Platform By Michael S. Hyatt
These are my personal book notes on Platform: Get Noticed In A Noisy World by Michael S. Hyatt.
Let’s dive in.
Facts
- Author: Michael S. Hyatt
- Title: Platform: Get Noticed In A Noisy World
- Subtitle: A Step-by-Step Guide For Anyone With Something To Say Or Sell
- First published: 2012
- Type: non-fiction
- Genre: marketing / online marketing
- Author’s website: michaelhyatt.com
- Rating: 3/5
- Recommended: Yes
Table Of Contents Of The Book
- Introduction: All the World’s a Stage
- Part One: Start With Wow
- 1. Create a Compelling Product
- 2. Bake in the Wow
- 3. Exceed Market Expectations
- 4. Beware of the Obstacles
- 5. Don’t Settle for Less than Great
- 6. Give Your Product a Memorable Name
- 7. Wrap the Wow in Style
- Part Two: Prepare to Launch
- 8. Accept Personal Responsibility
- 9. Think Bigger . . . No, Bigger!
- 10. Define Your Platform Goals
- 11. Create an Elevator Pitch
- 12. Set Up Your Branding Tools
- 13. Assemble Your Pit Crew
- 14. Secure Raving Endorsements
- 15. Get a Great Head Shot
- 16. Develop an Online Media Kit
- Part Three: Build Your Home Base
- 17. Understand the Model
- 18. Focus Your Efforts Online
- 19. Beware of Self-Proclaimed Social Media Experts
- 20. Start a Blog (or Restart One)
- 21. Create the Content Yourself
- 22. Use a Blog Post Template
- 23. Maintain a List of Post Ideas
- 24. Write Posts Faster
- 25. Create Video Interviews
- 26. Don’t Hire a Proofreader
- 27. Protect Your Intellectual Property
- 28. Avoid Common Blogging Mistakes
- 29. Create a Better About Page
- 30. Develop Your Landing Pages
- 31. Build a Speaking Page
- 32. Forget About Metrics (for Now)
- Part Four: Expand Your Reach
- 33. Kiss Marketing Good-Bye
- 34. Understand What’s Not Important
- 35. Generate More Blog Traffic
- 36. Build Your Subscriber List
- 37. Promote Your Older Posts
- 38. Write Guest Posts
- 39. Give Stuff Away
- 40. Stop Losing Readers
- 41. Watch These Metrics
- 42. Embrace Twitter
- 43. Understand Twitter Basics
- 44. Don’t Write Off Twitter!
- 45. Devote Thirty Minutes a Day
- 46. Get More Twitter Followers
- 47. Keep from Getting Unfollowed
- 48. Use Twitter to Promote Your Product
- 49. Set Up a Facebook Fan Page
- 50. Employ Consistent Branding
- 51. Be Prepared for Traditional Media
- Part Five: Engage Your Tribe
- 52. Get More Blog Comments
- 53. Don’t Respond to Every Comment
- 54. Keep the Conversations Civil
- 55. Develop a Comments Policy
- 56. Practice the 20-to-1 Rule
- 57. Monitor Your Brand
- 58. Defend Your Brand
- 59. Don’t Feed the Trolls
- 60. Monetize Your Blog
- Conclusion: Take the First Step
- Appendix A: Comply with the FTC Guidelines
- Appendix B: Post Ideas for Novelists
- Resources
- Notes
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Index
- Contact Michael
Key Concepts & Ideas
The stage has never been more crowded - and simply being on it doesn’t matter much if the lights are not shining on you, or if there is no one in the audience.
This book is all about attracting that audience, turning on the brightest lights you can find, and building passionate loyalty so your audience stays with you through every line, every scene, every act.
It’s not about ego or being the center of attention.
It is about having something of value to others and finding the most powerful way of getting that message to others who can benefit from it.
If you are an aspiring (or already successful) author, artist, musician, public speaker, salesperson, candidate for public office - anyone who has something to say or sell - I want to help you take the stage and get noticed beyond your wildest imagination.
In order for you to be successful in today’s business environment, you need two things:
- a compelling product and
- a significant platform
It is just not sufficient to build a cool product, craft a compelling message, compose a beautiful piece of music, write a scintillating novel, or champion an important cause.
This is true now more than ever.
Why?
Fo two reasons:
- Competition has never been greater. Have you shopped online recently? I was looking at flat-screen TVs on Amazon the other day, and there were 19,069 results from my search! That’s ludicrous, but it’s the reality you are facing if you’re trying to get your message across about something you’re trying to sell.
- People are more distracted than ever. It’s not just that we have more products available. We have more of every kind of media available. More movies. More television channels. More apps, radio stations, podcasts, and video games. More news sites, blogs, and, of course, Facebook and Twitter. In other words, people’s attention is a finite resource, and you’re in competition against every other media that wants a slice of your prospective customer’s attention.
We, as marketers, have to cut through that noise.
Start With Wow
Regardless of the form your product takes, no amount of marketing savvy, salesmanship, or operational excellence can overcome a weak product.
The truth is, mediocrity is natural.
You don’t have to do anything to drift there.
It just happens.
But if you want to create truly wow experiences - and if you want to build your platform - then it is going to require courage.
Are you willing to be brave?
Let me suggest that you take a long look in the mirror.
The person you are looking at is your new chief marketing officer.
Take responsibility for your own success and invite others to join you in the endeavor.
Don’t listen to that mocking little voice that tells you to be more realistic.
Ignore it.
You can either accept reality as it is or create it as you wish it to be.
This is the essence of dreaming - and thinking big.
Michael Hyatt On Writing
Write regularly.
This is the best advice I could give you for building readership.
If people like what you write, they will come back.
If there’s nothing new to read, they will eventually lose interest.
So the more regularly you post, the more your readership will grow.
I suggest you schedule time to write.
It won’t happen on its own.
Setting up a blog is the easy part; actual blogging is the hard part.
Once the initial enthusiasm wanes, it is difficult to keep posting.
Most would-be bloggers post less and less until they simply quit and abandon their blogs.
At some point, it comes down to making a commitment and sticking to it.
Finally, I would suggest that you be patient with yourself.
Writing is like anything else.
The more you do it, the better you get.
If you have a little talent and stick with it, you’ll eventually get into the rhythm and joy of it.
While Facebook and Twitter can be effective in driving people to your blog, it is your blog itself with which you will primarily build your platform.
Take it seriously, and it will serve you well!
Spend your time writing content that adds value rather than obsessing over every typo, misspelling, and grammatical error.
Conclusion
Setting out to develop a platform can be overwhelming and scary.
There is so much to learn.
- What if you make a mistake or look foolish?
- What if they don’t like you?
- What if you fail?
Let me tell you a secret.
Forget all of that.
Just like fire walking, the key is to start.
Once you take the first step everything else will take care of itself.
You will make it across the hot coals of fear, doubt, and confusion and reach the other side.
Of course, it’s your choice.
You don’t have to take this journey.
You can shrink back, give up, and live with regrets about what might have been.
But you will be missing out on so much!
Here’s the question I always ask when I face a daunting task:
“What would accomplishing this make possible?”
More specifically, what would having a platform like I have discussed in this book make possible for your business, your cause, or your campaign?
What would it make possible for you?
All you have to do is to take the first step.
You’ll figure out the rest.
Personal comment: The book is clearly based on solid fundamentals and truths, and I love it’s core message:
You need to start building a platform for yourself, today!
But the book is also a bit dated by now.
However, I highly suggest you watch the video below to get a better perspective on how the platform Michael built for himself helped him becoming a New York Times bestselling author.
Check out the video below!
How Michael Hyatt Grew His Blog To Over 350,000 Readers Per Month
Closing Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed reading my notes!
My book notes only cover small parts of the book.
So if you like what you read, please consider buying the book from the author.
Thank you for reading and stay awesome,
Tim for Online Business Dude
PS: Are You Ready To Start Building Your Own Platform, Today?
==> Here’s How!