Summary of Why Growing an Audience Is So Slow (And What to Do About It)

  • medium.com
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    A Message to Creators Who Struggle to Build Their Audience

    This open letter is addressed to creators who are passionate about their work but find themselves stuck in a frustrating cycle of slow audience growth. The author, Matt Giaro, shares his personal journey and reveals a key mindset shift that transformed his own audience growth.

    • The article highlights the common challenges creators face, such as juggling full-time jobs with content creation, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, and comparing themselves to successful peers.
    • It emphasizes that building an audience is not a passive activity; it requires active investment, just like any other business venture.
    • Giaro encourages creators to view audience growth as a financial investment and embrace strategies that involve spending money to accelerate the process.

    The Cost of Building an Audience

    The article challenges the notion that audience growth is always free. It argues that creators often pay for audience growth with their time, which is a valuable resource. Giaro shares his own experience of sacrificing time and health for limited progress. He highlights the importance of valuing time and considering paid strategies to maximize efficiency.

    • Giaro emphasizes that investing in audience growth is crucial for long-term success, as it provides the most leverage in a business.
    • He draws an analogy to farming, where farmers invest time, money, and effort to cultivate crops, underscoring the need for intentional investment in audience growth.

    The Power of Paid Strategies

    Giaro advocates for embracing paid strategies, specifically sponsorships, as a means to accelerate audience growth. He rejects the notion that "free" content alone is sufficient for rapid success, highlighting the slow pace of organic growth.

    • He emphasizes the effectiveness of sponsorships, where creators pay other creators to advertise their newsletters or content to their existing audiences.
    • Giaro shares a personal example of a sponsorship that brought him 12,540 subscribers, demonstrating the significant impact of this approach.
    • He highlights the value of sponsorships in delivering targeted traffic and attracting subscribers who are already interested in similar content.

    Beyond Free Content

    While Giaro acknowledges the value of creating free content, he argues that relying solely on "free" strategies often leads to frustration and slow progress for creators. He suggests that paid strategies like sponsorships can be leveraged to boost audience growth and create momentum.

    • Giaro encourages creators to leverage their email list, built through sponsorships, to drive traffic to their free content, further amplifying their reach.
    • He emphasizes the importance of combining paid and free content strategies to achieve optimal results in audience growth.

    Sponsorship: A Marketing Strategy for Creators

    The article focuses on sponsorships as a powerful marketing strategy for creators. It emphasizes the value of investing in targeted reach to accelerate audience growth. Sponsorships allow creators to tap into pre-existing audiences, delivering immediate results.

    • Giaro's success story serves as an inspiration for creators who are looking for effective strategies to build their audience and achieve their business goals.
    • By embracing sponsorships, creators can break free from the limitations of organic growth and unlock the potential of their online business.

    Investing in Your Audience Growth

    The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of investing in audience growth. By embracing paid strategies and adopting a mindset of active investment, creators can achieve rapid progress and build sustainable businesses.

    • Giaro encourages creators to consider the long-term benefits of investing in their audience, as it provides the most leverage in driving success.
    • He encourages creators to challenge the notion that audience growth should be a passive pursuit and to embrace a proactive approach that prioritizes strategic investment.

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