Platform by Michael Hyatt: Book Summary, Review & Notes
An in-depth summary of Platform by Michael Hyatt, with the 5 parts of building a platform, the home base model, real quotes and how it compares to similar books.
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This is an in-depth book summary, notes and highlights of Platform by Michael Hyatt. Published in 2012 by Thomas Nelson, it became a New York Times bestseller and is organized as 60 short chapters for anyone with something to say or sell.
Platform in 3 sentences
- Platform argues that anyone with something to say or sell needs a platform, a way to be seen and heard by the people who care.
- Michael Hyatt builds it in 5 parts: start with a product that wows, prepare to launch, build a home base, expand your reach and engage your tribe.
- The home base is a blog you own, with social networks acting as embassies that send people back to it.
Key takeaways
- Start with wow. No amount of marketing can make up for a weak product.
- Prepare before you launch: set platform goals, write an elevator pitch, set up branding tools, gather endorsements, get a good head shot and build a media kit.
- Own your home base. A blog you control sits at the center, while social networks are embassies you visit but do not own.
- Watch your outposts, the places people talk about you without your regular presence, with tools like Google Alerts.
- Write the content yourself, keep a running list of post ideas and use a template to write faster.
- Make subscribing easy. Hyatt calls it the most important call to action on a blog.
- Grow your reach with guest posts, giveaways and Twitter, and give Twitter 30 minutes a day.
- Engage your tribe with the 20-to-1 rule: 20 generous contributions for every promotional request.
Who should read Platform
- Authors, speakers and experts who need an audience before launching a book or product.
- Bloggers who want more readers and subscribers.
- Small business owners and leaders who want to be heard in a crowded market.
- Novelists, who get an appendix of blog post ideas written for them.
- Readers who like short chapters. There are 60 of them, each on a single task.
- People new to social media who want a clear order of operations.
Who might not enjoy it
- Readers who want current tactics. The book dates from 2012 and leans on blogs, Twitter and Facebook fan pages.
- Experienced marketers. Much of it covers basics like About pages, head shots and comment policies.
Popular quotes from Platform
You will never see the full path. The important thing is to do the next right thing.
Start before you can see every step.
Perfectionism is the mother of procrastination.
Why waiting to be perfect keeps people from publishing.
Regardless of the form your product takes, no amount of marketing savvy, salesmanship, or operational excellence can overcome a weak product.
The reason the book starts with the product, not the marketing.
If everything is a wow, then pretty soon, nothing is a wow.
Choose the experiences you want to make exceptional.
In the end, the best posts are about your readers' needs, fears, problems, or concerns.
Write for the reader, not about yourself.
The more you write, the better you will get.
Consistency is how you improve.
The goal is to communicate, not to impress readers with your vocabulary.
Plain words win.
How Platform compares to similar books
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Turn a passion into a personal brand with content and community. Published in 2009. It is more about mindset and hustle, while Platform is a checklist of tasks.
Tribes by Seth Godin
A tribe is a group of people connected to each other, to a leader and to an idea. Published in 2008, and Hyatt cites it in Platform. Godin explains why tribes matter, and Hyatt shows how to build one online.
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
Share your process so the right people find you. Published in 2014 as a short illustrated book. It is aimed at artists and makers and skips the setup details Hyatt covers.
Superfans by Pat Flynn
How to turn casual followers into loyal fans who buy and spread the word. Published in 2019. It goes deeper on the relationship once people have found you.
Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson
Build a following around your message and sell with funnels and presentations. Published in 2017. It is more sales-driven, where Platform centers on content and a blog.
Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller
A 7-part framework for clear marketing messages. Published in 2017. It helps you decide what to say, while Platform covers where and how often to say it.
About Michael Hyatt
Michael Hyatt studied philosophy at Baylor University and spent his career in book publishing. He became president of Thomas Nelson in 2004, served as CEO from 2005 to 2011 and then stayed on as chairman, while writing a popular blog on leadership.
In 2012 he founded Michael Hyatt & Company, later renamed Full Focus, which made the Inc. 5000 list 3 years in a row. His later books include Living Forward, Your Best Year Ever, Free to Focus and The Vision Driven Leader.
FAQs about Platform
The questions people most often ask about Platform by Michael Hyatt.
Platform is a 2012 book by Michael Hyatt about building an audience online so you can be heard. It covers creating a strong product, preparing to launch, building a blog as your home base, growing your reach and engaging your community.
He compares it to a stage that lifts you up so people can see and hear you. Online, that means a blog you own, a list of subscribers and a following on social networks.
Start With Wow, Prepare to Launch, Build Your Home Base, Expand Your Reach and Engage Your Tribe. Each part is broken into short chapters that cover one task at a time.
Wow is Hyatt's word for a product that exceeds expectations. Part 1 argues that a platform starts with a compelling product, because marketing cannot save a weak one.
A place online that you own and control, which for most people is a blog or website. Everything else you do online should point people back to it.
Embassies are social networks where you have an account and a regular presence but do not own the platform, such as Twitter or Facebook. Outposts are places where people may talk about you, which you monitor with tools like Google Alerts.
Make 20 generous contributions to your audience for every 1 promotional request. The idea is that trust built through helpful posts makes people more willing to respond when you ask.
Hyatt suggests devoting 30 minutes a day. The book gives Twitter several chapters, from the basics to getting followers and promoting a product.
For an information product, Hyatt lists 4 parts: the product name and category, the problem it solves, your solution and the key benefit of that solution. He gives a separate formula for entertainment products.
Michael Hyatt is the former CEO and chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers and the founder of Michael Hyatt & Company, now Full Focus. He has written several bestselling books on leadership and productivity.
The principles of owning your home base, creating useful content and giving before asking still hold. Many platform details are from 2012, so apply them to the networks your audience uses today.
The Thomas Nelson hardcover has 261 numbered pages across 60 short chapters, plus an introduction, a conclusion and 2 appendixes.
Yes. Part 5 includes a chapter on monetizing your blog, and an appendix covers the FTC guidelines on disclosing endorsements.
Yes. Appendix B is a list of blog post ideas written specifically for novelists.
Navid Moazzez
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Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
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