The Four Levels of Online Business Success
How to Navigate from Niche to Followers
There are four levels of business success.
You must start on level one and build up to the higher-order levels.
You cannot skip a level. Success demands that you master successive levels until you reach the final level.
Disciplined and consistent action will reward you with loyal followers.
These are the 4 levels:
Level 1: Niche
This is the market segment you select as your target.
Be clear on the ideal client. Understand their wants, preferences, needs, and desires.
This is where you start.
Be clear on your niche and the rest will be easier.
Level 2: Community
Engage with and build a community of like-minded creators.
Focus on those with the same business model (agencies, freelancers, digital marketers).
Research your market niche and study the methods of successful people in this area.
What are they teaching? What are their methods, their disciplines, and their approaches?
What common threads do you see, and what works?
Level 3: Following
Follow a few peers in your community who are ahead of you.
Learn from them, apply their knowledge, and create your own assets.
They inspire you and hold you accountable.
Find insights from the ones that resonate with you.
Subscribe to their emails, buy their products and courses, and use them as coaches.
This will speed up your growth if you can afford them.
Respond to their posts and send them direct messages to engage on a personal level.
Level 4: Followers
Finally, those who find value in your content will start to follow you.
They appreciate the content because it resonates with them, and they feel compelled to follow you.
They are expecting more of the same when you post again.
This is where you want to grow your tribe and nurture them like you would nurture plants.
It starts with consistently creating content and posting it on your favourite platforms.
Underpinning these four levels of business is the creation of content in your niche.
Adapt and adjust your content based on your analysis of the market in which you operate.
Follow and learn from the leaders in your niche to build your unique brand. Your brand will then allow you to cultivate your followers.
Content Creation
You create content based on your skills and what you have learned along your journey.
Your target audience is those that are two to three steps behind you.
Help them to fast-track their journey by teaching them what you know.
Ensure that people find value in what you create.
Use analytics to decide which content you should focus on.
The purpose of the content will dictate the appropriate type of platform you should use.
Content Form and Distribution.
Short-form content
You start by posting short-form content on social media every day.
These are short snippets of insights that you compile and think about. Provide value to your audience.
It becomes a testing ground for what resonates with your audience.
Your plan here is to inform, inspire, and entertain.
Occasionally, you can present an offer, especially after you presented a helpful guide.
Long-form content
Write long-form content like blog posts on your website or publishing platforms.
I chose to publish this article on Medium. Another popular platform is Substack.
Do this at least weekly and ideally a few times every day of the week, if you can.
Short-form content with high engagement rates should inform long-form content ideas.
This shows up in the data as likes, shares, and comments. The platform will show traction by the number of post impressions and views.
Newsletter
You want your followers to follow you away from the social media platforms and onto your email list.
The way to do that is to offer them something of value in exchange for their email address.
Then, continue to provide value to get them to stay loyal fans by consistently offering value.
The newsletter is an opportunity to link them to your website and present them with offers.
Content Engagement
The only way to grow your followers is to engage with them daily.
Respond to posts, repost, like, and comment on them.
Make your comments thoughtful, not simply, “I agree” or “yes”.
