Platform by Michael Hyatt: Book Summary, Review & Notes

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

Start before you can see every step.

Why waiting to be perfect keeps people from publishing.

The reason the book starts with the product, not the marketing.

Choose the experiences you want to make exceptional.

Write for the reader, not about yourself.

Consistency is how you improve.

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.