The Three Elements Every Author Platform Must Have

Your Author Platform: Put simply, without marketing and sales efforts your book will not be successful. You can’t walk away from this fact.

In this article, I’ll be providing an overview of the systems framework for building your Author Platform using the Marketing Pyramid approach

Marketing systems are just as important to Authors as for any business model. The System Framework forms the central element of building your author platform. Done correctly it becomes the glue that ties together your foundation and media frameworks

Do this well and you will have sold your first 1000 books in no time at all and you be positioned to fast track leveraging your book into other revenue streams and will facilitate the success of your next publishing project.

Hi I’m Ian Bosler, I started “Intertype publish and print” back in 2004. Since then I’ve been on a mission to disrupt the traditional publishing industry and remove all the BS content creators must put up with. These “quickie” training modules will help you build the solid foundations needed to deliver a successful publishing project.

In previous episodes of Saturday Secrets I explored the Foundation Framework of the Marketing Pyramid. To recap the Marketing Pyramid consists of three frameworks:

1. Foundations
2. Systems
3. Media

Today we’ll have an overview look of the three elements that make up the Systems Framework

1. Branding
2. Marketing & Sales Process
3. Tools to make it happen

Why is an Author Platform Important?

Successful authors have one thing in common, and that is an Author platform. This is what underpins the success of their first book and facilitates their next publishing project.

A well-designed author platform reduces the marketing and sales efforts while improving the buyers’ experience. And no, they don’t have to start out high tech.

Recapping Fan Bases

In previous episodes, I introduced the concept of the three fan bases Authors need to work to sell books. These are:

1. Existing Buyers Fan Base
2. Your Extended Fan Base
3. Influencers Fan Base

To be effective, your Author platform needs to include systems that appropriately leverage each of these fan bases.

Each of the fan bases need to be accessed differently and your platform needs to accommodate these differences without resorting to building 3 different systems.

The Branding Element

In the next Episode, I’ll be diving into branding and why it’s important.

With branding for authors, we need to look at three different brand themes:

1. Author Brand
2. Content Brand
3. Book Brand

All three co-exist and need to be managed in a consistent and coordinated way, but more on that in the next episode

The Marketing and Sales Process

Put simply, without marketing and sales efforts your book will not be successful. You can’t walk away from this fact. If you don’t make sales your book will be a dud even if it’s the best written book in the World.

Another fact that we can’t walk away from is that the vast majority of authors find marketing and particularly sales “icky” BUT it doesn’t have to be that way.

I’ve developed a three-step process that eliminates the “ickiness”.

The three steps are:

1. Attract: Find and bring in the right prospective buyers
2. Sell:  Couple the right prospects with a strong value proposition and your book will sell itself. No “foot in the door” sales tactics needed
3. Wow: Use this element to access your buyers fan base. Done correctly this will be on autopilot.

Technology Can be a Trap

When I started Intertype Publish and Print in 2004, I didn’t even have a website let alone a database but I knew that I had to quickly invest in my platform when the funds allowed. This evolutionary approach is what I advocate for all authors.

Basically, you can run your entire platform using “low or no” tech however the appropriate technology will help you sell more books in less time.

When we dive into the technology you should consider, I’ll cover the following 3 key areas, each of which can be performed using low tech tools:

1. CRMs (Customer Relationship Management) tools
2. Marketing & Sales Automation
3. Content Management

I know, building your Author Platform can seem daunting but it doesn’t have to be. In coming episodes, I’ll be exploring the simple, no BS and low cost approach to building a solid platform that you can leverage for many years to come.

Finally, I want to leave you with one piece of advice:

Beware of the get rich quick sales pitches that promise to let you in on the secret to author success especially when it comes to selling books. There is no secret, just as there is no guarantee, however building your author platform based on sound and tested principles will massively increase your chances of success without empting your bank account along the way.