I have been asked by clients, “how come some people seem to have a huge following, and appear to be everywhere and super successful? How does that happen?” 

It won’t be a surprise that the answer involves 2 ingredients: hard work and luck!

Let’s dive deeper. People with seemingly large followings, in addition to being in the right place at the right time, have another two things in common – they have a specific mission, and they have relentless marketing. None of that happens overnight.  

It’s not a free ride. People with a “big presence” probably also paid a significant sum of money, as an entrance fee of sorts, along the way. They pay to get into magazines, they pay to get press coverage, they pay to get their book self-published. I know people who paid for all this exposure – thousands of dollars – and they are not “famous” but do have a lot of fans/followers/clients. You need to be clear on your own end goal here. Are you looking for more paying clients? Do you want fame? Focus on exactly what you want because one does not mean the other. 

They don’t sit back. They get out and travel and network and speak at tons of events and flood the airwaves with videos. Spending money doesn’t let you off the hook – you can’t sit back or sit still. BE out there, let everyone see your face both in person and in video. If you don’t have speaking engagements on your calendar, start working on that. There are opportunities everywhere but they won’t come to you – so go get them! 

Take a stand. What’s your mission? Who do you want to serve and why? It must be something specific. Think laser focus on one particular subset of people with a specific challenge or situation. Your mission – your message – what you stand for – pick one particular something that is powerful and relevant and then carefully craft your message so that it’s consistent and clear. You can’t post once a week on social and blog once in a while. They’re on social media several times a day, every day. They blog and email once a week, every week. Consistency is key, so plan ahead. 

The message and mission come together. When people understand with crystal clarity what you represent, what you stand for, what your mission is; and when that message is unwavering, unrelenting, then it gathers a following. The message defines the people, and the people defines the methods. I coached a client who did her research and discovered that for her very specific and unique audience, YouTube was not only the top way to go, it was the only way to go. She didn’t need anything else; she increased her videos, stopped the other channels and the clients came pouring in. You’ll have to discover what that best channel is for your audience and your message. 

You won’t be able to do this 100% alone. People will large followings have a team of experts behind them. Decide realistically who you need on your team and how big a budget are you willing to set aside for this. Where will you get the money? where will you find your team of experts? 

It’s all doable as long as you know the facts. It doesn’t happen with luck or magic. It doesn’t all fall in your lap one day. Research people you would like to emulate. It’s about strategic planning, defining your goal and keeping your eyes on the prize. 

 

Let’s get on the phone for a discovery call and find out what your goals are in the next 3 months and the next year. Start here