Episode 971: How to build your nation of true fans, with Stephen Woessner
b'
Good Morning\\u2026I\\u2019m Stephen Woessner, CEO of Predictive ROI and your host for Onward Nation.
One of the things that I love most about my role at Predictive \\u2014 is that every single day \\u2014 I have an opportunity to talk with, work alongside with, and teach and share with business owners just like you.
They might own a marketing or advertising agency as I do, or they might be a rockin\\u2019 awesome business coach, or maybe the owners of a consultancy \\u2014 and they too love being in the trenches being helpful\\u2026sharing the best of what they\\u2019ve got with their audience\\u2026and as a result\\u2026they\\u2019ve started to \\u2014 or have already \\u2014 built a nation of true fans.
All of the what, why\\u2019s, and how to\\u2019s for build a nation of true fans is what we\\u2019re going to focus on in today\\u2019s solocast.
I\\u2019ll map it out in full transparency \\u2014 and as always \\u2014 please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I\\u2019m happy to help.
As you\\u2019ll hear in a few minutes \\u2014 your first step in building your nation of true fans has nothing to do with the actual content delivery platform \\u2014 channel \\u2014 or the type of cornerstone content you create \\u2014 but has everything to do with the value and helpfulness of what you will be creating, sharing, and delivering to your audience, because your nation of true fans will be built on a foundation of valuable, super helpful content that your audience can use to be better at their jobs everyday.
Your nation of true fans will know your heart and that your intention is to help them grow, to learn, and to be better. It never feels like a transactional relationship.
They don\\u2019t feel like you\\u2019re trying to monetize them.
Do they spend money on your services and what your team provides \\u2014 yes \\u2014 your true fans do. And the rest of your audience are there just for the golden nuggets \\u2014 and that\\u2019s 100 percent okay.
So let\\u2019s begin walking down this path \\u2014 you and I are going to take a look at strategy and tactics for how you can build a nation of true fans from the cornerstone content you are creating on a consistent basis. The way you win long-term is by creating content that develops and nurtures long-term relationships with your audience.
These relationships are what Wired Magazine founder Kevin Kelly calls \\u201cTrue Fans.\\u201d And in my opinion \\u2014 true fans represent your ROI Scorecard\\u2019s ultimate vital metric.
To paraphrase Kelly \\u2014 any business owner can create a solid revenue stream around a community of approximately 1,000 people when they are \\u201cTrue Fans\\u201d of what the company sells and when there is a connection between the company and its fans based on the value provided. In this solocast \\u2014 I will illustrate how a consistent effort toward creating consistent cornerstone content can create a nation of true fans for your business, too.
Your nation of true fans will be fans of you, fans of your point of view, and fans of the helpful content you create and share. Your fans will support you because of the sacred bond you have built with them and because you consistently delivered massive value through your content.
Okay \\u2014 now let\\u2019s get dialed in on building your nation of true fans: a sense of community, collaboration, and profitability around your business.
And could there be a more critical time than right now to do this for your business, Onward Nation?
If you get this right \\u2014 it will be a super helpful strategy to not only help you come roaring out the other side of this recession \\u2014 but \\u2014 this strategy will help you future proof your business for years to come.
Let\\u2019s begin by breaking the phrase \\u201cBuild a nation of true fans\\u201d into its three core ingredients. The first is \\u201cbuild\\u201d, the second is \\u201cnation\\u201d, and the third is \\u201ctrue fans.\\u201d
Ingredient #1: Build\\u2026as in your platform.
How would you begin to \\u201cbuild\\u201d a nation of true fans? You\\u2019d begin with selecting the form of cornerstone content where you intend to share your insights and wisdom with your audience \\u2014 or eventual audience.
Whether that\\u2019s a\\u2026
- Podcast
- Speaking
- Blog
- Video series
- Research project
- Writing a book
- Or something else
The platform you choose is irrelevant from a tech perspective. Any or all of the above can help you build a nation of true fans. The tech behind it all is relatively easy. Is there a learning curve? Sure.
Will you feel at times like you are trying to fly the space shuttle with so many knobs and buttons to push? Sure. How does Facebook Live work? What time of day should I create a story on Instagram? What kind of camera and mic are best if I want to be a serious YouTuber?
All of these are tech questions \\u2014 and within an afternoon with your best friend Google \\u2014 you can solve those problems and find the answers as long as you don\\u2019t let the fear of the unknown become paralyzing to you.
So let\\u2019s shift our focus away from the tech \\u2014 and instead \\u2014 focus on the value you will be providing through those channels?
What\\u2019s your story?
How will you serve your audience?
How will you make what you are doing so valuable to their business or life, that they actually consider you to be indispensable?
How will you become so consistent in the help, advice, recommendations, and over value that you are providing on a consistent basis \\u2014 that you BUILD deposits in their emotional bank account?
They begin to trust you \\u2014 they begin to like you \\u2014 and then because of them liking you and trusting you\\u2026they move even closer to you by truly KNOWING you.
So, your first step in building your nation of true fans has nothing to do with the actual content delivery platform and has everything to do with the value of what you will be delivering \\u2014 because your nation of true fans is built on VALUE.
And if you get that right \\u2014 the actual platform \\u2014 or your conduit through which you share your value \\u2014 will fall into place \\u2014 and it will feel less stressful because the value you were called \\u2014 put on this Earth to deliver \\u2014 will then be in the driver\\u2019s seat.
You, Onward Nation \\u2014 will become unstoppable.
Will there be profit to be made for your business because you built a nation of true fans? Of course. To date \\u2014 Onward Nation has helped Predictive ROI generate over $4 million in revenue and we feel blessed and honored about that result outcome. And we believe that this result outcome was made possible because we never placed ourselves first. Ever.
Now let\\u2019s shift our attention toward Ingredient #2: \\u201cNation.\\u201d
And I want to make sure we address this because we live in a world where bigger lists, bigger subscribers, massive downloads, huge customer lists, etc. etc. etc. is what attracts headlines and massive attention.
You don\\u2019t need an email list of 100,000 people. You don\\u2019t need to have a podcast that gets a million downloads a month. You don\\u2019t need to have a customer list with 20,000 prospects on it.
Nope. You don\\u2019t.
That\\u2019s not your Nation.
What you need \\u2014 realistically \\u2014 depending on the size of your business is somewhere between 100 to 1,000 high-qualified prospects.
That\\u2019s it\\u2026100 to 1,000 of the very best prospects who precisely match your client avatar \\u2014 in fact \\u2014 your knowledge with some of these people is so deep that you can boldly claim them as your Dream 25 prospects.
If you need a refresher on why your Dream 25 matters \\u2014 go back to Episode 308 of Onward Nation \\u2014 and I map it all out \\u2014 how to figure out who your Dream 25 is \\u2014 and \\u2014 how to romance your Dream 25 so they understand how important they are to you.
To take this point deeper \\u2014 I want to share a very tangible example of a company that grew from zero to become a multi-billion a year company \\u2014 yes \\u2014 billion \\u2014 with a capital B.
My mentor, Darren Hardy, former publisher of SUCCESS Magazine\\u2026decided to interview my friend Cody Foster, co-founder of Advisors Excel and to share the interview on the SUCCESS CD that rides along with the magazine.
During the interview with Darren, Cody shared several personal stories of very humble beginnings \\u2014 and how those stories \\u2014 helped shaped the kind of company Advisors Excel has become.
A company packed full \\u2014 wall to wall \\u2014 of incredible people \\u2014 a team whose sole focus is to deliver more and more value every day to the financial advisors around the country they are there to serve. And Advisors Excel team does it masterfully well. They have BUILT their platform \\u2014 a platform that is indeed built on a solid foundation of value.
But\\u2026did they build this platform by trying to serve the 60,000 financial advisors located in the state of Florida alone?
No.
How about all of the financial advisors up and down the west coast?
Nope.
Did they focus on spending large amounts of advertising dollars trying to reach everyone they could with their message of value, value, value?
Not at all.
Instead\\u2026they meticulously selected 1,000 of the very best financial advisors who they wanted to earn the opportunity to serve. Yes, Onward Nation, Cody shared with Darren that they built a list of 1,000 financial advisors \\u2014 just 1,000 \\u2014 and then they went to work to deliver more value than another other insurance marketing organization in the industry to the 1,000 advisors they wanted to work with.
The 1,000 advisors became their Nation\\u2026and advisors outside of the Nation didn\\u2019t exist. Advisors Excel was solely focused on being the best they could be for this small group of prospects.
So what was the result outcome?
Well, in year 8 of the business\\u2026they reached over $8 billion in revenue. $8 billion, Onward Nation.
When they are the right prospects \\u2014 you don\\u2019t need 10,000\\u2026you actually only need a small number to make your business amazingly successful and profitable. 1,000 people \\u2014 who you can love on \\u2014 who you can support \\u2014 who you can add value to \\u2014 who then in turn are excited to do for you some of what you already shared with them.
Okay \\u2014 now let\\u2019s move to Ingredient #3 \\u2014 True Fans
We\\u2019ll begin by taking the number 1,000 \\u2014 deeper \\u2014 because it is a magical number and a vital priority for your business.
According to Kevin Kelly, if a business created a base of customers who were more like fans \\u2014 1,000 True Fans \\u2014 then that business could become sustainable and profitable by simply focusing on the needs of its true fans.
And if you visit the Show Notes for today\\u2019s solocast\\u2026you will find a link to Kevin Kelly\\u2019s blog post as well as the long tail curve he created to illustrate the 1,000 true fans strategy.
Kelly describes \\u201cTrue Fans\\u201d as customers who will help you mobilize and move your business onward to that next level. They are true fans of you \\u2014 true fans of your message \\u2014 true fans of your business.
They will support you because of the sacred bond you have built with them.
A bond that was built upon \\u2014 and continues to be built upon \\u2014 the foundation of the value you create, you deliver, and the value you share with them on a consistent basis.
Whether you do that every day \\u2014 every week \\u2014 no matter what the schedule \\u2014 no matter what the rhythm \\u2014 the fact that you are consistent is what is important.
According to Kevin, \\u201cA True Fan\\u201d is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to visit your location.
They will buy the super deluxe version of your product even though they already own the standard version, too.
They have a Google Alert set for your name.
They have bookmarked your website.
They come to your product announcements \\u2014 or \\u2014 ribbon cutting ceremonies for a new office location.
They come to your book signings and ask for you to sign their copy.
They cannot wait for your next webinar \\u2014 your next podcast episode \\u2014 your next event \\u2014 your next release of whatever.
And the best way to increase sales for your company is to connect with your True Fans directly\\u2026so you need to have a platform built on value\\u2026see? We keep coming back to that foundational truth.
Onward Nation, 1,000 true fans is a very reasonable number. As Kevin explains in his brilliant blog post\\u2026 \\u201cif you added one fan a day, it would take only three years. True Fanship is doable.
Pleasing a True Fan is pleasurable, and invigorating.\\u201d
The key challenge is that you have to maintain direct contact with your 1,000 True Fans. And you do that through building your platform \\u2014 delivering value \\u2014 and making sure you are using the right conduit so it reaches your 1,000 true fans on a consistent basis.
Again\\u2026it doesn\\u2019t matter if you use a podcast, blog, write a book, video series, or some other form of cornerstone content.
What\\u2019s important to identify is not the form of content where you\\u2019re most comfortable \\u2014 but \\u2014 the platform your fans use the most. What\\u2019s the best conduit to them?
For me \\u2014 it\\u2019s this podcast, the books I write, the annual research we do, the webinars where I can teach longer form, and the videos we share every Sunday.
But there is also another piece to True Fans\\u2026and that are the concentric circles of \\u201cLesser Fans.\\u201d
This segment of your audience will not purchase everything you produce, and may not seek out direct contact, but they will buy much of what you produce.
The processes you develop to feed your True Fans will also nurture Lesser Fans. As you build your nation of True Fans, you will also add many more Lesser Fans.
And as you are building\\u2026don\\u2019t avoid\\u2026don\\u2019t miss the opportunity to go deep\\u2026to develop intimacy with your audience\\u2026with your true fans.
Onward Nation\\u2026that\\u2019s one of the reasons I ask for feedback so often.
My team and I legitimately want to get better \\u2014 but \\u2014 I also want to hear from you \\u2014 to get to know you \\u2014 to learn from you \\u2014 and to deliver even more value so Onward Nation becomes \\u2014 and hopefully remains \\u2014 your most favorite podcast.
Okay\\u2026you now have a tangible recipe for building your own nation of true fans \\u2014 and when you do \\u2014 your nation will become this amazing, awesome, wonderful, beautiful, incredible community of people who are generous with their feedback and help guide your business in the right direction to deliver value.
Consider Kevin Kelly\\u2019s lesson as you build out your cornerstone content. Ask yourself how you can continually add more and more value like Cody Foster and his team at Advisors Excel.
Because when you build your nation \\u2014 and focus on being helpful not transactions \\u2014 your business, your team, and your life move onward to a completely new level.
So with that\\u2026I want to say thank you again for taking the time to be here with me today.
It\\u2019s always an honor to have you here. I want you to know how much I appreciate you sharing some of your invaluable 86,400 seconds you have in your day with me and the strategies we learn from today\\u2019s top business owners.
And please continue to let me know what you think of Onward Nation\\u2026good or bad\\u2026I always want your feedback. That\\u2019s how we get better.
Remember \\u2014 now\\u2019s the time to double down \\u2014 all of the data is on your side.
Until next week \\u2014 onward with gusto!
'