Is your author platform complete? Have you covered all the essentials? Find out with this checklist.

How to use this checklist: Work your way through the questions using your answers to build up your writer’s business plan. Alternatively, use the quick list to jump into each topic.

Do you have a writing business plan?

Few people get far in business without a plan – a business plan. This is where you write down your goals, your resources, and the steps you need to take to achieve your goals with the available resources.

No: Before you go any further, make yourself a writing business plan.

Yes: Excellent, you are dressed for success.

Do you have a website?

No: Stop right now and get one. You can get a free WordPress blog from Author Buzz or WordPress.com. However, you would be better off with your own fully controlled site which costs about £7 a month.

Yes: Great, you have made a good start.

Does your site have all necessary pages?

Check out the quick list. Does your site have all the pages on the list?

No: Adding these pages is next on your to-do list.

Yes: Great, you have laid a good foundation.

How well is your website achieving your needs?

• What are your goals?
• How do you measure them?
• How many people come to your site?
• What are they looking for when they come?
• Which pages do they visit?

These are all questions that you need to be able to answer. If you don’t have access to that information check out our guide to analysing your website traffic.

These questions are the ones you will answer to determine how well your site meets your goals.

Could be better: Take a look at our SEO and Marketing sections.

Top-notch: Great, you seem to be doing well.

Do you have a mailing list?

No: You are missing out. Find out why. Put creating a list on your to-do list.

Yes: Good, you are on the right track.

Are most of your readers on your list?

No: You still have work to do. Keep going.

Yes: Sounds like you have been busy. Good work.

Do you have a signup form on-site?

No: Your site is not finished. Add a signup form.

Yes: Great, are you using A/B testing to keep it effective?

How often do you send to your list?

There is an optimal frequency for sending out newsletters to your list. The exact right number of times in a given number of days. Unfortunately, no one knows what it is.

It will be up to you to experiment and identify how often or how rarely you send out these emails.

Do you have a blog?

No: You are missing out. You can get a free blog (and community) from Author Buzz or a number of other sites.

Yes: Excellent, you sound well set up.

Do you post on a regular schedule?

No: How’s that working out for you?

Yes: Sounds like you know how to schedule a post. Good job.

How well is your blog achieving your needs?

The same questions here, apply as they do on your website and your needs.

• What are your goals?
• How do you measure them?
• How many people come to your site?
• What are they looking for when they come?
• Which pages do they visit?

These are questions that you should be able to answer about your blog. If you don’t have access to that information see our guide to analysing your website traffic.

Could be better: Take a look at our SEO and Marketing sections.

Top-notch: Great, you seem to be doing well.

Which blog topics are most popular?

Use your traffic statistics to identify your best posts and topics. These are the topics you might want to lean into. Write more about connected themes and related topics.

Are these the topics you want to write about?

Yes: Great, everything is fine and going well.

No: You will need to decide if writing popular topics or writing about topics that matter to you is more important. I’d recommend going with your passions.

Which topics do you want to write about?

Do you have a way to tie these to your more popular articles?

Have you been writing about your prefered topics and how has that played out? Are there ways of leveraging your success to draw attention to your prefered topics?

Do you have a social media presence?

We look at this in-depth in the social media section. We recommend having an author profile on one to two social media platforms.

No: Take a look through our demographic profiles of social media platforms. Pick one or two that you could work with and that might reach potential readers.

Yes: Excellent, keep reading.

Are you directing follows from social media to your site and/or blog?

No: Try leveraging your presence to occasionally draw attention to your site. Social media is like a cocktail party. You invite the people you want to be friends with back home.

Yes: How often and do you know how effective this is?

What resources do you have to develop social media content?

If you have not already done so, you should make a note of your content creation resources in your business plan. Resources include available time, help from friends and family, your fan club coordinator, or even your keenest fans. The chances are though, this is only going to include you, your time, and maybe a few part-time but very supportive friends or family members.

You should also note any topics, themes, news trends, or artwork available to you that you can milk for content. Not to mention any excerpts from published content that might make for interesting memes, quotes, or conversation starters.

Quick List

• Website
  • Welcome page
  • About me
  • Contact
  • Press info
  • Books
  • social media links
• List
  • Clear signup process
  • Regular newsletter
  • Added value
• Blog
  • Calls to action
  • links to books
  • Regular content
• Social Media
  • One or two steadily growing accounts
  • Frequent updates
  • Engaging content
  • Weekly links to site/blog
• Marketing
  • SEO
  • Press Releases
  • Landing pages

Further reading

Fauzia Burke has published a useful collection of worksheets to help you plan your author platform. The information you put onto your worksheets will most likely be important to your business plan.

Now review our list of common author platform mistakes.