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What to do if you have 0 followers
Here's how you start and grow
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I’ve met many folks who want to build an audience online, but they’re overwhelmed by the task.
They have zero followers (or a small amount), see others with tens of thousands and wonder how they’ll ever get there.
And unfortunately, this prevents them from starting at all.
But the truth is, everyone starts at zero.
Being “small” also have advantages:
It’s easier to experiment
It’s easier to take more risks
You’re not biased by “what works”
So if you’re starting from scratch (literally or figuratively) and want to build your audience, here are 5 steps I’d take:
1. Pick a platform that suits your skill
There are four primary types of content:
Writing
Video
Audio
Pictures
Pick the one that you’re most skilled in to start.
Then pick a social media platform that suits that skill.
Writing: Twitter or LinkedIn
Video: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or YouTube
Audio: Podcast or Twitter Spaces
Pictures: Instagram or Facebook
You can figure out other platforms later. To start, pick one.
2. Pick a topic you know AND enjoy
In a previous issue, I wrote about the concept of your Sweet Spot List.
Your Sweet Spot List is the intersection of:
what your audience wants from you
what you want to write about
It’s essential to consider both.
Building an audience is a compound game usually that takes years, which means you need consistency and a willingness to write for a long time.
That’s very hard to do when you don’t enjoy the topic you’re writing about (and why most people burn out).
When you’re just starting out, pick a core topic you know well (i.e. you could talk about this for hours without preparing) AND one you enjoy talking about.
3. Brainstorm lessons, insights and stories
Once you have your topic, make a list of:
lessons
insights
stories
These will be things you’ve learned related to your topic from your own experiences.
Your goal should be to educate your audience and help them take action in their lives.
If you do both, people will view your content as valuable and therefore follow you for more.
Your lessons, insights and stories are the content you will create.
4. Create for 90 days with no expectations
Here’s where it gets difficult.
Human beings like goals, which is generally fine.
The problem, though, is most goals are arbitrary and set an unnecessary expectation.
When you’re starting to build an audience, be very careful of setting arbitrary follower or engagement goals.
What you may find is you quickly start copying what other people are doing to get followers instead of creating the valuable content you came up with in Step 3.
That’s the content that will stand out over time and make you unique.
So, for 90 days, just create the content from Step 3 with zero expectation.
Put stuff out. Try new things. Experiment.
Don’t worry at all about followers, engagement, monetization, going viral … nothing.
This can be a difficult mindset to grasp, but trust me it’s the one you want.
5. Reflect, refine and repeat
After 90 days, step back and reflect.
What’s resonated with your audience?
What’s resonated with you?
What signals do you see in the data?
What did you enjoy creating?
Once you’ve thoroughly reflected, then refine.
Come up with new content based on the above
Hone your vision of what you’re building towards
Tweak your strategy for the next 90 days
After you’ve refined your approach, then repeat.
Create for another 90 days with your new insights
Continue to resist the temptation of setting goals
Keep trying things and seeing what resonates
If you do this consistently, you’ll have a bunch of data, insights and ideas at the six-month mark to plot your path going forward.
But none of that matters until you execute the above plan for at least six months.
Action Item
Go through these five steps this week and build a simple plan to start.
If you’re not starting from scratch, it may be a worthwhile to go through Step 5 and reflect and refine based on how things have gone so far.
Don’t overthink this.
The most important part is starting.
Work with Teddy
1:1 coaching: I'm looking for CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs who want to become better writers and grow their presence online. I will work with you 1:1. If you're interested, please reply to this email with "coaching."
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Previous Issues
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