158: Why your audience isn’t growing (even though you’re showing up consistently!)

Are you showing up consistently, posting content and doing all the things but your audience still isn’t growing?

In episode 158 of Online Business Uncovered, I’m breaking down why consistency alone isn’t enough and what’s actually missing when your content isn’t leading to the growth you expected. 

The truth is, you can show up every single day, create content regularly and stay visible but if it’s not part of a clear system, it can quickly turn into noise instead of results. Unfortunately, that’s where so many business owners start to feel frustrated, stuck and unsure of what to do next.

In this episode, I talk about the real reasons your audience might not be growing, including why your content may not be attracting new people, what happens when there’s no clear journey for your audience to follow and why focusing on visibility alone isn’t enough to build sustainable growth.

I also walk you through a simple and practical 4-step audience growth system that you can start implementing right away.

This is about shifting away from just “showing up” and instead building a business that works with intention, supports your growth and allows you to create real momentum over time.

If you’ve been feeling like you are doing everything but getting nowhere then this episode will help you refocus, simplify your approach and start building an audience that actually grows with purpose.

Ready to go deeper?

Join my free masterclass: How to create an online course that sells (without you being there!)

Head to: https://link.sellyourbrillianceonline.com/online-course-webinar

Transcript

Karen [00:00:00]:
Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered. This is episode 158. And in today's episode, I'm talking about something that I see all of the time. Business owners showing up consistently online, but they're still not growing their audience. So let's jump right in and let's get started. Hello and welcome to Online Business Uncovered. This is the show that helps you turn your valuable expertise into digital products, passive income, and, of course, time freedom. I'm your host, Karen, and I really appreciate you hitting the play button to listen to today's episode.

Karen [00:00:41]:
Now, before I jump into today's episode, I want to just start with a question. Have you ever felt like you are doing everything you've been told to do by all the big gurus out there? You're posting regularly, you're showing up on stories, you're trying to be visible, trying to put content out there on a consistent basis, and yet it doesn't matter what you're trying to do, your audience is just not growing. Your engagement feels flat, so you're not really getting that engagement that you were hoping to achieve. And it's all starting to feel really frustrating now. If that's you, please be assured you're not alone. And I think this is one of the frustrating things about being online, is that, you know, this can often be the way I see this so often with the business owners that I work with. And, you know, I've been there, too. There was a point where I was showing up all the time.

Karen [00:01:41]:
I was consistent, I was committed, putting out content every single week, but nothing was really shifting. And I think the reason for that, it wasn't because I wasn't doing enough. It was because I didn't have the right system in place to support me. And I think this is the case for a lot of people. And it's also what I think is the part that people don't really talk about. So consistency on its own doesn't grow an audience. And consistency without direction, it's just going to create more noise. If your content isn't doing a job, it's not leading people somewhere, or it's not part of your bigger picture in terms of what you're trying to achieve, then you can show up every single day and and still not see growth.

Karen [00:02:33]:
And the reason being is because the intention behind it is not there, and the system to support you is not there either. And that's what I want to talk about today. I want to break this down and I want to talk about the key reasons why you might be showing up consistently, but it's not working. You're not getting that audience growth. Now the first reason it could be that your content isn't designed to attract new people. Because I think sometimes we create really great content, but often it is designed for the people that already follow us. So it's, it's nurturing content or it's content that shares insights, but it doesn't actually bring new people in. And I think when you're growing your audience, you need the discovery content.

Karen [00:03:25]:
You know, that content that speaks to the problems that people are actively searching for online and making it really clear and outcomes specific. So that when people come across your content, they're thinking, this is exactly what I need, this is what I'm looking for, this is doing the job and it's answering my questions. I think when you nail that, then your audience will want to stay with you and kind of be a part of your world. Because the content you're then creating is really solving a problem for them. If your content is too broad, too vague, or maybe you're too inside your own world, meaning that you have a certain perspective around what you think people need and it's not quite what new people need, then there can be that disconnection and new people just won't be able to find you. Or if they stumble across you, it won't be enough to convert them. The second reason why you may be struggling to grow your audience is that there is no clear pathway for your audience to follow. So people may be discovering your content, but what happens next? Do they know who you help, what you help with and what to do next? Or are you leaving them hanging? Because if your content isn't connected to a simple journey, then people will naturally drop off because they won't know what that next step is.

Karen [00:05:08]:
They won't know what they need to do next. Now, I speak to sort of clients about this, about growing their email list. And often what I found is that they will have lead magnets, free resources, things like that, where they are attracting people into their world and they'll get the sign up. But after the person has signed up, they're then left with nothing. So what I mean by that is often there won't be a follow up email, there won't be regular emails going out. So when somebody signs up to download something and they come into your email list, the time that you want to start that nurturing process is straight away. And I think one of the biggest mistakes that I see are people kind of trying to grow their email list trying to bring people in, they're building their audience, but that pathway's not there. So they, they've kind of almost done the first bit, which is the hardest bit, bringing people into your world.

Karen [00:06:17]:
But then there's nothing that then goes on afterwards because they, they, they're not sending regular newsletters or they, they haven't got part of a simple journey that helps to nurture those new people coming in into your world. So we need to make sure that we have a clear pathway. So when somebody does find your content and they do what it is that you're asking, whether that's sign up for a piece, a free piece of content, or sign up to a master class, or you know, come on board a workshop, you have the necessary journey in place that they are automatically subscribed to. So that nurturing process starts straight away so you can start building out that relationship. The third reason why you might be struggling to grow your audience is because you're solely focused on visibility, but you haven't developed a growth system. Now, I know it's really easy to sort of fall into that trap of thinking, if I show up more, I'll grow. But growth doesn't come from just being visible. It comes from having a system that supports your visibility.

Karen [00:07:36]:
You know, a way to reach new people, consistently bring them into your world, nurture them over time, and then guide them towards freebies and offers that you may have without constantly having to start from scratch every single time. So often focusing on visibility is just not enough. We have to build out that system so that as soon as people come into our world, we have a system that supports the growth of that audience. And it's not something you can do manually all the time because you're busy with other things. And so we need to have these systems in place to support us so that we can grow. So I want to just briefly touch upon what works instead, so that instead of you just focusing on showing up, being visible, spending more time online, becoming more disillusioned because you're competing in a sea of noise, I would encourage you to start focusing on building a really simple audience growth system. And I want to make this really practical for you because this doesn't need to be complicated or tech heavy. In fact, I would encourage against it because when we solely focus on the tech or making things really complex, that's when the overwhelm starts to creep in and we don't take action.

Karen [00:09:12]:
So we need to keep things as simple as possible. Now, when it comes to building a simple audience, Growth system. Just think of it as a four step flow. That's probably the easiest way to think about it. Number one, you have the discovery where people online are going to find you. So this is really key. You need eyeballs on your content, so you need to be discovered. Step two is about capturing your audience, having something in place where you can capture them so that they, you can bring them into your world.

Karen [00:09:53]:
Step three is about the nurturing process. How can you build a deeper relationship with your audience so you're not just another person online. They come into your world, they get to know you. You're building that know like and trust and you're deepening that relationship with your audience. And then the fourth step is about invitation. So this could be to an offer, it could be to a free masterclass, it could even be to a free resource, doesn't really matter. But the invitation is there because ultimately you want to generate income. So I just want to kind of run through this in a little bit more depth.

Karen [00:10:40]:
So I'm going to start with discovery. So this is your content. So let me walk you through what this actually looks like. So number one, discovery. This is your content. This is where people find you. So think about your reels, your posts, your LinkedIn content, your podcast, your YouTube, whatever content you create. This is the starting point.

Karen [00:11:14]:
But I want to kind of give you this thing to think about. Not all content is created equally. You want to focus on attraction content. So content that is designed to bring new people into your world. So ask yourself, would someone who has never seen you before understand what you're saying? And does this speak to a clear problem or desire that your audience is facing right now? We need to go to where our audience are at. We can't expect them to come to us, so we need to meet them where they are because this is going to be what fuels your growth. So I would encourage you to just take a moment and answer those two questions so that you can get really clear. If you are creating content that is actually going to attract new people into your world, the second step, as I said, is capture.

Karen [00:12:13]:
So this is where you are not losing the people you attract, you're actually bringing them into your world. So this is the step that I think a lot of people skip. When somebody finds you and they consume your content, do they stay with you or do they disappear? Now if they disappear, it may be because they have nowhere to go. So this is where you need some things simple to get. So this is where you need a simple lead magnet, something like A free guide, a checklist, or a short training, something that's going to entice them to take the next step with you. This moves people from just watching and consuming to actually being in your world. Because the truth is, social media is a borrowed space. We do not own it.

Karen [00:13:11]:
The powers that be, they own it. And they determine how the algorithms are going to work and who's going to see your content. And a lot of this is outside of your control. But the one thing that you can control is your email list. So the focus needs to be building that email list, because this is where you can move into the nurturing process. But in order to capture people, you need something for them to sign up to so that they can come into your world. Your email list is going to be the most important asset that your business is going to own, because this is where people are putting their hands up and saying, I'm interested in what it is that you're talking about. What you're.

Karen [00:14:02]:
Because this is going to be where people are going to put their hand up and say, I'm interested in what you're talking about. I'm interested in the way you're talking about it, and I want to find out more. And this is where you can bring them into your world and you can nurture them and guide them to wherever you want them to go. The third step is the nurture process. So this is where you're going to be building that deeper relationship, because this is where trust is ultimately built. Because people rarely follow you today and then buy from you tomorrow. They need to understand what you do, they need to see your approach, and they need to build trust in you so you are that person that they want to go to when they're ready to solve their problem. And this can be through your emails, it could be through your podcast, your YouTube channel, your blog, or it could just be from your content online.

Karen [00:14:58]:
This is where your audience will start to feel as though you understand them. And this is why content plays such an important role in marketing, because it's the one thing that we can create that attracts our audience and brings them into our world. So we can nurture them, we can guide them, we can build that relationship with them. And so it's really worth taking the time and looking at. It's really worth looking at your current process and creating a system that works for you so that you can deliver the content that's going to attract and nurture your audience. And then the fourth and final step is invitation. This is where you then give them that next step. So it's often where a lot of people, I think, hold back, because if you're not comfortable with selling, you may hold back from doing this, but you've already built the connection in the third step, this.

Karen [00:16:08]:
That way you're nurturing them. So this is where you're going to be presenting the next thing that they can do to either learn more from you or to solve their problem. So it could be a webinar, it could be a masterclass, it could be a really low ticket offer, it could even be your membership offer, or it could be a low offer, mini course or something. It doesn't matter really what it is. The key is that you're intentionally moving people forward. And I think once you start to building this system, this is where everything changes. Because now you're not just content, you're not just creating content for, for posting, you're actually creating content as part of a system. You're creating content for intention and purpose.

Karen [00:17:00]:
And then it becomes a system that starts to bring new people in. It keeps people in your world, it builds trust and then it leads them somewhere. And then suddenly, by having this system in place, your audience starts to grow with that purpose. And the best part about this is that you do not need to do any more. This isn't about loading more things on your play. You're already busy, you're already stacked. Probably you're in that space of overwhelm because you're juggling all the things that you need to be doing in your business. So you don't need anything more to do, you just need to start doing things differently.

Karen [00:17:47]:
So if you're currently in that place where you feel like you're doing everything, but it's not really going anywhere, then I want you to ask yourself, where is my system missing? Is it in the discovery stage? Is it in the capture stage? Is it in the nurture stage? Or is it in the invitation stage? Because by identifying what's missing, you can then focus on that as being your next step. Now, if you are looking to build an audience and to bring people into your world so you can present some kind of offer that generates you income, then I would love for you to come to my free masterclass next week called how to create an Online Course of Sales without you being there. It's on Tuesday 21st April at 5pm UK time. Because growing your audience is just one piece of the puzzle. The real shift happens when you have something to lead them to. Because all of a sudden you could be you have this intention, you know what you're selling and you can then be intentional with our system that you're sett up because you know what it's for. And this is something that allows you to turn attention into repeatable income without needing to be on all of the time. So if you are ready to stop feeling like you're doing everything but getting nowhere and start building a business that actually supports you and not the other way around, then do come along to the master class.

Karen [00:19:33]:
If you head over to my website www.sellyourbrillianceonline.com you will see there's a sign up on the website and you can just join for free. It's only going to be 60 minutes. It's very actionable and I have a Q&A at the end, but it's definitely worth you coming along if you are looking at building a system that you can scale and generate income from thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. 

I hope this has given you some clarity and spark. Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope it's given you some clarity and spark. Some new ideas for your business. If you found it helpful, please do share it with a friend or a fellow entrepreneur who's also building their online business because this episode may actually be what they're they're needing today.

Karen [00:20:27]:
And if this episode has you thinking, you know what, I'm ready. Let's do this. I'm ready to start turning my valuable expertise into repeatable income. Then I'd love for you to join me in my membership by visiting www.sellyourbrillianceonline.com/membership. I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a wonderful week.