What do successful Creators know about audience building that others don’t
Most Creators and Brands want to build an audience. But their thought process behind is quite narrow and short-sighted. They start their audience-building journey by using the so-called ‘Best Practices’ and the ‘Ultimate Guides’. Before they know it, they are posting stories and reels on Instagram.
But somehow, even after days and months of effort, it just doesn’t lead them anywhere. They are still stuck where they were, having built no relationships and trust with the audience.
Successful Creators think differently.
Successful Creators use an approach that seems very counter-intuitive in the beginning. But it is the same approach that helps them build a massive amount of trust with their 1000 true fans.
What do successful Creators do differently?
What separates someone like James Clear, Tim Ferriss, or Louis Grenier from just any other random guy who has been publishing posts on Instagram?
In the next few minutes, you would be able to see what that ‘thing’ is.
Hang-tight.
When I put 1 liter of petrol in my bike, it runs for 50 km, without any trouble whatsoever.
(At least, that is what the company tells me. I have never really tried to measure it. Because, well, ignorance is bliss… no?)
And then what happens?
Well, if I don’t refuel, the bike stops running.
Well, duh.
(No, I don’t mean to disrespect your intelligence, and no I don’t intend to treat you like a toddler. I am going to make a point. Give me some time, will you?)
When the bike stops, I have no option but to refuel.
Now, imagine this…
What if I designed a bike that wouldn’t need re-fuelling?
I know it sounds crazy, but stick with me here.
How would it be to possess a bike that ran without me having to put any effort?
Okay, back to Marketing.
Most Marketers adopt a vertical funnel
They feel the need to fill in the fuel in their Marketing campaigns all the time. Because, the moment they run out of fuel, their results start drying up and they have no option but to refuel.
Here’s an example of a typical vertical funnel that a Marketer uses to ‘build an audience’.
Just have a Facebook ad, which re-directs the user to a landing page, where he will be needed to share his Name, Email id, and the City that he lives in.
Upon doing that, he will enter our 8-part email sequence… and boom! We just built an audience of 1. Now repeat this process a thousand times and we would have built an audience of 1000 people.
Let’s take an example of another type of funnel. This time, let’s think organic.
The organic funnel will look something like this -
- Publish blogs.
- Use the best SEO practices to increase the traffic
- Have an opt-in form at the bottom of the page.
- Have an email sequence.
And voila, you have an audience.
Easy peasy, no?
Well, no.
This approach is incomplete and flawed.
The moment you stop publishing blogs or running Facebook ads, your email list stops growing. And hence, your funnel needs constant petrol (read money).
The vertical funnel is driven by linear thinking… and it is flawed.
Successful Creators, however, don’t use a vertical funnel.
Introducing — The horizontal funnel.
How is the horizontal funnel different from a vertical funnel?
In the horizontal funnel, the word spreads from person to person.
As the figure shows, the innermost circle consists of people who are your die-hard fans. And if you give them the right tools and the right message, they will tell their friends about you. And their friends will tell their friends. And that is how the word spreads. From one circle to another.
People will talk about you if you become worthy of being talked about.
Ever met a Metallica fan? Well, then you know what I mean. Because Metallica fans can’t stop talking about Metallica!
Voila… now you have a bike, that runs without petrol.
How Louis Grenier used the Horizontal Approach to get 1000 true fans
Louis Grenier launched his Podcast, Everyone Hates Marketers… and within 4 years the podcast got more than 1 million downloads. The podcast’s popularity helped Louis build trust with the people that he wants to serve. He was able to find and win over his 1000 true fans. In 2020, Louis quit his job and was able to launch his Creator business, where he teaches Marketers and Entrepreneurs, the topic of Radical differentiation.
What was Louis’ secret?
No, it was not the vertical funnel.
His podcast is remarkable.
It is worth listening to. Those who listen to it, can’t wait to tell their friends about it. The word spread from person to person. And that’s the secret ingredient.
How did James Clear become a best-selling author?
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, embraced the practice of publishing 2 articles every week. He did this for more than 3 years. And suddenly, (or rather not so suddenly), he was able to build an audience of hundreds of thousands of people. And no, he did not achieve this feat by using the best SEO practices or paid ads. His thinking was again ‘Horizontal’. He wrote a blog that was so good, that people couldn’t stop telling their friends about it.
Know when to be Vertical and when to be horizontal
I need to put a giant asterisk here. This is not to say that successful Creators NEVER use a vertical funnel. They do. But they are much more strategic about it. In his book, ‘This is Marketing’, Seth Godin suggests that we can use paid ads to reach the Innovators and the Early adopters… and then depend on them to tell their friends about us.
Where does this lead us?
As a Creator what are the implications of all of this on our work? What do we take away?
The answer is simple, but not easy.
| Create Content that is remarkable.
Instead of focussing on the latest tips and tricks to promote an article, we can work on creating something that is worth talking about. Don’t create mediocre content and then depend on the funnel to spread it.
Create Content that touches people so profoundly, that they have no option but to tell their friends about it.
Create a bike that runs without any petrol.