Saturday Morning Coffee ☕ Edition #24

We made it to the weekend, guys!

Jun 29, 2024

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☕ Happy Saturday, friend!

Have you ever been roped into something you didn’t really want to do, but also secretly kinda did?

That happened to me around Christmas time during my last few years of high school.

Musical season. That bizarre period where a select group of student volunteers suddenly lose all their inhibitions and find themselves flailing about on stage in costume in front of the rest of the school, screeching show tunes at the top of their lungs while the principal barks directions from the wings.

That was me. I got sucked into that. Was I in lederhosen at one point?!

Being part of the musical “chorus” was often pretty cringe, but there were definitely benefits to it.

Teachers who were normally fearsome monsters during the day were suddenly tons of fun. You got to come into school late the day after each evening performance (which was an especially good perk if it helped you miss maths or science class). The girl you fancied might have been in some of the same chorus numbers as you. One of your friends might have been the lead in the show and you’d do your best to distract him at key moments.

It wasn’t bad at all, come to think of it.

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Pull back the curtain

The whole musical experience was a great chance to get a peek behind the curtain, to see how it all worked. When you’re in the audience, you don’t really know for sure. The actors and chorus members just appear on stage and disappear minutes later. You can’t see the orchestra because they’re hidden in shadow. It’s all a bit of a mystery.

Running back through those Christmassy school-time memories got me thinking about what it’s like to be part of an online audience. It’s not a million miles away.

You could look at it this way:

1. Your followers are like passers-by on the street.

They’re not in the building with you just yet.

They can hear the musical numbers coming from inside, but they’re dampened by the walls and doors. They have an idea of what it’s like in there, but only an idea. There’s no way of knowing for sure, beyond the snippets they might pick up.

In internet terms, those snippets could be social media posts, YouTube videos, podcast appearances. Your followers are passing by your building, getting a little taste, and quickly moving on.

2. Then you have your free subscribers.

These are the folks who’ve heard the music, got a little jig in their step, and decided to come inside.

They’ve bought a ticket (given you their email address) and now they’ve got a seat in the auditorium. They’re part of your audience, facing the stage, ready to take in the show.

3. Next, your paid subscribers.

They’ve gone a step further — they’re actually on stage with you. They’ve paid for special access and now, for whatever reason (the analogy goes a little off the rails here) they’ve joined you under the bright lights.

You’re looking them in the eye. You’re teaching them the words of your songs, showing them the moves of your dance routines.

They’re still part of a group of other paid subs, but they’ve chosen to take the leap.

4. Finally, you have your “top tier” member.

You’ve taken this person by the hand and led them to the backstage area. They’re now behind the curtain.

You’re showing them exactly how everything runs: the nitty-gritty aspects of the show no-one else is privy to, the nuts and bolts of the whole thing.

You’re talking to them one-on-one, maybe in a coaching call or as part of a very small group cohort.

These are the folks who’ve paid top dollar for proximity to you and the knowledge you hold. They’re the most eager to learn, and they’ve given you licence to support them directly.

Your top tier subscriber has conveyed their trust in you by putting their money where their mouth is.

What you do with that trust is up to you.

A simple 4-stage system

I’ll always look back fondly on those silly high school musicals. They taught me a lot about my own inhibitions (and how to find your mark on stage when you’re blind as a bat and have to leave your glasses in the changing rooms).

Reflecting back on it right now, it’s also teaching me about how our audiences are structured.

Followers become free subscribers. Free subscribers become paid. Paid subs become one-to-one mentees.

We draw people along each of those stages by providing value, packaged in a memorable, digestible way through story. That’s how we teach. That’s how we help other people.

And it’s how we grow our email list.

Consider what your followers are most likely to pay attention to. Ask yourself what your free subscribers will pay to understand more thoroughly. Use that knowledge to craft the ideal learning setup for your top tier members.

Audience-building is an exercise in patience, iteration and feedback consumption for writers, creators and business owners.

Fortunately, you don’t have to join a high school musical ensemble to understand how it all works!

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