Today I had the privilege and honor of attending the first ever Platform Conference presented by Michael Hyatt,the best selling author of Platform: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World. Platform Conference is off to a great start and I am really glad I made the trip to Nashville, Tennessee.
Here are a few reasons why:
- The Venue: The conference is being held at the Sound Kitchen, a very cool and prestigious recording studio. With having recorded albums for Keith Urban, Third Day, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Chicago, Van Zandt, and Miley Cyrus, who wouldn’t feel cool hanging out here?
- The Size: The size of the conference is very small and intimate. I believe there are 150 people or less attending and this makes for a better experience.
- The Speakers: During the next three days we will have the opportunity to hear from Ken Davis, Pat Flynn, Stu McClaren, John Saddington, Carrie Wilkerson, and Michael Hyatt. All great presenters!
- The Attendees: Wow, I’ve already met some awesome people from all over the United States and Canada. There are some very passionate attendees here who I am sure will be world changers.
Over the next couple of days I will be blogging about the insights I learn from each session. I will also be publishing my sketchnotes created during the conference once they are completed. I hope you will find these tidbits beneficial.
Platform Conference: Day One
President George W. Bush
Day One kicked off with a surprise visit from President George W. Bush, who delivered an inspiring and hilarious speech. OK, so the President was really an impersonator played by John Morgan – but I have to admit it took me and many others quite a while to figure out he wasn’t the real George W. Bush.
Michael Hyatt
Michael did an excellent job of discussing the principles in his book and in providing valuable insights for building a platform. Here are my notes:
- All the world is a stage, but it’s getting smaller.
- 1.5 million books were published in 2012, most of which were self-published.
- You need a platform.
- Content is king, platform is the queen.
- The benefits of building a platform are: Visibility, Amplification, Connection, and Options.
- So many people quit before the inflection point. You could be at the point of breaking through so don’t quit!
Five Steps for Building Your Platform:
1. Start with WOW! Wow is exceeding your audiences expectations and when there is WOW, people spread the message by word of mouth.
2. Prepare to Launch: Perfectionism is the mother of procrastination. You cannot be afraid to launch your product or service or blog.
3. Build Your Home Base: Your platform starts with your website. Or it can be something else, but you must build a central hub so people can find you.
4. Expand Your Reach: Go outside of yourself and step out of your comfort zone.
5. Engage Your Tribe: You have to be present in your community of followers or supporters. Communicate with them and build relationships.
The Big Takeaway
- Building your platform just requires taking that first step.
- Nobody is going to make you famous. You have to accept responsibility for the outcome.
If you are an attendee of Platform Conference, please feel free to share your thoughts or notes here as well!
wow. i’m digging this overview! thank you so much!
You’re welcome John and thanks for an AWESOME presentation today!
Great overview!
Thanks Daniel!
I haven’t had the chance to attend a Platform conference yet, but hope to make it at some point in the near future. I think the fact they purposely held it to less than 200 people is awesome.
Micah, there is a Platform Conference being held in Dallas in November. You should definitely check it out! I am very glad that I made the investment.