“Creativity, decisiveness, passion, honesty, sincerity, love. These are the ultimate human resources and when you engage these resources, you can get any other resource on earth.” -Tony Robbins

cxas3rcwqaa8eqfLet me let you in on an insight about passion and curiosity I didn’t quite understand 10 years ago when I first started blogging:

I didn’t think about aligning my passion and curiosity with supporting my author platform.

When I created my first blog back in 2006 through blogspot.com, I was not yet a published author. I had no idea about this talk around building an aligned author platform. I was just a newbie trying to nurture my self-expression through random blog postings.

Fast forward to and 10 years later, I am fully embracing the idea that the way you put yourself out there online is the way people will remember you. That concept holds true for cultivating relationships, your brand, and of course, your content.

I’ve interviewed more than 100 entrepreneurs and authors for my blog Giving Voice to Your Courage  and if there is one thing I’ve discovered, it’s the recognition that many authors are passionate and curious about many things that concern their books. So why not tap into that passion and curiosity to build your author platform?

With passion and curiosity at their sides, authors and entrepreneurs alike have a beautiful opportunity to deeply engage their target audience and support their platforms with rich content.

Why Passion?

  1. You can’t fake passion. It’s the only thing that comes most naturally to people and especially creative professionals like authors who enjoy working in a creative medium and audience.
  2. Podcasting and radio shows are still the strongest forms of digital content because that’s where historically, an author’s message lives. The engagement level is higher on these forms than any other. You get to feel the author’s passion through his/her voice.  
  3. It’s contagious. Through it, you get to experience the heart of people energy.
48216174 - medium.

48216174 – medium.

Implications for Building Your Platform

Embrace what you are deeply passionate about and then support that passion with rich content.  Connecting with that passion is what will bring your content alive each time you put yourself online.

In a digital world of constant promotion, you don’t want to sound like everyone else. Rise above the noise. Be unique. Be memorable. Connect. Engage. Platform building isn’t just about numbers, but building a real human connection. 

For starters, bring your passion to life by having “mini-conversations around a book topic you are curious and passionate about.  

Why curiosity?

Your online audience is often looking for a got-o expert to solve their problems. This is where the power of your book’s message can present itself as an online teaching tool.  The more relevant questions you ask, the deeper you’ll get with your content.

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  • Curiosity is the spark that lights the fire – ignites the energy to move forward.

 

  • Curiosity is about asking questions, and self-inquiry.

 

  • Courage is needed to discover the answers to our questions.

 

  • Courage is determination, with a no-matter-what attitude.

 

  • There are two forms of curiosity and courage: proactive and reactive.

 

  • Reactive curiosity and courage is triggered when something out of our control happens to us, requiring action.

 

  • Proactive curiosity and courage are self-motivated, such as when we want to create something, like a piece of artwork.

I recently did a stunning podcast with author Carol Walsh who talks about how curiosity was the spark for creativity and particularly, with writing her memoir after her husband’s traumatic death. The conversation we had was just so riveting.

Click here to listen to the podcast

Over to You

 

unnamed-42Are you feeling stuck trying to get your target audience to notice your upcoming book? Are you overwhelmed by the marketing, doing a hit and miss, hoping that something just sticks? If the answer is yes, then you don’t want to miss this:

Choose your time/date:
 
December 6, 2016: 10am PT | 11am MT | 12pm CT | 1pm EST
December 7, 2016: 12pm PT | 1pm MT | 2pm CT | 3pm EST
December 11, 2016: 8am PT | 9am MT | 10am CT | 11am EST
 
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Dorit Sasson, the creator of Giving Voice to Your Courage, mentors writers and authors like you, helping them to write and finish their books as well as build their platforms.
If you want to gather a following in a way that honors your creativity, and puts more emphasis on real engagement than the number of Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers you have, then you need a clear strategy. In our digital world of constant promotion, you need to bring your content alive, enabling you to stand out and get noticed.
Join this 60-minute free teleseminar and learn how to support your passion with rich content that sells your ideas and your book as you build a social media platform.