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Something special happened this week. My book reached the milestone of receiving 50 reviews on Amazon, with an average rating of 5 stars:

Someone asked: “How did you do this?”

It was a difficult question to consider. In many ways, the honest answer is, “I didn’t. Generous readers have supported me and my work. They did it all.” And that is indeed true. Someone bought the book. Read it. Then took it upon themselves to craft and post a review.

But I would be lying if I said I didn’t check the Amazon page for new reviews, and that when I see the number of reviews go up by one, my heart jumps a little.

Because of this, over the course of this year, I have suggested to people that they post a review the book. This is done in little ways: an email, in-person, or a social media reply. I didn’t offer them anything in return, but I wanted to make it clear to people: “It would mean a lot to me if you would post a review.” Just simple communication, not any kind of “campaign.”

Another true answer to something that led to book reviews is that I spent 10+ years developing a readership for the book via hundreds of blog posts, newsletters, and tens of thousands of social media updates. I have spoken at dozens of major conferences, and run well more than 100 webinars. I’ve taught course after course. Plus I’ve worked with hundreds of people directly in my consulting work and my mastermind groups.

All of these things have contributed in some way to getting reviews on Amazon, just as they contributed to the content of the book itself.

When I started WeGrowMedia back in 2010, I created an online course called “Build Your Author Platform.” At the time, there were very few online courses for writers and creative professionals, and only a handful of people really teaching the idea of “platform.”

Since that time, the concept of “platform” has gone from a bold new idea to a played out marketing term, and back around to a pretty consistent part of what it means to be a creative professional of any sort. Today I would like to explore: what does platform really mean today, and how can you best embrace it to support your creative work?

For starters: platform is not about getting a lot of people to follow you. It is about forging a meaningful connecting with just one person.

If you are lucky, that connection happens with more than one person. Let me explain it this way. It is not:

“I HAVE AN AUDIENCE OF 10 PEOPLE!”

It is:
“Amy F. likes my stuff.”
“Robert T. likes my stuff.”
“Craig S. likes my stuff.”
“Rebecca K. likes my stuff.”
“Jen B. likes my stuff.”
“Susan O. likes my stuff.”
“Brad W. likes my stuff.”
“Deborah K. likes my stuff.”
“Brian K. likes my stuff.”
“Sue M. likes my stuff.”

Why? Because your “audience” is never collected together. Each individual has a unique and personal connection to your creative work. It is as PERSONAL to them as anything in their life.

I’ve become moderately obsessed with Fred Rogers recently. Like… on on the verge of commissioning a monument to him, kind of obsessed. What just keeps astounding me about his work is how personal it is. He isn’t talking to “an audience.” He is talking to you. One. person. at. a. time.

I suppose what I’m saying is: be Fred Rogers.

Platform is about:

• Clarity in your work.
• Communicating in a way that is meaningful to people.
• Forging a trust in that process.
• Setting the stage for a relationship — because that is how we engage with art. The art brings something and we bring something. The “engagement” is the personal mixture of those two things. My connection to a song is wholly unique than your connection to that same song.
• Creating experiences and moments, not “content” or “followers.”
• Sustainability in your creative work and your career.
• Creative practices, processes and systems to ensure it reaches people.

The process of developing your platform is exactly that, a process. You cannot just copy it as a template.

What didn’t I mention here?
# of social media followers
# of newsletter subscribers

Nearly every day, I still see pitches for webinars and courses focused on providing “POWERFUL RAPID LIST-BUILDING TECHNIQUES” and “HOW TO GET 1,000 NEW FOLLOWERS EACH DAY.”

Some of these techniques may even work. The problem? The email list you build, or social media following you create rapidly is filled with the least engaged audience. Let’s say you create this wonderful free digital resource, and you take out Facebook ads to get people to sign up for your email list to get it. And a bunch of people do it.

Sounds great, right?

But then you find… very few people open your emails. That when you ask a question, no one replies. When you announce your big new book, your pre-orders are a flatline. And you wonder: “What is happening? I did all the rapid list-building stuff.”

Think of it this way: what if you set up a booth at a tradeshow or conference, and you create these AWESOME tote bags. And you give away 3,000 of them, and the tote bag has your book cover on them, and your website, and there is a card in them that offers them a free ebook.

You just created 3,000 new fans, right? Wrong. What if you instead experience what I often see at tradeshows: ZOMBIES walking around looking for “FREE” with GRABBY HANDS. This is how it works:

1. Someone walks down the aisle scanning for FREE.
2. They see your free tote bag, and their body moves into auto-pilot. They move towards it, arms reach out to grab it. They may even smile and say THANKS!
3. But their mind has already moved on. An eighth of a second later they are scanning for the next FREE.

I have taken pictures of people at tradeshows who are on the floor in a corner, organizing their 36 collected totebags because they can barely carry them all.

The same applies to a lot of RAPID LIST BUILDING EFFORTS. You will be doing it for the right reason: “Wow, wouldn’t it be great to say I have 7,000 subscribers!?!” But the reality may be “Gosh, my open rates stink, and people keep unsubscribing, it is so disheartening. I suppose people don’t like my writing. Maybe I should give it up.”

The reality is that many who subscribe via these techniques may also be downloading hundreds of free ebooks, signing up for dozens of free webinars, grabbing limited time free guides or courses or videos.

These are not true “fans.” These people don’t convert when you try to sell a book. They are the EASIEST people to engage, and the hardest to convert. You are one of a bazillion people they follow. It’s akin to buying a billboard on a crowded highway. It feels good to know that 20,000 people will see your billboard today, but horrible when it seems no one is actually engaging with you or buying what you create.

So what does work? This…

Craft Comes First.
I say that a lot, and I always want to underscore it. The best way to build an audience for your work is to actually do work. To get better at it.

Get Clarity.
Then I would say you want to be clear about what you hope to achieve with sharing your creative work with the world. Too many people say, “I want to be a bestseller!” or “I want my paintings to be in an art gallery,” or “I want to play my music on a stage to 50,000 people” without really considering what that means. Then, they are shocked when the pursuit of these things are wildly unfulfilling. So get really clear about your intention with sharing, and how that will effect your day to day life.

Understand Your Ideal Audience.
Invest time in researching those you hope to engage. Not as vague demographics, but as individuals who are as unique as you are. I walk you through that process in my book, Be the Gateway.

Focus on Relationships, Not Numbers
Develop a small but ENGAGED audience for your work. One of the most surprising part of running a business has been how much success comes from a small audience. When they are the RIGHT audience, and engaged in a meaningful way. I know plenty of people with less than 1,000 subscriebrs who have thriving businesses built on top of that. Because they are the 1,000 right people. To understand the power of this, read Kevin Kelly’s “1,000 True Fans” essay if you haven’t before.

Embrace Collaborators.
You will not succeed alone. Embrace collaborators in your process. If you don’t have colleagues, you are radically increasing your chances for failure. Some of these collaborators will have a specific role: such as an editor. But others will make up the fabric of your processional support system.

What is common to all of these things? Communication and trust. Isn’t that nicer than spamming people with a “rapid list-building technique”?

Thanks.
-Dan

In the past couple of weeks, two podcasts interviewed me about how I balance family and my creative work. You can listen to those conversations here:

• My interview with Mom Writes (Episode 4):
  “Dan Blank, author of Be the Gateway, walks us through his work day- including his particular strategies of time blocking and energy blocking- and shares with us how he successfully balances writing life, work life, and family life.”

• My interview with “We Turned Out Okay” (episode 179):
  “Dan shares so much in today’s episode about how to parent and retain our creativity – and foster our kids’ – all at the same time.”

In reflecting on these, I am reminded of the challenges that many writers, artist and creative professionals I know face:

They are overwhelmed with “balancing” the distinct areas of their life: family, home, health, work, craft, and more.

Their identity is defined by others: they are a sister, a mom, a “Tier 2 Account Support Executive”, a PTO co-chair before they are defined by their own creative work.

Nothing they try seems to establish and audience for their work, yet they are inundated with courses, webinars, podcasts, blogs telling them what to do.

Their “support system” is a joke, stretched to the max.

They feel as though they are running 100 miles per hour on a treadmill, yet at the same time, feel completely stuck.

I considered this as I helped run an event last weekend, The Madison Storytellers Festival. We had 15 performances scheduled with writers, dancers, storytellers, actors, illustrators, musicians, poets, and so much more!

Here are some photos of the experience…

We had a gorgeous day for the event:

Attendees took a vintage hammer and nailed their stories to this custom made board:

We had dancers sharing stories from classic fairy tales:

Authors reading to kids:

A theater company showing the behind-the-scenes of how sound effects are done in stage performances:

Poets:

Photography:

Storytelling through games:

We even had Curious George!

There was so much more as well. The Festival was a huge team effort to put this together. Here I am with Barb Short, owner of the Short Stories Bookshop & Community Hub which hosted part of the event:

As I reflect on each of the performances, I am reminded that each one of these people has had to deal with the same challenges above. They likely struggled to push their craft forward, and to connect it with others in a meaningful way, all while managing otherwise complex lives.

For many, you can look at how they made these things sustainable by:

• Doubling down on their vision, and establishing practices around it. These creators are always honing their craft. I know that many writers and artists feel crushed by too many ideas, that they are loath to choose one direction. The performers at the Festival showed us the value of choosing a direction and going all-in with it.
• Collaborating with others. Not one performer showed up alone. They were either part of an organization, or they had brought collaborators into their work. Even the guy who had written and illustrated his own book was shadowed by his wife and kids the entire day. His creative work is supported by them.
• Experimenting with new ways to share. How did these performers find their audience? You are looking at that process in the photos. They are experimenting with new ways to reach them. The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey ran a workshop on sound effects; last year they did a workshop on stage combat. These performers took a Saturday to reach out to new audiences in new ways, and connect with like minded people. They didn’t just sit online clicking “refresh” on their web browser to see how ticket sales are going for their latest show. They went out and found their audience and made a meaningful connection on a personal level.

I would encourage you to reach out to other writers, artists and performers in your local community. These people are on a similar journey as you, why not support each other?

Heads up: this is the last chance to sign up for my Creative Shift Mastermind group which begins October 1st. There are just a few spots left! This group is about being a doer, not just a dreamer. It is about getting it done with a group of collaborators, getting a plan in place, and finally establishing the practices you need for success. Learn more here.

Thanks!
-Dan

Have you ever felt like a total fraud with your creative work? Like a poseur who wants to be known as a writer or artist or for their ideas, but worries that you don’t live up to that identity?

If you have, boy are you not alone. I grew up as an artist, my friends were always the artsy kids, and in my work, all I do is work with writers and creative professional. I can tell you, feelings of being a poseur or fraud are common.

Even just this week, I received emails from a two different writers who shared with me their biggest challenges:

• “[My biggest challenge?] That my manuscript is not good enough to share.”
• “I am trying to get past my insecurities that no one really cares or wants to support me.”

While neither may use the term “poseur” or “fraud,” they suffer from similar issues. But I want to make a very clear distinction between these two stated challenges above:

1. One is about the work itself. Is the work worthy?
2. The other is about the person. Is the person worthy?

What I find stops many people is the second of these. Not just that their manuscript or painting or song isn’t good enough, but that they aren’t good enough.

Today I want to talk about how to navigate your creative vision while not losing your mind to insecurities that can so easily stop you. Because after working with thousands of creative professionals in the trenches, I have found this:

The biggest barriers that threaten to kill your creative work will come from inside of you.

Yet, very often, we worry about things external to us:

• A critic or review.
• A gatekeeper.
• A trend that you missed.
• A launch.
• A cold-hearted “industry.”

Are these things challenging? Sure. But they are not what will stop you. What will stop you will be if you ignore the following two steps to achieve your creative vision:

1. Craft comes first.
2. Meaningfully connecting your work to another human being comes second.

Double-down on these.

These are foundational, and if you can take these two actions again and again, everything else will be easier. If you can only do one, do the first one. I’d rather see you paint alone in an attic and get better and better at painting, than to not paint at all.

But if you also have the desire and energy, then focus on connecting that painting to another human being too. Sure, it can be a gallery show or an Etsy shop, but it doesn’t need to be that formal. In our lives, we have been moved — CHANGED — by works of art in the most nondescript moments. Share your art with one person in a way that is small, but meaningful.

Boom. You just changed the world.

Both of these are actions — your craft and sharing — are skills. Both are simple to start doing, and complex to dedicate yourself to in the long-term. Why? Because so much inner judgement hampers us.

Which brings us to the poseur test. Are you nervous? Me too. No one likes tests. But I want you to take this test, not for me, but for yourself.

It’s simple:

1. Write down your goal as a writer or artist or other creative pursuit. If you don’t like the term “goal,” then instead write down the “practice” that you want to establish in your life. For instance, perhaps you are a chef — perhaps you don’t have a specific goal, but you want to establish a practice of cooking a different meal for a group of 10 people from your community each month. You want a practice of improving your cooking skills, and bringing people together over food.
2. Write down the smallest action you have to take in order to attend to that goal. For instance, if your goal is to become a bestselling author, don’t write down that you are trying to figure out Facebook Ads because you watched this fascinating webinar about how Facebook sells books. Instead: write down that you want to become a better storyteller; or you want to get better at finishing and sharing; or something similar. Keep it simple — goals that would be as applicable in 1957, 1987, or 2017.
3. Write down your schedule for doing this smallest action. How often do you do it each week? For how long?

So how do we grade this test? Well, I’m not one to judge, so I’m going to encourage you to grade the test very simply: how do you feel about your answer to each of these questions?

Did you struggle to think of your goal or practice?

Did your “smallest action” turn into a list of 1,000 things you have read heard are all “essential steps,” and you can’t figure out where to begin? For instance, if your goal was “I want to write and publish my first novel,” was your “smallest action” list filled with things such as “build a website, launch a podcast and figure out Pinterest” because you read an engrossing story of how another author launched her first novel with them? But, of course, you feel scattered and overwhelmed because none of these things have anything to do with writing a novel?

Can you not remember the last time you took these minimum actions, and couldn’t even imagine how you could work them into your life?

If this is how you reacted to any of the questions above, then no that doesn’t make you a poseur. Again, my goal here is not to judge, and I don’t want you to feel bad about yourself. If you weren’t happy with any of the answers above, I would encourage you to go to your calendar, and block out a single hour each week for the next four weeks to invest in something:

Clarity.

During each of those hours, explore these questions:

1. What do I hope for with my creative work?
2. What is the smallest action I can take?
3. How can I develop this practice in my already busy life?

I suggest that you ponder these questions in a place that inspires you, or where you can feel alone in your thoughts. Go to the park and sit on a bench by the lake, go to a cafe and order a hot cup of coffee and pastry, or find a quiet corner of the library.

This is time to invest in yourself and your creative vision, and instilling clarity in each.

Once you have taken these four hours over the month, create a schedule where you can take your “smallest action” every day. Don’t worry about results, worry about taking small actions towards improving your craft and connecting your work to others.

Because if you do these things, you can never be a poseur — never be a fraud with your creative work. You are a doer… one who shows up and creates.

Be someone who creates every day.

-Dan

So many writers and artists I speak to strive to do their work full-time — to be able to spend their days on their craft and developing an audience around it.

I was considering the moment when everything changed for me… when it became possible for me to work full-time on my own, to spend my days doing creative work that I love.

It all started by sending an email newsletter to nine people. If I hadn’t done that, I likely wouldn’t be where I am today.

Today, I want to tell you that story and reflect on how the moment that everything has — or will — change for you.

In 2005, I worked in a gray cube at an office of a large media company. In fact, I felt like I had won the lottery, I had been given a “double cube!” Instead of 8-10 hours per day being spent in 5′ x 5′ confined space, I could spend it in a 5′ x 10′ confined space!

This was before the days of social media, when it was still controversial to consider how the internet would change publishing. The concept of self-publishing was still perceived as vanity publishing — something to be looked down upon, an exercise in ego-fulfillment.

I worked with a lot of writers, and the company’s focus was still squarely on the value of print. Sure, they had websites and digital strategies, but few saw it as a viable future.

As I read article after article about the way that publishing will change because of the internet, I decided I wanted to share some of my thoughts around it with my colleagues.

I asked my boss if I could send a small email newsletter to nine of my friends in the company, and explained the focus on the content. She approved it, which was a pretty exciting milestone. Communications in the company were tightly controlled, and she was in charge of the formal company newsletter. It felt like a big step that she would approve a (dramatically) smaller one, run entirely by me.

That Friday I sent out the first newsletter to those nine people. It turns out, I would send an email newsletter every single Friday for the next 12 years as well.

One of the nine people I emailed was a lawyer for our company. He replied back that he thought I should send it to our CEO, and that he would appreciate it. I resisted. Emailing the CEO seemed like the type of thing that a guy sitting in a gray cube didn’t do. Too often, in corporate culture, you don’t raise your hand in order to stand out, you simply try to fit in.

My friend gave me an ultimatum: if I didn’t email it to the CEO, he would.

My cube was near all of the executive offices, and this was the chain of events:

1. I asked my boss permission to forward the newsletter to the CEO. She approved.
2. I forwarded the first newsletter to the CEO saying that it was suggested I forward it to him, and that he may appreciate it.
3. A few minutes later, I saw the CEO walk out of his office, past my cube, and into my bosses office. He shut the door.
4. Five minutes later he went back to his office.
5. 30 seconds later, my phone rang, and my boss called me into her office.
6. When I arrived, she asked me to close the door and sit down.

At this point, I was 100% convinced that I was about to be fired. Why? Not only because I had spoken up within a corporation, but because the topic I was writing about (how digital media will effect writers and print media) represented a huge threat to the company’s core business model, and to many of its employees.

This is the type of thing that would threaten the bonuses and stature of every executive. That still confounded the entire sales operation. That editors eschewed.

Who was I to stoke these flames? What my boss said next still astounds me:

“The CEO would like to forward your email to the entire company, suggesting that everyone subscribe.”

That instantly boosted my subscriber base to well more than 9 people. Over the years, my subscriber list grew within the company, and more and more, I began sharing my own thoughts about how digital media, blogging, and social media was changing opportunities for writers and other creative professionals.

Within the company, I became well-known. I had advocates, but I’m also well aware that I had detractors; those who did not like what I had to say, and were not supportive of my ability to share so easily within the company.

I knew that many executives received the newsletter — people whose bonuses were tied to print revenue, and who constantly had to reassure their employees that print revenue will continue to grow. I clearly remember telling my wife in that era, “One Friday I’m going to click “send” on this newsletter, and I’m going to get fired. Some executive will get offended, argue that my newsletter is hurting the company, and I will lose my job.” I wasn’t trying to be dramatic, I genuinely felt this would happen.

To my surprise, it didn’t. In fact, when the company was disbanded in 2010, with the pieces being sold off or closed, I was one of the last remaining corporate employees.

Even though we had months of warning, I never looked for another job. I had decided two things:

• I wanted to try my hand at starting my own company when this job ended.
• I wanted to see what it was like for a company to shut down. I will tell you, I learned so much about human behavior in this process. Years of business school could not have taught me as much as I experienced in being a part of this process.

In 2010, when the job ended, some of my friends didn’t believe me that I was starting my own company. I would tell them about my company WeGrowMedia, and they would reply, “Don’t worry, you’ll find something soon.”

Marketing expert Seth Godin talks a lot about not waiting to “be picked” by others. He encourages you to “choose yourself.”

When I consider any lessons to take from my moment that everything changed, I consider his wisdom. There is no doubt that my lawyer friend, my boss, and the CEO had a hand in all of these things happening. With their (generous) actions, I got lucky.

But what I did with that luck is also something that matters. Opportunity is a responsibility.

Yes, there was a moment it started, but there were 1,000 moments that slowly lead to the change, and thousands more that followed it. If I just sent 10 newsletters, nothing would have changed. I had to send hundreds of them, I haven’t missed one week in 12 years.

Recently, I have been sharing interviews I have conducted with successful creative professionals — writers and artists. In each, I can identify a moment where things changed for them. But that is not what drives the interviews. It is our exploration of the 1,000 actions that followed. Of what they did when they faced a setback.

For your own work, I would encourage you to consider:

• Will you wait to be picked?
• Will you squander a lucky hand?
• What is your creative shift?

Epilogue:

When I first began writing this post, it was 10 days ago, and my intention was to encourage you to consider the shift you want to make in your creative life.

But then something happened that I can’t get out of my mind.

In the story above, the lawyer I worked with who encouraged me to forward my fledgling newsletter to the CEO is named Jeremy Pomeroy. When I left that company, we stayed in touch via a couple emails here and there, and watching each others’ updates on Facebook.

A couple days ago, I saw Jeremy post his wife’s obituary. This absolutely floored me. His wife was 48 years old, and died from ovarian cancer. They have two teenage children. I had remembered that Jeremy lost his sister to ovarian cancer only a couple years ago.

I worked with Jeremy for a decade, seeing him almost every day. He is just so kind and thoughtful, and always talked about his family. To consider what he has been enduring is just devastating to consider.

When I reflected on my time with Jeremy, I thought about what we can all learn from him. It’s this: What can you do this week to support someone else’s dream?

When Jeremy gave me the ultimatum, “I think you should share this with the CEO. If you don’t, I will,” he became a staunch advocate for me and what I believed in. His action was simple, yet it encouraged an immediate action on my part. His involvement was not passive like we see so often: an email of support, or a “liking” a social media post.

Jeremy’s action caused a chain of events to happen that has lead me to where I am today.

What small action can you take this week to support the work of someone around you? Something that, if the dominos fall correctly, will have them thanking you more than a decade later for the profound effect you have had on their life?

-Dan

Earlier this month, I quietly relaunched my podcast, sharing the stories of how successful creative professionals have made a shift in their lives and careers. The first three new episodes are now live:

• “I saw this as a reinvestment in myself” – an interview with author-illustrator Lori Richmond
• “I want to celebrate what we are doing” – an interview with Colby Sharp
• “Do you want to read a book, or do you want to have written a book?” – an interview with KJ Dell’Antonia

Hearing their stories had me reflecting on my own journey. Seven years ago, the job I worked for nearly a decade ended. The company folded, and I was laid off. Even though we were warned about this years in advance, I never looked for a new job. Instead, the day after that job ended, around July 4, 2010, I started my own company.

It was a creative shift. And a big risk.

The month after this happened, my wife and I had our first child. Less than a year later, she chose to leave her tenured job as an art teacher to raise our son and work on her art.

Since that time, I have never felt more alive. I doubled down on my creative vision. I tried to figure out how I can best serve others with what I offer. Working from home, I have spent seemingly endless hours with my family day after day.

In the process, I have worked with hundreds of one-on-one clients. Taught dozens of courses. Run more than 10 mastermind groups. Held more than 100 live webinars. Clicked “publish” on my newsletter and blog a few hundred times. Shared thousands of updates on social media.

But most importantly: I have been present for others as they made their creative shift. These are people finding clarity in their creative work; publishing their books; launching their own careers as artists.

That has truly been an honor.

If you are considering making a creative shift in your life — to double down on your creative work, to live day to day in a way that feels closer to your creative vision and ideals, then I would encourage you to listen to the stories that KJ, Colby, and Lori share. I have many more interviews already recorded to be shared on the podcast soon.

You can find the podcast on iTunes as well.

I would love it if you would share with me: what is the creative shift you hope to create in your life?

Thanks.
-Dan