In the last few weeks, video blogger Gary Vaynerchuk received a 10 book deal with publisher Harper Collins. Gary is not much of a reader and he was not even looking for a book contract, so how did he achieve what so many authors fail to? The simple answer is that he has a platform. He has an audience and a way to reach them which guarantees him exposure and book sales.

Here are 7 ways you can build your own platform as an author.

1. Start your own blog and write about your book, your niche area or just your writing. You can sell your books from here too, but most importantly, you have a place to connect to readers. You can express yourself and be heard. You can have a free blog in very little time with Blogger or Wordpress so it doesn’t need to be technically difficult.

2. Get involved in social networking. It may be overwhelming but you need to network in order to make contact with people. Choose one or two sites and become active on them. It could be mySpace, Facebook, GoodReads or Twitter. It doesn’t matter too much as long as you network, connect with people and make new contacts.

3. Write and submit articles. A great way to get your name and your book out there is by writing articles and submitting them to sites like EzineArticles.com. These are syndicated to sites that need content with your bio so can drive traffic back to your blog or your website.

4. Make videos for YouTube. Videos are not hard anymore. You just need a webcam or a Flipcam or a cheap camcorder. Talk about your book or your topic and load it onto YouTube as a basic starter. If you love it, you can become a video blogger!

5. Do a podcast or an audio download. People love to hear a voice as well as read the words. You can get a small mp3 recorder for under $100 or use a microphone plugged into your computer. You can do entire works of fiction by podcast like author J.C. Hutchins, or you can do interviews with other authors, or talk about your work.

6. Send out a press release. You don’t need to have a publicist in order to send out a press release. You just need to know the format, have a newsworthy topic and send it to a specific person, then follow up. Remember that the media are always looking for stories. Choose a holiday or a slow time for news and you could be onto a winner!

7. Speak about your book. Build your audience more locally through speaking about your book. Many organisations are looking for people to speak at breakfasts, conventions, book groups, libraries and other places. Offer great content in your speeches and people will want your book. Video your appearances and put them on YouTube for even more exposure!

If this all seems too much, just start with one thing and you will find that over time it builds up and you too will have a platform.

Bio: Joanna Penn is an author, speaker and consultant. Joanna’s blog The Creative Penn offers information for authors on writing, self-publishing, print-on-demand, internet sales and promotion…for your book. She is also the the author of “From Book to Market”, available in ebook format and coming soon on Amazon.com.

Let’s learn together…

If you’re thinking of going after national TV exposure to promote your speaking or your book, you might consider creating your own local TV show starring — you.

The reason to do this is that few national TV shows want to take a risk on an unknown entity. They want to see how you appear on camera. In order to do this, you need to create a (demo) reel showing your expertise in front of the camera.

How do you do this? You can try to get yourself booked on your local TV news. If they say yes, great. But then what? You need more than that for your reel. One choice might be to try to get exposure on local TV in other markets. This is a great approach if your budget allows for it.

But if time and travel expenses are an issue, there is a free or very inexpensive alternative.

In many communities, the cable TV providers must offer what is frequently called local access or public access. This means they have their own local production studios that community members can use to produce shows, which are broadcast on a local cable channel.

In order to produce a show, the cable company will usually require that you take their course on television production, usually offered for free or at a nominal charge.

Most people find these courses a lot of fun. When you’re done, you can be a TV producer. Not every graduate of the course wants to produce their own show, which takes a lot of work, but most are willing to volunteer on other people’s shows, operating cameras and such. That’s how most local access shows are produced.

The key to success is to make your shows informative and entertaining. And non-commercial. Most cable companies will not allow you to make this a profit-seeking venture.

Producing your own show and appearing in front of the camera can prepare you to appear on national TV shows in two ways.

First, you get to practice in front of the camera. When you watch your show, it gives you valuable feedback on how you come across. You have the opportunity to adjust your style before trying to become a guest on other, larger shows.

Second, you have footage to send to larger TV shows so they can see you in action. You can use excerpts from your show to create your reel. Having a reel will help you get on national TV talk and news broadcasts.

And getting on national TV will help you get bigger and better paying speaking gigs and help you sell more of your books.

Adapted from the book, You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity.

Bio: Danek S. Kaus is a veteran journalist and publicist. He is the author of the new book, You Can Be Famous! Insider Secrets to Getting Free Publicity. Dan offers free initial phone consultations. Write him at dan@yourpowerpublicity.com .