The first person I got a phone call from, literally the morning my book, Speak Goodr, hit the USA TODAY Bestselling booklist, was an editor from a small publisher in the Midwest. He was curious about me, my book and what other books I had in the pipeline.

He said, "Tell me about your platform."

I answered the question I thought he was asking, but my answer did not suffice.

He really wanted to know what my total reach was across newsletters, podcasts, stages, etc. and equally as important, he wanted to know what problem I solve.

After that I heard the phrase “platform” everywhere. Publishers, agents, sponsorship conversations, even speaking bureaus.

Back when I was a marketing exec, we looked at magazine and publisher media kits. How far the newsletters reached, open rates, click rates, distribution, demographics.

I thought that was the gist of what this editor was asking for, but it was only part of it.

What I quickly learned is that they're asking one step more than a media kit ever gave. They're asking, "What will my return be?"

In a world where self-published books are so easy to crank out, a publisher needs some confidence that if they invest in you to get your book to a shelf, you’ll bring a purchasing audience with it.

Similarly, when everyone is a thought leader and influencer and a speaker, a meeting professional has to decipher if you can fill seats. Are you going to attract an audience? Will you provide that ROI? In fact, I just wrote an article on four different types of keynote speakers, and commentary on whether a keynote speaker fee is worth it.

Sometimes that matters a lot. I've spoken at conferences that are all about getting people through the door. They ask, "Will you promote this to your list? Will you give a coupon code?" Absolutely, and I'll work it into my fee.

So here’s the million-dollar question…do you need thousands or tens of thousands of followers to have a solid platform?

No.

Here's where I land. I think it's all about the problem you solve for people. Where do people benefit the most from your knowledge and insight? Where can you put back the most value?

Even if you’re working a 9-5 job, the same principle holds. What value do you bring to the organization? What problem do you solve for it? What do people come to you for? Maybe you're the copier person, like Pam from The Office. If the copier's broken, you keep the office together, and your solution is fixing the copier. That's great.

It's not necessarily about how many followers you have, but the impact and reach you have within the community that does follow you.

If I email 1,000 people that I have a new book, will 1,000 buy, or will one?

If you look at my actual platforms, I have over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube and about 25,000 subscribers on my main newsletter. I know for a fact that my newsletter audience is far more engaged than my YouTube.

For example, if 5% of my newsletter audience acts, that’s far more impactful than 1% of my YouTube following. A small engaged list is so much more valuable than a big passive social following.

I had Michaeleen Doucleff on The Ryan Vet Show. Hunt, Gather, Parent has sold over a million copies and is in at least 30 languages. Talk about an epic bestseller. She spent nearly twelve years as a global health correspondent for NPR, and now she intentionally does not have an active social media presence. She built such an incredible platform before her first book, and the book continued it, that she doesn't need those things.

So what does this mean for you? Whether you have 342 followers on Instagram or 1,000,000 followers on TikTok, you need to have a full understanding of your platform, meaning a full gasp of your reach. Here is where you can start:

If someone asks about your platform, that's your answer.

Platform is far more holistic than a follower account, it is all about impact and influence.

Until next time,

P.S. What did you say the last time someone asked about your platform? I'll go first. A boutique publisher asked me, and my answer did not suffice. Hit reply and tell me yours.