Building an Audience Before You Have a Product to Sell

What's up everybody!

With all the content that's out there today, I realized there's one really big gap when it comes to content about business...

And I'm not talking about the bullshit motivational stuff or the pocket training courses that teach you the next 10 secrets to growing a six-figure business.

What I'm talking about is the real stuff, a live look into every single day. Real-time tips, strategies, and ideas that you can steal to actually make an impact as you grow.

So I'm going to do everything that I can to make that a reality.

I'm talking strategies, templates, and videos that you can steal plus a live look?at?the one thing that nobody's willing to talk about every single month

I'm not talking politics, I'm not talking religion. I'm talking money, greenbacks dollars.

Every single month, we'll walk through dollar spent dollars, earned dollars invested what was a good return. What had a ridiculous amount of benefit brought to the business based on what we put out, right with no filter. I literally walk you through my damn QuickBooks and Stripe accounts for you every single month.

Now, obviously there's a little bit of accountability that comes with that, so I thank you! But regardless, you get to see it all now.

The place that I want to start though, while we're launching all this content is going to be sharing ideas.

If you're part of my newsletter, if you're reading my blog every single day, or if you're checking out my LinkedIn page, you might've seen these before, but credit goes to James Altucher for the idea and the habit talking 10 ideas about business that you can use every single day to actually see an impact in the growth that you want over time, right?

I’m not talking the next 10 secrets that you need to build a six-figure business online without putting your foot out the door.

Right? None of that crap, hard, actionable stuff.

So today we're talking 10 ideas about building an audience before a product.

Yes, I know that sounds contrary.

Typically, the way that we've looked at things in marketing is that we have to have a product to sell and then find the ideal audience to fit into that.

But that's not how this works.

If you read anything classic, you're talking gene Schwartz or anything that Seth Godin puts out, we cannot create demand.

A very successful product recognizes demand, sees an audience in distress and understands that there's a product I can put in front of them to actually bring them value and solve the issues that they're dealing with every single day.

Now, I've got my own framework for how I like to bring an offer to market. And we'll do a series that covers all of that too.

But the first step in that framework is building an audience because once you have audience and you engage with them regularly, They'll tell you exactly what they want to buy without question.

So, here's 10 ideas for building an audience before you have a product to sell.

Number One, find something unique that you love to talk, learn about that other people want to learn.

Maybe we're talking bicycling. Maybe you're talking about how to go from being a single mom who stays at home to starting to earn some cash on the side, right?

Whatever it is that you're passionate about, find something unique to you and start any kind of content on this.

We're talking about a blog or a newsletter.

Number Two, a YouTube video every single week outlining what's happening in your business as you grow, right.

Do you know how many people would kill to watch a 100% transparent play-by-play that they can follow? You're reading this, right?

Number Three,?Podcast about the exact same topics that you cover in one and two. Is this getting redundant? No, this is all good.

Content marketing is as a one-person show small two, three-person team. It's about getting every single thing that you can out of what you've got, right.

And what that comes down to is being efficient. It's making good content in a way that you can scale it long-term and continue to add value to that audience you're building.

Even if it’s that first reader, second person, third watcher...

They’re following everything you do each week. You’ve got to give them something good and you got to give it to them on whatever platform they want to interact on.

So podcast about it. Interview people that would be interested from step number one, and take the audio from number two, to make a second kind of episode.

Boom, you have two different formats of episodes that about 80% of podcasts don't actually do.

Number Four, create a group, an accountability group, a free mastermind.

Now I know what you're saying:

“Nobody's going to want to join that. Why do I have the credibility? What the hell do I do?

I'm just a lawyer. Or I just consult people about lead gen, right?”

Call it a beta and say that the first 10 folks are included for free. And everyone that they refer is allowed in?at half price.

Your only goal, you don't give a shit about finding anybody for the second half of those, just get your first 10 people.?If this group is more active than even 50% of the trash places that call themselves a mastermind out there?Now you can't lose.

You're going to start to grow what list and you're going to learn more and more and more about the problems that you might be able to solve.

Number Five, host a webinar about a video from number two or a blog post from number one that received the most engagement.

Repurpose content that performs well—hard stop.

Number Six, run Tik Tok, And Instagram, LinkedIn video clips of number two with a link in your bio to your YouTube channel, give them a freebie to get on your list and give them more exclusive content.

We’re talking content that's just *slightly* more fleshed out.?

Number Seven, live stream once a week and do a full Q and a with one person from your audience.

This is how you engage. Not only do they get to read your content, they get to be a part of it. They get to benefit from everything that you've learned that they want to learn to one person.

Everybody can get one person and then double down longterm. Use the members of your audience as additional panel members so that you can allow them to build credibility on your own platform.

That's how you get people to like you. That's how you build an audience. That's loyalty.

Number Eight, take all the replays from that last step and share them with a private list of people.

This is what's hot right now.

We're talking paid subscribers who are willing to opt into your PRIVATE newsletter.

Number Nine, have one person from number seven from your webinars, run a workshop on the topic you covered for your private mastermind.

Offer this to your newsletter, offer this to the folks in your mastermind and gather reviews from all of those folk. Then use a video clip and the feedback that they give you to write a squeeze page for your mastermind.

Send this to your list. Everyone who's watching your videos, keeping up with your blog, following your podcast, knows that there's now an even more interactive way that they can engage with you.

Number Ten is where we start to see momentum—all of this can happen 30 to 60 days. Reach out to folks in your mastermind, in your community who have lists of their own.

You can have 50 people on a list and start to build some serious momentum for yourself.

They will show up. I'm not even talking 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,000 people start small. Maybe they have 50 people that they talk to on a regular basis that you might be able to help out.Maybe they have a hundred. Maybe they have 10...

If there’s a mutual fit, run an affiliate email to their list with a generous commission offer. We're talking 30% or more on the first month of mastermind membership.

And this is how we build relationships.

Now I know that's a lot of ideas. I want to hear what you like and what you think of the format.

Drop some comments below and tell me what you think. And if you loved what's on here, there's even more of that everywhere else.

On my podcast, on my blog, in my newsletter, I'm sharing these four or five times a week with people on my list and giving them more and more and more opportunities to succeed.

I have more ideas than I know what to do with. So I'm giving them away for free to help you see the success that you want to build for yourself.

Now, as always, if you like what you read here, check out all the other content I’m sharing. I’m talking?Youtube,?LinkedIn,?Newsletters, AND a?Podcast.