7 Strategies on How To Grow Your Online Audience

If you think you are a leader, turn around and take a look back. If no one is following you, you are probably not a leader…yet.

There are only two things you really need to start building an online audience. They are as follows:

1. A name

2. A group of people willing to follow

If you are reading this, you already have one of those things.

Although there are tons of strategies floating around the internet, I want to narrow in on strategies that I have used to double my audience in less than 4 months.

In the spirit of either generating your first audience member or in furthering your contact empire, here are my 7 proven strategies I used to grow my audience online.

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Show Empathy

The best way to draw people to you and your brand is through empathy. At a time where listening, attention, and empathy are real assets, using consistent levels of empathy goes a long way. People are magnetic. If you relate to them, they will be attracted to you. If you show you don’t genuinely care about them, they will bypass you altogether.

If you are looking for more information on how to show empathy, check out this article about leveling up your listening.

Level Up Your Listening — Level Up Your Success

It is important to note that even if you have a product to sell, don’t. At least not right away. Listen instead. People will always remember interactions and research shows you have 7 seconds to make a first impression on a potential new follower. Getting to a level of empathy through a few questions and engagement with the potential follower will allow the other person to have an unforgettable experience. People will never forget an unforgettable experience.

Create Science Projects

Most people never make any money or even build an online audience because they get stuck in the “what” and the “how”. What should I offer? What should I say? Will anyone listen? How can I be different than everyone else online? We’ve all heard these gut-wrenching questions. What if we didn’t get all caught up in this and instead decided to treat the “thing” that we do and “how” we articulate it be a complete science project? Tim Ferriss is all about this strategy. He is known to prototype 6-week science experiments to see what works and what doesn’t work. This allows him to pivot quickly if something isn’t working. It also allows him to adjust the gameplan without a business ending commitment to the “how”. If you want to gather an audience, just create something. Anything. If this company in this video below can gain a following and sell a product, anyone can.

Courtesy: Youtube

Free Giveaways

Regardless of followership, everyone loves a freebie. Especially in today’s world. If selling laundry services or a blog post, a product is still being sold. One is just a knowledge product, the other is a service. Give something away for free whenever possible. Even when you can’t afford it.

Here is an example of a Facebook post I created with a free giveaway of one of my books on Kindle. After I posted this I had more downloads of my book in 3 days than I did Kindle sales in 3 months. I also gained 15 email addresses which I then added to my email list for future promotions.

Get Emails Fast

Photo by Duy Pham on Unsplash

If it’s a website, create a membership option. If its social media pages that have a few followers, let’s just call them members with an unknown email address. The #1 goal — figure out a way to get email addresses of ALL your followers. Ask friends and family members first. Then add those email addresses to your website membership portal or Mailchimp list. This should be a tireless effort. In getting serious about building an online audience, followers are great. However, followers with a known email address are like flipping a winning hand on the river in a game of poker.

Don’t believe me? Read The Purple Cow by Seth Godin.

Create A Micro-Community

Photo by Papaioannou Kostas on Unsplash

One of the biggest needs coming out of the web in 2019 was the need for added privacy. Macro social media for intimate connections is gone. Think about it — who writes on someone else’s Facebook wall anymore? We send private messages via messenger instead. People are craving privacy.

Give that to them early and often.

The way to build an audience in the 2020s will be through more private means. One way to do this is to create a private Facebook group for all the raging fans. Invite mom, grandma and anyone else who wants to find excuses to praise you over a cup of coffee. In this private setting, be vulnerable and find ways to consistently add value to them each week. Treat them like a best friend. Nurture them. Prime them with the value they didn’t expect. Test your science experiments here first. As your audience builds, keep this group intimate and small. Less than 50 people if possible.

Provide Discount Codes

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

If you already have an outward-facing product and an audience, this one especially applies. By providing discount codes for things like an Ebook, service, or online course, it smashes the barrier to entry. Once something is offered in a unique way at a discounted price, this generates more sales. More sales plant the seeds for future followers and audience members as people talk about the product or service.

Poll Often

There are few better ways to both engage and grow an online audience than through polling. Creating polls creates room for voice. When folks have a voice, it invites them into the brand. It also makes them feel a sense of connection because they have an avenue to share their thoughts in an anonymous, non-threating way. After polls are finished, send a heartfelt message to existing followers thanking them for sharing their voice.

If followers contribute once, they will likely contribute again in the future.

Contribution then breeds conversation and conversation breeds more followers. Followers equal more email addresses which is gold for growing an online audience in the 2020s.

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This post was previously published on Medium.

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