How To Build an Audience — Part I

I’ve tried the whole, “Build a product first and then find people to use it” approach and it has… never…ever…worked. You know what, that just takes all of the fun out of it. I build products because I want to improve people’s lives, not for them to sit on a digital shelf and collect dust.

It’s way better to build an audience first and then build products for them. That way you’re not just building fun projects, you’re actually making the world a better place.

Ok, how do you do that?

Turns out, building an audience is simple. You just help people. (Tweet this)

An audience is essentially a group of people who trust you and have given you permission to talk to them. The way that you build that trust is by genuinely seeking to help them.

So how do I pick a group to help?

I got hung up on this one for a while but it’s actually pretty easy. You go out and find one person that you can help. You help that person and then you go and help another person. Rinse and repeat.

Your focus will come about naturally based on the strengths you have and the experiences you have with those people.

Okay so I’m not convinced, why is this way better?

Trust is king. When people don’t know you or trust you they will never use your product or service. That’s just how human nature works.

Which sounds more effective, inviting a group of people who know and trust you to use a product that you built, or convincing absolute strangers that they should use your product?

Trust can be your best friend or your biggest enemy. You choose.

TL;DR

If you are looking to have any kind of success building products, focus first on helping others, and second on building something. The other way around has failed me miserably in the past. Don’t let it fail you.

If you liked this checkout Part II of the series.

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