This is where creators get tripped up.
Your goal shouldn’t be to build an audience of 1 million followers by 2030. Or hit 50,000 subscribers by the end of the year.
Nope, these are vanity metrics.
Niche-ing down to level up
At the end of the day, what matters is your ability to help your audience so much they feel compelled to pay you. Either for your time or expertise.
Throw out the meaningless numbers. Think of a single person you want to help with your expertise and create content for them.
A helpful framework stolen from Dickie Bush is to think of yourself two years ago. What kind of content would’ve helped you navigate that phase of life?
Now, create what you needed at that time.
By narrowing in on a specific persona and aiming to help them and them only, you’ll build an audience of loyal thems …
- Who foam at the mouth every time you release a new product
- Who are waiting on pins and needles for your next email
- Who just got your logo tattooed on their bicep
That is a rabid fan.
It doesn’t matter if your audience is 5,000, 50,000 or 500,000.
What matters is their love for you and your craft. And duh, their willingness to pay you.
Network effects in a small network
This is the beauty of network effects. You can leverage the internet to reach every single plumber or kindergarten teacher or lumberjack or {fill in your persona} in the world. Something experts could’ve only dreamed of 20 years ago.
And once you’ve nabbed a subset of that larger group, it’s easier to expand and leverage the attention you already have to get more.
Here’s an example: In this thread Barrett O’Neill wrote about how Tinder used network effects to grow fast on college campuses.
Spoiler alert: They niched down to college students instead of every single eligible bachelor(ette).
No matter the size of your niche, there is money to be made by sharing your expertise and helping them navigate their hurdles. Something you’ve already done!
