“31 Day Author Platform Challenge” Prep

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform by bitsykemper

Getting ready

Well hi! Looks like you heard about the 31 Day Author Platform Challenge, and decided to go for it. We start tomorrow (November 1st)!

First off, welcome! I’m impressed and proud of you. Second, to be sure you start out on the right foot, let’s take a few minutes to prepare.

Prep for the 31 Day Author Platform Challenge:

Grab a fresh new notebook. Create an ongoing “31-Day Author Platform Challenge To Do List.” You can also create an e-version via a new Word Doc, or new To Do list on your phone (the Notes or Keep apps work well). I like having a physical book I can see and touch, and writing down the to-dos by hands helps my brain remember better. But you do you. The point is you’ll want ONE separate and central place to keep track of all your thoughts, notes, and To Dos this month–of which there may be many!

Got a book ready? Label your official “31 Day Author Platform Challenge To Do List” now. Keep it within reach of wherever you spend most of your online time. Any daily task you don’t need to tackle because you’ve already done it (you superstar you), you can come back to this list and pick something to work on. Any day you complete in a flash or any time you have a few extra minutes, come back to this list.

Note on Author Branding

I’ve made an assumption that you not only KNOW what an author brand is, but that you HAVE or are WORKING ON one. I’m not defining or going into detail on what an author brand means here because that’s a whole different can o’ worms. But to recap:

When I talk about your personal brand, I am referring to how you present yourself to and are seen by the public, the impression you make on readers, agents, editors, fellow writers/artists, and anyone else paying attention. Scribe Media describes it this way: “Book positioning tells someone why your book is the right book for them. Author branding tells someone why they should read your book, as opposed to anyone else’s.” I’d add to it by saying it tells people why to follow you vs someone else.
I trust you have already thought about how you are presenting your unique qualities. I trust you’ve figured out what “brands” you as a person, as a writer, or artist. (To not confuse your brand with your image, scroll halfway down this blog post: https://bitsykemper.com/2016/03/10/creating-an-author-platform/.)
If you DON’T have an author brand, or haven’t given it a thought, now is the time! Everything we do in the platform challenge will be supporting it. But if yours isn’t defined yet, don’t panic and bail. What we’re doing in these 31 days can help you figure out and hone your brand. You’ll be better prepared when you’re ready to define it when we’re done.
For help on creating an author brand, find great posts by Rocket Expansion, NY Book Editors, and PW here, here, and here.

Recap:

Get a new, dedicated notebook to capture a Platform Challenge To Do list. Refer to the To Do List and complete any item on list when you have an easy day or free time. Check out the links above if you need a refresher on what “author brand” means. Don’t use the lack of a solid author brand as an excuse to bail on the challenge (nice try, though).

I’m excited to have you on board. I hope you root for the rest of us as we will be rooting for you! Drop your social media handles here in the comments so we can follow each other.

And please subscribe to this blog (up top, right column on desktop, below on your phone) to be sure you get each challenge sent to you.

Let’s get platforming! 🙂

27Oct2023

Join the 31-Day Author Platform** Challenge!

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge by bitsykemper

I’m making an effort to up my social media presence.
Who wants to join me?

I am going to spend the month of November doing one thing every day that will ripple across my social media outlets, to engage (if not educate and entertain) and grow my followers. Since many writers are introverts, I know marketing and promoting ourselves doesn’t come easily. Being asked to “up our social media presence” can feel like a trip to the dentist.

I researched the heck out of what to do, when to do it, how to get it done, etc. I found that while it’s easy to put off or “get to later,” it’s really not that hard. It’s just tedious. We need to find time to make it happen. Sure, there are a million paths to success. It’s daunting. It can be easier to do nothing (I’ll speak for myself). That’s why I created this “31 Day Author Platform Challenge.” I figured if I went through all that trouble narrowing down what roads I want to take, that there are probably LOTS of other writers that wouldn’t mind looking at the same map. So I figured why not share these ideas, and we can challenge each other along the way?

^{Photo by Dalila Dalprat on Pexels.com}

I first challenged writers in May 2023, and the feedback was amazing. Writers (and illustrators) rocked it! I personally upped my following by well over 1,000 on one platform alone. Yet I still have miles to go before I’m where I’d really like to be. So I’m doing it again, and hope to do it every few months.

Come along, won’t you?

I mean, what author wouldn’t like to have more followers? I admit I have the incentive of a new book coming out for Mother’s Day 2024 (currently titled Mommy & Me Micro-Moments: A Fun 5-Minute a Day Devotional Journal, thanks for asking, lol). But building a list for potential book buyers is not the only reason I’m doing it. Being a writer can leave us in isolation, and I’m always looking to (re)connect with people. This is a great way to do so.

If you’re new to creating an author platform, honestly, the best time to start building your platform was years ago. But the next best time is now.

And there’s never a better time than NOW to grow your platform, not matter what stage you’re in.

The Plan

For this challenge, I’ll have a short blog detailing each task, each day. The tasks differ widely. Some are creating lists of ideas, such as brainstorming free giveways you might offer. Creating them, the implementation of the idea, is a different day. Some are creating specific posts that’ll take 5 short minutes to do, such as tagging and thanking three writer friends that have helped you in some way. Others might take more work, but will still be manageable, pretty much never more than 15 minutes. If it takes you more than 15 minutes, take a break and come back. No one has all day for this stuff—or we’d already have done it.

Small, daily steps are what we’re looking at here. The challenge is broken down into 31 doable tasks that should all add up to making a decent difference. Sorta like eating an elephant one bite at a time. It’s a CHALLENGE to push us past our comfort zone. Science proves it helps to have others cheer us on along the way, which is why I’m looking for company.

So, fellow author friends, whadday say?

Will you join in? Leave a message or subscribe (top right on desktop and possible down below on your phone) to commit! (Experts also say you’re more willing to follow through on a commitment or challenge if you tell someone else about it. Saying your goal out loud, or posting it publicly, makes us feel more accountable. Do it. Do it.) You’ll get a notice everytime I update my website, which means each day that I post the daily challenge.

**Author Platform briefly defined:

For those unfamiliar with the term “author platform,” I can best describe it in a visual. Picture a group of people. Let’s say they are all authors. One person stands on a raised surface—it could be basically anything for better visibility; let’s say it’s a milk crate. That person is now a little taller than all the other authors around them. They stand out. You can spot them in a crowd. They are an author, on a platform.

You want to be the author that sticks out, that is noticeable in a crowd. You need a platform.

In modern terms that means having a strong social media presence. It could be a solid group of Facebook followers (10K is minimum to be impressive these days)(yikes, right?), Instagram, Twitter, or any of the new ones popping up like Threads, Discord, Clubhouse…the list goes on and on. It could also include people who subscribe to your newsletter or follow your website. These aren’t people that you blatantly scream BUY MY BOOK to, mind you, they are your friends, your support, your cheerleaders.

If your friends been ignored for too long, they’ll move on to someone else. I don’t want to lose friends! In fact, I want to make more. Lots more. Don’t you? [Yes, if you are an author, you do!)

So I ask again…who wants to join?!