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Hey there - it's Brian 👋

Wow.

I’ve never received so many replies.

Last week, readers replied ecstatic about building authority online.

I built my audience to 85,000 people. But I’m not an influencer. I’m a business builder.

So I shared my story.

I shared the first steps to build your audience in a way that actually gets clients/customers (Steps 1 - 4 in the visual below).

Because when you do it right:
• Clients/customers get easier
• Talent gets easier
• Press gets easier

This week is the final issue in this 2-part series on how you build online authority. So if you liked the last issue, you’ll love this one.

It has a few semi-controversial ideas (and things I wish I knew earlier on).

I’m writing to you this week from a coffee shop in Puerto Rico. I’m here for my sister’s wedding. She’s an event planner so naturally, her event was incredible.

Reply with any tips for Puerto Rico! I’m obsessed with trying new things.

So in today's post, you’ll learn:
• How to write (so people actually read)
• How to know you’re on track (so you don’t waste time)
• How to get people to share your posts (so people actually see it)
• How to get clients/customers to engage on your posts (so people buy)

Let’s make your business an outlier: 👇

Build your brand authority

If you missed last week’s issue, you’ll want to read it before you go on here.

We covered:
1) Who to write to
2) How to design your profile
3) How to choose your topics
4) and when to post

Now on to steps 5 - 8 on building online authority:

5) What to post

Writing for the internet is COMPLETELY different than writing for work.

You fight for attention with influencers. Entertainers. News outlets.

But… You have one advantage over the influencers:

You have more real world experience. So your content is more valuable.

But… you have a one disadvantage over the influencers:

You’re not trained in attention.

It’s much harder than you think to:
1) Get attention
2) Keep attention

You don’t need to be an expert.

But you need to either learn the basics or hire someone that gets it.

A few tips on getting attention.

Tip 1: Learn the basics of copywriting and storytelling.

Stories are just a way to package emotions.

Stories are the BEST way to persuade online. And the BEST way to hold attention.

Copywriting is just persuasion using the written word.

Both are mandatory skills for building authority online.

I’ve read at least 11 books on copy and story.

So if you want to learn to get attention online, read these:

Copywriting:
• Adweek Copywriting Handbook
• Cashvertising

Storytelling:
• Storyworthy
• Building a StoryBrand

Tip 2: Do not write content until the hook is ready to post.

Ready for a harsh reality?

If no one clicks your post… was it worth writing it at all?

You run a business so you’re busy. Last thing you want to do is waste your time.

So here’s a time-saving trick:

Write multiple hooks for 5 different topics.

Prioritize them by what’s most clickable.

THEN write the post.

Make sure it’s clickable before you write anything.

6) How to get clients/customers to engage

Here’s one tip I wish I knew earlier:

To build real engagement that compounds over time, you need to start with things that don’t scale.

Do thing online to build genuine relationships with people:
• Write posts that tell your story
• DM people to offer free help
• Use video content to build loyalty
• Personalize responses to comments

It starts slow. You get engagement one by one.

But those people keep coming back to engage.

And people who keep coming back makes engagement that compounds.

7) How to get big accounts to share your posts

So if you have the most clickable post in the world but no one sees it, was it worth writing it?

Your job isn’t done when you hit post.

You need to make sure people share it so you actually distribute the work.

But it has to be the RIGHT people.

Ideally people with two traits:

1) People with a big sized audience
2) Who have your target customer in their audience

Just one big account can have 40 - 100x the impact that a “regular sized” account has.

What people don’t know is that you have to network with these people to get them to share it.

And as a community you grow together.

I wrote a detailed post on how you build this network, but in short:

Make a Google Sheet of everyone who’s also building authority in your industry.

Then…
1) Comment on their posts.
2) Shoot them a private message.
3) Hop on a Zoom.
4) Put them in a Whatsapp group where you let each other know when you post.

But how do you find these people?

A few spots:
• Use lists online (Twitter list. LinkedIn list)
• Search people on LinkedIn
• Once you find one or two check their profile for who they comment on
• Check their “people also viewed” section

Get ~30 of these people.

8) How to know if you’re on track

The goal is to get repeat engagement.

• Repeat engagement = compounding growth

• New engagers = linear growth

You know you’re on track if you see the number of repeat engagers rising over time.

That’s how you unlock exponential growth.

Metrics I look for:

For broad posts:
Your goal is a lot of likes + comments.

The people commenting and connecting with you are directionally related to your target niche but not exactly.

So I use less metrics for broad posts. I don’t even expect booked calls.

But for depth posts:
I have more specific criteria.

🧔🏻‍♂️ Brian’s nerdy side rant:
I mentioned “broad posts” in the last issue. Quick reminder it just means it’s general content with a goal of getting a lot of reach.

Not for customers.

Depth posts are for customers.

1) Average View Duration
On video posts I look for average view duration.

Divide your views by view minutes on LinkedIn.

The average person watches 50% of my videos.

2) Content to booked calls (or sales)
This applies to engagement posts where my goal is booked calls.

My record is 7 booked calls for one post. Average is 2 - 3 calls per video post.

3) Qualified leads
Look at your connection requests and comments.

What % of these people engaging with you are in your target market? If it’s low, then your content is not hooking the right people.

That’s a wrap!

Do it right and you’ll build real authority online.

You’ll get clients/customers.

Get talent.

And finally get recognition for the amazing business you have.

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See you next Thursday 👋

Brian
[email protected]
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P.S. have you been to Puerto Rico?

I’m a big fan of Puerto Rican food so far. Mofongo is incredible.

What can’t I miss?

Reply to [email protected]

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