slash platform, you can find a link to a free download, which is a list of social media post ideas put together by book marketing expert, Jen DePaola of Mixtus Media. Developing. All right. With those four cornerstones established, let's talk about developing your reach and readership. As you establish the foundational elements of your author platform, you can also engage in various book marketing strategies and activities designed to help you develop your reach and readership. Though building an author platform is not book marketing in and of itself, promoting your creative work is key to increasing the visibility of your platform, ultimately helping you reach more readers, increase sales and thrive in your career as a published author. So let's take a look at the five most common ways that authors develop their reach and readership. First up, participating in events. Both in-person and online book events offer authors the opportunity to present their work to new readers, as well as to connect with their existing audience. Popular in-person events include reading and writing conferences, book tours and signings, and speaking or teaching gigs at schools and libraries. Similarly, online events include virtual conferences, podcast and video interviews, and live talks on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Strategy number two, engage with your audience. An effective author platform doesn't just cast a wide net. It also nurtures an ongoing relationship with readers. After all, readers like to buy books from authors they know and love, and the book marketing process is much more enjoyable when you focus on serving readers rather than just making money. You can develop a strong relationship with your readership by engaging in genuine and personal ways on social media. In your newsletters and during the in-person and online events we mentioned a moment ago. To better connect with readers and protect your writing time, you may find it helpful to establish boundaries around how you engage online. For example, you might define the types of content you'll post, the language you will and won't use, and the time of day you'll log in to connect. Strategy number three, build a secondary body of work. Some authors successfully expand the reach of their platforms by developing a secondary body of work, often through a blog, podcast or YouTube channel. To effectively serve your author platform, a secondary body of work should be related to your fiction. For example, you could create an Instagram book review account, a YouTube channel that teaches creative writing or a podcast that explores the time periods in which your historical novels are set. Strategy number four is networking with authors. Growing your readership isn't the only way to expand your reach. Networking with other authors online or during in-person events is a great way to develop mutually beneficial relationships and friendships. To help one another thrive, authors will often review and promote each other's releases, collaborate via fun events and even co-write books together. And finally, strategy number five is direct book marketing. While promoting your books via paid ads might not seem like a strong author platform growth strategy, consider this. Every time you run an ad on Amazon, Bookbub or your favorite social media platform, you introduce your book to new readers who might ultimately become part of your authorial ecosystem. For example, let's say a new reader sees an ad promoting your latest release on Instagram. The ad piques their interest because they're a huge fan of Gothic horror novels, so they decide to click through to learn more. Impressed by your book's listing, they purchase your book and devour it that very night and because they're your ideal reader, they love the book so much that they decide to sign up for your newsletter to receive the free short story that you pitch at the end of your book. Now that they're subscribed to your email list, they receive a short sequence of automated welcome emails that introduce them to more of your books and encourage them to leave a review, follow you on social media and or share your work with friends. Pretty awesome, right? Developing a strong author platform may seem like a lot of work, but ultimately, there are no shortcuts. Engaging in shady practices like buying social media followers or clogging your followers' DMs with pleas for them to buy your book is a surefire way to kill your platform before it even gets off the ground. If you want to build an effective author platform that helps you reach your ideal readers and sell more books, then putting in the time and effort to grow your reach organically is key. Remember, quality trumps quantity. You'll find far more success with a small platform that reaches the right readers than with an expansive platform that never quite engages anyone. So get clear about what you write and who you write for, then focus on building an author platform that amplifies your unique creative work to the readers who are most likely to enjoy it. Go slow and promote your work with a genuine desire to serve readers and you'll develop an author platform that will see you thrive in your creative career. Thank you for listening to today's episode of The Podcast Writer. I hope you found it helpful to your writing journey. If so, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode and to give the podcast a quick rating or review. Doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers and lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm creating. You can also give me a shout out directly on Instagram at christen underscore keeper for additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing life. Be sure to head on over to www.well-storied.com where I share blog posts, workbooks, e-courses and other helpful resources for writers. Again, that's w-e-l-l-s-t-o-r-i-e-d dot com. Thank you again for tuning into today's episode, my friend. Until next time, happy writing.