Nov 16, 2015
How should a creative professional go about building an audience for an online project or brand? What can we do to connect with likeminded people and potential partners? How can bring a killer app or perfect gift to a hungry audience?
Like many others on the Internet, I don't have all the answers, but I know a few experts.
In this episode, we hear from Johanna (@GoodVibesJo) and Charles (@TheBrownVegan), the team behind Good Vibes Life, on the hard lessons learned in their first year of online brand-building. We also hear from Ben Kreuger (@BenWKreuger), of Cashflow Podcasting, on popular and proven tactics for audience growth. Finally, Kate Erickson (@KateLErickson) of Entrepreneur on Fire and Kate's Take shares the Top 7 Strategies: How to Grow a Podcast Audience.
When all's said and done, there are a few genuinely proven routes to take to building an audience, but each takes consistency, energy, and time. Lots of time. Learn what they are in today's conversation.
Show Notes & Links
- Johanna is a holistic health coach, yoga instructor, and nurse
- Recipes are available
- Long-term strategy pays, some food bloggers have been going for 7+ years
- @YogaGirl, a popular yogi who shares her personal life
- Johanna & Charles have taken different approaches with social
media: free-form and very regimented
"The point of social media is not just to gain followers."
—Johanna Perez-Fox
"75% of the classroom has the same question, but no one is brave enough to ask."
—Charles Penn
"The smallest thing you can do in the world is a single tap on a digital screen."
—Prescott Perez-Fox
- Maslow's Hierarchy
- Johanna observed a loss in engagement, even in a two-month
period
"In order to have an audience of any kind, there has to be a medium of communication."
—Ben Krueger
- Pareto Principle aka The 80/20 Rule
- Kate's recent blog post on growth
- Critical Mass: The point at which your project's marketing isn't reliant on you
- The Consistency Formula: Post Consistently + Audience Makes Listening a Habit = Podcast Growth
- Facebook or LinkedIn Groups are a good place to find like-minded people, but can be distaction-filled
- Derek Halpern's approach to the 80/20 rule: "Create content 20% of the time. Spend the other 80% of the time promoting what you created."
- Gary Vaynerchuk says "you should never schedule a tweet."
- Johanna Perez-Fox on Facebook
- Johanna Perez-Fox on Instagram
- Johanna Perez-Fox on SnapChat
- Johanna Perez-Fox on Periscope
- Charles Penn on Facebook
- Charles Penn on Instagram
- Charles Penn on SnapChat
- Charles Penn on Periscope
- Good Vibes Life on YouTube
- Ben Kreuger on Twitter
- Ben Kreuger (Authority Engine) on Facebook
- Cashflow Podcasting on SoundCloud
- Kate Erickson on Twitter
- Kate Erickson on Instagram
- Entrepreneur on Fire on Facebook
- Entrepreneur on Fire on YouTube
Tools
Techniques
- Publish recipes or other content to build a following over years (decades)
- Speak about yourself from a place where you learned something
- Get involved with in-person events, even if you're building an online business
- Position yourself as a mutual learner with a community of likeminded people
- Leverage your time to the most effective tasks
- Batch your tasks to save time and energy
- Growth Strategy 1: Confirm Uniqueness (format, tone, content)
- Growth Strategy 2: Be Social (spread the word; no one else will)
- Growth Strategy 3: Be Consistent (always!)
- Growth Strategy 4: Create Community (make people feel welcome in comments)
- Growth Strategy 5: Do the Rounds (guest blogging and guest appearances)
- Growth Strategy 6: Always Listen (continuous improvement)
- Growth Strategy 7: Have a Strong Call-to-Action (send folks to the show notes or email)
- Go back to your archive and use previously-released content
- Choose 3-5 groups to participate in. There are too many to join to be productive.
Habits
- Share your personal details as well as your professional happenings
- Observe and question the value of a "Like", make sure you're asking for valuable feedback
- Continually answer questions to the entire audience, rather than to individuals
- Work in 2-3 hour chunks, with breaks in between
- Find ways to publish your content in multiple formats and media
- Be careful about scheduled posts when a dramatic event occurs in the world
- Continually tweak and improve your projects; give 'em time.
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