Q3 Week 8: Build Community That Gets You Paid
Crafting a unique connection-driven community plan that leads to more sales
Ahh, how does it feel figuring out how to get paid in a way that feels euphoric and less icky?? By now you’ve gotten clear on what you offer, how to talk about it, and now It’s time to find the people who are ready to see you thrive and want to pay you to get there! What a dream!
Last week, we crafted your aligned sales pitch! You took your unique offerings and translated them into a pitch that feels like you, not like the default norm. You now have the plan for a unique pitch that is clear, confident, and makes it easy for potential clients and customers to say "YES!" because it's the most unique compelling pitch they've ever seen! If you haven’t written your pitch yet, don’t worry. This week’s work might help you clarify your strategy even more.
Because this week, we start building community with income in mind. And it’s a big one!!! Look out!!! We're learning that we can get to our income goals in a way that feels aligned by rallying the right people in the right way. It's time to unlearn the manipulation tactics that modern marketing wants you to think is the "right" way to get customers, and move forward creating community and finding customers in an authentic-to-you-and-only-you kinda way!
Build community, your way
Let’s continue to keep income top of mind this week! Building community can (and should!) be a big ol’ part of how you get paid. Not in a manipulative, make-people-feel-bad-until-they-buy kind of way. That’s what the Boring Default People do. But you aren't boring and doing things the default way, you're doing them YOUR way!
It's silly to say, but this week is all about getting comfortable just being a real human openly in front of the world rather than presenting a polished, perfect, curated final-fidelity version of yourself. Beautifully, the more you can be your most real self, the more it attracts people (It's rare! It's refreshing!) and create faster, closer bonds between your community and you. This creates an inclusive environment where they feel like they're a part of your journey and it becomes easier for them to convert to buyers because of it.
So, this week, we're here for the human-centered, authentic-to-you way of creating community to drive sales. The version where people are excited to support you because they believe in what you’re doing. They see you showing up as your full dang self, they feel connected to your thing, and they want to be part of it.
A moment for karaoke
Imagine you're at a karaoke bar and you see performer after performer doing drunken versions of the same songs everyone always sings. Don't Stop Believin', Bohemian Rhapsody, Livin' on a Prayer. It's all very predictable and formulaically enjoyable. The songs are engineered for default success as the audience shouts "SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!" during Sweet Caroline.
But then, someone steps up to the mic and they look visibly nervous, like they might cry from stage fright. The nervous energy makes you and everyone else start cheering to show them they're safe, you're here to support, because you want to see them win. The cheering grows their confidence and they start singing. Slowly you see them gain confidence as they make their way through the first verse. By the end, they're belting Rock Lobster being their weirdest, truest, most shiniest self doing the goofy B-52s voice and everything. They just opened up and flourished before everyone's eyes (including their own) and you got to be a part of that special experience with them.
Now imagine there's a tip jar for each performer. Who are you going to tip?
Let them love you, let them pay you
You now know that you're a person unlike anyone else in the world (Q1 work, way to go!) and you have something that you can give to the world that no one else can (Q2 work, crushed it!). Now it’s about finding your people and inviting them to be a part of your human, authentic journey with the thing you're trying to sell, and let them be a part of that with you. That’s what this week is all about.
The last thing I want you to do is try to get as many followers as possible. Any of us can go out there, play the game, and get a bunch of followers by posting rage bait or "celebrity veneer checks" (I hate that I know what that is, look it up if you must - it's not about wood). But that's empty! It's the boring default! It's not moving the world to a better place.
What we're here to do is to create a soft, sparkly place where you're thriving as your real self for the right people. The future customers, clients, fans, and hype squad members that are excited to gather and cheer you on with their hearts and their wallets. They want to see you win!
You can make money without feeling weird or gross about it and it all starts with being human. Centering the most real parts of what makes you, beautifully, uniquely you. You can grow a business without transforming into the boring default version of what everyone else is doing. You can build real human-first community of people who love and support you and still get paid. And you deserve to!
Being strategically you, for sales
This week we're being a little strategic on purpose. Only because we have to because it goes against everything we're societally taught!! We’re not taught to be intentionally vulnerable, open, candid, raw, and transparent when it comes to selling something. We're taught to be shiny, glossy, perfect. Act like it's all great and there's nothing wrong! Nothing to see here, everything's fine!!!! I made something that is immediately perfect!!! When, in reality, we all don't know what we're doing, we're all scrambling to figure it out, and we're all unique individuals unlike anyone else who also need love, support, human connection, and joy in order to make it through this hellscape!! So why are we all acting like everything is fine and perfect all the time?!
If your brain goes into fight or flight mode trying to implement the activity this week, breathe deep, that's normal. You've been told by marketing and sales people to do exactly the opposite. They want you to play the game, manipulate your audience into giving you money. Break ‘em down just to build ‘em back up with your thing. You've been told to never show anyone who you really are because who you really are is wrong. But, baby, they're wrong!! We're here to move the world forward in a better direction, stop this toxic marketing behavior, and get paid all at the same time (it's possible!!!).
One good thing about the creator economy is that people that are loudly their unique selves are prospering haaaard. And the ones doing it in the most refreshing, authentic, real-human way? They’re the ones actually getting the most business. The rest are just TREND-FOLLOWING DRONES who chase whatever’s currently viral and play the game for the sake of a follower count. And I know they aren't fulfilled with themselves, they have no idea who they are, because their identity is lost in what they should be doing, not who they actually are. But that’s not you! You know who you are. And you have something to give the world that no one else can!
So let’s build that community, shall we?
