Charlie Chaplin on Wall Street – Photo Taken in 1918

In 1918 Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks mounted the top of Federal Hall to petition people to buy War Bonds to support World War I. In the above photo,  Chaplin Chaplin was standing on the shoulders of his friend and fellow actor Douglas Fairbanks. By the size of the crowd that they drew to that effort, you might say that their efforts were successful, and you might also surmise that as early as 100 years ago, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks recognized the importance of a platform.  But the use of a platform for making a point far preceded 1918.

School of Athens by Raphael

“The School of Athens (Italian: Scuola di Atene) is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1509 and 1511 as a part of Raphael’s commission to decorate the rooms now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.” Wikipedia

Image Credit Wikipedia

An older Plato stands on a platform alongside a younger Aristotle.

“Plato (c. 428–c. 348 BCE) and Aristotle (384–322 BCE) are generally regarded as the two greatest figures of Western philosophy.” Brotamoca

For at least 2,000 years, people have recognized the importance of platforms, and that is especially true today. But today’s platforms are not places on top of any building or stage, today’s platforms are created through social media.

Very simply, a social media platform is the stage from which people, businesses, and ideas can be discovered on the Internet.

As I have said before, it is perfectly fine for people to write–just for the pleasure of writing. In fact, that may be the easiest and most satisfying route for a writer, and I want people to write their own memoirs just for the pleasure of having do that.. But if a writer want to have any hope of earning a living from his writing, he needs to establish a Marketing Strategy. It boils down to this. My first piece of advice is this: A Writer Must Decide Where He Wants His Writing to Take Him–and Then, He Must Follow Through with That Track.

One day Alice came to a fork in the road
and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree.
‘Which road do I take?’ she asked.
“Where do you want to go?’ was his response.
‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered.
‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.’”

Sooner or later, a writer must decide whether he is writing merely for pleasure or whether he has some hope to be published, and if a writer wants to be published one day, he must begin creating a Marketing Strategy Immediately.

“Traditional publishers are leaving more and more of the responsibility for marketing books to the authors themselves.” Joel Friedlander | January 2015 | Foreword to How to Blog a Book by Nina Amir

Nina adds that blogging a book is a way for an author to build his platform. In other words, it is a way to become recognized as an authority in the book business; and it is a way to become noticed by agents and publishers. I’ll write more about the importance of blogging later, but for now, I am encouraging writers to begin some type of Marketing Strategy. A Marketing Strategy.

Why Do Writers Need a Marketing Strategy?

A Marketing Strategy is Necessary to Help Writers to Get Their Writing Published.

A Marketing Strategy Helps Writers to Attract an Audience for Their Writings

“You have to become your own public relations representative and promotion and marketing director. You have to start your own publishing company….” How to Blog a Book by Nina Amir\

My Marketing Strategy is Part of My Overall Business Plan.

Plan for Success: The Importance of Planning

There are tons of Social Media Platforms now, but I only use 3 of them:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram

I’ll say more about how I use each of these platforms later, but in my observation, Facebook is the most popular Social Media Platform Overall.

I found the following info online from Hootsuite:

General Facebook stats

1. Facebook has 2.74 billion monthly active users

That’s an increase of 12% year-over-year from September 2019.

If there’s one stat that proves the importance of incorporating Facebook into your marketing strategy, this is it. There’s simply no other platform that offers this kind of reach.

2. Facebook reaches 59% of the world’s social networking population

Twitter is an essential platform for writers.

Twitter Is An Essential Tool for Writers

My Debut Picture Book, A Donkey’s Song was Discovered via a Twitter Pitch Event.

Twitter Ptch Events: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: Are Twitter Pitch Events Important for Picture Book Writers?

Instagram Is An Essential Social Media Marketing Platform for Image Makers.

I am also a painter, and all of my current favorite illustrators and painters are on Instagram. This past February, I participated in the Instagram Challenge: February Flowers and through that I was inspired to produce serval new flower paintings. I also found several new Instagram Followers through that Event:

Highlights from February Flowers 2021: Jacki Kellum Florals – Defining My Style