Imagine a reader following a recommendation to your profile and finding five links, an old announcement and no obvious starting point for your books. Posting more often would leave the same problem: where should that reader go next?
An author’s platform brings together the places where readers encounter your work and the relationships that keep them connected. A website, community presence or mailing list earns its place by helping those readers take a useful next step. Start there, rather than with another account.
Give each channel a clear job
Think about the journey from a first encounter to a continuing relationship. Readers need a way to discover you, explore your books and find you again.
Reader discovery and ongoing contact are distinct parts of indie author marketing. A guest appearance or relevant community can introduce your work; a website can hold the book information someone needs before choosing; an email list offers an optional way to hear from you again.
These are functions, not three compulsory accounts. One channel can serve several purposes. Wherever readers encounter you, use a recognisable author name and make the kind of books you write clear.
Choose channels using reader evidence and available time
Ask existing readers where they first heard about your books and where they usually discover their next read. A few replies provide useful leads, though they represent only part of your audience.
If you are still preparing to publish, observe conversations around comparable books. Look for discussion of the reading experience your work offers: intricate puzzles, comforting familiarity or practical guidance on a particular subject. Group size alone tells you little about that fit.
Before committing to a channel, ask:
- Are relevant readers present? Examine the books being discussed and the conversations attracting participation.
- Can you contribute something welcome? Read the community rules and consider what your interests allow you to offer beyond mentioning your books.
- Can you sustain the work? Include preparation, publishing, replies and updates when estimating the commitment.
If recording and editing make every video laborious, written discussion might be a better use of your time.
Write down what maintaining the channel would involve in an ordinary busy week. Choose a smaller role or a different channel if the workload exceeds the attention you have available.
Connect a small setup: a worked example
Consider a hypothetical historical-mystery author whose reader replies point towards a particular online reading community.
In this example, the author joins relevant conversations and offers reading recommendations, following the community’s rules. Where permitted, their profile links to a focused website page showing the mystery series, its reading order and a sample.
That page answers a practical question: where should a new reader start? An optional sign-up alongside the book information explains what updates subscribers will receive. The books remain easy to find before anyone subscribes.
Each part has a maintenance task: participate constructively, keep the series information current and deliver the promised updates. A blog would need its own useful purpose before being added.
Linking directly to the series page, rather than a crowded homepage, gives an interested reader less searching to do. Matching author names and book titles across those pages also helps them recognise that they have reached the right place.
Review reader response before adding more
Decide what a useful response looks like for each activity. For discovery work, look for relevant questions or visits to a book page; for ongoing contact, track sign-ups and replies. Keep these separate from purchases so you can assess each channel against its intended role.
Alongside those responses, record the work involved, including recurring tasks such as answering messages and correcting outdated information.
If an activity attracts attention but few readers take the next step, inspect that step before increasing output. The destination might be confusing, the invitation unclear or the audience poorly matched.
Where the effort outweighs the contribution, simplify the activity, change its purpose or reduce the commitment. A relationship-building channel can justify its place through useful reader contact as well as immediate sales.
Before opening another account, follow the route an interested reader would take through one existing channel. Find the starting book, check the links and read the sign-up explanation. Fix one missing or confusing step first.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
