The "5 Ds" of online platform development

There are 5 “D’s” that I think are necessary to understand if you’re going to build a successful message-based online platform.  Let’s take a few moments to walk through them together. 

Discover Your Message

The first “D” in the list is “Discover your message.” But how should we go about doing that? And what if the message we started with doesn’t seem to be connecting with an audience? Should we pivot to something new?

When people are attempting to discover their message, I usually ask them to ponder two things…

1. What questions do you keep getting? There’s probably something that the people who know you best keep asking you. To certain people, you’re the expert in at least one subject. What is that subject? What kind of help do people regularly come to you for?

2. The second thing I like to ask people to ponder is this; “What could you talk about for 30 minutes with no preparation, no notes, and no loss of enthusiasm.” If you identify something when you ask yourself that question, it’s likely that you’ve succeeded in discovering what the message of your online platform should be.

But it’s important to ask these questions together because there is no guarantee that just because you want to talk about something there’s an audience who wants to pay you to learn more about it. 

To clarify things a little further if you’re attempting to discover your message or even refine your message, it's often been said that most people primarily care about subjects that help them improve their health, wealth, and relationships. The work I’m doing with Platform Launchers certainly addresses those topics. The work I’m doing with Bible Study Headquarters, my faith-based platform, also speaks to these things.

Deliver Your Content

What kind of content are you most likely to create? In many respects, that question probably has a lot of correlation to the content you presently consume. If you’re an avid reader, you’re probably likely to create written content possibly in book, blog, or newsletter form. If you regularly listen to podcasts, you’re probably more likely to prefer creating various forms of recorded audio. If you regularly watch videos, you’re probably more likely to create video content than someone who doesn’t watch online videos would be. Please take a moment to think through what kinds of content you’d enjoy creating.

Will you be consistent with creating it? This is a key question that I wish more people who choose to develop message-based online platforms would be honest about. Consistency is one of the primary keys to success in almost every area of life. If you want to get good at anything, and if you want to build momentum that has the capacity to last beyond the initial push, you’re going to need to be consistent.

Do you have a content creation system? I have a system in place that works very well for me. I didn’t have it in place on day one, but once I started implementing it, it became the key for me to be able to create all the different forms of weekly content I mentioned earlier. I refer to the system as a “content waterfall.” Let me explain what it is in case you aren’t familiar with what I’m talking about.

The content waterfall involves taking one piece of brand-new content and delivering it in many different ways every single week. There are different ways to do this, but in my case, I strongly prefer (and recommend) starting out with one piece of written content. Once that content is written, I use it as teaching notes and I record audio and video of me teaching that content to a live group. The video gets shared with the members of our online community, and a shorter version gets shared on YouTube. The audio recording is shared via my podcast. The text from the written content gets used in several ways, including a blog post, newsletter, and book chapters. It’s one piece of weekly content that gets repurposed in all kinds of ways.

Develop Your Audience

I’m going to share five specific ideas that are contributing to the growth of my audience, and I suspect you’ll find them helpful as well.

Here's what I’ve been discovering…

1. Consistency builds trust. Consistency is one of the words that I mention a lot when I’m teaching about online platform development. It impacts just about everything we do in this space. If we dedicate our time and our intentions to creating content that gets released on a very predictable schedule, without fail, we will gradually earn the trust of our audience. They will also recommend our content to others because they know we won’t embarrass them by failing to show up.

2. Accessibility builds connection. I work hard to remain accessible to my listening, watching, and reading audience. I make myself accessible in multiple ways. I regularly reply to emails. I have even started to publish my email address in some of my books and essentially daring people to email me to see if I’ll write back. I also host online meetups with my audience via Zoom. When people participate in my crowdfunding campaigns on BuyMeACoffee.com, I reply to every single message or gift that’s shared there. I also make a point to show up in more than one place online. That kind of accessibility has deepened the connection I enjoy with my audience.

3. Contests and giveaways build interest. There are few things in life as fun as giving someone else a gift.  Running a contest or offering a giveaway helps generate added interest in what you’re doing, and that added interest often results in audience growth.

4. Invitations to share demonstrate loyalty. When I first started sharing written and recorded content online via my blog or my podcasts, I would regularly ask people to share it with others. A significant portion of my early audience came from people sharing my content with their friends and family.

5. Collaborations feed momentum. Collaborations and partnerships are also some of the best ways to build your audience, even if you’ve been doing what you’re doing for a while. Last year, I joined the LifeAudio podcasting network which is a podcast network for faith-based shows that’s owned by the Salem Media Group. They also manage some very popular websites, and now that I’m collaborating with them, they share links to my content on their sites.

Deploy Your Team

The first team I’d recommend you put in place is a team of mentors/instructors.  These are the people you’ll assemble to pass along their wisdom and ideas to you.  Typically they’re people who are at least several years ahead of you in achieving what you’re trying to achieve.  They may or may not be people you know personally, and they may or may not even know they’re mentoring you.

The next team I’d recommend you establish is a team of implementors.  These are the people, services, or software tools that implement your ideas and help you carry out your mission. 

One additional team I think we all need is a team of peers.  These are the people who are presently doing the same type of thing you’re doing.  Odds are they are in the process of building a message-based online platform as well.  You need them for inspiration and accountability.  You need this group to help cheer you on when you’re struggling and remind you that you aren’t alone as you attempt to build your business. 

Derive Your Income

1.  Crowdfunding:  Crowdfunding is an excellent place to begin, particularly if you’re serving a faith-based or non-profit audience. I presently use BuyMeACoffee.com, Patreon, PayPal, and Stripe to process various forms of crowdfunding. 

2.  Self-publishing:  Self-publishing is another great means of monetization.  When you self-publish short (or long) books on your preferred topic (usually through Amazon’s KDP program), you’re creating content that gives you the opportunity to earn ongoing royalties for the rest of your life. 

3.  Coaching:  Coaching can be a very lucrative way to earn a steady income online.  Please keep in mind, however, that your ability to gain clients will be directly tied to your authority and visibility in your field of expertise.

4.  Other services:  Additionally, you can offer other services via your platform that can be digitally delivered.  I know people who offer editing services, book formatting services, and design services online.  For some, this has become their primary source of income.

5.  Affiliate relationships:  Affiliate relationships are also a great way to earn revenue from your online platform.  Affiliates are people or companies that pay you a commission to recommend their products to your audience. 

6.  Courses:  Creating your own courses can be another excellent source of income, particularly because this is work that you do once that can become an ongoing source of revenue. 

7.  Memberships:  Online memberships are also a fantastic way to serve your audience and earn a steady, predictable income at the same time.  The keys to making them involve solving real problems, creating a positive culture, and working together as a team.

8.  Advertising:  Advertising can be a fantastic revenue generator.  I receive advertising revenue from multiple sources and I’m always happy to get it. 

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The 5-D’s of Online Platform development are important to implement because they help build a logical framework for the content you’re sharing and the business you’re building online.  I offer them to you as a suggested path for developing your message-based platform, and I wish you great success as you put this into practice over time.

© John Stange, 2024