The lies of the many and the influence of the few

Since I started building my online presence and creative business, my ideas have reached millions of people. I’ve worked with some pretty rad brands. And I’ve even made some cash simply by emailing my shower thoughts to strangers on the internet.

This is not a flex, but a reminder. If I did it, you can do it, too.

Unlike many creators who flaunt vanity metrics (which, most of the time, are fake numbers to sell you something), I’m here to let you in on a little secret.

There’s one thing I’ve learned after being in the digital marketplace for almost a year: People will lie and manipulate for a few follows, a couple likes, and a quick buck. I think I knew this intuitively before committing to sharing my ideas online, and it’s part of the reason I hesitated — I didn’t want to have to deceive others for my work to spread. Luckily, I figured it out

Maybe you’re in a similar boat — thinking it’s finally time to hop online and build your brand; maybe you’ve already started but aren’t seeing results; or, if you’re like most people, maybe you just don’t know where to start.

Let me tell you where not to start and what not to do so you can attract the right eyeballs without wasting your time, money, and resources.

The biggest lie floating around the creator space (other than fake vanity metrics) is that to grow online, you must engage with big accounts in your niche — a lot and often. When you comment on a big influencer’s post and “add value,” you expose your ideas to thousands of their followers. The hope is they’ll see your “valuable” comment, engage with it, and, if you’re lucky, give you a follow.

At first glance, the strategy seems pretty solid. It’s sound. Steal other people’s audience.

Makes sense.

However, it took me a while to realize this approach was actually a plot by big influencers to stay big, own the niche, and push small creators out.

Big accounts know exactly what you’re doing when you pose as a sage in their comment section trying to “add value.” They know you’re just using them to get your work in front of their audience, and they don’t care. In fact, they want you to. The more you engage, the more the algorithm pushes their content, helping them grow their audience even more, while you stay stuck where you are — another pawn in their strategy.

When you overestimate the attention of the influential few, it’s easy to underestimate the influence of the many.

The growth strategy above works well for creators with massive followings, but for smaller creators, it overlooks a key insight you must leverage if you want to build a cult-like following: the influence of the average person.

The truth is that everyone is an influencer. Sure, the degree of influence varies, but everyone has influence.

Community isn’t built because a few influencers followed you or commented on your post. Community is built when you see, respect, and appreciate the influence of the average person.

Big accounts can bring awareness to your work. No doubt. But it’s your ability to convert those eyes that determines the fate of your work.

How do you do that?

You stop focusing on trying to get a head nod from big influencers, and instead, you focus on gaining the trust and influence of the average person.

Care about the person with no followers as much as you do about the one with 100,000, and watch your work spread like butter on warm toast.