The Most Underrated Thing You Need to Build an Audience

Businesses are built on relationships.

It doesn’t matter if you own a marketing agency, soccer club, bathing suit store, personal brand, or anything in between.

If you want customers, you first need to build relationships with other people.

It’s as simple as that.

And the first step to building a relationship with other people?

Build trust with them.

Because the reality is, nobody wants to be friends, business partners, or buy from a store they don’t trust.

Now, if you’re reading this thinking: “What’s the best way to build relationships with other people so I can grow my brand?”

Well my friend, you’re in luck…

Here’s what you’ll learn today:

• The most underrated thing you need to build an audience

• Why it works so well

• How you can use it

Alright, alright, alright, let’s dive into this one!

The Most Underrated Thing You Need to Build an Audience 🏗

Social media is a weird place.

For the most part, all you really see are the highest of highs. All the social media “gurus” and influencers flexing their nice cars and expensive vacations.

You only see people reaching the top of the mountain.

But what you don’t see is everything it took to get to the top.

You don’t see the lowest of lows. You don’t see the struggles and challenges these brands and creators went through to get to where they are today.

And that, my friend, is the most underrated thing you need if you want to build a successful brand and grow an audience that trusts you.

Because the most important thing you need to build trust with your audience? The thing that builds relationships and, ultimately, your business empire?

Transparency.

Yes, being honest (wow, shocker!) with your audience. Not hiding anything. Sharing not only your wins, but also your losses and your struggles.

It may seem counterintuitive, but it works wonders.

Here’s why…

Why It Works So Well 🤔 

You know what they say, right?

It takes a lifetime to build trust and a second to break it. The quickest way to destroy your reputation is dishonesty.

But the good news? The quickest way to build your reputation and build trust with your audience is transparency.

Which not only means sharing the good, but also the bad and the ugly.

And here’s why:

People relate to other people. We all have struggles and we’re all going through different challenges in our lives.

People trust honesty. They appreciate when someone doesn’t just say:

“Hey, look at me. I made it to the top of the mountain!”

They appreciate when someone shows them how they got to the top of the mountain. They appreciate when someone shows them the struggles and challenges they had to overcome to get there.

Because not everyone can relate to climbing Mt. Everest.

But everyone can relate to standing at the bottom, staring up at this huge obstacle in your life, afraid and terrified, and thinking to themselves: “Now how the hell am I going to accomplish this?”

Building a brand = Building relationships = Building trust = Being transparent.

How to Use It 📝 

Now for the fun part… how can you use this for yourself?

In my opinion, the simplest way is to simply share your own story with your audience.

Don’t only share the highest of highs and where you are now. Share the lowest of lows and all the struggles and hardships you had to overcome to get to where you are today.

People trust other people.

Everyone roots for Michael Jordan because we don’t only see his basketball greatness. We also know the story of how he was cut from his high school basketball team.

We can’t all relate to becoming the greatest ever. But we can all relate to the feeling of failure and having to overcome a difficult challenge in our life.

Be open and honest with your audience. And I guarantee you’ll be surprised at just how much it’ll do for you.

Talk to you next week.

Connor “honesty’s the best policy” Flynn

This Week’s Hits 🤙🏼

Tim Denning is one of my favorite writers on the internet. He doesn’t just share incredible, helpful lessons from his entrepreneurship journey… he’s also open about all his past failures (sounds familiar, huh?).

Below is an article he wrote on how he lost millions of dollars and what he learned from that experience. Great read:

Speaking of building a community and loyal audience that trusts you, the brand Pura Vida is an absolute marketing masterclass when it comes to this.

I wrote a quick thread below on what you can learn from them when it comes to building a community for your brand ↓

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