10 THINGS TO TRY BEFORE YOU HAVE A BIG AUDIENCE

Let’s talk about things you can do to expand your reach and generate sales in your business before you have a big audience.

You’re actually in a sweet spot right now – because you’re flying under the radar you can experiment, mix things up, try a few ideas on for size to see what sticks and what fits.

Remember – now’s the time for messy imperfect action!

If you’re waiting ‘til everything is perfect you may be missing out on sales – there’s no time like the present, so let’s get started.

Read on for 10 Things To Try Before You Have A Big Audience…

[and then take the ACTION steps at the end of this blog!]

BEFORE WE START, there’s something mega important I need to share with you: not everything you write will be read.

Hey, don’t be sad, this is actually great for you because it means you have to create less content – write good stuff that will stand the test of time once, and just tweak and re-share on repeat!

Okay, let’s dive into 10 Things To Try Before You Have A Big Audience:

1. FILL IN YOUR ‘ABOUT ME’ SECTIONS

Your website should definitely have an ‘About me’ page, and all of your social media pages will have one too.

I’ve had people reach out to me purely on the back of something they read in my profile – so don’t neglect this powerful ‘shop window’.

Use this opportunity to start sharing your story – why are you here, what do you want to achieve, why’s it important to you, what makes you qualified to do the work?

People are naturally programmed to seek connection – so share the personal stuff to give them something to hang onto.

What do you love to do, whose in your life, where do you live, what do you stand for, what interesting facts about you can we learn?

These sections are likely to be the first places your new community go to get to know you and can be powerfully compelling when it comes to attracting your dream clients.

Which brings us to #2…

2. TELL ‘EM WHY YOU’RE HERE

As Lewis Howes says, “People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care”

I advise members of The Academy (the group programme where I guide soulpreneurs to build robust online businesses) to start creating an Evergreen Message Bank of content that can be re-used over and over again – and your story is a cornerstone of that.

Copy the text you’ve put into your About Me web page and social profiles and turn it into a few Get To Know Me posts you can use on social media.

Ideally you should aim to share this type of ‘hello’ story every 9 posts because (a) not everyone in your community will read every post and (b) new members are joining all the time and want to get to know you!

People in your community want to know why you care so they can figure out why they should care!

3. SHOW YOURSELF

I always advise posting a good mix of photos of yourself with designed graphics.

Communities are built around PEOPLE – they want to see the whites of your eyes!

Don’t wait ’til you’ve got professional photos either! They’re brill, but candid photos taken with your phone feel less formal and can create deeper connections.

Your people want to see you, get a glimpse of where you work, how you live, what you love – so don’t go all corporate on them – show yourself!

4. GO LIVE

Getting in front of the camera can feel a bit intimidating – but video is a skill that’s gonna be hugely beneficial when it comes to developing know, like and trust with your audience – so get practicing now while there’s less people watching!

Insta Stories are a great place to start because they vanish in 24 hours!

If you already have a FB Group – get into a rhythm of going live in there on a schedule.

Prop up your phone and record a quick Top Tip vid and share it across the platforms.

I don’t advise using a script, but perhaps take a few notes of the main points you want to cover so you have some focus to your chatter.

5. CALLS TO ACTION (CTA)

One of the biggest mistakes I see online business owners making is not having calls to action in the majority of their posts.

Your objective with posting content is to get a response from the reader (comment, share, get in touch, click through, buy) – the best way to do that is to specifically tell them the action you’d like them to take.

If you start ‘training’ your community to take action on your posts now, they are way more likely to properly engage with your content and take the action – including buying from you!

I go so far as to give members of The Academy a selection of ‘Raise Your Hand’ posts – quick one-liners that compel your community to take massive action – and they work a treat every time!

6. CREATE YOUR EMAIL COMMUNITY

Emailing can feel a little scary, so the sooner you start the better.

Regularly use your CTA to invite people to join your mailing list.

Think of your email list as your second most valuable asset (after you!) – it’s the heart of your business because it’s where all of your clients and prospects gather in a place you control.

If social media went pop tomorrow could you contact your community?

Get your people onto your email list STAT and get into the habit of emailing them on a regular schedule so they get used to hearing from you.

7. WRITE BLOG POSTS

Blogs are your opportunity to really demonstrate your expertise and share more about what you do and why it’s so important.

Sure, share useful and informative stuff as social posts, but I encourage everyone in The Academy to write blog posts, and here’s why:

  • They’re a great long-form post for you to really showcase your skills, expertise and personality!
  • They’re hosted on your own website so drive traffic off the socials and onto a platform you control;
  • You can easily find, re-share and re-purpose them;
  • Google include your blog posts in search results so they can attract a new audience;
  • It’s easy to add links that lead to your downloads and upsell your products.

8. SHARE PERSONAL STUFF

This is YOUR BUSINESS – notice there are two elements there: (1) You and (2) Business.

Share a post letting your audience know what you’ve been up to, what’s happening in your life – starting a new hobby / habit / book? Let them know.

The best content mix is just that – a MIX, so make sure you’re including some un-businessy personal / behind-the-scenes posts.

9. OUTREACH ENGAGEMENT

Social media isn’t a one-way-street, it works best when you’re actually social – and by that I mean commenting on other people’s posts, getting involved in group discussions, sharing posts you feel were interesting / useful in some way.

This is a lovely community building exercise, but as with all things in business – it’s best if you do it strategically. Here’s how:

  • Schedule outreach just before your own posts go live – this will encourage return engagement and boost your profile on the algorithms.
  • Engage mostly with dream clients rather than colleagues and fellow professionals.
  • Take interesting conversations into the DMs – that’s the place to really build those relationships.

10. SELL

Don’t wait until you have a big audience to sell – do it now so you can get comfortable with it, find your style, and figure out what works with your audience.

Regularly offering opportunities to work with you / buy from you as soon as you start growing your audience trains them to know that you won’t just be a source of free info – you’re building a business! If they want to get the goods, they’re gonna have to pay for them!

Practice offering your services in your social posts, blogs, lives and videos.

Invite your audience to book calls with you, buy from you, work with you…afterall, that’s ultimately why you’re building an audience in the first place – to reach the widest possible pool of people who need what you can offer and offer it to them.


That’s it – 10 things to try before you have a big audience!

Ultimately, while your audience is small (which won’t be for long) it’s an opportunity to practice that stuff that can feel scary, test out your messaging, pull traffic to your email list and website, build relationships, and make those all-important sales!

ACTION:

Work your way through each of these 10 things to try before you have a big audience and make sure you repeat and repurpose often.

Remember: the best results often come from messy, imperfect action repeated and refined.

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Let's do this together xx

MEET SALLY ODDYBusiness, Marketing & Mindset Mentor

Sally works with soulpreneurs, pouring over 20 years experience into their hearts, minds and businesses.

Passionate about living life on purpose, Sally is all about honouring and accepting the fullness of self.

In-powering her clients to experience life in beautiful, bold, expansive ways is how they create and attract abundance and success into their lives.

Guiding her clients to dive deeply into their vision and mission, Sally shares her aligned approach to building online businesses that have a deeply positive impact in the world.

Sally is a Yorkshire Lass who grew up in 80's South Africa and is on a mission to inspire you to fulfil your dreams and potential in order to create a more in-powered and happy world.

Find out about how to work with Sally privately in her unique Mentorships or in a supportive group setting in The Soulpreneur Success Hub Monthly Membership

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