6 Ways to Build an Audience Without Writing a Word

1. Visuals

It’s completely possible to build an audience using nothing but visuals. Just ask Pinterest and Instagram, along with some of the top influencers who’ve used their tools to build giant followings (and incomes too).

if you have an eye for design, infographics, drawing, cartoons or photography then the chances are you’ve got exactly the right skill set to build an audience and authority. The excellent site xkcd.com has been building a loyal following for years now with their irrervant and incisive cartoons.

2. Videos

If the ideas you want to express just can’t be conveyed in a simple image, then you might want to consider video as your medium of choice. Videos are able to convey a huge amount of complex and nuanced information in a matter of seconds, so they’re a powerful tool to add to your arsenal.

RAND FISHKIN a veteran content marketing and SEO industry figure has a really popular video series feature called Whiteboard Friday’s which regularly get over 5,000 shares per video. This has helped him stand out as an authority in this competitive space.

3. Podcasts

Not keen on being in front a camera, or think that video is a little out of your budget?

Well, podcasting could be the thing for you.

Creating a regular podcast series is a fantastic, low-cost and simple way to convey your expertise and reach out to other influencers in your industry, helping you build an audience by tapping into theirs too.

Just look at this blog, which turns every post into a podcast, helping boost engagement and reach new audiences.

Other established sites are also betting on podcasting, such as Copyblogger, who have moved into podcasting in a big way, launching the new Rainmaker platform earlier this year.

4. Webinars

Webinars are a strange beast that sit somewhere between podcast, video and live event. They’ve been around for a long time, but that doesn’t mean they’re not valuable tools for building both your authority and audience reach.

A particular strength of webinars is that you naturally ask people to RSVP – a great way to ask for their contact details and therefore an equally great way to build your email list.NEIL PATEL, a successful serial entrepreneur and blogger is a big fan of webinars for this reason.

They’re clearly popular too, with companies like BrightTalk creating highly profitable businesses simply by hosting and aggregating them for other companies, showing there’s a sustainable, and growing, volume of demand for them.

5. Events

If you’re a more tactile, press-the-flesh ‘people-person’ then you might want to focus your efforts on live events. People love events because they’re often an opportunity to learn, relax and network all in the same space.

They also offer a range of opportunities to capture videos, photos and interviews that can be used post-event to continue building out your audience.

Joe Pullizi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute (CMI), has found huge success by speaking at events all across the USA and the world; and having CMI host their own conferences and events including Content Marketing World.

Three Beards, a UK company, started out by organising informal monthly ‘Drink-abouts’ for the tech community in London’s Silicon Roundabout, and have now grown from a side project to a full-fledged business with 5 full-time employees and a regular roster of popular event formats that have even gone international.

Still not convinced? You only have to take a quick scan of Eventbrite to see how many people are using events to supplement their income or even pay their full wage.

Culled from jeffbullas.com