How to build an audience (and why)

Hey builders and creators!

Today, I want to talk about my favorite leverage: an audience. A tool that changed my perspective on building products by thinking “audience-first”.

Tool of the Week

I’ve discovered this tool Animstats and I love it. It’s a tiny SaaS that does one thing, but it does it very well: helping you grab attention on social media.

And yes! I’ve reached 100k followers on X. Something I dreamed of. Time to explain why and how 👇

So let’s cover:

• What does creating content mean

• How to create content (without being cringe)

• How to make money from the attention you generate

The reason? Believe it or not - no one buys a product if they don’t trust it.

And how do you get people to trust you and your products? YOU TELL THEM STORIES!

Once you understand the nuances of crafting compelling content, you unlock the potential to not only capture attention but also to monetize it effectively.

Let’s dive in!

What does creating content even mean?

It means that:

• You gain exposure

• You gain opportunities

• You gain an unfair advantage

Imagine throwing darts and every time you hit a bullseye - you get $10,000.
This is exactly how content works, the only difference is that you have infinite darts.

Every time you post something - you are throwing a dart.

Your post can be looked at by investors, billionaires, or someone you admire.

Here’s how you start:

How to create content without being cringe:

The biggest roadblock to most people creating content is the fear and insecurity of sounding fake or cringe.

Here’s something most miss — You don’t have to be an expert to make content. You can just very well document your own experiences and learnings.

Instead of posting “How to build a SaaS to $10k/month“ —

Post “Here’s how I’m building my SaaS to 10k/month and beyond“.

This is the secret you are looking for.

👉 Document, don’t teach.

“But Tibo I’m not building any SaaS or doing anything to share experiences - what should I do?“

Learn. And summarize. A few ideas:

• Talk to an expert - write the key insights

• Watch a podcast - write a summary.

• Read a book - write the core ideas.

Imagine getting reshared by Joe Rogan just because you wrote an amazing summary of a podcast episode.

And now for the end part, here’s how to monetize the attention you generate (because you can’t pay the bills with likes and engagement):

How to monetize your content:

Well well well here we are - time to talk about money!

To monetize your content and attention, you have 3 ways:

1. Get sponsorships and sell ads:

Sponsorships are where most creators begin, it’s easy and fast.

Pros:

• No time involvement

• Your income increases as your audience grows

Cons:

• Low income per follower

• You can’t overdo it, otherwise, you lose the trust from your audience

Creators doing this successfully: Tim Ferris, Sahil Bloom

2. Sell a service:

A lot of creators who have specific knowledge consider starting selling services.

You have some skills → you have an audience → you offer to do the same for other people → cash flow.

Pros:

• Fast results

• Easy to start

• Builds your network

Cons:

• Hard to scale

• The income caps (as you have limited time)

• You have no leverage (you are selling your time)

Creators doing this successfully: Daniel Fazio (Cold Email Wizard), Hunter Hammonds

3. Build products:

Building a product business is no joke, but if done correctly, it can lead to a lot of success.

Pros:

• This holds the biggest monetization potential

• Infinite leverage (build once, sell a 1000 times)

• You will have tons of customer data from your audience

Cons:

• It takes a relatively long time to see success

• Not everyone has the expertise to build and scale products

Creators doing this successfully: Iman Gadzhi, Ali Abdaal

4. Sell information:

Selling information is like selling a piece of your mind, and your audience will happily pay to know what you know.

Products include — Ebooks, Video Courses, or a Skool community.

Pros:

• A lot of leverage as you just have to build once

• Selling info products is unique to content creators

Cons:

• Income scales alongside your audience

• The business is tied to you (no enterprise value)

Creators doing this successfully: Justin Welsh, Dan Koe

You can choose your path now!

Have any questions related to creating content? Reply to this email and ask away! I read every email :)

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Legendary investor Charlie Munger passed away this week. Here is one of his greatest lessons:

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Hit reply and let me know what you found most helpful this week—I’d love to hear from you!

See you next Thursday!

Keep building products and audience

Tibo 💻