In this section, we help you get into the mindset that bestselling authors have when they approach their marketing. It’s about understanding that, yes, you are technically a brand as you begin to set up your author platform. Before you do anything else, setting up your values will help guide everything you do and keep you focused.

You’ll learn:

• How to create an author brand identity and why that’s important to a writing career (and how that can help you keep a personal life while maintaining a public persona)
• How quality content for your platform will trump quantity every time
• How to focus your efforts online even if you feel overwhelmed by the vastness of the internet — that way, you don’t waste time in places that won’t help you
• Why creating your website is a top priority as a one-stop shop for your reader
• How to develop your “why” as an author and keep that at the center of everything you do (and how that has helped bestsellers like Jerry Jenkins stay on target)
• Our strategy that gives purpose to your marketing by outlining your Core Values
• Secrets to developing your Core Message to attract the right kind of readers to your site 
• Plus a lot more!

(And that’s all in just Part 1 of SEVEN parts! See how much you need to know even before you start building a platform, so you don’t end up feeling lost after months of work?)

Here we spend a few sessions on the research you’ll do for your author platform — a critical step many skip entirely. Research ensures that you not only find your ideal reader, you’ll also be an expert on how they think.

You’ll learn:

• Why marketing your book in the correct genre can be the difference between getting fan mail from your readers and your book never getting read 
• How to find where your target reader is online and how you can start grabbing their attention
• Our little-known tactic called Amazon Review Mining that can help you create content your readers actually want to engage with
• How you can take the guesswork out of research with direct surveys of your target audience to provide the easiest direct feedback strategy possible
• How easy it is to use our provided email templates to get the most responses from future book purchasers
• Why researching other author brands in your genre is important and how it can help make your platform creation even easier
• And a lot more

You don’t have to be a tech wizard or know how to code to build a website. We take you step-by-step through setting up a website that you’ll be able to do yourself without the cost of a web designer—even if you’ve struggled with the internet in the past.

You’ll learn:

• The importance of a single online space for you to direct readers to and capture their email addresses, keeping them engaged with your writing
• How to navigate all the necessary details of building a website, like getting a domain name and hosting a website
• A review of all the major web hosts and how to set up your site no matter if you choose Squarespace, Bluehost, Godaddy, or others
• Exactly what you’ll need to do to gather your readers’ emails and keep engaged with them
• Marketing fundamentals to ensure your site has the kind of copy to make even the most clever copywriter jealous 
• What actually needs to go up on your website page by page so every word on your site has a purpose (which is ultimately to promote your books)
• And more!

Even with a slick website that looks incredible, no one will see it or want to stick around if there’s nothing for them there. A part of making an author platform is ensuring you draw the kinds of readers that will want to buy your book. How? By making incredible content that your readers can find on Google and building a network with other writers.

You’ll learn:

• How a blog is critical to keeping your site fresh and discoverable online (and tactics that keep blogging from becoming a chore)
• Why making a content calendar can keep you consistent and help you balance your marketing efforts with your book writing
• Research strategies for examining competitors in your niche and how other authors have produced engaging content 
• How to keep your own list engaged and build that relationship through emails (with handy templates for you to copy)
• Why SEO or Search Engine Optimization is actually a manageable skill that you don’t have to fear to learn 
• Exactly how to find keywords and build blog outlines that will make your writing process easy and effective
• A full content strategy, the same that we’ve used to grow the Jerry Jenkins email list to over 300,000 subscribers 
• How to connect with other writers and develop a symbiotic relationship with other bloggers to help grow your influence
• And even more that ensures you’re never guessing what to do next

Social media is almost a bad word to those who don’t want to deal with the internet and the noise it can sometimes create. But it’s a critical tool for your author platform plan that can be navigated with a little help from our marketing expertise. And, you can run your social media based on all that content you already made…cutting down on the work you’ll have to do!

You’ll learn:

• How to focus your efforts to the social media platforms that will work best for you and your niche
• Tactics for using your blog content to create shorter social media pieces to avoid doing double work
• Why a social media calendar is key to making the best use of your efforts so you don’t have to waste any of your precious time 
• What social media scheduling platforms do, and how they can help you schedule every post in advance so they run in the background
• And everything else we know about marketing on social media for authors 

The best way to get the most out of your time creating an author platform is making sure everything is running exactly the way you want. If you’ve ever wondered how some websites seem to stay at the top of search engine results, a big reason is because they constantly ensure old posts are still performing. And you can do that too, with minimal effort.

You’ll learn:

• What an SEO audit is, how to run one yourself, and how it can keep old content working to bring in traffic to your platform
• How to keep your website loaded with fresh keywords that help your readers find you
• What A/B tests are, and how professional copywriters use them to ensure their copy is converting buyers
• Why the best marketing strategy is a constantly updating one and how you can keep readers no matter how many years you run your author platform
• And more!

The reason that most online author platforms fail is simple: the author gives up on it. Staying consistent is the key…and that doesn’t mean you have to post every day or be uploading TikToks every few hours. All it means is giving a reason for your readers to keep coming back for more.

You’ll learn:

• How to blend consistency with high-value content so you aren’t creating content for the sake of creation, rather you’ll always create something your reader wants
• How to create a content schedule that works for you and still keeps readers coming back to your author platform
• That content isn’t everything, simply responding to your readers goes a long way to keep them engaged
• How important it is to keep focused on your why, your values, and your mission as an author
• Why it’s important to always have your book writing as the focus (and how it deserves the effort needed to reach readers)

By the end of this course, you’ll have a fully functioning author website and platform that you can’t wait to show the world, ready for readers.