The Internet Personalities Are Lying To Us (About How To Build Your List)

Revolutionizing List Building: Breaking Myths and Embracing Reality

Welcome, content rebels! If you’re tired of meaningless marketing rituals and eager to connect more effectively with your online audience, then you’ve come to the right place. In this blog post, we’ll be cracking the code of effective list building. But hold on, we’re not going to follow the “conventional” wisdom (shared by big internet personalities) that so often leads to disappointment. Instead, we’ll delve into the modern age of list building and reveal the deceptive world that surrounds it. Along the way, we’ll bust some myths, unlock the buzzwords, and embrace transparency and reality in your online business. 

Understanding List Building In The Modern Age

You and I, we’ve got no time for pointless marketing rituals, don’t we? Instead, let’s focus on resonating more with our message online. So, let’s dive into the exploration of building a connection with our online clients and gain the benefit of list-building as we do so. 

So, how are we feeling about beefing up our subscriber list, folks? There are some big dreams, aren’t there? And equally large disappointments when those dreams falter. Those dreams are faltering, in large part, because we have unnatural expectations. The big internet personalities are feeding us false information.

The Deceptive World of List Building Online

Have you ever thought that most of the advice on list building is pointless, or, worse, a sham? Well, you are not alone. You’ve likely come across internet personas preaching about the ease of list building and assuring us—it’s just as easy as it was a decade ago. Here’s a reality check: it isn’t.

It’s not 2013. You’re not going to organically add 500 emails to your list in a week. When I took Amy Porterfield’s course-building mega-course years ago, I was shocked, even then, that she advised a four-week “runway” for audience building before launching your course. Even in 2018 and 2019, that information was already outdated.

So let’s call out the big elephant in the room: these big internet names give advice on list-building, but that’s not how they built their lists to this big sizes. They’ve built their lists off JVs and affiliates. Joint ventures had their own conferences to make JV partnership introductions in the mid-teens–because that was how everyone built their list online. 

While these big names may pick up a decent number of subscribers from their lead magnets today, after achieving big-name status, that’s not how they got there in the first place.

Today, sink in as we explore the big questions around list building in the digital age. Yes, we’re flipping the script on conventional wisdom, bringing you the real story from your very own FAQ.

‘TLAs’ – Unlocking the Buzzwords of List Building

Before we delve into your burning questions, let’s demystify the “I did it, so you can too” mindset. To accomplish this, we’ll discuss some frequently used terms. These three-letter acronyms (TLAs) will help dispel myths about list building. Bear with me for a few, and hopefully, it’ll clear off a few cobwebs in the understanding of list building.

The concept of Personality TLAs is an adorable one, gleaned from my friend Tara’s narrative. She’s a wedding photographer who loves her Hallmark Christmas movies. Her witty and spicy Instagram handle, bad.xmas.movies, offers a unique take on these movies along with many character representations, including the GND – Girl Next Door. It’s a term I also leverage to help debunk the myths shared by some internet personalities around successful list-building. 

The reality is, every segment, every place, every community is going to have some archetypes that are easy to pick out. And while I’m definitely sharing some easy ones, some tongue-in-cheek references, naming these people will help you see through their bad marketing tactics and take their advice with the grain rock of salt you should. Here they are: 

• GND – The Girl Next Door is the friendly Internet personality (could be the Marie Forleo or Amy Porterfield wannabe type).
• HTP – Hot Take Personality that shows up regularly with their spicy take, but you’re still not sure what they’re actually doing or what work they provide.
• NNB – The 99 Bro are the ones that say 99% of people on Twitter (excuse me, X!) are doing this wrong–and then give their secret-sauce answer that will skyrocket your dreams.
• HNW – Head-Nodding Watchers who totally like what you have to say, but they’re never actually going to take action. If they get anywhere, it’s because they finally decide to hire it out 
• NCL – Not Clients but actual internet friends who stay in your audience to support you, even if they aren’t your best client now–or maybe ever.
• CBA – Course-Buyers Anonymous keep buying and rarely finish courses, if they even start, but they get a thrill out of feeling like they did a good thing for their biz. Checking that task off the list gives them the same dopamine hit they should only get for learning a new skill.
• WAM – Whack-A-Mole personalities are constantly jumping from thing to thing, niche to niche.
• … and my favorite: RSA – Revenue Screamers Anonymous who love talking about their income claims but are definitely paying a VA $6/hr and the rest of the team $20/hr… and usually defending it.

Are these a fun little detour? Perhaps. But by calling them out when they give bad advice, it’s my hope you’ll see through it next time.

The True Story of List Building For Service Providers

These are the questions my audience brought me, a content strategist for service providers, about list-building.

So how DO you build an audience filled with engaged people? 

Building an audience filled with engaged people requires a combination of targeted content, understanding your audience’s needs and preferences, consistent interaction and engagement, and providing value through your offerings or services. It’s important to focus on building genuine connections and nurturing relationships with your audience.

How do you build an audience quickly?

There’s no magic formula to build a list overnight. It’s about consistent, strategic efforts. Offer valuable content, create lead magnets, and promote them wisely. Utilize social media platforms, and engage with your audience consistently. Quickly is not usually possible for most service providers unless they’re spending to make it happen.

How do you know who’s even IN your audience?

Knowing who’s in your audience requires tools like analytics, surveys, and social media insights to gather demographic data, analyzing engagement metrics, and actively communicating with your audience to understand their needs. Gathering all your data into once place like the Content ROI Dashboard makes this easier.

Knowing who is in your audience will help you make better content–which in turn will fill your audience with engaged people who want to join your list. It’s the first step in any content strategy!

And finally: 

What is the importance of debunking the notion that “I did it, so you can too” when it comes to building an audience? 

Debunking the notion that “I did it, so you can too” is important because it ignores individual circumstances and privileges. Everyone has unique circumstances, backgrounds, and resources that may impact their ability to build an audience in the same way as someone else.

If you don’t yet have an ad budget, growing quickly may be a fruitless endeavor. Likewise, if joining a costly mastermind where you can make JV connections might be something you can’t or won’t do, and growing quickly like the GND and HTP say, might not possible.

Embracing Transparency and Reality in Online Business

In conclusion, the world of providing online services and running businesses online is not always the straightforward tale it seems. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the buzzwords and misconceptions surrounding list building. We’re here to strip back those layers and help you embrace transparency and reality in your journey. So, tighten your seat belts and hone your strategy; we are in this for the long haul.

Music by Michael De La Torre. Thanks, Mikey!