My take on building an audience online
It's a series of systems...
This email/post is a TLDR of over 100 hours of research…
What you need to know
I have been pouring my time into Google’s digital marketing certificates and planning my new YouTube content…
The education I’m using;
If you want to build an audience, this Google Digital Marketing course is essential. As I complete the modules, I’m realizing just how important this knowledge is.
It’s on Coursera.
Building the team
As you know, I can’t get a job. Nobody will hire me. So I’m in this alone. Luckily, with AI, you can create a team without humans.
When I get around to it, I'll post the prompts I use to build myself an artificial team. I recommend just playing around with GPT and Deepseek*.
I use it so much that there’s probably a sweaty power plant just handling my prompts. Woopsie.
Anyway, my point is—you will need help. AI is good. Humans are better.
*Just a sidenote:
The answers might be referencing a wiki. Or worse, Reddit.
They might be from a well-researched paper.
Not all information is equal.
SYSTEMS
I do believe that people write online to help others in some way. At best, it’s egoistic altruism:
You want people to see your stuff. You need a plan, a set of systems. If I’m wrong, then why not just write in an offline journal or on an iPad?
Anyway, I digress.
Everyone uses systems:
Every influencer you watch
Your favorite Substack writers
Google teaches various popular strategies, and it opened my eyes to my content. The lack of systems meant I couldn’t grow. There was no strategy.
My “META” strategy
META: Most Effective Tactic Available
This is my plan right now. Next week, I'll flesh it out more, but this is where I’m at:
First, find your platform
I have to say, Google’s course was amazing for explaining this:
Awareness → Video
Maximize clicks → Image
Maximize conversions → Image
Maximize engagement → Video
Combine the above with the following:
Instagram is great for static images/short videos
YouTube is great for long-form video content
Pinterest is for pictures
I’ll add that static images can also mean words.
I’m choosing:
✅ Instagram
✅ YouTube
✅ Substack
✅ Pinterest
I’m going to experiment with different ways to make money.
I will say now—this newsletter will always be an honest account of what I’m up to. I will only recommend stuff I’m using or have paid for. I have no money, so it will most likely be free!
Second - You dig.
Like a sweaty dude prospecting for gold in a river, you need to find what people want to read.
There are so many ways to do this:
I plan to write short-form content on Twitter or Instagram and post pictures of text.
I plan to master affiliate marketing on Pinterest using pictures.
Because this content is quick and easy to make, it’s like sieving different parts of the lake to see if there’s any gold.
If you hate my analogy (sorry), think of this as throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. Or, more professionally, the Awareness stage.
My “eternal” topic is wealth, so my content will be in that evergreen niche (see my previous post for context on why this topic).
Third - Dig the quarry
I don’t know why i’m using this digging analogy but fuck it, i’m going with it.
If I struck gold with something popular, I'll expand on it.
Here is what I’m thinking;
if a picture on Pinterest or short-form content does well, I'll expand on it with future content. This future content can be a YouTube video. It could be a Pinterest account dedicated to that “product niche” in the image.
You get the idea.
Fourth - Get out of the hole
Once you get the gold, you find another hole to dig. Rinse and repeat. (I’m too proud of that pun—somebody is rinsing dirt in a river for gold, right? I’m such a melon.)
Once you have enough gold, it’s time to sell. The gold represents the product in this analogy.
The product could be (just examples in my head):
If I’ve mastered affiliate marketing on Pinterest, that’s a course I can create and sell online.
If I become popular on YouTube/Instagram through videos, this could be a book or sponsorship.
I’ve been thinking about a diet planner and gym planner because all the ones I’ve tried suck right now… they follow my concept of strategies and planning, anyway.
This is the cycle of my content plan so far!
Final thoughts
Writing my thoughts here feels like therapy. It kinda feels wrong to hide stuff behind a paywall, so the paid subscription is there only if you want to support my content or find it useful!
When I reread this, I think this post/email comes across messy. I left it that way because that’s where my head is at right now—just swimming with ideas. Next week, I'll refine them.
Here’s to us finding all the gold nuggets! Some of you have really good content and should be paid for it, after all.