"Helping people" with content

I know you want to help people.

I do too.

I’m not sure why we are this arrogant, but that’s who we are — we might as well accept it, own it, and get really fucking good at it.

Helping people with content is a noble pursuit. I’m all for it.

But let’s be honest — it doesn’t work well.

There’s only so much we can do with content.

We might be able to educate them. Maybe we can make a more informed person. If we’re really good, we just might be able to open their eyes to a vague, unclarified problem they didn’t even know they had.

That’s cool. Necessary, even.

But for us to really help them — to create real, lasting change — eventually, we’re gonna need to get them onto a phone call, into a room, or onto a retreat.

For most people, that’s too big of a leap to take with someone who they only know from Instagram or TikTok.

Especially when you’re missing the most important piece of this whole “helping people” puzzle:

INFLUENCE.

in·flu·ence : “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something.”

You need to build influence over people if you really want to help them.

Without influence, they won’t do what you tell them to do. They won’t change their behavior.

The things we’re asking people to do are hard. Results aren’t immediate — they take time. People are busy. And distracted. And tired. They don’t believe in themselves enough to keep going — especially when the going gets tough.

If we’re gonna counteract these obstacles, we need to use the strongest means of persuasion in our arsenal: pure, unadulterated influence.

One simple test to find out if you have influence over your social media followers is this:

Ask them to subscribe to your email list.

You probably have one — maybe you even send them an occasional “newsletter.”

But if your list isn’t growing — if your social media followers aren’t signing up — even after posting hundreds or thousands of times over the course of many years — something isn’t adding up.

If they’re unwilling to take that one little step — to click the damn link in your bio, leave Instagram, and find out what else you got — you have no influence over them.

Education and information are great, but they’re not enough.

Influence, babycakes. Get some.