Grow With Purpose: The Path Between Audience and Income

Online creators share stats about their audience all the time. Usually, it’s a screenshot showing tens of thousands of views or huge audience growth in a short period of time.

And I always wonder: Did that audience actually turn into money?

The truth is, it’s not that hard to grow online. With a lot of time and effort engaging with others, you can get followers.

But if that doesn’t lead to income, what’s the point? (Unless you simply like attention.)

The money won’t just flow in. You need a clear offer targeting the right people. Sure, you can make money from a volume of people. But if your offer is all fluff and no substance, you’ll lose credibility with your audience.

If you’re in growth mode, here are the ways you can build a sustainable business from your audience.

Visibility brings in new clients

I’m a freelance writer and very active online, particularly on LinkedIn. There’s a very obvious throughline between my efforts and my business: most of my work is inbound. Potential clients see me posting, check out my profile, and reach out.

On LinkedIn, I don’t have to talk about my business, per se. I talk about all kinds of topics. I comment on posts from other people. I’m visible.

My headline makes it clear that I’m a freelance writer. When potential clients see me — whether they’re connected to me or not — if they’re curious, they’ll click over to my profile. Then my profile makes it very clear what I do and the types of clients I serve.

From there, people leave LinkedIn and check out my website and portfolio. I’ll get an inbound inquiry. Or they’ll send me a DM directly on LinkedIn.

In this case, consistent and frequent posting on a social platform is worth the effort, because there’s a measurable result. Even though my audience on LinkedIn isn’t necessarily potential clients, the visibility puts me in front of potential clients.

Create a lead magnet

One of the biggest mistakes people make when growing an audience is not capturing email addresses.

Using a call-to-action like “Check out another article!” or “Follow me for more tips!” might increase your follower count. But that’s a vanity metric unless it leads to additional business.

I have several lead magnets that I use as CTAs. They’re all free. I’m not going to ask for money from someone who has discovered me for the first time.

Instead, I put together a few valuable eBooks. I’ll select the one that’s most relevant to the post or article I’ve written and include a link.

When you’re only connected through a social platform, you don’t have control over the audience. You’re at the mercy of the platform and its algorithm. (Need an example? Just look at X/Twitter.)

When you offer a lead magnet, you’re capturing an email address. Now you have a way to connect with that person outside of the platform. And by offering a lead magnet for free, it’s an easy “yes” from your audience. You can offer a paid product later, either as part of your welcome email sequence or when you feel like you’ve established trust with that person.

Make the most of viral moments

I’ve gone viral on LinkedIn. The first time (back in 2021), a post hit nearly 4 million views.

What did all of that attention get me? Nothing.

Well, I shouldn’t say nothing. I was bombarded with DMs and ended up appearing on a major podcast. But none of that turned into money.

I didn’t have a lead magnet. I didn’t have an email list. I had no way of keeping in touch with these people after the attention had subsided (other than my new followers).

Virality can strike at any time and you’ll likely gain a huge new audience as a result. If you’re not prepared, the moment will pass and your business won’t grow at all.

A few ways to make the most of your moment in the sun:

• Have your lead magnet ready, so you can capture email addresses
• Make sure your social profile is clear and up-to-date, if you take on clients
• Establish a consistent publishing routine so that once you go viral, you can continue to increase your visibility

Monetizing through sponsorships

Maybe you don’t want to make money from your audience directly. You don’t work with clients or your audience is growing because you offer something valuable for free.

The other way to make money is by offering sponsored content. You can offer paid sponsorships in your newsletter or sponsored posts on your social profile

Kaitlyn Arford is a freelance writer with a great newsletter that lists freelance opportunities for other freelancers. She offers paid sponsorships through Passionfroot, giving her sponsors access to her freelance network.

Remember: sponsors benefit from your audience. You’ve worked hard to build up that audience and it’s valuable. Don’t sell yourself short.

I’ve been approached about sponsorship opportunities that I’ve turned down. The sponsor wanted to pay me a fraction of what the content was worth since it could drive significant new business for the sponsor.

Earning from trust

It can be tricky to ask your audience for money.

I rarely promote myself on LinkedIn. I don’t say “These are the services I offer! Come work with me!” I’ll talk more generally about freelance writing and content marketing, so potential clients know I offer those services.

But overly promotional content can start to feel gross. No one likes constant self-promotion in their feeds. Subtle is better.

You also need to think about that pivotal moment when you can start asking for money: when you can offer something unique and valuable. “Learn my hacks for growing on Medium for only $5” doesn’t work when a person has an audience of 218 people. You can’t monetize immediately because people won’t believe you. Or they’ll pay $5 and realize that what you’ve offered wasn’t worth the money. Now you’ve broken trust.

I’ve paid money for digital products, courses, and other content I thought would be worthwhile, only to discover the product to be really subpar. The person had a large following, so I assumed they were knowledgeable.

Turns out, it was all about growing to make money and not about establishing a relationship with the audience.

I’d rather build trust with my audience.

I’m playing a long game.

And with this approach, I’ve created a clear path between audience and income.

Check out my free guide: 17 Smart Tools Solopreneurs Need to Start, Grow, and Scale.