Whatever it is you create, be it a product, podcast, blog, or work of art, to get it in front of the people it was intended for, you’re going to need to do some marketing.
The problem many people run into, however, is casting too broad a net when it comes to the marketing they do. This is true whether you have absolutely no audience whatsoever, but also if you already have a good-sized audience with whom you engage regularly.
And it’s the second situation that presents a trap.
It’s easy to think that because you have a steady group of followers — let’s say there are 1000 of them — they’re all equally committed to the journey we’re proposing to take them on with your content and offerings.
But this is far from the truth.
In reality, your audience’s engagement and interest in you are distributed across a spectrum, and treating them all as one homogenous group will water down the content and offers you create, as well as how you market them.
Instead, you must take the bold step of ignoring the least engaged eighty-percent of your audience and create and market only to the top twenty.
These are the super fans, the people for which you are the one and only, the best in the world, to help them get where they’re seeking to go.
See, the bottom eighty-percent are going to be on the fence about engaging with you almost regardless of how you market to them. They’re a more varied group, less tightly bound to the mission, journey, and identity that your super fans congregate around.
By trying to market to all of them, you water down your messaging, making it too generic, too bland, too safe, and in the process, that top twenty-percent of your audience will start to drift away as well, wondering if you’ve sold out and are no longer making work specifically for them.
By focusing on only the most engaged, you’re able to create and market work that gets them better results, creates hype around what you’re doing, and starts to bring in the rest of your audience as well.
Every Sunday I send out an exclusive article on how to use podcasting to build an audience and grow your business.
No opt-in, no checklist no bribe. But hopefully a new perspective, encouragement, and maybe even some occasional wisdom. It’s something I’m proud to create and I’d be honoured to share it with you.
Jeremy travels full-time, loves long-distance cycle touring, and will always look back on the day he finally saved up enough money to buy the Millennium Falcon Lego set as one of his proudest achievements. He believes that the way to grow sustainable businesses is by leading with heart, vulnerability, and helping your people be and become their best selves.
- Why Wouldn’t They Just Google It? - March 14, 2021
- Before You Can Market Your Podcast, You Need To Create A Marketable Podcast - March 11, 2021
- Podcast Promotion & Marketing Are Different (Here’s How to Use Each Effectively) - March 10, 2021
