Your party isn’t fun
When it comes to audience growth, new bloggers fall into 2 kinds of traps.
When it comes to audience growth, new bloggers fall into 2 kinds of traps:
1. “Attention is Audience” trap.
Having 20,000 followers on Facebook doesn't mean you can reach 20,000 people with every blog. Every time you post something, Facebook’s algorithm will decide if your post is worthy of attention.
Unlike attention, an “audience” is the number of people you can reach directly at any time. This is reflected on one metric only: your email list. When you post on Facebook, you have to wait for the “right” hour to publish your stuff so as many people can see it as possible. When you send an email, it doesn’t matter when you send it, your audience WILL see it.
An email list makes it easier for you to announce a product, make an ask, or open recruitment - content that will not go viral on Social Media, but you at some point will need. This is why building an online home where you can gather people’s emails is super important in building a long-term relationship with your audience.
Most bloggers confuse having attention with having a relationship with your audience.
Attention can be borrowed. Audience needs to be earned. And relationships have to be built.
2. “It’s the audience's job to find me” trap.
Imagine each website on the Internet is like a party. There are big parties with many people like Facebook, Instagram, Medium… And there are also small parties with few to no one like most new bloggers’ websites.
Building an online home and having people actually show up are two completely different things. Just because you took the time to build a beautiful website and write a beautiful essay doesn’t mean that people will give up their time reading your work.
The reality is: no one will leave a fun party with all their friends (Facebook) for a never-heard-of party across the city, hosted by some random strangers (thefuturewriter.wix.com).
It is never the audience’s job to find you, it is always your job (as a creator) to find them. You have to go to the parties where the audience already is.
Fortunately, you never have to choose between publishing only on your site or only on social media. Successful bloggers understand that they can do both.
So here’s a 7-step formula for growing your blog:
Build your online home (where you can collect people’s contacts)
Write something
Cross-post it on every social platform your potential audience might be
Put a link at the end of each post to invite people to your place
Collect their contacts
Write more stuff and notify your list
Repeat 2 to 6
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Akwaaba, Tung