The 31-Day Build Your Author Platform Challenge! (We swear it will be fun!)

Hosts: Beth McMullen and Lisa Schmid

Theme: The 31-Day Platform Challenge

For: Aspiring authors looking for practical advice on building and enhancing their author platform.

Key Discussion Points:

1. Overview of the 31-Day Challenge: Aimed at building author platforms through daily, manageable tasks starting June 1st. Hosted in partnership with Bitsy Kemper. Details can be found on their blog at Writers with Wrinkles.
2. Importance of Author Platforms: Both hosts emphasized the necessity of having a platform as a modern author, whether you're self-published or traditionally published. Platforms provide visibility and connectivity with potential readers.
3. Practical Tasks: The challenge includes varied tasks such as defining your brand, considering starting a blog or newsletter, and possibly updating or creating a website. Examples like setting up a basic site on Wix were discussed to demystify technology for users.
4. Engagement Tips: Tips on social media engagement strategies were shared, such as choosing platforms that align with your target audience, content consistency, and the use of polls and follower engagement to increase interaction.
5. Getting Ready: Preparation for the challenge involves thinking critically about one's brand and the specific audience they intend to reach. Defining these elements early can significantly enhance platform effectiveness.

Conclusion:
The episode wraps up with encouragement to participate in the upcoming 31-Day Platform Challenge. It stresses the importance of having a clear strategy for online presence. Visit the Writers With Wrinkles Blog for more details or the Writers With Wrinkles Linktree

Challenge hashtag:  #wwwplatformchallenge
Sample Challenge Calendar
Challenge Prep - what to think about before you start!

Chapters

• 0:00 Building Your Author Platform
• 14:22 Social Media Platform Challenge Overview

Transcript

Beth McMullen: 0:30

Hi friends, I'm Beth McMullen and I'm Lisa Schmid, and we're the co-hosts of Writers with Wrinkles. This is season three, episode 19. And today we're talking about the 31 day platform challenge that starts June 1st. We are super excited about this. This is something that we're partnering with Bitsy Kemper to do, and we talked to her last week, so if you didn't listen to her episode, pop back there and do that. It's a really good one. But she runs this thing called the 31 Day Build your Platform Challenge and it's all focused on incremental challenges. Each day, some small tasks that will help you build out your author platform Takes place on social media. We're going to talk about some examples of the different challenges and tasks in a minute, but just to give you kind of an overview of what it is, it is all about making incremental improvements to your platform world and, god knows, we all could use some improvement right, you are correct, beth McMullen, after we talked to her and, by the way, it was a fabulous episode.

Lisa Schmid: 1:43

We're getting so much love about that.

Beth McMullen: 1:45

It's very popular. It's like doing really well.

Lisa Schmid: 1:48

It is really popular, but it makes sense because she has been such a huge part of the kidlit world for so long and she has so many people who follow her and love her advice and it has really good information. That's clearly resonating with listeners. So, yeah, the author platform challenge that's something I've been watching for a while, wondering exactly what it was, and now we're doing it and I'm going to be running it on the social media page for us and then also I'm going to be doing it on my own personal platform. So I have double duty.

Beth McMullen: 2:26

Me too, cause my platform can I even say the word platform with a straight face? I can only say plat. I have a plat. I'm missing the form Totally, yeah. But this is good because I can totally get my head around small things that in some total add up to something greater. But thinking about it all gives me a heart attack. And this is kind of the same way that I deal with writing. I can't deal with thinking about the whole thing that I have to do 380 pages or whatever. That's overwhelming. But just taking little, small micro tasks and doing those makes it much more palatable. So I'm excited about this whole thing.

Beth McMullen: 3:12

So what we want to do, just to kind of get you ready, this is going to launch June 1st and we are partnering with Bitsy, as I already said, to run this, so you'll be able to see the challenges on all of our socials mine, lisa's, the Writers with Wrinkles socials. You can check our writerswithwrinklesnet blog too. We'll have stuff on there about it, so you can get the information lots of different ways. But what I think you want to do before we jump into this June 1st you want to think about your platform, kind of get your head around a few things before you jump into the task. So you kind of know the universe that you're working in, and the first one I think that's important is to define your brand, and I know that sounds scary and maybe too big for what you think you're going to do. But this is just thinking about your writing style and the themes that you explore, maybe even your background and what you bring to the table. And deciding about these things upfront, or at least having an idea or a few ideas that you want to explore, will help you communicate more consistently and effectively with your audience.

Beth McMullen: 4:24

So think about what your brand is. You know, for instance, if you write graphic novels for kids that involve talking animals, okay, so that's where you're starting. You're that person who does that. So how do you lean into being the person who writes that particular thing and what does that mean to your author platform? Do you think you're going to build a website if you don't have one? Do you think you want to write a blog? If you don't do that, are you going to have a newsletter? These are kind of yes or no questions. I think that we hear often from editors and agents that a platform, an author platform, is not required, but in our experience, you are going to want to have something. Do you think so, lisa? Do you agree with that?

Lisa Schmid: 5:08

Oh my gosh. You know we've had a couple people editors come on who said, no, it's just, you know, oh, you don't. And then I'm like now, really, couple people editors come on who said, no, it's just, you know, oh, you don't. And then I'm like now, really, because I think, no matter what your goals are whether you want to be traditionally published, that's your goal or you want to be self-published, you need to have a place where people can find you and learn about you, and where it you can. Everyone can decide how much they want to take on, but I think, at the bare minimum, you need to have some type of landing spot for people to find you and learn about you, and so I think it's absolutely necessary.

Lisa Schmid: 5:52

One of the other things I'd like to mention is one of my friends sent me and I mentioned it in the last episode was her agent had done basically a State of the Union like kidlit address. I'm talking about what's going on in kidlit these days and it's you know, it's probably different in other genres, but specifically in kidlit it talks about how important having a platform is and that publishers are really seeking people with a platform that have a number of followers. Now we're not all going to achieve like a zillion followers, but I really think it's crucial to have something that you can, you know, look to and say I've got something, I'm building it, I'm working on it. And you know, again, that's going to look different for everybody and depending on how much you want to lean into it, not everyone's going to want to post reels every day or post videos of themselves.

Lisa Schmid: 6:51

I know, I certainly don't. I need to get Botox in my forehead. I have like big wrinkles on my forehead, but yeah, it's just. You know, you don't have to do everything, but I think pick something that you're comfortable with and and focus on that or build on that. Like everybody has something that they can do, and now is a good time to choose that thing that you want to focus on, to start building that, and then you can add on to it as you get more comfortable with the whole process.

Beth McMullen: 7:21

That's exactly right. You hit on something super important and that is that you don't have to do everything. Is that you don't have to do everything? You can choose the social media platform that aligns with your target audience, your goals, your tolerance for social media and you want to begin building your presence there. I think if you spread yourself too thin, you end up not being very engaged in any channel and that ends up diluting your impact. So I think that if you say you really like Instagram, you're very visual, you enjoy taking photographs with your phone or you like doing little stories or whatever, so just do that. You don't have to do everything.

Beth McMullen: 8:05

I definitely feel like you need a website, even if it's super basic, just like your author bio and the covers of your books, or your author bio and your links to Instagram or whatever you choose you're going to do, and an email address so that people can reach out to you. So I think that is. I kind of think of my website, which is really bad. Don't look at mine as an example. It's really bad and needs an overhaul, but I think of it like a billboard, right? So people see the billboard and they might go open the website, look at it and then click on Facebook or Instagram or my newsletter or something else that brings them closer in. But they do need someplace to go. Have something, choose wisely. How about that for?

Lisa Schmid: 8:53

a tip. I agree with you 100% on having a website, and I know that seems daunting and some people might be saying I don't have the money to pay somebody to build a website. There are free forms that you can use to have a basic website Like mine's on Wix. If you've ever listened to this show before this podcast, you know I am not tech savvy any level in any way and I built my own little Wix website and it's very basic. You know it has kind of the landing page and then my you know my about info. There's a place for blogs, there's my events. It's just some basic information about me, and I think I initially got the free version of it and then I upgraded it for some reason.

Lisa Schmid: 9:40

I can't even remember why I did, but there are things out there. There are services that you can use. So if there's costs, if you're worried about or the fear factor of doing something with technology, wix is like super friendly, and I know that there's other resources out there too that are super friendly. And then you know, I look at some people's websites and you can see they probably spent about $5,000 on paying somebody to have it created. I'm never going to be that person. But there are some people that do that and they're gorgeous. But don't feel intimidated by that. Like, don't look at somebody's website and go, I need to be that person. Well, maybe later on down the road you can be if you want to be. But you know, just take off little bites at a time and you can always do it later.

Beth McMullen: 10:24

You can always start with something super basic and upgrade later on. The point is to have something out there that's yours and has all of your stuff on it, so when people go looking for you, they can find you, because the person who's looking for you is potential person who's going to buy your book and you want to make it easy for them to do that. So, yeah, so think about the, the types of social media and websites, et cetera, that you think you can manage. Think about how often you can reasonably promise yourself that you're going to be doing new content. That's an important thing some consistency in what you're producing to keep your audience coming back and maybe get new followers. So think about that. Be honest with yourself. Don't set goals you're not going to be able to meet, because then you're just going to get bummed out and quit the whole thing. And who wants to do that?

Beth McMullen: 11:16

And the last thing that I would say is use this 31 day challenge to think about who your audience is. We don't do this enough. I want to do a whole episode on understanding your audience, because you can get down to a real micro level about who is your ideal reader and when you have an idea about who that person is, you can try to figure out where they're going to be, because you want to get in front of them. So this is a good time. You're. You're not. If you're a new writer, you're not going to have the answer to this question right away, and if you're a seasoned author and have a bunch of books on the shelf already, maybe it's time to refine that understanding of who your audience is. So that's another good thing you can do to get ready for that June 1, jump into it start date. So, lisa, do you want to talk to people a little bit about what kind of challenges are going to show up on this 31-day challenge, so that they're not afraid. It's not scary, we promise.

Lisa Schmid: 12:17

I was looking at it and thinking, oh, this is a lot and it's not. And I think the big thing is, when you go into it there's something different, obviously, on every day and you're not going to do every every challenge Like it. Just that's just statement of fact. Because one day it might be create a website Well, you already have a website, you know. Or it might be create a newsletter Well, you maybe don't want to do a newsletter, I don't. I'm not going to do a newsletter. That's not something I'm willing to embark on just because I know I'll never keep it up. So there are things that you may say you know what. I'm not doing this, but then work on something else that day that you feel comfortable doing.

Lisa Schmid: 12:56

Get a new headshot. It's funny Bitsy brought this up the other day about having that. Her headshot was older and it reminds me of realtors. I used to be in the real estate business 20 years ago. It was like a month ago, for some reason I clicked on something and there was pictures of my old clients. I'm like, oh my gosh, they still have the same shot from 20 years ago when I called on them. It's like you have to update your headshot and that doesn't mean going out and getting a professional photographer. If you can't afford it. Just have a friend with their iPhone, take a picture and do something that's fun.

Beth McMullen: 13:33

It is weird to show up to an event and think that the author is, you know, 27 and they're 58. And you're like wait a minute, I have been misled, so that's a good one and that's you know, not that hard you can get that done.

Lisa Schmid: 13:51

It's funny because the headshot on my website is only from like eight years ago and I swear I've aged 20 years and that doesn't look like me anymore. And so I have one now that I took at my at my desk and I'm like, oh, that's kind of cute. I have my glasses on.

Beth McMullen: 14:05

I just keep changing my hair length, so I it's confusing to people, I don't know. But yeah, again, that's a really good example of something that is not going to be super intimidating for people. You can totally do this and it's important to have that headshot on your little website.

Lisa Schmid: 14:22

Some of the other things that she's got going on. So for posting on social media, she has some fun things like take a pic or a video of your workspace. Okay, this is another pathetic. You know, if I took one now it would be really sad and tragic. I think there's like an empty bottle of lotion that you know. There's like stacks of post-it notes everywhere that are like have coffee rings on them, and there's nothing really fun about mine. So I'm going to fix it up a little bit. So post to take a video of your workspace, which is actually kind of fun, because whenever I see them of other people's workspaces, I always think, oh my God, look at those great workspaces, and that's where the magic happens.

Beth McMullen: 15:05

I really need to work online. You and I are going to bring the real to the workplace video, because if you could see where I'm sitting right now I don't have an office. I am a migratory author. I just kind of float around to spaces. I'm also the kind of person who can't sit still for very long. So to have an office, I would feel imprisoned and it would be bad. So right now I'm literally sitting in my at my dining room table. Behind me is a huge stack of outdoor furniture cushions, my daughter's puzzle table. My son brought home all of these, these, these models for this game that he plays from London. Those are all stacked up on the fireplace. It's a hot mess. I'm not photographing this, no way.

Lisa Schmid: 15:47

I'm going to do it and I might even just pan around my little room and see this is where I work every day and hopefully my friendly little squirrel will show up. I have a squirrel that shows up every day and sits on the fence and stares at me while he's eating his acorn and I'm just like every morning. I'm like Hello sir, how are you today? Like I, have conversations with a squirrel is not a good sign where I'm headed.

Beth McMullen: 16:11

We are coming unglued, but that's a good that again it. The thing about this challenge that I really love is that it gives you the idea and sometimes it's the idea that we struggle with like what could I possibly have to share with a bunch of people who don't really know me? That reveals something about myself that's not like ridiculous, it's not gonna be embarrassing blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's hard. So that's why this challenge is so great. It just spoon feeds you the stuff and then you just do the task. So you take a little photo of your desk done.

Lisa Schmid: 16:45

Another thing ask a question, post a poll. You see those every once in a while and you know what's so funny is I always answer the question. I'm like, Ooh, a poll. And then I like to see, like, what the percentage is and if I'm like out of the norm.

Beth McMullen: 16:59

I'm obsessed with polls. I'm totally obsessed with polls. I put them into my suback newsletter all the time, even if they have nothing to do with anything, because I think they're fun and no other reason. I'm exactly like you I answer every poll. You put a poll in front of me. I'm like oh yeah, I'll answer Everyone.

Lisa Schmid: 17:14

Go post a poll and I will come in and I will answer it for you. And then every once in a while I'm going too fast and I click on the wrong button and I'm like no, no, no, I didn't mean to say that. And so then I'll go in and they don't know who's posted that answer. But then I feel the need to like correct myself and I'll go in and put in, make a comment just to counteract my wrong answer. I don't know why that's so important to me. And the other thing she did is she suggests is following 10 people in your same kind of interest group every day, and so I've started doing that, and so I'm following my audience that I seek to connect with, of course, other writers and authors and readers you know the kind of thing. But I know that teachers and librarians are huge for me there are for any kid-led author, because that's who's buying the books, and so I am trying to connect more and more with book sharing groups and teachers and librarians.

Beth McMullen: 18:12

It's a really good opportunity to think about again that audience question, who it is that you want to reach, who it's important for you to be engaging with. Like Lisa said, middle grade you know they're gatekeepers. You're not going to get to talk to the kids, nor should you be trying to, but you want to talk to the people who are buying the books, which are the teachers, the parents, the librarians. That type of follower would be good for you. So you go out and you find them. It's much easier to follow a bunch of people If you have an idea in your head about who it is that you want to be engaging with. I'm switching back to writing adult fiction, so I'm looking for readers who read a certain kind of book. So that gives me a nice direction to go in.

Lisa Schmid: 18:52

And, as one other note, we will have a hashtag associated with this 31 day challenge for social media. So every time you do something that is in association with this awesome challenge, use the hashtag wwwplatformchallenge.

Beth McMullen: 19:09

So we really, really, really want you to join us for this. It is launching June 1st. We are going to be talking about it again. So if you feel like in your head you're thinking I want to do this, but then you kind of lose track of it, just remember we're going to. We're going to hit it again in the coming weeks before June 1st. I'm also going to put a document on our writers with wrinkles link tree. You can find that from any of our socials with the things to think about before you get into this, the things that we just talked about. So if you were thinking I should write these down, don't bother. There will be a document for you to grab just to help you think about getting ready to start June 1st.

Beth McMullen: 19:50

So, listeners, please remember to visit writerswithwrinklesnet and find out how to support the show by subscribing, following and recommending. We've been picking up new subscribers. That's super fun, and thank you to everybody who is subscribing and supporting the show. And join us next week for episode 20, where we'll be talking to Lindy Ryan, who is going to teach us all about anthologies, books to movies and how to jump genres. She has done so much stuff. I am so excited for this conversation. So until then, lovely listeners, happy reading, writing and listening. Bye Lisa, bye Beth, bye guys.