Publishing professionals have been using the term “platform” for a long time. And once my friend and Baker author Michael Hyatt wrote his New York Times bestseller Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, the term became ensconced forever in publishing parlance. These days we can’t review a book proposal without using the term multiple times.
My Problem with “Platform”
But I have a problem with the term “platform”—three of them, actually. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with the idea behind “platform.” In fact, I appreciate that the term elevates an important element of successful publishing, regardless of whether you go the traditional or self-publishing route.
A simple, helpful definition of platform is “any means you have for getting exposure for your content.” How do you get the word out—and to what extent can you get the word out—about your content? That’s what platform is all about.
And the really good news is that with some hard work and determination, just about anybody with an internet connection can build a platform. If you’re looking for a resource for doing so, a great one to start with is Hyatt’s book.
But all metaphors have their limitations, and this one is no exception. So here are my three beefs with the word “platform” and some key pieces of advice related to each.
1. Too Static
The word “platform” conjures the image of a physical stage that a person steps out onto to deliver a message or performance. That’s fine, but the image is woefully incomplete. It fails to depict the reality that platforms change. They’re dynamic based on who the author is becoming and what the audience needs.
One specific place you can see this in how blog titles and taglines change. My first blog was called “Latent Possibilities,” and it was basically an excuse to write about whatever was going on in my life. Fast-forward several years, and I started this blog with the tagline “Exploring Writing, Publishing, Life, and Creativity.” Then I focused in on where I felt like my passion overlapped with my audience’s need and went with “Helping You Find Your Voice and Do Your Art.”
Good productive platforms are not static. They change and adapt. They require us to be sensitive to who we are as creatives and what our audiences need from us. And that brings me to my second beef with “platform.”
2. Too Isolationist
We see a single person up on that stage in our imagination. But ask anyone who has a significant platform if they got there by themselves, and I’m pretty sure 100 percent of them will say no. This is a key point, and it’s one I’m still learning.
We Westerners are all to some extent believers in rugged individualism. But more and more I find myself wanting to emphasize the “rugged” part in my own platform building and de-emphasize the “individualism” part. I’m all for hard work—not least because it tends to be an effective tactic in the long run. But I need to be asking questions like:
- To whom should I be reaching out to pitch a partnership?
- Who are three people I’d really like to get to know?
- Who should I be following regularly?
- What relationships do I need to nurture, and what relationships do I need to let go?
- Whose opinion should I be seeking about this?
To develop robust platforms, we need to be connecting with and sometimes directly asking for help from other people.
3. Too Utilitarian
Sometimes we focus so much on the apparatus delivering the message (the email list, the Twitter count, the Facebook likes, the website’s unique visitors), we forget about the message itself. Let’s remember we are not stage builders, we are content creators.
One element of “platform” that receives too little attention is word of mouth. Word of mouth is what happens when a book or blog post is so good, so well written and so relevant or fresh or engaging, that people who read it can’t help emphatically recommending it to other people.
My friend and colleague Rebekah cannot shut up about the book 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. Every time I talk to her she mentions it. Well, I promise you at some point I will pick that book up and give it a go. That’s platform, but it has nothing to do with the author’s email list (as important as that can be!) and everything to do with the author’s content.
The Need for Nuance
I’ll continue using the term “platform,” but hopefully this article provides some nuance to the term. Our platforms will never reach their potential if they are static, isolationist, and strictly utilitarian. If we can stay sensitive to our audience’s needs, develop mutually beneficial relationships, and refine our ability to create compelling content, our platforms will become powerful tools of influence and service.
Question: How about your platform? Is it too static, too isolationist, too utilitarian? Do you need to focus on adapting to who you and your audience are? Do you need to connect with someone this week? Or do you need to start investing more time and energy into developing your content? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Great thoughts. I agree, platform used to make me feel so alone and just yucky. When I started to focus on how I could support other writers and my readers, then God really started to work. The “platform” happened naturally in response.
Love the idea that it takes a village—my experience certainly is proof of that!
And what a good model you are for us all, Liza!
Um, I think you’re the founder of that village, Chad!
Good article. I like the point about our platforms can change and grow over time, and probably need to to keep serving our readers.
Theresa, thanks for this! Staying adaptive and keeping our ears turned toward our audience is key.
I’d like to comment on too utilitarian. I have learned much form you Hyatt, and Goins. My mistake was starting on Blogger. I love blogger, but I learned that in the long run I need to own the domain and fully control the blog. That means I can’t use google.com or WordPress.com. Instead I need to use the WordPress.org license on a domain that I own.
So I have spent the last few weeks learning WordPress boot camp style and experimenting with templates and figuring out how to get mobile to work properly.
I have not written a thing!
Also, once I realized I had to blog and build followers etc., I happily embarked on the that trail. It’s
been a few months and I haven’t even worked on the book I wanted to write in the first place. I did however learn a lot. I also found some nice free mind mapping software and organized a lot of thoughts for the book, but no writing,
Now that I have learned a lot of great things and can work smarter, I can’t wait to move over to my domain with WordPress and have a quiet life again.
Paul, I feel your pain. Managing the tension between building an audience and writing content can be tough.
Thanks Chad!
I found switching from WP.com to paid hosting was as mentally stressful as moving my house, just without the sore muscles! It will be worth it, though, as you will have freedom to add things that your website needs in the years ahead. Like Chad said, this is a long haul calling and doing the work to get a good foundation early will pay off in the end. 🙂
Cheri, you are correct! It is very stressful. I spent a lot of time on a test site where the first year hosting was only about $1. I still had an old domain name I could use that is $10 annually. So I tested and tested. I spent 14 hours one day. My new domain is ready for the install now. Then I will have to do the redirects. Luckily, I think I can enlist someone to help if needed for the redirects.
I work full time weekends. Hopefully i can recreate the test site next week. So many times I wondered if it is a big mistake. You have to leave a place you are comfortable with and have come to love. As you said – as stressful as moving a house!!
I stopped using “platform” in book proposals quite awhile ago for a couple of these very reasons.
Great site you have here, Chad. I visit often. Appreciate your content very much.
Thanks, Sandra! Hope you’re doing well!
“Let’s remember we are not stage builders, we are content creators.” So true! Great post, Chad!
Thanks, Lauren!
Thanks, Lauren!
Interesting. I think there is a much, much bigger problem with platform that many rarely discuss: everyone wants to build one but many people aren’t even sure why they are building one (other than to make money).
We are told (sometimes directly/sometimes indirectly) that if we just get enough Twitter followers, Facebook likes or a big enough email list then we can do whatever we want. Platform becomes the thing many chase instead of actually doing real lasting work (which isn’t social media).
Well said, Jim, and I was trying to get at this under the “Too Utilitarian” heading. But you’re right, it’s also really important that we have a clear WHY for the platform we’re building.
Thank you for breaking this down a bit, Chad. I have discovered over the past three years of trying to build ‘platform’ that the more I focused on building relationships with people, the more I actually progressed towards building something. I don’t have a giant email list, or even a modest one. I DO have a group of friends that cheer me on, share my tweets and root for me, though. I’d like to think that this small group could provide the ‘platform’ without the big numbers.
Anita, this reminds me of that great quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Keep at it!