So your ability to "break out," as it’s known in the media, is not about the nobility of your cause or even, ultimately … sigh … the depth and quality of your work. It’s all about how many people already know who you are and what you do. Like right this minute. Before all that great TV and magazine exposure even begins. This has to be this century’s biggest catch-22, because how can your work actually get known unless you impress all those folks listed above?

It can, in fact, if you're methodical about self-marketing and you plan to put a good year into it Ultimately, platform for beginners is all about your ezine list - and how many people are actively signing up to hear from you on a regular basis.

Here's a list of ten things the media and publishers look for in good platform. These items are not the only thing you might offer these folks. And you certainly don't have to have all of them in place to be appealing to publishers and TV producers. But they are a help.

A healthy platform should include:

• A hearty ezine list of 5,000 to 10,000 names.
• A distinctive brand name or position (i.e. Dr. Phil, the Fly Lady, the Frugal Gourmet).
• A website that has energy and style, and reflects the brand heavily.
• Optimized methods for capturing names on the website that help grow the ezine list.
• A blog linked to the website, and a blog promotion program.
• Major media clips, or regional ones that can inspire stories in major media.
• A video of excerpts from TV appearances (for more senior platform builders)
• A tightly put together media kit.
• Excellent quality, high resolution black & white and color headshots that can be downloaded from site.
• A book or audio CD produced by a major publisher.

How does your own work measure up? Have you got good platform yet?

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