One of the essentials of creating a sustained public speaking career in 2016 is to have an online community of people who support you and your ideas and are clamoring to hear you speak. That’s where the demand comes from that will lead to bookings. That means you have to create a place online for your ideas, brand them and market them. Of course, some people are more comfortable with online marketing and the online world than others. But the truth is that the world is moving too fast today to rely only on offline marketing. You can’t rely on a speakers’ bureau to bring you bookings without any apparent effort on your part, just because your idea is a good one and you’re a cool speaker.

So you need to develop a platform based on your area of interest and your brand that like-minded people can respond to and comment on, to help you get your message out.

It’s important to understand that it’s not really about you. It’s about your message. That’s why people will respond, comment, and help – because they care about your idea too. So get the word out, and create ways for the world to join you in the cause you care about. If you do that passionately and well, the world will invite you to speak about it, and you will be able to sustain a public speaking career.

You can get this happy state of affairs going with three steps. Here’s what you need to do:

First, assess your current digital footprint. Google yourself. How do you show up? Can people easily find you? When they do find you, what will they see? Do you have a professional website that fits with your brand as a speaker, that makes it easy for people to contact and hire you, and that continually updates with fresh content? If not, well, you’ve got some work to do. And what about press mentions and other search results — will people searching for you see that you’re mentioned in media stories and blog posts related to your field? If not, get to networking.

Second, create content. Focus on the social media you understand best, but make sure you have an active online presence. Create a Facebook fan page, start your blog and contribute regularly to it, post some YouTube videos in your channel, put your slides online, create a pdf version of your press kit – do whatever feels most natural to you to get started. Try to set a regular posting schedule that you can stick with, and then stick with it.

Stuck for ideas? Use your one big idea as a lens, and look at the world through it – always. Every moment becomes an opportunity for a new insight, a new data point, a new addition to your bank of stories and wisdom. If everyone’s talking about Justin Bieber, see if you can come up with a take on his latest scandal that relates back to your big idea. Don’t force it, but do look at the headlines with your big idea in mind.

Whatever it is that you’re passionate about, that’s what you have to find – everywhere.

The old cliché about consultants is that “to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Well, you’re now a hammer. If you’re interested in leadership, then every news item becomes a potential blog post about leadership. If you care about technology, then not just every new product announcement, but also every new psychological study about human behavior (for example), becomes grist for the mill. If achievement is your thing, then you need to see its presence or absence everywhere. That’s how you keep your expertise alive and fresh. You’ve got to be scanning the universe constantly.

Third, start a conversation. Once you have some good content to point people to, start engaging with people who are active in your field. Offer guest blog posts to people who write on similar topics. Connect with people on Twitter and other social networks. Answer questions, and ask them.

These three steps will kickstart a community of people interested in your ideas, and that will lead to public speaking opportunities. Good luck!