by Jeff Goins
—RALPH WALDO EMERSON
Talent is not enough to succeed. We know this. We see it every day.
Hollywood is not just full of the world’s best actors, but those who also made the right connections and paid their dues.
Music Row has welcomed not only the world’s most remarkable musicians, but also those who knew the right people.
Of course, talent is important. But it is also a given. In order to succeed as a writer, you need something more, something vibrant.
In other words, there must be a life behind the writing.
Stephen King said in his memoir On Writing that for years he labored under the assumption that life was a support system for art. Only years later did he learn it was, in fact, the other way around.
If you are going to succeed as a writer, you are going to have to learn to be smart. To have thick skin. To be more than talented. You are going to have to be a marketer, an entrepreneur, a talented salesperson.
Because this is a business.
If your art is going to have the impact you want for it, you had better learn the tricks of the trade — not so you can become part of the system, but so you can start changing lives.
I wish someone would’ve told me this ten years ago. I would’ve gotten to work a lot sooner. And I would’ve succeeded, too.
I wish I’d have known there were simple tools to help writers do what they were made to do: Write, not deal with ridiculous bureaucracies.
I wish I’d have known how to network and make meaningful connections. And that it was all easier and less sleazy than I thought.
I wish I’d have gotten online and started blogging much sooner.
If I had done all those things when I was in college, I’d have authored dozens of books by now. I’m sure of it.
But I didn’t do those things. Instead I waited for permission. To be picked.
Maybe you are, too. If you are, consider this your official wake-up call: It’s time to stop waiting to be asked and start creating.
The Most Important Lesson a Writer Must Learn
For years, I’ve been writing and publishing articles — both online and offline. I’ve experienced the pain of being ignored and the disappointment of being rejected.
In a matter of months, that all went away.
Everything I’ve learned about writing query letters and book proposals has been thrown out the window. I’m no longer pounding on publishers’ doors, pleading to be picked.
Instead, I’ve learned to choose myself.
Without trying to sound like an infomercial, you can do this, too. And it will make all the difference.
I’ve been writing my whole life, but in the past year I’ve learned the most important lesson about building a writing career, which means it doesn’t take long. Doesn’t have to, anyway.
I’ve learned secrets and tricks to publishing that used to baffle and frustrate me. And I’m going to tell you how I did it: how I focused on the craft and wrote for the love of it. How I got published without having to plead and grovel. How the gatekeepers started coming to me.
Are you ready to get started with this? To live the life every writer dreams of? To stop pitching and start writing? It begins with having the right tools.
Three Tools Every Writer Needs
It takes more than talent or luck to be a writer. You have to be intentional. Every successful communicator has three important tools, in some form or another. They are:
A platform to share your writing.
A brand to build trust with readers.
Channels of connection to distribute your art.
Without these tools, your reach will be limited. Your art will only go so far.
Let’s start with the first.
Building a Platform
Every writer needs a platform. A stage. A place from which to communicate a message. This is the first tool you need.
A platform is something only you can build. You can’t borrow or steal it. You can only earn it. It’s the permission people give you to communicate with them.
There is no set form for any given platform; it all depends on the tribe you’re building. A platform is what you make it.
The question is: Will you build one? Will you create your own rules? Or will you continue to be bound to someone else’s standards? To blend in with the rest of the crowd?
Not sure where to start? Let’s look at some examples.
Examples of Platforms
There is no set way to do this. There are all kinds of platforms — which one will you build? Here are a few types to consider:
YouTube Channel
Podcast
Blog
Newspaper Column
TV Show
Speaking Career
Oprah has a platform. So does Bono. As does J.K. Rowling. If you want people to pay attention to what you have to say, you have to be legitimate. You need to have a reason for people to listen.
In the old days, a lot of this was left to chance. Musicians had to play a lot of dives before they ever stepped onto a main stage. Screenwriters moved to Hollywood and paid their dues for years before they ever made one of their stories into movies.
But now, things have changed. Now, you don’t have to wait. The odds are still against you, and this will be hard. But the good news is this isn’t left to chance. You don’t have to wait anymore.
Now, you can create your own luck.
When it comes to platform, there are so many options — so many opportunities — it can feel overwhelming. Where do we begin? With what we know.
How to Build a Platform
There are three important parts of building any platform:
Get experience.
Demonstrate competence.
Generate buzz.
Let me unpack that. There are three parts to building any successful platform, three steps or actions you need to take to get noticed.
First, you need experience. This is about apprenticeship. About paying your dues. It’s about spending time getting good at your craft.
Second, you need to demonstrate competence. This means showing us what you have. It means practicing in public.
For musicians, this means playing live shows. For writers, it means blogging. For artists, it means putting your work on display for the world to see. You need to show the world you have what it takes and to find someone who will give you a chance.
Third, you need to generate buzz. You have to get people talking about you. If you have experience and are good at what you do, but no one advocates for you, you don’t matter.
You may be writing for the love of it, which is perfectly fine, but if you want to touch someone’s life (as most writers do), this is not enough.
This means more than fans. It includes patrons and supporters and people who will spread your message for you. It’s a tribe.
This may sound overwhelming or vague. It may be too ethereal. What does it actually mean?
That’s all well and good, you may be thinking. But I don’t even know where to start. What do you do?
The best way to build a platform and earn influence is actually quite simple. How do you get noticed in a world full of noise, distractions, and advertisements? Easy. Help people.
Be a resource to others. Do favors. Be selfless. In a world of me-first and gimme-gimme, this is totally crazy. And unexpected. Which is why it works.
Generosity catches people off-guard; they don’t see it coming. This is why they trust you, why they take time to listen to you. You have their best interest in mind.
With trust comes permission. With permission, the opportunity to share your work.
Personal Story: How I Got Started
When I first started my writing blog, Goinswriter.com, I felt like a fool. I had never published a book and had only gotten a few articles in print over the years. I did a lot of online writing and blogging, but that was it.
Who the heck was I to offer advice?
Then I heard of
other bloggers who were considered experts in their fields. I found out many of them didn’t start out as experts, either. Instead, they just started asking questions. They started poking and probing and finding the answers to their burning questions.
So I realized something: The only prerequisite to building a community is curiosity.
If you’re struggling with feeling “good enough,” stop it. That’s not the issue. Not really. The issue is fear. Namely, fear of starting. What it takes to start is not talent but the willingness to finish, to follow through.
Are you willing to push through the fear of rejection and embarrassment? To be curious and ask questions? To persevere and commit to learning? To work harder than most so you can become the expert?
If so, you’re ready to begin. You’re ready to build a platform. Remember: A platform is people. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. Help others, and you’ll find your helpfulness reciprocated.
As it turns out, the age-old adage is true: What goes around comes around.
So start being generous today.
Establishing a Brand
The second tool every writer needs is a strong personal brand.
For years, I neglected this, riding on the coattails of others. I partnered with writers and organizations that had strong brands. I thought somehow their influence would transfer to me.
I was wrong. It doesn’t work like that. Only you can own your own platform. Only you can manage your own brand.
You have to have an image and personality that people recognize. And it needs to be distinctly yours. Otherwise, you disappear. You don’t exist. You’re camouflaged, blending in with the background of other voices.
Trust me, I know.
I used to write for a magazine. Every time I sent in a new piece (after publishing multiple articles with them), I had to re-introduce myself. Every. Single. Time. It was pathetic. And terribly frustrating. But I had no home base — no website, no landing zone, no platform. I got what I was asking for.
Without a brand, you’re forgettable.
The good news is you have a choice. With the Internet and the million ways people are connecting with each other every day, you can take command of your personal brand. In fact, you must.
What, exactly, is a brand? That’s not a bad question. In fact, there’s a lot of confusion about what the word even means. It means different things to different people.
For some, a brand is a logo. For others, it’s your reputation or the trust people put in a product. The word itself may conjure images of Apple or Coca-Cola. It may cause you to wince or make you roll your eyes.
If that’s the case, hang in there. Because what I mean when I say “brand” is actually quite simple. And as far as I’m concerned, every writer needs one.
A brand is who you are. But it’s more than that. It’s your truest self. The part people remember.
Elements of a Brand
There are three elements of every brand. When building yours, you would do well to pay attention to each:
Name: Your actual name, a brand name, or a pseudonym.
Image: A logo, your face, or some kind of custom headshot.
Voice: Your style and tone of communication. It’s how people recognize you.
A brand is your identity. It’s what makes you, you. But it’s not just your personality. It’s who you consciously choose to be. It’s an intentional identity you don for the sake of your art.
Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean your brand can be whatever you want. It’s an important part of yourself revealed to an audience. Not in a disingenuous way, but in a way that is helpful, consistent, and understandable to your readers.
I like guacamole, but it doesn’t need to be part of my brand. A brand is part of you, but it can’t be the whole person — with all your nuances and idiosyncrasies, that’s impossible.
Choose the parts of your personality you want your brand to emphasize and why. My affinity for avocados doesn’t need to be central in my brand. What does is my belief that passion is central to life.
The Biggest Mistake Writers Make
The biggest mistake writers make is believing they don’t need a brand. Wrong. This is a common fallacy and, quite frankly, ridiculous.
Everyone has a brand. One way or another, you are making an impression on your audience.
Branding yourself with a consistent image, voice, and name is how you gain some semblance of control over what people think of you. It’s not a perfect process, but you can guide it. You can influence what people think of you, if you care enough to act.
A brand will happen whether you do this or not. Either you intentionally choose one for yourself, or one will be given to you. Might as well have some say in it.
When it comes to branding, I can’t emphasize how important it is to be yourself. Not in a lazy, lackadaisical kind of way, but purposefully and intentionally.
Don’t misuse marketing gimmicks to trick your audience into believing something that isn’t true. If you do, you will be found out, exposed, and discovered for the fraud you are.
But if you do this branding thing right, your audience will thank you, because you will help them know what to expect.
Think of a brand as a promise — one you get to deliver on with every word you write and article you publish. Every book you sign. Every email you respond to. Every fan you meet.
This is what branding is about: promises delivered.
You have a choice in this. Don’t waste the opportunity and inherit a reputation you didn’t choose. Make your brand count.
Making Yourself Memorable
How do you build a brand? How do you put all of these elements together and create a reputation people can trust? You make yourself unforgettable. As Seth Godin says, you make yourself remarkable in the most literal way — so that people will remark about you.
The point in all of this is not to turn into a marketing machine, but to get people to not forget you. It’s about making yourself memorable. About standing out in all the noise. This won’t just happen. You will have to work. Here’s how to build a brand from scratch in three, simple (but not easy) steps:
Choose a name.
Design your look.
Find your voice.
Let’s unpack those.
Choose a Name
A good brand name can be as simple as your first and last name. In many cases, that will be just fine.
For others, a more creative route will be appropriate. You may have to go with a pseudonym, like Mark Twain or Mary Shelley. For bloggers, a brand name can also be a sort of “call sign” like Problogger or Tall Skinny Kiwi. It can even be something iconic like Madonna or Avi.
Before choosing a name, take some time to carefully weigh the pros and cons of your options. Once you have a published name, it will be hard (and confusing) to change it, so don’t take this lightly.
Make your name memorable. Make it work for you. Make it consistent with the rest of your brand.
Your brand needs to serve the purpose of your writing. Don’t stick with something that doesn’t work. Also, don’t rush into the first idea that comes to mind. This is important; treat it as such.
Design Your Look
Designing your look takes intentionality. Again, this is something you want to have a say in, not something you completely delegate or defer.
Your look may be an icon or logotype. It may be a photo of you. It may even be a creative combination of all three. It can be a symbol like Prince had (or whatever name he goes by these days — talk about brand confusion!).
Designing your look is a great example of how a brand is a representation of you, but not your whole self.
For instance, you don’t want your headshots to be of you right after you get out of bed. At the same time, you don’t want an image that looks nothing like you. Your image needs to represent you. The whole point is so it causes people to recognize you.
When designing your look, remember these tips:
/> Be recognizable, inviting, and interesting.
Use a professional photographer or designer to help you. Outsource what you can’t do yourself, but make sure you speak into the process.
Be certain people will notice you and your work by your logo, headshots, etc.
Get feedback from friends, fans, and followers throughout the branding process.
Finding Your Voice
Finding your voice is the hardest, most important task a writer will undertake. Some authors say it takes years. Others say it’s a matter of writing hundreds of thousands of words.
The one non-negotiable is this: You will have to work to find your voice. It will not come to you in a daydream or revelation. It’s not just how you talk or act. It’s a product of elbow grease.
A writer’s voice is the combination of passion, personality, and people. It’s communication in a way that is both personally fulfilling and relevant to your audience. It’s meaningful and marketable.
If your writing only moves you, then you haven’t found your voice.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Describe yourself in a few adjectives. What do you and others come up with?
Take note of your interests: favorite books, movies, music, etc. What do they have in common?
Imagine your ideal reader. Describe him or her. Write a letter to this person (including a name).
As you take note of your unique style of writing and whom you’re trying to reach, you will begin to find your voice. Don’t worry, though; it takes time. Give yourself lots of grace and room to fail.
You’ll need it.
Personal Story: Branding Myself
Stumbling upon my own personal brand was less intentional than it should have been. I kind of backed into it, accidentally. Call me a nerd, but it happened through my blog.
The .com domain for my full name was already taken, so I did a variation of it with Goinswriter.com, since I knew I wanted to build a platform around my writing. Then, I repurposed a headshot from a family photo shoot I did with my wife. I put it on every piece of collateral I had: website, Twitter, Facebook, etc.