A lot of people advise you to use a blog to “build your platform” but what exactly does that mean? And more importantly, how do you pull it off? In its simplest terms, your platform is your stage. It’s where people can find you and hear your message. It is your spot in the public…
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I hate to exercise. In fact, left to my own devices, I just don’t do it. An early morning walk sounds like a great idea the night before. But when you’re stumbling around in the semi-dark, suddenly(!) having a cup of coffee on the lanai while watching the sun come up sounds like a SO…
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I’m working with an author right now who is very forthright. We have a good rapport and he really held nothing back in the interview process when we were compiling the raw material for his signature story. He’s one of those guys that if you met him in a dark alley, you might be a…
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I refer to books as the Swiss Army Knife of marketing because they truly function as so many different tools. There are as many different uses for a book as there are reasons for writing them. Let’s focus on just a few marketing uses. Positioning and Building Your Platform First of all, a book is…
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Make yourself famous in 30 days! Become a rock star in your field! Write a book and gain Instant Credibility! Perception is reality… until you have to deliver the goods. I was talking with a client about a mutual acquaintance. They are both speakers with the same marketing company in the same field. I…
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I consult with a lot of small business owners—mostly solopreneurs who are coaches and speakers—and I hear the same thing: “I’m just a little business. I don’t need a brand.” I used to think the same thing. I run what’s called a “boutique business” with a select clientele and most of my business comes from…
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A few years back a woman scheduled a consulting session with me. She said she was a website developer. I asked her about her competition. “I don’t have any competition.” Wow! I had found the only website developer in the world. Amazing. In truth, I was just a wee bit taken aback. There had been…
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The writer’s voice in fiction is often expressed through the main character or narrator. In more complex novels, the perspective may change from character to character or to a narrator but there is one main entity that is the voice of the author. (The rest are just the voices in our heads…) The overall tone…
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I work for myself and because of that, my schedule (i.e., time) is pretty much my own. I seldom set an alarm. The first hour or two of my day is spent sipping coffee on my lanai, looking at the water, and thinking. Sometimes I write or make a to-do list, but it’s all very…
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Fame Many people dream of becoming an author, writing best-selling books (usually novels), chatting about their book with Oprah, and generally living a life of elegant leisure, dining with friends in Paris or fly fishing like Papa Hemingway. When we picture the life of an author, those kinds of images pop into our heads. (What?…
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