The Hidden Impact of Social Virality

Author

Sean Mize
August 27, 2024

From Sean Mize:

I’ve had a few down days due to a nasty cold.

Lots of sleeping (ugh), and you know how it is once you are caught up on your sleep but know your body needs it . . . you start sleeping for 20 minutes, then waking for 20 minutes, dreaming vivid dreams, getting ideas, thinking about things, dozing back off.

My personal opinion is that it allows your mind to use the best brain wave states that are hard to get into each day without meditating or managing your nap cycles.

Anyhow - I’ve done a lot of reflecting.

One of the things that’s been bothering me for awhile is how well-meaning, hard-working entrepreneurs who have a great idea, maybe they’ve taken the time and energy to build a course - aren’t having the results they SHOULD have with their course or coaching sales.

And one thing that’s become very clear to me is that it’s a lack of an audience.

I look at the most prolific and profitable writers and speakers online today, you probably follow a few:

  • They are obviously successful.

  • It’s obvious when they open a cohort course, it sells out in a few days, WITHOUT writing tons of scarcity emails.

  • It’s like they are selling their course - or their coaching - effortlessly.

While others - like perhaps yourself - 

Are struggling.

Do you feel the gap?

Do you follow a few people who appear to make money effortlessly?

Assuming you do . . .

Let me ask you this:

What is their social audience status?

  • Do they have 100k followers somewhere (or several places?).

  • Do they have a strong social following?

  • And are they posting regularly to that audience?

My guess is, for 90% of the people you have in mind, that the answer is “yes.”

My guess also is, that for the 10% you don’t know their audience source, they built their audience like I did at ezinearticles, under the radar, and the audience was captured in email (Amy Porterfield is a key example of that).

So now let’s zoom back in on your own business.

You have a course or a coaching program or consulting or a service you offer clients.

It sells when you have interested people.

But because you don’t have many interested people, you feel stressed, you pressure people to buy, and overall it just doesn’t feel good.

What if the answer to your dilemma is simply:

MORE PEOPLE??

That’s right - more people in your social audience?

For example, if you had 100k followers on IG or linkedin or X or wherever . . that liked your content, and built this virtual camaraderie with you . . .

Can you imagine that your stress around selling courses would go away?

You can look at folks like Dan Koe, who sells something like $100k A MONTH in course - JUST from his social links in X.

Or Justin Welsh who sells about $100k a month just in his social links in X and linkedin.

Now, you can argue that you can’t do what they do - because they have a huge following - and that’s not possible for you.

But if that’s the case, then aren’t you still actually arguing that THE REASON they are so successful is their social following?

If you are still with me, maybe some of my logic is convoluted.

Forgive me, my head cold is probably still making me a bit loopy.

But I sure hope you are getting some useful info out of this dissertation 🙂

So then let’s assume that you see it - your BIG GAP is a social audience.

So I’ll tell you instead of using Socratic Questions .  . . .for brevity - 

The biggest reasons people don’t build large social audiences are:

  1. Frankly speaking, it takes TIME - like 90 - 365 days (and most of you [and me!] don’t want to WAIT)

  2. You have to write exciting, sharable STUFF and it’s actually hit or miss (even Justin Welsh will tell you he posts 3 times a day on X then takes his best posts and puts them on linkedin. What does that imply? That some of his posts are not “best”!!)

  3. You HAVE to play the algorithm. If you don’t play the algorithm, X or linkedin or IG or anywhere, won’t spread your content.


    → What’s the KEY to the algorithm?

The KEY to the algorithm is this: likes and shares and comments.


At the end of the day, that signals ALL social platforms that people like your stuff.


Now, what I’ve learned is that the big names that go viral regularly, when they started out they banded together with others and they would make sure that when they posted, everyone else in their “Band” would like and comment and share their post.


SO THAT the algorithms would get the message LOUD AND CLEAR - the very first hour - that this piece of content is SHARE WORTHY.


And when they did that day in and day out, their audiences began to grow like wildfire.

Having said all of this . . . if this is clear to you:

I believe a few things:

  • If you want to grow to where you are making regular sales and you aren’t twisting arms to make them you need a robust social following.

  • You CANNOT do it without getting likes and shares consistently.

  • You CANNOT do it without regular posting.

I therefore conclude:

If you want to change your life - radically - especially in the “income” area (I can’t help your marriage or your relationships, I don’t have mine figured out):

  • You MUST commit to 90 days of prolific posting

  • You must BAND TOGETHER with 10- 15 people who are COMMITTED to supporting you as you support them

  • You MUST become a student - for the 90 days - of what works and what doesn’t for YOUR audience.

I firmly believe if you did those 3 things, your life would be irrevocably changed by the power of your audience.

Imagine how your life and business would be different if you had 100k relevant followers?

Since originally writing this article, I wrote this to my private list and am copying it here because I believe it’s super relevant and spot on:

Automated course sales are the mythical "pot at the end of the rainbow" online, and few ever achieve it.

But some do every single month: Dan Koe, Justin Welsh, Maria Wendt, Mariah Coz, Codie Sanchez, and I could go on and on.

So why can they do it every single month like clockwork . . . and 99% never achieve the first sale?

It's not accidental.

They have partnered together in a social system that allows them to post their course links in social and people just buy.

But that social system is pretty much a locked-down moat against new entrants coming in by themselves to try to force themselves in.

It's only possible as a team.

I am putting together a super streamlined "orchestra" of clients who will band together to "storm the moat" and enter the vaunted Castle of Automated Sales From Social.

By the way, when you are ready for more help, here are a few ways I can help:

  1. I’m building a VIP - level highly exclusive “Band” to get each “Member” to 100k followers by Christmas . . . I’ve posted the details here:

    Band Together to “Storm the Moat” and Get Automated Course Sales

  2. My entire Newsletter Strategy Mapped Out, A-Z:


I hope this edition of the Sean Mize newsletter has been especially thought - provoking and helpful!

==> Imagine how your life and business would be different if you had 100k relevant followers?

— Sean Mize