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Sign up for the waiting list below and you’ll be the first to hear when registration reopens. Not only will you be in the know, you’ll also be able to lock in some super-awesome early bird bonuses. In the meantime, read on for more info about the class below.
You’ve written a great story. Now, all you need are readers.
But there’s more to building an audience than just setting up a website and waiting for the page views and book sales to roll in. If you want to grow a meaningful online author platform, you need strategic, consistent effort, with your author identity at its heart.
Pixels to Platform is a marketing course
by writers and for writers.
You’ll learn how to develop your author brand, connect with your readers, get published, and sell books. Plus you’ll learn techniques so you can streamline your marketing and get back to what really matters: your writing.
There are a lot of books out there. How do you reach YOUR readers?
You can write the best book in the world, but no one will find it (and buy it!) if they don’t know where to look. This is why it’s so important to develop your author platform and connect with your readers. Many writers dread building their platform because they’re afraid it will take over their lives and leave no time for writing (or anything else). Other writers worry they won’t have anything to say and figure no one would want to read their blog or newsletter anyway. Finally, some writers are all-too-happy to hand off their marketing and publicity efforts to a “professional” and call it a day. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
You have the skills, now all you need is strategy.
The truth is that you are the best person to create and nurture your author identity (or brand) and you don’t have to overhaul your schedule or hire an assistant to do it. In fact, as a writer you already have the skills you need to make this happen. You just need a strategy and a step-by-step plan. In Pixels to Platform, we’ll show you how to put your personality and storytelling skills to work so you can build a compelling author brand and a following of diehard fans. Plus you’ll learn how to do it all in a way that suits your strengths, your schedule, and your personal style.
The Program
Let’s face it, there are a LOT of marketing courses available to writers. Some of these classes are taught by authors sharing their “secrets of success” while others are taught by marketing experts sharing their “online business strategies.” With Pixels to Platform you get the best of both worlds. I’m a writer first and foremost, and after working with hundreds of writers, I understand what makes them tick, but I’ve also spent many years living and breathing marketing in my various “day jobs.”
My goal with this course was to bridge that gap
between writing and marketing,
between storytelling and sales.
I know from experience how ineffective it is to force yourself into being someone you’re not. That’s why this class is not about overhauling your personality to become a fast-talking schmoozer. That’s not who you are, and besides, these heavy-handed tactics just don’t work. Instead, at DIY MFA I believe in helping you channel skills you are already good at as a writer, but use them in slightly different ways so you can build a genuine online identity that feels right and works for you.
Ready to get off the marketing hamster wheel?
Want to build your platform without the overload?
As a writer, I have been struggling with the “necessary evil” of social media and marketing for a long time. I had been through Gabriela’s DIY MFA 101 course and loved it, so when I saw she was coming out with a new course, Pixels to Platform, I signed up right away. Gabriela breaks down the ambiguous world of social media into “byte” sized, manageable chunks. I especially appreciated their philosophy that “what works best is what works for you.” With Pixels to Platform, I have a website up and running that I’m happy with, and I’m building a social media network that fits my needs and lifestyle.
—Kelly Hollman
The Instructor
Hi, I’m Gabriela Pereira, instigator of DIY MFA. I help writers get their words on the page and their stories out into the world. And I understand why writers resist marketing and building their platforms, because when I first started out in this industry I felt the same way.
Writers spend years crafting a beautiful book, only to realize that when they’re done, they’re now responsible for marketing and selling that book, too. Buzzwords like “platform,” “SEO” and “engagement funnel” fly around the internet, making all of this sound much harder than it really is. It almost seems like your best bet is to bring in a professional to handle it all for you.
But building your platform is not as difficult as it seems and as a writer you already have many of the skills you need to reach and grow your readership.
The key is understanding the strategy behind the marketing, so you can create a sustainable, long-term plan without losing sight of your true vocation: writing.
But building your platform is not as difficult as it seems and as a writer you already have many of the skills you need to reach and grow your readership. The key is understanding the strategy behind the marketing, so you can create a sustainable, long-term plan without losing sight of your true vocation: writing.
As with everything at DIY MFA, I believe in empowering writers to take control of their creative careers, while still honoring the other things that matter in their lives. Pixels to Platform will show you how to build meaningful connections with your readers, but without sacrificing your craft or real-life responsibilities.
I see a lot of authors who are anxious and overwhelmed by the idea of marketing their books and as an author myself, I completely understand. There’s a lot of pressure to get it right, especially when you’re launching a book, along with a lot of complicated and contradictory advice.
Everyone is looking for that magic bullet that will give them instant success, and there are a number of “experts” who have found what works for them and will be glad to sell you their “secret”—or even take over your online platform and run it for you.
But the real secret is there is no secret.
As an author, you already have the core skills you need to build a strong online presence. In fact, blindly handing it all off to someone else can be a bad move. After all, would you hand off your precious book and let someone else write it for you? If not, then why would you do the same with your platform?
I firmly believe that you are not only capable of building your readership, but as the CEO of your “author brand,” you are the best person qualified to do it. In this course you will learn strategies so you can take ownership of your author brand, connect with your ideal readers, and grow your network of loyal fans.
At the same time, we all know how time-consuming the internet can be. Many writers worry that if they start building their platform, they’ll fall down a rabbit hole so deep, they’ll never get back to what really matters: Writing. That’s where this course comes in. Pixels to Platform will help you build a solid online strategy so you don’t waste time on fads and gimmicks, and instead show you how to build an author platform that will serve you for years to come.
About the Course
Pixels to Platform Overview
In this ten-week course, we release a new module every other week with video lessons and worksheets to guide you through the steps of building your platform. With over 9 hours of video lectures, the lessons are packed with strategies and tools to help you understand the principles behind platform building and put those concepts into action. Each module also includes multiple worksheets to help you apply the techniques and adapt them to your own unique style.
Breakdown of the Modules:
- Module 1: Your Audience
In this module, you’ll learn how to identify and research your readers. As writers, we often think too broadly about our audience, believing anyone and everyone might love our book. One of the biggest complaints I hear from agents is that most writers don’t understand their niche or genre. Knowing your audience is the fastest way to solve this problem. - Module 2: Your Brand
The next step to building your author platform is to develop your “brand.” This isn’t about being icky and fake, and it doesn’t mean you have to act like a product. We like to think of brand as your author identity. All you need to do is put your best foot forward and be a professional, so you present your best self, not just to your readers, but also to agents, editors, and publishers. - Module 3: Content (Story)
Step three is to start creating the story behind your content. This doesn’t mean learning a new skill. In fact, you already have the storytelling skills necessary to market yourself and your book. This module is about adapting those storytelling skills to your author platform, which we’ll do by discovering your Storytelling Superpower and how it resonates with your audience. - Module 4: Content (Strategy)
It is all too easy to get caught up in what we lovingly call the “content hamster wheel of death.” As writers, it’s tempting to churn out a ton of blog posts and other pieces of writing, but not really consider how these pieces contribute to your overall platform strategy. This module teaches you to create great content—and a strategy for that content—that resonates with your readers, presents your best self, but also helps you grow your platform. - Module 5: Conversions
Creating great content is only the beginning. If no one finds or reads your work, it will not have an impact. This module shows you how to shape and mold your great content ideas into formats that engage your readers, and converts them into readers (i.e. entices them to buy your book). You’ll also learn how to create a manageable, sustainable schedule, so you can keep your content going without getting overwhelmed. - Module 6: Development
This last module is where you learn to develop and expand your platform into a full-on following of die-hard fans. Once you have those fundamentals in place from the previous modules, it’s time to develop on social media, on the stage, or through interviews so you can keep moving forward. Your creative writing and your platform are two sides of the same amazing author, and you don’t have to choose one at the expense of the other. This module wraps up the Pixels to Platform system by showing you how to be the CEO of your author career so it can coexist alongside your creative work.
Because iteration is a core value of DIY MFA, I know that we’ll be making improvements or adding new materials to this course over time. This is especially true since this is a class on platform, and as we all know social media and technology are ever-changing. When you register today, you will automatically get access to any updates or improvements we make to the course as long as the course is offered.
- 6 Course Modules delivered over ten weeks, so you get a step-by-step guide to the entire platform process and have time to put what you learn into action.
- Comprehensive Lessons, including videos, audio recordings, transcripts, and slides, so you can digest the material in the way that’s best for you.
- Companion Worksheets, so you can apply what you’ve learned to your own author platform.
- Virtual Online Classroom, so you can access the course materials anytime, anywhere.
- Plus continued access to course updates.
Are you ready to rock your platform?
Before taking Pixels to Platform, I wondered if I was ready for this. Platform? I haven’t even had anything published. I thought: “Maybe it’s not for me just yet. Who will really care about what I am writing?” But now, I know what direction I want to go with my platform. I know how to improve on what I have so far. I am very excited to get to work on implementing what I learned and I have a lot more confidence and direction than I had before. I have a plan.
—Linda Burgess
Platform is, at first, scary. P2P makes it less scary! Pixels to Platform helps you figure out your direction and how to go about it in the correct and effective way. You can’t avoid platform, it’s a must. So learn it, because the sooner you begin the better.
This course lived up to, no, it exceeded the promise of helping me with my website. I now have a whole notebook on what to do as I achieve the various points of my writing career, rather than being lost as to how to reach readers when I finish my novel.
I encourage anyone who wants to put their writing out there to take the Pixels to Platform course, no matter where they are at this particular point. If you don’t have a website, Gabriela will give you great insights. Ready for a newsletter? Here’s how to do it right. It is never too early to learn, and it will pay dividends from the very first day.
—Elizabeth Mitchell