An online platform can elevate your message just enough for a massive number of people to hear it and benefit from it. And building one has never been easier!
I was talking to a good friend of mine recently, and I asked him what he wanted to do in life. I want to help people, he responded without a moment’s hesitation. And, in fact, I hear that response from a lot of people. It seems that the older we get, the more we realize that our lives are most meaningful when we are in the process of helping others. Whether you are aware of it or not, at the deepest part of your heart, you want to help people.
But how can I help people? What do I have that I could possible offer to others? I hear that a lot, and I always respond the same way.
You’ve got a message! You’ve got something to say, something to share with others that will better their lives, if they would hear it.
But let me ask you this question: would you like to help a few people, or would you like to help a lot of people? Would you like to help people temporarily? Or would you like to create resources that can help people for years to come?
If you answered the way I think you answered, you need to build yourself an online platform.
Let me explain what I mean by an online platform:
Every Sunday morning when I speak to the members of my congregation, I stand up on a platform. The platform at our church is only 8 inches high, but that 8 inches of elevation is enough to make me the tallest person in the room. When people see me standing on that platform, they know that I have something to say and that they need to listen to me say it. But if there was no platform and everyone else in the room was standing, no one would see me, and there would be no indication that I have something worthwhile to say. That 8 inches makes all the difference!
When I say that you need an online platform, I mean that you need an online presence that can give you that 8 inches of lift. The posts I provide on this site will provide you with simple, easy to understand, step-by-step directions for building a powerful platform that will give you the power to command the attention of a large number of people, showing them that you have something to say that they need to hear.
The platform that I stand on at church is powerful enough to cause me to be seen and heard by everyone in the room. But the room only seats 132 people. My online platform, on the other hand, is powerful enough to cause me to be seen by thousands of people. While I’ve only got about 300 people that attend my church, I’ve got more than ten times as many who read my blog, follow my social media outlets, subscribe to my mailing list, and listen to my podcast. My online platform is much bigger than my physical platform, and it is growing bigger and stronger every day!
So what are the components of a powerful, online platform? I have a simple strategy that’s not too hard to manage. I’ve boiled it down to three basic components:
- Social Media Outlets: Your primary mechanism for making connections, building relationships, and drawing a crowd. Facebook and Twitter are essential. Other outlets are supplemental.
- A Blog: Your primary means of getting your message out (in bite-sized pieces) to an ever-growing audience. A self-hosted WordPress blog is the way to go here.
- A Mailing List: Your primary means of staying connected to your audience and informing them of past, present, and future resources.
Building these components may seem daunting, but I’m here to tell you that the process is very simple. In the posts to come, I’ll give you step-by-step instructions both for building and for utilizing these components and integrating them into a powerful platform that can give you the 8 inches of elevation that you need to be seen and heard by a large number of people.
Out of curiosity, if you were to launch your blog today, what would you blog about? Let me know by leaving a comment below. I’d love to hear your ideas!
