Dive Right In: Building An Audience From Zero - For Newbies

If you are an affiliate marketer, a blogger selling ad space, an aspiring author, or a network marketer, everything starts with building an audience or community.  Without a large or at least highly-engaged audience, the quality of your content and offerings do not really matter.  Chances are you may be new to this online marketing stuff, or new enough that your efforts still seem futile at times.  It's easy to get started when you already have strong social circles or a personal network to leverage but if you don't...

How can you build an audience from zero?

I will tell you that I am still working on it today and building an audience is no easy feat.  I love people but I am not particularly into networking and, with my family and Faith at the forefront, I have little time for social outings.  My Facebook network may be like yours: lots of friends that are willing to play games and occasionally like something but the engagement stops there.  I don't use other social networks much and I find LinkedIn intrusive so I passed on that, even though some swear it's where all business people "need" to be.  Can you relate to my zero audience?

The reality is that we all have a network to leverage, regardless of how outgoing or isolated we may be, but that does not equate audience.  A real audience takes action, pays attention, and comes back routinely.  Anything short of that is lurker territory.  So the better question here may be...

How do you convert lurkers into a real audience that interacts and engages in deep, meaningful ways?

Unless you live under a rock, no one starts completely from scratch so here are some tips for expanding your natural market/network and ultimately reaching more people.  In your research, you may encounter terms such as reach, amplification, network marketing, referrals, lead generation, etc.  These are all relevant but we are going to keep it simple and jargon free with a few key tips.

1. Let Your Friends Know - Friends and family may be the slowest to act and the biggest doubters we will encounters but, if they do not know about your latest ventures, you are not giving them a chance to at least provide constructive criticism and maybe some referrals.
2. Poke Around - Social media can be filled with busy work that can easily divert us from more productive activities but there are quick opportunities that can have big results.  Poking around can simply be liking, retweeting, favoriting, and maybe even leaving a quick comment.  All of these things take little time but they get you noticed and may very well gain you followers or at least start a good conversation.
3. Build Your Personal Brand - Do a little assessment and write down the traits, specializations, and interests you feel identify you best.  Twylah, Klout, and countless other tools are helpful for getting a sense of what sort of image you currently project and where there may be a disconnect between the intended brand image/message and what is actually projected.
4. Share Fun Stuff - Nothing can turn off would-be followers more than seeing a stream full of stuffy or unrelated content.  Attract like-minded people by sharing things you find fun and interesting, while balancing out any self-promotion.
5. Participate In Groups - Again, focus on your interests so you can find other people like you.  Many groups look down upon self-promotion, even if the content provides immediate/free value, so this is mostly an opportunity to connect with new people and take the conversation elsewhere if need be.
6. Make Big Announcements - Any time you release major content or reach a milestone in your ventures, be sure to let everyone know.  This is where your personal wall, stream, or newsletters work best.  Let the world know you are open for business (or still in business)!
7. Sprinkle In Links - A good ratio to keep on just about any social network is one link for every three to five shares, posts, or tweets (the exception is your own web site or blog).  This prevents seemingly spammy behavior while allowing your audience to focus on your message.  Sending people off into many different directions can get them lost easily so be sure to warm up your prospects first.
8. Curate & Syndicate Content - Build up a content bank of your favorite sites, quotes, thought leaders, and the like.  Use this bank to curate the content of others and syndicate on your own sites/blogs if permissions allow for it.  This is a great way to make your marketing efforts less about you and more about helping others.
9. Commit To Consistency - If you employ the aforementioned tactics, it will be much easier to consistently engage via social networks and keep content sharing steady.  Always balance helping others with helping yourself, just as you balance out self-promotion content by sharing content that provides immediate value or entertainment, depending on your brand.
10. Ask Questions - A post which only asks a question or ends in a question is a great way to encourage interaction/participation.  Some lurkers may just be standing by because you have given them no opportunity to share their story or perspective.  Give your audience a chance to be heard.  Surveys and polls are supported by many sites so this may be a fantastic alternative!
11. Prompt For Simple Actions - CTAs (Calls To Action) are prompts where you ask your audience to take action.  The easier the action, the greater the conversion/completion rate will be.  Keep CTAs simple and, where possible, make it as easy as a single-click or three-step process at most.
12. Pick Three - There are so many wonderful social networks and sharing tools out there but I find you can only really manage three at a time on a regular basis.  You can join and use more but pick three you will focus on.  For me, Facebook, Twitter, and my blog seem to be the best combination.

Keep this goal in mind: you want to be as visible and approachable as possible, without being so aggressive that you become a pest.  Build trust and credibility, above all.  It won't always be easy to tell how much progress you are making but the signs will become evident if you stick with it.  A few performance indicators to look for is reduced unfollow/unsubscription, reciprocation,  increased site visits, and referrals from friends.

Awesome Tip:  Your growing audience will likely span across several platforms so always try to merge onto a newsletter, blog subscription list, discussion board, or any platform you have complete control over.  Stick to one, maybe two, and communicate this as a CTA because this will ultimately be where you have the greatest opportunity to monetize and generate more income!