Intentional Wisdom Ep.24 - Nicolas Cole - The Why & How of Audience Building
Audience Building
- Building an audience shouldn't be the primary goal.
- Focus on creating a valuable content library, and the right audience will follow.
Ryan Holiday's Niche
- Ryan Holiday's success with stoicism shows the power of niche content.
- His viral blog post led to a successful book, despite initial publisher hesitation.
Start Writing
- Don't overthink your niche; start writing to discover it.
- Nicholas Cole advises against extensive planning, favoring immediate action and iteration.
Nicolas Cole is one of the most prolific writers on the internet. He’s also an author who has written numerous books and an entrepreneur who has started and run several businesses including Ship30For30 – an online cohort-based educational business that has taught thousands of people to write online.
The focus of this conversation is how and why you might want to consider building an audience online. 90+% of people online are in consumption mode only and potentially leaving a lot of opportunities on the table by not growing an audience themselves.
In this conversation, Cole and Greg dive into the details of audience building, including: how to pick a topic to write about, how to find time to do it, what platforms to publish on and even how AI might help you do all of this.
If you are someone who has a lot of ideas and value in your head but has never translated that into content for others to consume – this episode IS FOR YOU.
Episode Segments:
(05:07) - Are audiences STILL undervalued?
(14:27) - How to make opportunity FIND YOU through content creation
(18:00) - How Ryan Holiday followed the data to a successful niche
(22:31) - How narrow to go with your niche
(30:00) - The "For Who, So That" framework
(38:22) - Creator audits & always listening for data points
(40:25) - What platforms to publish on?!?!?
(47:45) - The time and effort it takes to find your audience
(52:31) - When and how to outsource content creation
(59:56) - Why the impact of AI on writing is misunderstood
(01:07:06) - One thing Cole has figured out in life
Be sure to follow Cole on Twitter @nicolascole77 And check out his new book: The Art & Business of Ghostwriting This episode is brought to you by Athletic Brewing Company. Try Athletic Brewing Non-alcoholic Brews for yourself! Click on the link below and use code WISDOM to get 15% off your first order at athleticbrewing.com.
Near beer. Exclusions and conditions apply. Athletic Brewing Company. Fit For All Times.
Don't forget to follow Greg on Twitter @gregorycampion and subscribe to his bi-weekly newsletter: https://gregcampion.substack.com
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider rating and reviewing Intentional Wisdom wherever you get your podcasts.
(Very) rough transcript of this conversation: https://share.descript.com/view/xoQMnBFZn9o