4 Platform Building Lessons from Ephesians - Guest Post by Joan Campbell

Joan Campbell lives in Johannesburg with her husband and daughters. She is inspired by South Africa’s vibrant mix of culture, language, music and folklore. Her country’s history also impacts her writing, with the themes of discrimination and reconciliation woven through her fantasy novels. 

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I’ll just come right out and admit it. The constant advice to ‘build a platform’ used to irritate me. A lot. I followed it not because I wanted to, but only in the hopes of impressing publishers. 

Once I signed a publishing contract my attitude shifted. With a greater incentive to build an audience interested in my books, I began to pay attention to how other authors tackled this. I saw plenty of creativity, audience engagement, powerful messages and savvy use of social media. 

Inspirational, right? 

 Well…no. Instead, I felt more discouraged and uncertain on how to improve my half-hearted efforts.

That’s when I began to pray about it. I hadn’t ever thought of seeking God’s guidance, mainly because I didn’t think of him as a modern ‘platform guru’. Yet almost immediately I received the direction I sought through a passage from Ephesians 4. These four keys to platform building are changing my outlook, turning something I’ve always done rather resentfully into a joyful part of serving God. 

 Engaging others is part of our calling 

“Therefore I… beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling for you have been called by God.” (Eph. 4:1) 

As a Christian writer, I have a message and ministry from God. I might prefer to huddle over my computer, working only on my manuscripts, but that’s not all God calls me to. He calls us to love others and speak truth into their lives. Our platforms are a powerful tool to do that, be it in the form of a newsletter, blog, Facebook post or speaking engagement. 

Work as a team to build God’s kingdom 

“Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace. We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all.” (Eph. 4:3-6) 

In the competitive world of publishing, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that—as Christian writers—we are called to build God’s Kingdom. To do that we need to unite and pull together by encouraging and supporting each other, promoting each others’ books and doing all we can to get the message of Christ’s love into the world. We are a team. 

 Let our uniqueness and gifts shine through 

“However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ. He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.” (Eph. 4:7,11) 

 As much as we are a team, we are also wonderfully unique. We have our own voice, own stories and message, own audience and own spiritual gifts. If our gift is teaching, this will be reflected in our posts and blogs. If it is evangelism or encouragement, that will be the thrust of our messages. Our platforms are not an end in itself, they are an extension of the unique ministry God has for each of us.  

Be authentic and vulnerable 

 “So put away all falsehood and tell your neighbour the truth because we belong to each other.” (Eph. 4:25) 

In our scramble for attention, it can be easy to project something other than the truth, but God calls us to be honest and authentic in our engagement with people. That is the vulnerable place where the real connection happens between us and our followers/readers, and where our words have the greatest impact. 

Ephesians 4:29 tells us that our words should be an encouragement to those who hear them. I love this verse in The Message, which says our words should be gifts to the world. What an honour that God has given us words to write and speak and share. We need the courage to do this not only in ways comfortable to us, but also in ways that challenge us. Platform building is not about us garnering readers and acclaim. It is about being true to God’s calling to bring words of truth, hope and salvation to the world. 

 (Verses from The New Living Translation) 

 Connect with Joan on her Website, Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter (she says she's still working on her attitude towards tweets). 

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 Joan’s Books 

Chains of Gwyndorr is the first book of The Poison Tree Path Chronicles and published by Enclave Publishing. Joan started writing this book after she read The Chronicles of Narnia to her two young daughters and realised the powerful way in which a story can convey redemption. 
Buy it on Amazon. 

Legends of the Loreteller, the trilogy’s companion book, is a collection of short stories set in Tirragyl, the fantasy world of the The Poison Tree Path Chronicles. 
Available as a FREE DOWNLOAD on Joan’s website 

Encounters: Life Changing Moments with Jesus brings readers face to face with Jesus, through stories from the gospels told in the voice of those Jesus encountered. The book is enhanced with reflections, prayers and art work.

Buy it on Amazon.

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Ronie Kendig is an award-winning, bestselling author who grew up an Army brat. After twenty-five years of marriage, she and her hunky hero husband have a full life with their children, a Maltese Menace, and a retired military working dog in Northern Virginia. 

Find Ronie online:
     Website: www.roniekendig.com
     Facebook (www.facebook.com/rapidfirefiction)
     Twitter (@roniekendig)
     Goodreads (www.goodreads.com/RonieK)
     Instagram (@kendigronie)
     Pinterest (http://www.pinterest.com/roniek/)

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1-2-3 to Successful Self-Promotion by Andrea Boeshaar

3 Keys to Successful Self-Promotion

By Andrea Boeshaar

Although I’ve been a published author for twenty years, promotion is not my strong point and never has been. Therefore, I work extremely hard at it. In my earlier career I wrote for a mass-market romance line. The publisher promoted its line, not the authors and generally, the books did well. Then I published in the general Christian market (trade paperback). I didn’t do much in the way of promotion and felt horrified when my sales numbers were considerably less than my previous books. So when my latest series was purchased, I knew I had to hop on that proverbial band wagon and let all the world know I had a new book releasing.

But how to do that – promote?

It’s the million dollar question. Literally! Certainly writers can hire publicists and leave the dirty work to them. That option is the most effective way to publicize, but it’s not always the most affordable. For the majority of authors, it’s boots-on-the-ground publicizing and that means digging in our heels. I’m a hard-worker so no problem there, but I’m also a simple person. I need the basics before my creative juices start to flow. So, after brain-storming with several trusted friends and reading oodles of articles on promotion, I’ve boiled the whole process down to three basic keys to promotion.

1. Web Promo

• Get yourself a website. I’m always amazed when I hear about published authors who don’t have websites. In today’s techno-world, a website is crucial.
• Establish yourself on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. Get your name out there!
• Invest in a Facebook Ad. This is a reasonably-priced option, as you’re charged per click and you can decide how much to spend and how long to run your ad.
• Create a blog – and keep up with your posts. There’s nothing worse than clicking onto an author’s blog and that seeing his or her latest post is from six months ago. (Which reminds me…)
• Guest blog on other authors’ web sites. This is great way to introduce yourself to new readers.
• Peruse online radio programs, like those on Blog Talk Radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/. Hosts are always looking for interesting guests (like authors!).
• Write an e-newsletter. If you choose not to blog, a monthly or seasonal newsletter might be an option to keep in touch with readers. Even if you’re not currently contracted, it’s important to remind readers that you have novels available for purchase. I’ve learned that readers aren’t always current on our current projects. One sweet lady stopped me in church a few weeks ago and said a friend just gave her my book Wisconsin Weddings (the 3-in-1 story collection was released in 2007).

2. Hardcopy promo

• Write a press release, announcing your new book and fax, mail (or email) it to local magazines and newspapers. Local media enjoys write-ups about hometown talent.
• Magazine and Newspaper Ads. These are sometimes costly, but check your local newspapers.
• Send out postcards. I like to use VistaPrint.com. The printing is fast and affordable. What’s more, it’s user-friendly. Even I managed to upload all four book covers in my series. Then I mailed them to bookstores and readers across the country.

3. Personal Appearances

• Contact book clubs and writers’ groups. Schedule times when you can speak to these organizations in your area to encourage books sales.
• Contact the producers of local morning shows. Again, the hometown talent thing goes a long way.
• Book signings. Contact bookstores and let them know you’re available to sign copies of your novel. Sometimes bookstore owners will ask you to do a short talk about yourself and how you began your writing career.
• Attend writers’ conferences. This is an important piece, as there’s nothing like face-to-face contact with other writers. Remember, writers are readers too – and they do things like write book reviews.

So there you have ‘em – three basic keys to promotion. They are as simple as building blocks. However, these keys are vital to opening the way to top-dollar book sales!

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ANDREA BOESHAAR has been married for nearly 40 years. She and her husband have 3 wonderful sons, 1 beautiful daughter-in-law, and 5 precious grandchildren. Andrea’s publishing career began in 1994. Since then, 31 of her books have gone to press. Additionally, Andrea cofounded ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and served on its Advisory Board for a number of years. In 2007, Andrea earned her certification in Christian Life Coaching and now owns and operates Steeple View Coaching and The Writer’s ER (divisions of Pink Ink, Inc.). For more information, log onto her website: www.andreaboeshaar.com

LIKE her Facebook: www.facebook.com/Andrea.Boeshaar

Follow her on Twitter: @AndreaBoeshaar.

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Platform ~ It Isn't a Dirty Word

by +AneMulligan  @AneMulligan

Everyone hates the word platform. But stay with me here. If you're a writer, you need one. These days, only the top 10% or less of writers have people who do all the marketing for them. Let's face it, the rest of us have to market. And you have to have a sphere of influence to market to. So here are some things you can do. 

7 Proven Tips for Building a Platform Before You're Published

1. Plan to spend an hour each day on building a platform. Think of it as

pre-published marketing. You may as well get used to it; once you do get a contract, you'll be spending hours marketing. That's in addition to writing the next book.

Editors will look for your online presence. Besides your website or blog, you want them to find a large Internet presence. Spend time web surfing and commenting on blogs. Each time you leave a comment or publish a blog entry, you leave a Google stamp of your name.

2. Find something no one else is doing. When I first started writing, not much was online about how author's got published. Most interviews were in print magazines, and no one blogged about their writing journey. In 2005, Gina Holmes, decided to chronicle her first novel journey. She soon realized for all the work it demanded, there were three readers, and I was two of them. We talked about it and she decided to interview some authors. Novel Journey (now Novel Rocket) was born. She soon brought me and Jessica Dotta, on board so we had fresh articles every day. The rest is history.

3. What can you do to make yours unique? Combine interviews with a favorite hobby, or charity. Have you wanted to fund a home for retired cloggers? Perhaps you love Olympic curling. Find novels that have athletes in them and interview the author. Do you raise bees? Feature a video from The Sting. The point is to integrate your hobby, other job, and/or passion into your blog to draw another segment of the market. You'll have a built-in fan base when your debut novel releases.

4. Set how often you'll blog and keep to it. Best is every day, but if that won't happen go for once a week or partner with a few other writers. Find authors in your genre and start a genre blog, like Kill Zone where some great thriller authors blog.

Author Michelle Griep does short blog posts Monday through Thursday. On Friday she does a vlog (video blog post). Her blog, Writer off theLeash, is informative and her wry humor shines through.

5. If you can join with other writers, it splits the workload. We split the work between three of us when we started Novel Journey. We posted new interviews each day. Then, we added teaching posts by authors we had previously interviewed but who had new novels to promote. Now, we have a regular crew of 29 and our own writing contest.

5. Follow other blogs. Another way to build your Internet presence is commenting on blogs. Lots of them. One very clever author, Bonnie Calhoun, realized the potential for marketing through blog tours. She amassed a large contingency of bloggers and contacted a number of publishers, who supplied the books for reviews posted. Most of these bloggers are writers and building platforms for themselves.

6. Network and trade links with other writers. Join a professional writers organization like ACFW or RWA. Offer to swap posts with other members, do guest posts, and even ask what they'd like to see on your blog. The more links to your blog, the higher your Google ranking.

7. Social Media. Choose two or three and be active. There are several great sites for writers. One of my favorite social media sites is unique. Started by Nora St. Laurent, who isn't even a writer, it's called The Book Club Network (TBCN). Most of the members are book club leaders. TBCN connects them with authors. She has them share what works and doesn't in their book club. Besides offering a tremendous resource for book clubs, one of these days, she'll write a book and will already have a platform in place.

So get creative and get busy so when your book is completed, you'll have your marketing platform in place. 

While a large, floppy straw hat is her favorite, bestselling novelist Ane Mulligan has worn many: hairdresser, legislative affairs director (that's a fancy name for a lobbyist), drama director, playwright, humor columnist, and novelist. Her lifetime experience provides a plethora of fodder for her Southern-fried fiction. She firmly believes coffee and chocolate are two of the four major food groups. President of the award-winning literary site, Novel Rocket, Ane resides in Suwanee, GA, with her artist husband, her chef son, and two dogs of Biblical proportion. You can find Ane on her Southern-fried Fictionwebsite, Google+, Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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If You’re Truly Serious about Writing, Where are You Focusing Your Time & Energy?

We live in a connected society. And as writers, everywhere we turn we’re being told to get more connected. Platform building is an industry-wide focus.

But all that platform building won’t make you a successful writer if you can’t…well…write well.

So my question to you is this—

Where are you focusing your time and energy?

If it isn’t on writing, you’ve got an problem. Don’t get me wrong, I know we all need to build a viable platform and that includes an online presence. Most of you know I travel around the country teaching writers to do just that. But even though I teach platform building, I still only spend thirty minutes a day, five days a week, on my personal social media; and one two-hour block of time each week generating blog posts.

Why such a small amount of time?

Because I am determined to become the best writer I can be. And I won’t make it if I spend all my time on Facebook, Pinterest and blogging.

And at the risk of bragging, I’ve built a pretty good platform with this formula. More importantly, I’ve stayed focused on learning my craft.

I’ve done it by working smarter, not harder. Here are some of the tricks I’ve learned to help me build a platform without sacrificing valuable writing time.

• I’ve determined my best time of day to be creative. For me, it’s the morning. Not before dawn early, but about nine until noon.

• I guard my creative time. If I need to do something that’s not creative, I make sure I do it before or after those magically creative hours. I don’t want to squander that time on making up interesting stuff to share on Facebook. Instead I want to use it writing books.

• I use an ancillary program to schedule my social media. I personally prefer Hootsuite, but Tweetdeck or Buffer both work well, too. This allows me to schedule Tweets and Facebook updates throughout the day, without having to actually be on Facebook and Twitter.

• I check social media periodically during the day. I peek at Hootsuite every couple of hours to see if anything interesting has popped up or if anyone has mentioned me. By peek, I spend no more that FIVE minutes. After that, it’s back to work.

• I keep regular hours. For me, writing is a priority and I make sure my life choices reflect that. I don’t sacrifice my time with God or with my family to write, but after those, it’s always next.

Now I’d love to hear from you. What do you do to guard your writing time? 

Edie Melson is the author of four books, as well as a freelance editor with years of experience in the publishing industry. Her popular blog, TheWrite Conversation, reaches thousands of writers each month, and she’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Her bestselling ebook on social media has just been updated and re-released as Connections: Social Media& Networking Techniques for Writers. She’s the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy and the social media director for Southern Writers Magazine. You can connect with Edie through Twitter and Facebook.

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