Every successful author needs a platform, which publishing professional Jane Friedman defines as “the ability to sell books because of who you are or who you can reach.”

Unless you’re a celebrity, politician, or public speaker, you probably won’t find commercial success as an author simply because of who you are. Instead, it will be your ability to reach and engage with readers that will ultimately determine your success as a writer.

So, how do you build an author platform that will help you develop a readership and writing career? The first thing to bear in mind is that you don’t need an established author platform to publish a novel.

Think of your author platform, in part, as the proof of credibility that will help you sell books. If you’re a regular Joe Schmo with no credentials or notable online following, then you’re going to struggle to pitch prescriptive or educational non-fiction. You simply don’t have the qualifications to impart business advice or teach the basics of neuroscience.

But novelists don’t need to prove that they’re qualified to write stories. Their credibility comes from the quality of their work and the extent of their readership — which is why publishing your debut is a major step toward developing an effective author platform.

But before we explore the various components that comprise an effective platform, let’s discuss the foundational key that can make or break your success as an author.

The Importance of Defining Your Creative Niche

The key to developing an engaged readership and successfully marketing your work lies in a strong understanding of what you write and who you write for. The combination of these two factors — your personal brand of storytelling and your ideal reader — is what I like to call your creative niche.

To define your creative niche, consider what makes your work unique. What genre or sub-genre(s) do you write? What topics or story elements do you frequently include in your books? Who do you write for, and how would you pitch your work to a new reader?

For example, you might define your creative niche as…

• Fast-paced epic fantasy set in a world inspired by pan-African cultures

• Contemporary middle-grade novels for children who struggle with difficult homes lives

• Young adult romances that feature hijabi heroines

• Adult international thrillers that cater to older males readers

If you’re interested in writing multiple genres or for various age markets (e.g. middle grade and adult), then your creative niche might be more difficult to define. If you write vastly different types of fiction (e.g. picture books and horror novels), then you’ll probably want to develop separate platforms for each type of work.

However, there’s often a common thread that draws readers to most of an authors’ stories.

Consider writers like Stephen King, V.E. Schwab, and Neil Gaiman, whose avid fans read everything they publish. Despite the various types of stories they write, the distinct tone and unique style that carries through each of their stories is what draw readers to their work. If you can identify a similar thread in your own stories, then you may be able to develop a single author platform as well.

The Cornerstones of an Effective Author Platform

There are many activities that can help you grow your readership and market your work. But a readership is not an author platform in and of itself, and neither are your marketing efforts.

Remember, an author platform is your ability to sell books because of who you are or who you can reach. Ability implies action. If you can reach out to your readers tomorrow with an announcement that immediately boosts your book sales, then you’ve built an effective author platform.

To develop your own, you’ll first need to establish four platform cornerstones:

#1: A Backlist

As a novelist, your backlist (i.e. the extent of your published books available for sale) is perhaps the most important aspect of your author platform. Published books, especially those with positive ratings and reviews, provide the social proof and credibility that many readers need to take a chance on a new author.

The readers who enjoy your earlier books are also the most likely to continue to buy from you as you write and release new stories. That's why I encourage new authors to invest the bulk of their time and energy into building their backlist as their primary platform development strategy.

#2: An Author Website

An author’s website is their online headquarters, a place that readers can visit to learn everything they need to know about who you are, what you write, and where they can buy your books.

An effective author website lends professional credibility, proving that you take your work seriously. It also offers readers the ability to connect with you via email, whether through your contact page or…

#3: An Email list

Without the ability to contact readers directly, you’ll struggle to thrive in your career despite the readership you build.

That’s why I encourage every author to maintain an email list. No one signs up for more email unless they’re excited for what they’ll receive. That’s why your email list such a powerful tool. It’s a direct line to your most ardent fans.

You can nurture your readership via email by sharing sneak peeks, excerpts, and other exclusive content. Then, when you have a new book to launch or a discount to announce, you can harness your email list to sell more copies.

#4: A Social Media Presence

While you can use an email list to engage with your biggest fans, it’s a strong social media presence that will help you connect with your wider readership, as well as offer the opportunity to introduce your work to new readers.

Maintaining an active social media presence takes time. I recommend starting small, cultivating a community on just one or two platforms where your ideal readers hang out. You can click here to download a free list of social media post ideas from book marketing expert Jenn de Paula.

Developing Your Reach and Readership

As you establish the foundational elements of your author platform, you can also engage in various book marketing strategies and activities designed to help you develop your reach and readership.

Though building an author platform is not book marketing in and of itself, promoting your creative work is key to increasing the visibility of your platform, ultimately helping you reach more readers, increase sales, and thrive in your career as a published author.

Let’s take a look at the five most common ways that authors develop their reach and readership:

#1: Participating in Events

Both in-person and online book events offer authors the opportunity to present their work to new readers, as well as to connect with their existing audience.

Popular in-person events include reading and writing conferences, book tours and signings, and speaking or teaching gigs at schools and libraries. Similarly, online events include virtual conferences, podcast and video interviews, and live talks on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

#2: Engage With Your Audience

An effective author platform doesn’t just cast a wide net; it also nurtures an ongoing relationship with readers. After all, readers like to buy books from authors they know and love, and the book marketing process is much more enjoyable when you focus on serving readers rather than making money.

You can develop a strong relationship with your readership by engaging in genuine and personal ways on social media, in your newsletters, and during the in-person and online events mentioned above.

To better connect with readers (and protect your writing time), you may find it helpful to establish boundaries around how you engage online. For example, you might define the types of content you’ll post, the language you will (and won’t) use, and the time of day you’ll log-in to connect.

#3: Build a Secondary Body of Work

Some authors successfully expand the reach of their platforms by developing a secondary body of work, often through a blog, podcast, or Youtube channel.

To effectively serve your author platform, a secondary body of work should be related to your fiction. For example, you could create an Instagram book review account, a Youtube channel that teaches creative writing, or a podcast that explores the time periods in which your historical novels are set.

#4: Networking With Authors

Growing your readership isn’t the only way to expand your reach. Networking with other authors online or during in-person events is a great way to develop mutually beneficial relationships (and friendships!).

To help one another thrive, authors will often review and promote each others’ releases, collaborate via fun events, and even co-write books together.

#5: Direct Book Marketing

While promoting your books via paid ads might not seem like a strong author-platform growth strategy, consider this: every time you run an ad on Amazon, Bookbub, or your favorite social media platform, you introduce your book to new readers who might ultimately become part of your authorial ecosystem.

For example, let’s say a new reader sees an ad promoting your latest release on Instagram. The ad piques their interest because they’re a huge fan of gothic horror novels, so they decide to click through to learn more.

Impressed by your book’s listing, they purchase your book and devour it that very night—and because they’re your ideal reader, they love the book so much that they decide to sign up for your newsletter to receive the free short story you pitch at the end of your book.

Now that they’re subscribed to your email list, they receive a short sequence of automated welcome emails that introduces them to more of your books and encourages them to leave a review, follow you on social media, and/or share your work with friends. Pretty awesome, right?

Developing a strong author platform may seem like a lot of work, but ultimately, there are no short-cuts. Engaging in shady practices like buying social media followers or clogging your followers’ DMs with pleas to buy your book is a surefire way to kill your platform before it even gets off the ground.

If you want to build an effective author platform that helps you reach your ideal readers and sell more books, then putting in the time and effort to grow your reach organically is key.

Remember, quality trumps quantity. You’ll find far more success with a small platform that reaches the right readers than an expansive platform that never quite engages anyone.

So get clear about what you write and who you write for, then focus on building an author platform that amplifies your unique creative work to the readers who are most likely to enjoy it. Go slowly and promote your work with a genuine desire to serve readers, and you’ll develop an author platform that will see you thrive in your creative career.