As an Independent Writer You Need a Writer’s Platform
The Writer Must Own the Writer’s Platform
As a Writer, you must have your own Platform that identifies your place on the internet. A place where you can showcase your writing, projects, email list. This site can have links to other publications. You should be in control of your email list. And your connections to your readers/audience.
Writers you want to write because they have something to say and share.
You have opinions and experiences to share. You believe that they just might connect with another human being. Might help them understand something in their life. Your stories could resonate with another, maybe just one other person.
The Writer is the reason for this Platform. No Writer, No need for the Platform.
As a Writer, you want to share your passions, talk about what may have pissed you off, give us your peace of mind, toss your thoughts out there.
This Writers Platform will provide the basis for a Writer both short and long term. The design of the Platform is it easily moves such that it is portable . You can move all four elements from one service provider to another, and you own them as long as you pay the fees.
Build your Writer’s Platform.
You must invest in yourself as a writer. Building your Writer’s Platform is one of those must investments. If you are not able or don’t want to learn what it takes, then have someone build it for you.
A Writer’s Name is their Brand
As a Writer, it is so simple, your Name is the Brand.
That could be your real name or a pen name. Either version can be of one of these variations: First and Last name, First Middle and Last, Initials and last name, are some variations I have seen for writers.
Your Brand is what separates you from all the other writer’s noise and allows readers to find your signal.
Your Brand Name translates into your Internet Domain Name, then your Domain Name becomes your website address and your email address.
A Writer’s Platform
These Four Basic Elements are the Writer’s Platform, a Domain, a Website, an Email Address, and an Email List.
Service Providers provide domain registering, website hosting, email services, and email list services.
The Domain
The writer’s brand translates to their Domain Name.
My domain name is my name Roger Skibowski, so my Domain Name is rogerskibowski.com. You can have any name that is available and not in use. Typically, domain names end with a .com, .net, and .org, as they were the original TLD (Top-Level Domains). Today there are many more TLD to choose from. Each TLD has a different yearly cost associated.
If someone has already registered your Domain Name has already, you can include a middle initial, or a full middle name.
Some add writer, writes, or another word to the end of their name to create their brand. I have seen some that add the writer, writes to the beginning.
Jeff Goins uses goinwrites.com because someone registered Jeffgoins.com and forwarded the domain to their Real Estate Business.
Once you select a name for your brand, will have to see if it’s available.,
A quick way to see if your name is available is simply type in your name and add dot com or dot net into a browser and see if it goes to an existing website.
If it is not available, then you will have to explore different options prior or during the registering process.
The Website
As a writer, your website is your lighthouse on the Internet sea.
My website www.rogerskibowwski.com is the home base for my brand which I control fully and I can move my brand from one hosting company to another hosting company if I want to.
The software that manages my site is a CMS (Content Management Systems), and there are many choices to choose from.
I choose WordPress because this CMS is portable, has a long history, great support and community. WordPress has a high adoption rate with Hosting providers, for which I can should I move it from one service provider to another.
If you select services like Wix.com, Weebly.com, Squarespace.com and the long list of others, they can be difficult if not almost impossible to move your content. Here are many writers who start there and then move to WordPress at a later time. I suggest starting with WordPress.
I host my website and several other client’s WordPress on a Hosting provider.
The Email Address
As the Website took on the Domain Name that is your brand, your email is also part of the domain too. For example, my email is roger@rogerskibowski.com.
Your email address is the place readers and clients will contact you. It’s also your single point of contact, one email to check for email from your readers, clients, and your email list notifications.
I don’t recommend using the free email service providers like gmail.com, yahoo.com, outlook.com or any of many others. They are free, but you don’t own them, they can change the rules and TOS (Terms of Service) whenever they want. They are not professional looking and you cannot move them around to different service providers.
My two recommendations are GSuite or Microsoft, both require some advance technical knowledge to set up. Once they are setup, they require very little care and feeding. They are some of the safest, reliable, and have great security measures to prevent hacking. Both cost and have support. They also have storage as part of the service. Both have spreadsheet, doc, and presentation web software.
I have used both email services and today have Roger@RogerSKibowski.com hosted on Google’s GSuite Service.
The Email List
Your email list service provider is your online contact list that allows you to automate sending email out to your followers or tribe.
They offer sign-up forms, optional other sign-up services, and both simple and complex email automations for send out an email to your list of subscribers.
Service Providers have the options to export and import your list, making it easily change providers.
In conclusion
Having complete control of your original content and your email list at your disposal puts you in the driver’s seat. You can then move your content and email list almost at will from one service provider to another service provider. Both should be backup from time to time. So if or when it’s time to move your content to a different service provider, it is near painless.
Please share your writer’s journey with me at Roger@RogerSKibowski.com.
Want help or coaching on your Writer’s Platform? Let’s start a conversation, email me at Roger@RogerSKibowski.com.
Originally published at http://www.awritersplatform.com.