I got a story for ya today that can not only help you find better clients, but can also prevent you from accidentally devouring your business.
Bold claim, I know.
But checky:
A couple of months ago, Peanut and I came across a TikTok influencer/homesteader and who has mayhap the best trained dog either of us have ever laid eyes on, named Minion.
Minion helps with chores around the homestead.
Chases off birds in the sky to protect the ducks and other animals living at the homestead.
Hops onto an exercise ball and can not only balance, but can also move while he’s still on the exercise ball.
He’s a good boy, long story short.
Anywho:
Besides Minion-esque videos, the TikToker influencer also makes videos about homesteading, has created a few ecommerce ways for his followers to support the homestead, yada yada yada.
But he posted a video the other day that caught my attention even more than Minion moving across the room while balancing on an exercise ball.
Someone posed him the question about what he would do if his social media stopped working.
Before homesteading and TikToking, this influencer was a contractor. And even though he left to become a full-time homesteader, he never imagined social media would have such a large role in his business. He has a million followers on YouTube… and I’m not sure how many he has on TikTok since I refuse to download the app.
Long story short, his social media channels drive a lot of revenue for his brand and his homestead.
Which means…
If his social media went kaput one day—whether from him getting canceled, his old-ish dog passing away (who is the real star of the show, especially when it comes to expanding his audience—everyone loves cute dog videos), TikTok being banned, TikTok or YouTube banning him for being too much of a steward of freedom, or anything else under the sun that could potentially happen to a social media channel—then so does a mighty chunk of homestead’s revenue.
In fact, he’d probably even have to resort to contracting again instead of working on fortifying his homestead.
That’s why I reached out after checking his website. While he had some strong signals on his site (and a hefty customer list considering how little he promotes his site on social media), there were a ton of obvious gaps in his brand.
Y’see, I talk to a lot of ecom companies who have the exact opposite problem:
They started an ecom brand first then tried to become a social media influencer (and they usually fail when they start like this because their social media videos turn into corporate shill pieces, even if they have a tiny startup ecom brand). They have a beautifully designed website. They’ve bought Klaviyo and have forms set up. They even have lackluster lead magnets. But they have no visitors, let alone customers.
This guy is in the complete opposite situation:
He has a large and loyal fan base and a few customers, but he doesn't have any of the spices set up. But he has the MEAT.
And so, I reached out to him, recorded a short Loom video explaining how I could help, and the rest, as they say, is history.
We’re booked for a meeting in a couple of weeks.
Just goes to show what an ounce of creativity and forward-thinking can do for you when you try a rifle approach to lead gen instead of just a shotgun approach.
I don’t know if he’ll become a client. But if he’s as qualified as I believe him to be, we’ll be working together sooner rather than later.
Which reminds me:
If you’re in a similar situation where you have a lot of social media followers (that you don’t own) and want to set up some email marketing infrastructure (that you do own), hit reply and let’s chat before my client roster fills up again.
John
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