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Milestone #2: Build the Platforms Where You Will Share Your Content · The Daily Writer

• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Hey my friend, welcome to today's episode of the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode is part of a series that we're doing called The Writer's Path: Seven Steps to Building a Writing Business.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: And as I've mentioned on the previous episodes this week, if you're just not joining us for this series, I encourage you to go back to the beginning of this series on the June 29th episode so you can get the most value out of this.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: So yesterday we talked about the importance of getting specific about your core message and audience.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: So let's move on to milestone number two, which is build the platforms where you will share your content.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Here's why this is important.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever you see other successful writers, it might seem like you should be everywhere.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like you should have a YouTube channel, you should have a podcast, you should have a blog, newsletter, and you should be on all the social media channels and everything else.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: But that's not necessarily the case.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: The ones who do seem to be everywhere probably have assistants doing a lot of that content, which is totally fine.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I have an assistant also.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Her name is Rajan, and she's absolutely amazing.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: She's fantastic and is such a huge help to the Daily Writer.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: But keep in mind that I have only had a paid assistant for the last year or so.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Up until then, I did everything myself on the website, the podcast, the blog, newsletter.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I did it all myself.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: So there does come a period of time where you can hire somebody and you're able to do that.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: But before then, you just got to do it yourself.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: And you can't do everything.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's why you've got to pick and choose the platforms where you're going to share your content.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: I think a blog is essential.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, as we're talking about platforms and places where you're sharing your content, you've got to have a website and you really need to have a blog.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: That is, to me, the baseline for any writer, in my opinion.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I also think that having an email newsletter is essential.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Being on social media is important, and I think it's crucial to be on one or two, maybe three max social media platforms.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: But don't try to be everywhere.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, don't try to be on Pinterest and TikTok and LinkedIn and Facebook and Twitter and everything else and YouTube all at the same time because you're going to get burned out unless you have this huge paid staff helping you to do all those things.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: So the baseline for me is having a website and a blog, having an email newsletter where you're sending out content generally like once a week or so, maybe once every two weeks, and then being on a couple of social media channels.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: That to me is sort of a really great baseline to think about in terms of the platforms where you're going to be sharing your content.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now, video is great if you feel motivated and excited about doing video.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Same is true for podcasting.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: I love podcasting, but the thing with podcasting that you have to remember is that you really have to commit to podcasting.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people start a podcast, then they burn out like seven or 10 or 28 episodes in.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: It happens all the time, and I've done that myself, to be honest with you.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So before you start a podcast, like everybody else has one, make sure you're really, really super committed to it for the long haul.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: So the point here is to choose your platforms, but choose the ones that you enjoy and that you can commit to and where your audience is.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: So here's the big challenge in choosing your platforms.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: You're going to be tempted to be everywhere.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just not possible for you to be everywhere.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Again, when you see the big names who are super active on every social media platform and doing all the things, remember that it took them a long time to build up their business to that point.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: And again, they have probably hired people to help out with those things, which is awesome, but none of us really starts at a place where we're able to do that.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: So don't give in to the idea that you've got to be everywhere.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, first and foremost, focus on your website and your blog and your email newsletter and a couple of social media platforms.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's more than enough to get started.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Here's today's question What platforms do you currently use to share your content and where do you plan to expand in the next six months?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll see you tomorrow.