There’s nothing like the clean slate of a new year about to start—especially after a year as all around rough as this one has been. Time to cut free and start over! Along with that excitement, I’m a huge geek for resolutions and big, hopeful plans. Yes, even now. I cannot squash my new-year optimism. Especially when it comes to new platform developments. You shouldn’t either.
Look. I know. We have a long climb up back to “normal.” We have a lot of challenges and a lot of us won’t get our usual end-of-year celebrations with loved ones, for a variety of heartbreaking reasons. But at least for me, at least, setting my sights on ways to work toward my goals helps keep me from slipping off the deep end.
And good news—the internet was quite literally made to let you keep making connections from anywhere, including for your author platform. From unpublished hopefuls to seasoned pros, here are a few recommendations to set a digital platforming resolution that will make a real difference.
But first, what makes resolutions impactful?
We’ve all set goals for ourselves that we totally fail to reach. “I’m going to lose 50 pounds!” “I’m going to run a marathon!” “I’m going to finish that novel!” What do these have in common? They focus on the big picture, without considering how you’ll get there.
The resolutions that get results have certain common qualities. They’re:
- Measurable: Define what you’re aiming to do in a concrete, quantified way.
- Action-driven: Focused on the actions you can control, rather than outcomes you can’t.
- Reasonable challenges: Resolutions are meant to challenge you, or they don’t mean much. But they don’t mean much if you go too far and set a goal so unreasonable you can’t sustain it. If you know you can’t reach it, it won’t motivate you.
With that in mind, let’s move on to some ways you can set challenging but meaningful resolutions for your author platform in the new year.
4 Great Author Platforming Resolutions
1. Try a new social network
Have you finally mastered Twitter? Awesome, why not give Instagram a try? (Or if you’re feeling daring, TikTok?) A new channel can open you up to a whole new community of readers and authors. Perhaps the next one you try will turn out to be your favorite! You can’t know until you give it a chance.
2. Increase your platform post frequency
If you’re not ready to expand to a new network, you can invest more in a social media account you already know. Take stock of your platform post frequency, and what’s working best. Can you increase your daily or weekly post frequency? Make a new habit of replying to others’ posts more often? Is there a certain post type that gets great engagement you should do more of? Pick a challenge and see what it does for you!
3. Develop a new skillset
When was the last time you tried something completely new? Social media is constantly evolving. If you’re up for a real challenge in the coming year, I dare you to tackle that trend that scares you most. Is it TikTok? Is it livestream? Interviewing another author you admire? Get out there and start doing it. One of the most under appreciated things about social media is that a momentary fumble is just that—it’s drowned in the post feed in minutes.
4. Set a target metric
This one can open you up to ignoring the crucial point #2 of what makes a great resolution (action-driven) so be careful to give yourself specific steps and check-in points on this one. But setting a target metric—such as improving your newsletter’s open rate or reaching a milestone level of followers—can push you to get creative and experiment with new approaches in your efforts to hit the finish line.
Happy New Year! Get At ‘Em
A new year is right around the corner. We might still be quarantining ourselves for months to come, and there’s a lot of huge problems and stressors in the world. But sometimes, taking charge of what you can, is a great way to shake off the ennui. Set a platforming goal you can be excited about, and then, tackle it with all you’ve got (even if all you’ve got is five minutes between switching the laundry and that first morning meeting).
Take care of yourselves, loves. Be safe. Wear a mask. Stay home. And plan big for what’s around the corner in the new year.
By day, E. J. Wenstrom is a digital strategy pro with over 10 years at communications firms. By early-early morning, she’s an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author of the Chronicles of the Third Realm War novels, starting with Mud. She believes in complicated characters, terrifying monsters, and purple hair dye.
