Want to build your fan base Meaning, do you want to attract more clients or customers to you and your product or service Then build a platform. A platform is media lingo for having a solid base from which to pitch your work. Its about numbers, about how many people know what you do. Its about building your following, that you can use to then build it even more.
So, how do you build your platform Its not hard ~ here are some tips to help you do just that:
1. Make sure your niche is narrow and solid. Research your target market until you can narrowly define who it is in that market that you are going to focus on. Make sure you get really clear on your who and your what. Be certain who your ideal client is and what problem you are solving for them. Then decide what youll call yourself and/or your service/product. Make it a brand. Give it a unique name that will catch others attention even if you make something up.
2. Decide on the best web address (URL) for your business. The easiest way to get search engines to like you is to have a URL that has your keywords in it. For example, www.stopyourdivorcenow.com or www.artellawordsandart.com.
Its ok to have a long URL, since most browsers will prompt the visitor to the site after just entering a few letters once theyve visited it once. And a lot of people will bookmark the site as well. Besides, its easier to remember if your URL spells out what it is that you do.
3. Know your market. Your target market is your best source of information for what they need from you to help them solve their problem. Ask your friends and family to become part of your R&D team and use a free survey instrument like Zoomerang (www.zoomerang.com) to gather relevant and very valuable feedback from them to help you better understand their needs and tailor your offerings to those needs. This is undoubtedly one of the fastest roads to building a successful fan base.
4. Get educated about Internet marketing. You know you need a website, but theres so much more you can do online to build your business. A good place to start is with learning more about keywords and search engine optimization (SEO) that will drive traffic to your site. Visit http://www.keyword.com/SearchEngineOptimization.htm for a basic understanding of keywords and how they can positively affect your placement in the search engines. Put yourself on a self-guided curriculum to help get your work known online.
5. Smile! Have a professional headshot taken. One marketing tool you should have is a press kit and/or speaker sheet with a professional photo of you. You know that cropped photos are not professional and having your friend take a nice picture of you is not the same. Remember, what you put out is what you get back. If you want high-quality clients, you need a high-quality headshot (that goes for all your marketing materials).
6. Create and memorize your 30-second intro. Heres mine as an example:
I teach coaches, consultants, online entrepreneurs and solo professionals to market their business to 6-figures in less than 12 months.
Notice how it expresses what I do, how I do it, and for whom I do it. I dont say, Im a business coach. If I did, people would respond with, Oh, thats nice. Not exactly the reaction I want. I want to pique their interest. Oh, really Tell me more.
Feel free to use mine as a template for creating your own.
7. Write, write, write. Write free articles and submit them online. Add a bio box to the end of each article. This should include your name, website address, and other contact info, etc. See my bio box at the end of this article as an example. Google article submissions for (your niche) to create your own list of submission sites.
8. Create a press kit. This should be a professional looking folder with a pocket 9 x12 (so 8.5 x 11 paper will fit inside) perhaps with your logo on outside, and cuts to hold a business card. Youll also need an 10 x 13 envelope to mail it in, unless you are emailing your kit in which case, Id highly recommend encrypted PDFs to send. You should include at least one business card, any press releases youve sent, a short bio, a photo of you printed on good quality stock with your name and phone number either on the back or printed in the margin, copies of any published articles youve written, as well as any unpublished articles youve written the media can use, published articles written about you, published articles supporting your work, brochures, fliers and other marketing materials, fact sheets, including a backgrounder on your business, key points, topics youre an expert on, etc, testimonials and success stories, and samples of your work - guides, workbooks, product catalogues, etc. And dont forget to include a short personalized cover letter.
Building your platform takes consistent effort. Getting your message out there often enough, increasing the number of people who know about you and your offerings, and constantly adding value for your fans will position you as an expert, which will help you immensely when you want to publish your book, be interviewed by the media, or to command higher quality clients/customers.
Copyright 2005 Alicia Forest
Alicia M Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Queen & Coach, & Founder of , teaches coaches, consultants, online entrepreneurs and solo professionals to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve.
For FREE tips on how to create abundance in your business, visit
One thing I have learned in internet marketing is you better have more than 1 income stream or you can kiss you butt goodbye.
I learned this in a big way about 5 years ago. In 1997 I started learning the ropes of internet marketing and made a few dollars here and there. Wrote a newsletter, wrote a training course. In the old days of SFI I helped develop their flagship product Full Circle Success. I had my ducks in a row. 3 streams of income coming in. My bank account was golden.
I few years later I started working with a partner in the lead generation arena. I plunged all my energy into that company and started to let my other stream of income dwindle until they were not even generating enough money to buy a Big Mac at McDonalds. I was still flying high until the worse case scenario happened.
In one swoop a group of brilliant but hugely mis guided individuals struck our web server hosting facility. They destroyed our database of close to 2 million leads. Our customer database of over 1000 customers and our programming. In the process they also took out the web site and databases of 9 other poor schmucks. Plus these guys were so smart that they started corrupting the backups before they took the whole system down.
I could have died. I just purchased our new farm, our family income was depending largely on my income and whamo I had no business left. My husband was standing outside my office door when the news came over the telephone. He didnt quite grasp the concept of the server being hacked. The tears started to roll down my face knowing that a hacked server was similar to a office building getting burned to the ground.
I said the business is gone and I would not be able to make the mortgage payments. He said, You dont have a choice. Seems sort of harsh. Isnt a husband supposed to console you when your down. Not in our case. He knew what I had done to start my internet marketing success. He knew that if I gave up at that moment I would never find success again. He knew how to push my buttons to piss me off just enough to get me started again.
Within the hour I had a partial customer list. The phone was hot from the conference calls with programmers, lead suppliers and bankers. Within 1 month the company was operating at break even. With in 3 - 6 months we were turning a profit.
Youve come this far so I better tell you what you should learn from the tale of woe.
1. Keep more than one stream of income going at all times. The Internet is a fickle place. It changes fast and moves quickly. What is hot today could be gone tomorrow.
2. Backups and Security are crucial to your web based business. If you get wiped out by a virus or a hosting provider it is your own darn fault. Back up once, twice, thee times if you feel better. Your web host is your life.
3. Keep your head above water. You will ride many, many waves in the internet marketing game. I think thats what attracts me to it in some sick way. I can go from making nothing one week to cutting a deal for $10,000 the next week. You are going to get kicked in the teeth my more than one venture. The key is to keep moving forward as long as you do that you will continuously run into new opportunities.
Charity Adams, CEO Mom is a 8 year veteran of online marketing and lead generation. For more information on at