First Line Friday #11: Platform

Thanks to Carrie at
Reading is My Superpower
for the Link-up

 

 

Title:  Platform
Author:  Michael Hyatt
Genre:  Business/Marketing

 〰First Line〰

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Now you know there are two critical parts of the success equation: a compelling product (the what) and a significant platform (the who). In this book you will find a wealth of information on the second element in the equation, but if you don’t slam-dunk the first element—the compelling product—you won’t win the game.

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Synopsis:  (From Amazon:) 

In Platform, Michael Hyatt, one of the top business bloggers in the world, provides down-to-earth guidance for building and expanding a powerful platform.

To be successful in the market today, you must possess two strategic assets: a compelling product and a meaningful platform. In this step-by-step guide, Michael Hyatt, former CEO and current Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers, takes readers behind the scenes, into the new world of social media success. He shows you what best-selling authors, public speakers, entrepreneurs, musicians, and other creative minds are doing differently to win customers in today’s crowded marketplace.

Hyatt speaks from experience. He writes one of the top 800 blogs in the world and has more than 100,000 followers on Twitter. His large and growing platform serves as the foundation for his successful writing, speaking, and consulting practice.

In Platform, Hyatt will teach readers not only how to extend their influence, but also how to monetize it and build a sustainable career. The key is to build a platform. It has never been easier, less expensive, or more possible than right now.

The book includes:

• Proven strategies,
• Easy-to-replicate formulas, and
• Practical tips.

Social media technologies have changed everything. Now, for the first time in history, non-celebrities can get noticed - and win big! - in an increasingly noisy world

 〰First Thoughts〰

I know that the old saying is "play to your strengths," but when it comes to marketing, I don't have any.  I'm an artists/crafter who hasn't sold a piece in years.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy giving away my creations, but selling some pieces to offset the cost would be most helpful.  Also, I don't want the masses to believe that my work is only worth a "free" price tag.

My receipts and time spent creating prove it's worth much more than that.

I've always found sales and marketing to be sleazy.  In all fairness, I've not been exposed to any good examples.  I hate being sold to when I haven't asked for it (pop up ads on websites, ads in my social media feed for crap I don't care about, people who friend or follow me on social media just because they want to either sell me something or enroll me in some multi-level marketing scheme, etc).  I won't even put Ad-Sense on my blog to make a little money because I see how annoying it is to read other people's blogs with more ads than content and video advertisements covering relevant information.  And then, there's this kind of nonsense:

This was at the Michael's in Belmar.  Please tell me where the "sale" is.

I'm starting my deep dive into the world of sales with Hyatt's book because 1) I already had the book and just hadn't read it yet, and 2) from what I can tell, Hyatt can develop a marketing plan to sell fresh dog turds and make a million dollars from it.

 

So, is it possible for me to market my wares without alienating my community?  We'll see.

So, what's the first line of the book you're currently reading?

First Line Friday #10: The Romantic Rationalist

Thanks to Carrie at
Reading is My Superpower
for the Link-up

 

Title:  The Romantic Rationalist
Editors/Contributors:  John Piper, et al.
Genre: Biography / Theology

 〰First Line〰

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For those of you who may wonder why we would devote a book to a mere mortal like C. S. Lewis, let’s begin with an accolade from Peter Kreeft from a book chapter titled, “The Romantic Rationalist: Lewis the Man.”

Once upon a dreary era, when the world of . . . specialization had nearly made obsolete all universal geniuses, romantic poets, Platonic idealists, rhetorical craftsmen, and even orthodox Christians, there appeared a man (almost as if from another world, one of the worlds of his own fiction: was he a man or something more like elf or Angel?) who was all of these things as amateur, as well as probably the world’s foremost authority in his professional province, Medieval and Renaissance English literature. Before his death in 1963 he found time to produce some first-quality works of literary history, literary criticism, theology, philosophy,  autobiography, biblical studies, historical philology, fantasy, science fiction, letters, poems, sermons, formal and informal essays, a historical novel, a spiritual diary, religious allegory, short stories, and children’s novels. Clive Staples Lewis was not a man: he was a world.

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Synopsis:  (From Goodreads:) 

"We are far too easily pleased."

C. S. Lewis stands as one of the most influential Christians of the twentieth century. His commitment to the life of the mind and the life of the heart is evident in classics like the Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity—books that illustrate the unbreakable connection between rigorous thought and deep affection.

With contributions from Randy Alcorn, John Piper, Philip Ryken, Kevin Vanhoozer, David Mathis, and Douglas Wilson, this volume explores the man, his work, and his legacy—reveling in the truth at the heart of Lewis's spiritual genius: God alone is the answer to our deepest longings and the source of our unending joy.

 〰First Thoughts〰

Until I studied for my Theology degree, I'd not given C. S. Lewis or his writings the attention they deserved.   I'd only known him as the "Narnia guy" and had made attempts to read some of the series, but came away dissatisfied and feeling a bit stupid (I'm not great with allegories in general).  After my courses introduced me to Lewis' nonfiction writings, I was eager to read and study more.  After partaking of several biographies and articles on Lewis, I wasn't sure there was anything else to tell.  Well, this volume popped up in my recommended readings on Hoopla Digital, so I thought, why not? 

So, what's the first line of the book you're currently reading?