BEHIND the SCENES

of a
BLOGGING EMPIRE
H OW MI C H AE L HYATT BU ILT AN 8 - FIG U RE
I N C 500 0 CO MPANY FROM HIS PERSONAL BLOG

JOHN MEESE
FROM PLATFORM UNIVERSITY
 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

The year is 2004.

Mark Zuckerberg is about to publish a hobby website called “TheFacebook.” Donald
Trump just said “You’re fired!” on TV for the first time. And Napoleon Dynamite is primed
to become a blockbuster success (for reasons people still can’t fully explain today).

In the midst of that, the CEO of the 7th largest publishing company in the United States
trips, drops his coffee, and falls down a flight of stairs―shattering his leg.

Forced into an unplanned staycation, he decides to start a new blog at

MichaelHyatt.com.

Fast forward to 2018, and Michael Hyatt is now a well-known leadership mentor and
New York Times bestselling author with an online magazine ready by more than
400,000 people each month, along with two podcasts that collectively have had over 17
million downloads.
Michael Hyatt & Company is now an eight-figure business with more than 30 full-time
employees, ranked by INC Magazine as one of the 5,000 fastest growing independent
companies in the US. And it all started with a blog.

John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 1

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

The Publishing “Platform” Revolution

Michael Hyatt’s initial blogging premise was simple: sit down, type out some thoughts,
hit publish, and see what happened.

At the time, he thought most of his readers would be Thomas Nelson employees. After
all, as one CEO with several hundred employees he rarely had the opportunity to
interact with each individual—this way, he thought, they could get inside his head.

There was no science to blogging. No formula. No templates. No optins. At the time,

almost nobody knew anything about growing an email list, let alone why it was
important.

Still, Michael Hyatt had a hunch.

At the time he worked in an industry that was reaching a major inflection point.
Publishing companies, who had once been the gatekeepers of a multi-million dollar
book industry, were seeing self-publishing and digital books start to change the
publishing landscape.

Suddenly, it wasn’t enough that a publishing company had chosen an author who wrote
a good book. Publishing companies need to sell books, and rookie authors became a
risky gamble.

Publishers could no longer market books the way they had in the past; they needed
authors who had already made a bit of a name for themselves. They needed authors
who had a platform.

Michael shared this rising trend on his blog, and it was this message that started to gain
real traction on Michael Hyatt’s blog. So many people had a message to share, and they
saw the opportunity with blogs like TechCrunch and Gawker that were absolutely
crushing it online.

People wanted to know: How do I start a blog? How can I build an online platform too?

This ebook is about the story of how that all came to be; so you can follow a similar
path. Thankfully, you don’t have to be the one to spend a decade and a half breaking
things and making it up as you go.

With the benefit of hindsight, I’ll break down the 5 elements of a successful online
platform.

John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 2

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

About The Author

In 2012, I (John Meese) was one of the millions of people who read Michael’s book
Platform and found the idea provocative.

Could I build a life of independence, influence, and income from my from my own
personal platform? I was determined
to find out.

I started my own blog at

JohnMeese.com, even though I
wasn’t sure what my message was
really about.

Shortly afterwards, I joined Platform

University and learned how to narrow
my niche and build an engaged online
audience

When I launched my first product (an

online course about a WordPress
theme), I generated $10,541 over 10
days.

That was a pivotal moment in my life,

considering I was newly married and
only made $30,000 a year from my
full-time job.

After growing my audience further,

and launching a few more products, I
quit my job and worked for myself as
a full-time blogger for more than
two years.

When Michael Hyatt asked me to

become the Dean of Platform University, and help other people accomplish the same
thing I had, how could I say no?

These days, my full-time focus is helping platform-builders like you spread your
message to the masses by building an engaged online audience, and transforming your
life with the freedom that provides—but that’s enough about me.

Without further ado, let’s dive into Michael Hyatt’s story, and more specifically how you
can apply these lessons to your own platform journey, starting today.

John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 3

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

Element #1: A Clear Brand Identity

“A consistent brand is vital for a strong platform. It’s something I’ve worked hard to
develop, and it should be one of your top priorities.” - Michael Hyatt, Platform (Thomas
Nelson, 2012)

Your brand is more than your logo and even more than your website design.

Your brand identity is an extension of your personality, and it’s a promise you make to
your audience.

When you pick up a new Apple product, you have an immediate expectation that the
product will be sleek, intuitive, and make you feel smart for using it.

That expectation is based on your previous experiences with Apple, peer feedback, and
years of intentional research and training for Apple’s staff. Unfortunately, branding is not
as simple as writing “It’s sleek, intuitive, and makes you feel smart!” on the side of your
product packaging.

When you’re just getting started, most people gravitate to one of two extremes:

1. Branding Overwhelm: “I can’t compete with massive companies with crazy

budgets for brand strategies. I’m not Coca-cola or Apple. I’m not even Michael
Hyatt! I’ll have to settle for lackluster branding.”

2. Branding Overlook: “Branding? Sure, once I build a successful business I can

start thinking about branding. Right now I just need to get to work.”


It might feel like you can gloss over this part, but it’s actually the biggest indicator of your
platform’s success.

Do you know who your target audience is? What are you promising them? All of those
questions need answers before you embark on building your platform (incidentally, that’s
why we spend the full first module of Platform University’s Core Curriculum focused on
brand identity).

Without a clear brand identity, you’ll struggle to discover what your audience wants and
needs from you. You’ll constantly second-guess the projects you are working on and
when opportunities arise, you’ll be unsure if you should pursue them.

A good brand identity acts like a decision filter to narrow your focus as you build your
platform.

When Michael Hyatt started blogging, he didn’t know much about his own niche and
brand identity. Like a lot of people in the dark ages of blogging, he was testing the
medium.

John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 4

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire
He wrote about technology, productivity, and the publishing industry. He gave writers
advice and offered his opinion on other topics. He dabbled and threw darts at a dart
board—until something started to stick.

He became the go-to resource for authors who wanted to grow a platform. Then he was
the go-to resource for anyone who wanted to grow a platform. His message eventually
evolved into what he’s known for today: leadership development, as Your Leadership
Mentor.

Sometimes finding your voice and your target audience takes time, but you can shave
years off that journey if you can get some level of clarity when you’re just starting out.

Just for a little encouragement, along the journey, here’s a look at Michael’s blog traffic
over time. It wasn’t until about five years in that he hit his stride, found a compelling
brand identity, and hit a turning point with his traffic:

When you’re picking your own brand identity, it’s best to start with a niche as clear as
possible―but also know that you have the freedom to adapt that brand over time, as
you get to know your audience and discover what message resonates with your
audience.


John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 5

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

Element #2: An Established Home Base

“[T]his is the place where you can best sell your ideas or products. You control the
borders and determine who has access.” - Michael Hyatt, Platform (Thomas Nelson,
2012)

In the digital world, just like the physical, you need a home base. This is the place you
center your business around, and it’s also where you want your audience to visit.

For a coffee shop, that home base is obvious, it’s the actual location on the street. For
an online platform? If you’re not careful, you can get caught in the trap of building a
house on a rented lot.

Instead, you need a central website that you completely own and control. We typically
recommend a self-hosted WordPress website, as the simplest and most professional
way to get started (it’s also fairly cheap compared to alternatives).

Yes, your audience can find you on YouTube or Instagram, but those platforms are
never going to be 100% under your control, and those places are not your home. We’ll
talk more about social media and how it fits into your strategy, when we get to element
#4.

Michael’s homebase has changed a lot over the years. He started with Typepad, but
moved to a self-hosted WordPress website once he realized the potential of a long-term
platform-based business.

The professional flexibility of WordPress has allowed Michael to morph his website into
different iterations of his home base over time, all under the MichaelHyatt.com domain.

Most recently, his website shifted from a blog into a digital magazine. That strategy isn’t
for everyone (more on that in this blog post), but the point is he was able to shift
strategies because he built a home base that he could control.

Your home base doesn’t have to start out as anything complicated, but you need to
have a single central “home” online where you send your audience, to engage with you,
your content, and join your email list—more on that next.

John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 6

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

Michael Hyatt's Home Base 2011

Michael Hyatt's Home Base 2018

John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 7

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

Element #3: Quality Email List

“[Y]ou need to stop focusing on growing your traffic. Instead, you need to concentrate on
growing your subscriber list.” - Michael Hyatt, Platform (Thomas Nelson, 2012)

Ask Michael Hyatt what his biggest blogging mistake was and he’ll be very honest with
you—he didn’t start building an email list until several years after starting his blog.

At first, he relied on RSS subscriptions (a popular way to “follow” blogs at the time), but
he quickly discovered that he had left himself at the mercy of third-party distributors.
Here’s the message Michael shared on his blog in 2009:

RSS subscriptions created unnecessary complexity and a barrier between Michael and
his audience that made it difficult for him to get content to them, at times. RSS is no
longer nearly as popular, but there is a new unnecessary barrier in town: social media.

But wait, aren’t social media followers important? Simply put, no. Social media is a great
way to engage with your current audience or connect to a new extension of your
audience, but at the end of the day you are still left at the mercy of the middle man to
distribute your content.

Building an email list, on the other hand, gives you an opportunity to develop a
relationship with your audience by showing up in their inbox (how many times have you
checked your email today?). When you have a vibrant, engaged email list, the
possibilities for your platform are endless. You can reach your audience even if your
home base is down, and you can share value-packed content to build trust, expand your
relationship with your audience, and offer products and services for sale.

Over a decade and a half of Michael’s journey, email marketing has remained the most
dependable, most effective way to grow his audience—and it’s not just Michael. Email
subscribers are fifteen times more likely to purchase products than social media
followers.

That’s why it’s imperative that you capture email addresses when someone lands on
your page. Signing up for your email list should be simple with an easy-to-locate form on
your homepage. We always recommend platform-builders give their subscribers
something in exchange for their email list. We call this freebie an “optin” (We cover this
in great detail within Platform University’s Core Curriculum, but you can get started with
the examples on our blog).


John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 8

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

Element #4: Strategic Social Embassies

“Marketing may not be dead, but, in the world of social media, it has morphed.
Dramatically. Tribe-building is the new marketing.” - Michael Hyatt, Platform (Thomas
Nelson, 2012)

How’s this screenshot for a blast from the past?

When Michael Hyatt created his first Twitter account, he still thought “twittering” seemed
like a waste of time.

He was an early adopter, hopping on the platform in 2008—just two years after it
launched—with only one million Twitter users at the time (today there are over 336
million daily active users).

At that point, Facebook was just starting to become more popular than MySpace, and
people still weren’t quite sure how social media fit into a platform strategy.

Let’s get one thing straight, right away: social media is an important part of your platform
strategy. It’s one of the best ways to reach a broader audience and help you find your
tribe.

That said, social media should never take the place of your homebase or your email list.

John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 9

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire
If you build your platform on social media, it’s like building your house on a rented lot. At
any time the landlord can kick you off or choose not to renew your lease—and you’ll
have to leave the house behind.

The “powers-that-be” can and will change the algorithms whenever they want. They can
even delete your content. You don’t own that platform and you aren’t in control.

There are, however, strategic ways you can use your social media to build embassies.
Building an embassy on Facebook gives you a presence there and allows you to be
visible to a whole crew of your readers and would-be readers. The same goes for
Twitter, Instagram, or others.

Social media can be used in a handful of helpful ways. Like I said earlier, it gives you
visibility and the chance to be “discovered” by new readers and followers. It gives you a
new medium to express yourself. It opens up a new marketing opportunity, and social
media allows you to engage with your followers.

Michael was able to quickly grow his Twitter account, then he focused on Facebook.
Today he has almost 600,000 followers between his Twitter profile and his Facebook
page, and now Michael is venturing into Instagram.

Following his example you can see what we teach inside Platform University. We advise
students to focus on a primary social embassy first, and introduce a secondary social
embassy only one at a time.

Each social media platform is different and comes with a different online culture. You
can’t be everywhere, nor should you be everywhere when it comes to social media.

Focus your energy into growing one social media platform, where your audience already
lives. After you’ve established a following, try out another platform and go from there.


John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 10

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

Element #5: Profitable Flagship Products

“If you create outstanding products, everything else becomes much easier.” - Michael
Hyatt, Platform (Thomas Nelson, 2012)

The final pillar of every successful platform is a flagship product. This is the product that
embodies your brand promise to your audience. What is the transformation your
platform promises them? How does your flagship product help them achieve that?

A flagship product is important because it also is the fuel that sustains your platform.
You know you have a message and expertise to share. Sharing that message and
serving your audience takes time and resources. A flagship product allows you to keep
producing content so you can keep serving your audience.

Your flagship product can also provide the income so you can continue to spread your
influence and grow your independence, over time.

For years, Michael Hyatt’s flagship product was Platform University itself. As Michael’s
brand identity shifted, he started focusing more on goal-setting and released 5 Days to
Your Best Year Ever. When he shifted into productivity, he released Free to Focus.

As Michael’s business grew, and he was able to build an increasingly larger team, he
began to set each flagship product up as it’s own brand, and build related offerings off of
each one (like the Best Year Ever Activation Workshops or Platinum Coaching
Program).

As you can see, building a flagship product creates a lot of opportunity.

Don’t try to build more than one flagship product for your platform until you’ve
succeeded enough to hire a team (it could stretch you thin and dilute your brand clarity).
Instead, double down on creating multiple products in the same category of
transformation, with deeper levels of commitment and transformation at higher price
points.

John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 11

 Behind the Scenes of a Blogging Empire

So… What Now?

I hope you’ve found this short study of Michael Hyatt’s journey helpful and inspiring.
Now you’re probably already wondering how to apply this to your own journey, whether
you’re making progress already or even if you’re just starting out.

No matter where you are in your platform journey, we believe these five elements are
the most important factors in your success. Time and time again, we’ve seen these five
elements show up in every successful student from Platform University.

Here’s a quick recap:

1. Clarify your brand identity. This is going to help you steer your platform for
years to come. Focus in on what your promise is to your audience and how you
can best fulfill that promise.

2. Establish your homebase. Make sure this is a website that you control, and
then make this the center of all your content creation and promotion online.

3. Grow a quality email list. List-growth is one of the biggest indicators of your
platform success. With a healthy email list you can promote content or products
to your tribe.

4. Establish strategic social embassies. Focus your energy wisely. Grow

strategically and don’t try to be everywhere all the time.

5. Launch a profitable flagship product. Use this to fulfil your brand promise in a
single package, serving your audience and building the business behind your
platform.

You’re welcome to go forth, take this advice (or ignore it), and build your platform on
your own.

You’re also welcome to join the membership community inside Platform University,
where several thousand students are currently in the trenches using these same
strategies, side-by-side―along with in-depth training and masterclass interviews to
guide you along the way.

By following Michael Hyatt’s guidance and example, we can help you establish these
five elements to build an engaged online audience your message, and spread it to the
masses.

We only open Public Enrollment for Platform University twice a year, once in the Spring
and once in the Fall (much like a brick-and-mortar university). If you’re interested in
learning more, you can always apply to Platform University—we’ll let you know as soon
as you can join.

John Meese © Platform University 2018. All rights reserved. 12