I was thinking about why certain people are invited to share insights on podcasts and videos, while other people can be successful, but their names are unknown to most of us.
I’ve touched on it before — that you need to actually publish a lot of useful material, or no one will ever know who you are.
You have to have a wide impact on people. The more people you have actually helped to achieve their goals, the more people will be on your side, wanting to see you succeed.
You have to have some sort of social proof of your expertise. You must have something noteworthy about you. You must have useful information, insight or advice that will help others. People will not give up an hour of their time to listen to you if you have nothing to offer them.
Just like in combat sports, you have to be a draw. People must be interested in hearing what you have to say. You must be able to drive page views, downloads, or subscriptions. The hosts must get something for having you on their show. It helps if you have an audience of your own that you can bring to their listeners/viewers/readers. Cross-pollination and collaborations can build two sets of audiences at once, but no one is giving you charity. Bring something to the table, or you won’t be invited back.
It helps immensely if the host would want to talk to you and hang out with you in a normal setting. Be interesting. Be a decent person. Humility, politeness, and a willingness to help others is a must. Just be a chill person, and doors will open for you throughout life.
I set these thoughts up last night via Buffer, so here’s the complementary tweetstorm. Peace.
Building your personal brand isn’t just vanity. If your name drives views and downloads, people will invite you to be on their platform.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
Working on the strength of your personal brand—how useful your information is to others, means access to tastemakers and wider audiences.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
Videos and podcasts make money from sponsorships and ad revenue. Want to be a guest? Build your name. Publish useful information—OFTEN.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
The key is that you build an audience of your own to share with others. In YouTube, they call this Collaboration. It is cross-marketing.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
If you are in the web industry, and not publishing something regularly—articles, videos, podcasts—you are going to lose ground to others.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
If you are in ANY industry, and not aggressively publishing useful, targeted content—you are going to lose ground to those who do.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
The second key is to BE successful. People do not want to step down to lift you up. You better be doing that on your own. Embrace the grind.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
Like hangs around with like. Revenue, sales, craftsmanship, marketing, hustle, growth—these are indicators that high performers notice.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
You have to make your mark in some way before you get access to other people’s audiences. No one’s giving you that without social proof.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
Lastly—most importantly. Be a good person. Be humble and approachable. Have a genuine desire to help others get to where they want to go.
— John Locke (@Lockedown_)
