I’m a first time author, and the launch of my book is seven
months away. I am told that now is the
time to “build my platform.” If you are not in the publishing biz, you probably
wondering, as I did, what is a platform?
It is a ready audience for your upcoming book in the form of social
media followers, an email list, current and former clients, networks and
colleagues. If you are someone whose
writing developed quietly, and not within an existing paid job, institution,
college or profession, chances are you have a small or non-existent platform
(like me). I know I should feel like I
am not enough, but I don’t. Why?
In my book, Enough,How to Liberate Yourself and Remake the World with Just One Word, I write about something I call the shift from
Expert to Essence. I write how the expert
paradigm is a disempowering one for the audience and shuts out contribution,
connection and community. Listening to
an expert speak very rarely leads to profound change in the lives of the
listeners. But participate in solving a
problem together, and you are changed by the experience forever. For me,
marketing is interesting work. It can be
creative, purpose-driven and exciting. It challenges you to become self-reflective,
crystal clear and concise. And if you are “putting you and your work out there”
for the first time, it is scary as hell.
When feeling this vulnerable, of course the tendency is to
run to experts for help. This is a good
idea unless you are using it as a substitute for learning and growing. When we don’t want to take responsibility for
our growing edge, we tend to seek experts to tell us what to do and how. We give up our power and reinforce the belief
that we ourselves are not smart or capable enough. So, facing the daunting task of manifesting a
decent sized platform from nothing for the first time, now would be a very good
time for me to seek an expert, right? Ok, so I did look for one just to see what I
would find, and certainly I plan to hire people who possess skills I do not
have to do certain tasks I have no business doing. But hand over the entire baby? No. Especially
after what I found as I looked for marketing experts to guide me.
Let me start with a little disclaimer. Perhaps it is my newly acquired “I am enough”
mindset, but I’ve become much better at discernment. And I have reason to believe I am not alone in
this: humanity in general is growing rapidly
in its ability to better discern reality from illusion. The evidence is all around, with
whistleblowers, the secret lives of celebrities exposed, and the internet’s
ability to share and put together bits of information to form an alternative to
the mainstream picture of the world.
But what I am noticing more and more is that if someone
tells you they are something that they may not be, we have a bias towards believing
them and discounting obvious evidence including that of our “gut” that may be
telling us otherwise. Case in point,
Donald Trump. He keeps telling us he is
a winner, calling his competitors losers.
His current pole numbers prove that the public’s natural tendency is to
align with winners. And yet there is
ample evidence of many, many failures he has had in the past. Furthermore, isn’t it more likely after
winning office that someone like Mr. Trump would protect the interests of other
“winners” over the middle and lower classes, the predominant “losers” of the capitalistic
model?
In the book marketing business, there are many good and talented people, but there are also plenty of
illusions to go around – rampant tricks and formulae that promise to propel books to #1 on Amazon, free
gift offers to lure you in, slick P.R. professionals who promise the moon while
thinking nothing of emptying the bank accounts of naïve first-time authors. And I am just wondering, how many times have
you been offered a free webinar delivered by an expert, only to have to sit
through 30 minutes of blatant self-promotion and hype, followed by the most
basic, unoriginal “information” in the form of something like “my ten secrets
to success”? I am somewhat embarrassed
to report that these kinds of “free webinars” tend to be the norm rather than
the exception in my category of publishing – self-help. Am I missing something? How are these free
webinars consistent with self or help? And
how is it a free gift? I just gave up an
hour of my time to listen to someone name drop, talk on about her credentials
and proudly recount her anointed journey to the top. This would be fine if I
gleaned something of substance, but I did not (and usually don’t.) That is saved for the paid seminar. I long for a day when most of us can tell the
illusion from reality. I long for a time
when a gift is a gift, not a marketing ploy or an advertisement in disguise.
I used to teach marketing to graduate students who were
studying training and adult education.
It perhaps should have, but ethics never came up in my class. I had simply assumed that people always wanted
to be of genuine service. I think I
would have been horrified to hear customers referred to as “a platform” (Isn’t
a platform something you stand on? What a
visual!) There is nothing wrong with a platform per se, as long as you aren’t
mistaking your customers for objects that lift you up or make you rich, rather
than as people you serve with humility and appreciation.
I want to take this opportunity to do marketing consciously.
The “Never Enough” way is to always make the decision based on what will bring
in the most money. The “Enough” way is
to decide based on alignment with heart-purpose, authenticity, integrity and
the greater good. I believe in reciprocity
– what goes around comes around. For example, I imagine bringing people
together for juicy, meaningful conversations like “Why don’t I feel I am
enough?” or “What’s my enough?” I
imagine bringing to life the principle behind Enough which is paying it forward
and giving back. My plan is to offer a free speech or webinar to several of my
favorite nonprofits between now and launch (April 1, 2016), then leaving it up
to them if they’d like to use it as a fundraiser or a benefit to their clients
and members. I imagine giving away some books to good people who I know would
be generous enough to buy a book for someone else who they think could really benefit
from the Enough message. And I imagine
hearing from YOU about what ethical, spiritual business is to you.
How do we encourage community, reciprocity
and empowerment by how we engage in business?
How do we stay in the flow of enough?
Got any good ideas?
I want to hear
from you!
Thank you,
Laurie
Laurie McCammon is a planetary change agent, blogger, facilitator and author of Enough!How to Liberate Yourself and Remake the World with Just One Word, published by Conari Press, out April 1, 2016. You can contact Laurie with comments at lauriemccammon@gmail.com, Like LaurieMcCammon on Facebook or follow her on Twitter at @EnoughMessage
Laurie McCammon is a planetary change agent, blogger, facilitator and author of Enough!How to Liberate Yourself and Remake the World with Just One Word, published by Conari Press, out April 1, 2016. You can contact Laurie with comments at lauriemccammon@gmail.com, Like LaurieMcCammon on Facebook or follow her on Twitter at @EnoughMessage
