How to Build an Audience in the Tech Industry

B2B tech companies are addicted to getting you to subscribe to their corporate echo chamber newsletter graveyard, where they dump their latest self-love notes. It's a cesspool of "Look at us!" and "We're pleased to announce..." drivel that suffocates originality and murders interest. Each link, each event recap and each funding announcement is another shovel of dirt on the grave of what could have been engaging content. UNSUBSCRIBE What if, instead of serving up the same old reheated corporate leftovers, your content could slap your audience awake? Ego-stroking company updates are out. 1. The pain point deep dive: Start by mining the deepest anxieties, challenges and questions your audience faces. Use forums, social media, customer feedback and even direct interviews to uncover the raw nerve you're going to press. 2. The unconventional wisdom: Challenge the status quo of your industry. If everyone's zigging, you zag. This could mean debunking widely held beliefs, proposing counterintuitive strategies or sharing insights that only insiders know but don't talk about. Be the mythbuster of your domain. 3. The narrative hook: Every piece of content should tell a story, and every story needs a hook that grabs from the first sentence. Use vivid imagery, compelling questions or startling statements to make it impossible to scroll past. Your opening should be a rabbit hole inviting Alice to jump in. 4. The value payload: This is the core of your content. Each piece should deliver actionable insights, deep dives or transformative information. Give your audience something so valuable that they can't help but use, save and share it. Think tutorials, step-by-step guides or even entertaining content that delivers laughs or awe alongside insight. 5. The personal touch: Inject your personality or brand's voice into every piece. Share personal anecdotes, failures and successes. 6. The engagement spark: End with a call to action that encourages interaction. Ask a provocative question, encourage them to share their own stories or challenge them to apply what they've learned and share the results. Engagement breeds community, and community amplifies your reach. 7. The multi-platform siege: Repurpose your anchor content across platforms. Turn blog posts into podcast episodes, summaries into tweets or LinkedIn posts and key insights into Instagram stories. Each piece of content should work as a squad, covering different fronts but pushing the same message. Without impressive anchor content, you won't have anything worth a lick in your newsletter. 8. The audience dialogue: Engage directly with your audience's feedback. Respond to comments, ask for their input on future topics and even involve them in content creation through surveys or co-creation opportunities. Make your content worth spreading, and watch as your audience does the heavy lifting for you. And please stop with the corporate navel-gazing. #newsletters #b2btech #ThatAshleyAmber

In 4 years, I have: - written over 50 articles. - posted 1000+ LinkedIn updates. - appeared in 80+ podcasts and webinars. If I were to start over, here's my game plan ⬇️ Building an audience is about sharing. Laughing. Meeting. But also selling. Every entrepreneur should start by building their audience. Regardless of the topic. Regardless of the industry. ➡️0) Pick one channel. Content demands consistency. Consistency demands motivation. Motivation demands focus. Start with one platform. Master it. And the other channels (podcasts, webinars, articles) will naturally follow. (Let's use LinkedIn for this example) ➡️1) Set the right environment. In "content creation," there's "creation." And creation needs creativity. Creativity doesn't strike while staring at a computer. It sparks when the mind is free. Free to wander. Two strategies: - Make time for free thinking. - Consume a lot of content. Adapt ideas in your own style. ➡️2) Feed your idea bank. Ideas are fleeting. Within seconds, they can vanish forever. Golden rule for content creators: jot down EVERY idea. ON THE SPOT. Without judgment. To have good ideas, you must have bad ones too. Writing everything down maximizes your chances of hitting gold. A simple note on your phone works. ➡️3) Cultivate your environment. Getting comments is every content creator's dream. It boosts the reach of your content. And you, the scroll-master, have the power. The power to give. Here's the drill: ❤️ If you like the content: like & comment. Whether they are emerging or well-established creators. A simple "Thank you" or emoji will do. Tip: Use humor. The reciprocity principle works wonders: - with content creators, who'd feel "indebted" and more likely to engage with your content - with the algorithm, that'd prioritize showing your content to these creators. 🚫 Not interested in the content? Unfollow and opt "don't show again." ➡️4) Design your strategy as a funnel. Top of the funnel: broad topics, societal issues, storytelling, entertainment. Middle of the funnel: conceptual content, education on your subject, key principles. Bottom of the funnel: actionable items, call to action (another content piece, sign-up) Identify three themes for each level. ➡️5) Abide by QIR. Quality. Interactivity. Regularity. Provide value. Engage with comments. Start small. 1 post a week. Plan ahead. Ramp up once you find your rhythm. ➡️6) Persevere. Iterate. You'll hit bumps. And face setbacks. Identify what content clicks. Double down on it. Repurpose your ideas. It's a marathon. Stay strong. Stay bold. 👽

The “If I build it, they will come” philosophy is the equivalent of throwing spaghetti at the wall. If you take one look at Silicon Valley, you’ll find your proof in the many failed startups. IMO, it’s better to learn lessons from taking action rather than sitting in regret for not taking action. But through my years of scaling my businesses to 7-figures, I’ve learned how to take calculated, intentional, and strategic actions with the full understanding that: 👉🏼 Building it is no guarantee that it will attract an audience. 👉🏼 It’s quite easy to sell to people who: a.) actually have a need or want for what you’re selling. b.) already have a relationship with you or an affinity for your brand. 👉🏼 A good offer can survive misguided marketing, but a bad offer will kill any marketing initiatives, no matter how effective or advanced. 👉🏼 Your most valuable asset as a business owner is your audience + your connection with the humans in it. 👉🏼 The pre-product market fit (pre-PMF) period requires robust market research, testing, and evaluation. Skipping it is like turning a blind eye to the data that could make or break your business. The worst thing for a business? ❌ A cocktail of willful ignorance + insufficient data + an imaginary audience 🍸 “If I build it, they will come” is a FALLACY, friends. However... “If I build and nurture an audience, the money will come” is a much more accurate statement. ✅ If you build your audience before launching your business or product/service, you’ll be able to increase brand authority + loyalty by genuinely connecting with them and creating offers/products based on their specific needs and desires. In turn, this will skyrocket the lifetime value of each client/customer ⇨ making it easier to sell ⇨ which then allows you to cut marketing costs + generate higher profits! ____ 👋🏼 I'm Melissa Henault, Founder & CEO of Burnout to All Out, Online Business Educator, LinkedIn™ Expert, 2X Best-selling Author, and Host of the Burnout to All Out Podcast. ➡️ I've generated 1000s of leads on LinkedIn™ to build and sustain my 7-figure online business. Now, I'm teaching you how to do the same so that you can add commas to your bank account and establish an impactful professional AND personal legacy. Want to see more posts from me? ⤵ ✅ Connect with me 🔔 Ring the bell on my profile 🗞️ Subscribe to The Modern Entrepreneur newsletter

Want to grow an audience and actually make money from it? Here’s what I’ve learned doing both. Not in theory. In public. While shipping. While getting paid. If you’re trying to build a presence or earn your first online dollar, here are 10 lessons I wish I had on day one: 1. Just. Start. Posting. People overthink their audience before they’ve posted a single thing. The content tells you who your audience is, not the other way around. Post a lot. Be terrible. Learn in public. That’s the job. 2. Use content as your feedback engine. Outsourcing content too early is like outsourcing your product idea. Content is how you test, sharpen your POV, and find your voice. 3. Own your intersection. I’m not the best at AI. Or enablement. Or enterprise change. But I’m top 1% at the intersection of all three — plus explaining it clearly to execs and learners alike. That’s my edge. Find yours. 4. Play to your strengths. I love teaching live, not building async courses. So I’m launching The Lampwrights Guild, a cohort for top 1% content creators inside companies. Want in? Sign up for Phil’s Field Notes. Link’s in the comments. 5. Own your channels. Community wasn’t my thing. Broadcasting ideas and chatting 1:1 is. I also hate writing newsletters. So I made Phil’s Field Notes: SMS-first, low-friction, high-signal. 6. You don’t need a big audience. My LinkedIn isn’t huge. But monetization? Incredible. Size is optional. Trust is everything. 7. Ask for the first dollar. Imposter syndrome is real. But most people consume. Few create. Fewer still do it consistently. If you do, people will pay. 8. Be okay doing a lot for free. I take tons of free 1:1s, help with job moves, intros, strategy. The ROI isn’t always money. It’s trust, reach, and reputation. 9. Monetization doesn’t have to look one way. Courses are cool. So are promotions, referrals, new jobs. Content can be a resume. Or a business. Or both. 10. Articulate your path. This might be the most important one. Most people don’t document their process. But that’s the gift. That’s the thing the world needs. Stuff doesn’t get written down just because it’s happening. It gets written down because someone decides it’s worth sharing. Be that person. TLDR Start before you're ready. Own your edge. Give more than you take. Make it yours. Hope this helps ✌️