Writing platforms. They are your means of communication to captivate your audience and market your work. So how do you build your platform and make your voice heard? Thankfully, it’s extremely easy these days to kick-start your own platform since we live in the digital age. A variety of free social media outlets are at your disposal. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and even TikTok are just a few off the top of my head. To start off, follow established influencers or content creators to get an idea of how to build a following. Plagiarize no posts or ideas, but I always encourage gathering inspiration from them. A couple tips on starting a platform is remaining consistent with content and using hashtags. Earlier this year in March, I created a poetry page on Instagram. As of writing this blog, it has over one thousand followers. I accomplished this by committing to these two simple principles. There is more to starting a writing platform. I’m still learning the ropes myself, but understanding the basics is the first step to a solid foundation.
You have to start small and grow your audience
The obvious necessity of starting a writing platform is to prove that you’re an experienced writer. Why would anyone tune in or listen to advice if you can’t back up that you’re well versed on the topic? Admittedly, I was hesitant about creating a writing website. Despite having an essay and a couple of poems published, I have never had a novel published and had no clue on how to market myself or my creative writing. It was then I realized how can you market yourself or your book if you don’t have a writing platform? So while I work on the publishing process, I am active on my website by showcasing poem, short stories, and blog posts such as this. A gentle reminder to yourself when starting a writing platform is don’t expect to attract a large following overnight. It will be a painstakingly slow process before you bear the fruits of your labor. Remember, no matter how little or far your voice carries, your writing platform is yours and no one can take that away.