A Major Component of the Today’s Business

In today’s world, you generally cannot just have a website or a brick-and-mortar shop. The Internet has leveled the playing field in a certain way. Now, you are not just in competition with the large companies, an often futile task requiring concentration in local markets, but with everyone else. Yes, you have shot at commanding awesome profits, but to do this, you will often need a spectacular platform. Many small businesses are virtually global although their real market may be confined to a specific country or a region. Others are actually global.

The elements vary with every type of business and every individual who wishes to promote himself, his business or his cause. [. As Michael Hayden author of the now classic, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World

So, if you are a business owner, professional working for an outside company, non-profit manager, author, screenwriter, screenwriters, etc., you need a platform. Individuals also may need or want a platform to share specifics of their interests, desire to promote themselves or to create a following interested in special causes.

The Diversity of Platforms

Platforms will widely vary. A business platform will generally have a website and social media. But the owner could be published in newspapers, magazines, ebooks and conventional books, particularly focused on his specialty. He or she could be a speaker, host webinars on Google Hangouts, have conference calls on Go to Meetings, advertise on Television or Radio, regularly have interviews on various news or specialty podcasting programs. A non-profit might favor, again, websites and social media, but be going for more press releases, Public Service Announcements of radio and TV, discussion groups in Linked In related to prospective donors, holding charity events like auctions or athletic events.

Whereas in the past, authors might have an agent or a publicist to push forward their work, relying ultimately, if successful, on a traditional publisher to do their promotion, that is not the case any more. Your “author’s platform,” which is the manifold foundations of the way you reach out to the public, is considered a vital component of your value to a traditional publisher and a necessity if you are going to self-publish.

Such a platform will involve enhanced profiles in social media to enhance your book, regular postings, possibly participation in relevant niche-oriented discussion groups, website creations or enhancement, speeches, webinars, blogs, book signings, etc. It is a major, ongoing chore for an author.  When dealing with new authors, New Galaxy regards this as a vital part of the strategy. Money can be made in self-publishing, print-on-demand or with a traditional publisher, but a lot of an author’s income today comes from outside events- like speaking, webinars, coaching, etc.

Record companies now, as publishers, look very heavily at an author’s following to make their decision as to their involvement. In a recent Hay House workshop I intended, numerous authors explained and even warned writer-attendees about the dangers of not having a platform.

My Platform

In my business, as a freelance writer, I have actually worked for clients, colleagues and outside providers all over the world- in Norway, United States, of course, in Canada, Mexico, France, England, Germany, Russia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, India. A major component, in the past, has been freelance writing sites, where I have bid in the global marketplace. To that end, I have needed a profile in those sites, but also websites, a presence in major social media, a membership and profile in Skype but also the evidence of various visible projects evidenced in books, magazines, newspapers and my history of producing radio shows, including my current show, Threshold, launching in September. These elements are portions of my own media platform, which I will use, in part to promote my clients as well as helping them with their own media platforms. Three books, West Side Warrior, The Thrice Born and Boots in Manhattan are now being massively launched. Plans are being made for a substantial expansion of my social network. As with my proprietary projects, this platform will be for my collaborator/investors and clients as well.