Creating a platform—Part 2

I had a very informative conversation with John Seeley (of Get Unstuck! fame) that illustrated another key component to successful platform-building.

Using the analogy of house construction, there are very few people out there who can build a house (even a small one) without help from other experts: plumbers, electricians, painters, whatever. And the same is true about platform-building.

You need to connect with others as part of the process and then be willing to do the same for them.

And while not everyone who is part of your platform-building network will become a “BFF” (or whatever the business equivalent is), they should be friendly acquaintances—business and social contacts with whom you stay in touch even when you don’t need something.

So, as part of my platform-building research, I pose the following question: how do you (or even do you?) keep connected with those who have helped you in the past? Do you send them updates on what’s happening in your professional life? Do you send them a quick e-mail when you come across something that might interest them? What do you do?

Click on COMMENTS and share your information!

Creating a platform

The first time I heard about “platforms” was back in 2004 when I was completing a form for the publisher of my first book. I was supposed to describe my “platform”—all the things I was going to do to promote my book, all the connections I had who would presumably buy my book, all the ways I was going to be able to get my name out there.

Let me just say that, at the time, my platform was the equivalent of a popsicle stick house—just as small and just as weak.

Since then, however, I have added to it, and now I think it is larger, sturdier and has a few more “rooms” than I thought it would have. The latest addition is my new Internet radio show, called “Take Charge of Your Life” which premieres August 5, 2008 at 11 AM (EST) on VoiceAmerica network.

But I am still learning about platforms—after all, I am a writer, not a marketing and PR genius. So I would like to open the floor, so to speak, to those who have useful tips about how to build a platform.

• Do you have one?
  

• If you do, how long did it take you to get one of a respectable size?
  

• If you help clients create one, what top three tips do you have for the rest of us?

And, from the opposite side of the fence, check out Dennis Cass’s YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxschLOAr-s —“Book Launch 2.0.” It’s a hysterical example of how not to have a platform!