Listbuilding In Public
It’s because of the audience reaction to the topic.
Seriously!
The audience is part of something, which is exclusive.
If they’re all interested and engaged in the same topic, collectively, and can rub elbows with others that are like minded then that’s affinity.
And, when there is a tinge of uncertainty about how you feel about a matter until you can get some feedback that helps you determine how you “should” feel about something then that’s about taking a position and strengthening a resolve.
Exclusivity is such a powerful influence trigger because people hate missing out on stuff. They never want to be on the outside of “important” stuff.
When there is conferred value on being part of a thing, then all of a sudden it becomes important (whether you admit to it or not).
Think of celebrities...they matter to someone so therefore, whether you follow or fawn over that celebrity yourself, means little when there is a bigger group that does. That larger fan base gives that celebrity exclusive value, power and respect. There is a halo effect that automatically transfers that value to folks around them, fans or not.
When you can make your place the place to be MOST people generally want to be in even if there really isn’t anything exciting going on in there (ever been to a VIP section of a club? WTF….boring!).
Most folks want to be part of a group that’s interested in talking about and engaging in conversation with like minded folks that are also interested in talking about and engaging in that same topic. That’s pretty much what an affinity group is.
They want to be around others that are sorta kinda like themselves and starting with same topics of interest is an easy commonality to start with. It’s a community based on similar interests and, perhaps, ideals.
People want others to “get them.”
Even when they’re not sure about how they feel about something, it’s nice to know they can glean some insight as to how they “should” feel about something by deferring to the collective body, that is the audience inclusive within the affinity group. That’s why you want to be seen inside as part of that audience.
You know, we all wrestle with uncertainty to some degree or another with respect to how we might feel about a subject matter.
When we can get validation by consensus, it helps us strengthen our resolve about the way we feel about something. And, yes, it can change, but right now this is how we feel about something (we think) and it feels good to know others feel the same way.
These are the opinions of peers.
Opinions of people like us.
The opinions of people that matter to us.
The only opinions that count.
When the audience can see itself, like in a studio audience, all of these things are happening on a meta level.
The responses happen in a nano instant, and the feedback is instantaneous. The validation, the reaction, the feelings...it all happens quickly.
Why do we stay and watch? Because it’s what we’re interested in. We’re entertained (or else we wouldn’t stay and watch).
We get our dopamine fix whenever we’re entertained. That’s that feel good feeling.
For whatever reason, it’s powerful.
If you learn how to wield it, you can have influential powers like you’ve never imagined.
That’s why online groups, forums, and social commentary is so powerful.
These are the virtual ways to replicate that live studio audience feel but online.
That’s how you start your own...start with an online group.
Hell start a local group.
Start talking about stuff you like to chat about and invite others to chat about it with you, inside your exclusive place. Whether that’s your group or your members area or on your channel.
Start up your audience and make sure it can see itself.
So, start working on your audience, the one that can see itself and you’ll have built something that will serve you well via the power of exclusivity, affinity and they’ll even start adopting your opinion (of course, once they start seeing everybody else do it).
The ones who won’t, well...they don’t get to stay inside...we, as hosts trying to keep the riff raff out, we ask those folks to leave.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree?
Regards,
Los
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