Hey everyone,

I want to share something a little personal this week. Partly because I think it can help some of you, and partly because it’s something that took me longer to figure out than I'd care to admit.

Most of you know I’m a writer, editor, and coach. What you might not know is that I’m absolutely terrible at self-promotion. I have about 250 Instagram followers, no TikTok account, no podcast, and no YouTube channel. Almost no social media presence whatsoever.

And yet, somehow, I turned a little side hustle into a six-figure business. I walked away from the 9-5 in 2022, and now earn over $20k/month doing work I absolutely love.

I don’t share that to brag. I share it because I’m living proof that you don’t need a massive audience to build something meaningful.

Here’s the thing:

We put far too much weight on attention... likes, follows, views, and not nearly enough weight on trust.

Best-selling author (and marketing guru) Seth Godin mentioned the following on a podcast recently:

“Marketing is telling a true story to people who want to hear it and creating a story that people want to spread… it’s so easy to get addicted to the endless social media hustle. ‘Likes’ doesn’t mean anyone actually likes you. ‘Friends’ doesn’t mean they’re your friend. ‘Followers’ doesn’t mean they’re following you. What you have to do is figure out how to matter.”

He went on to say, “The size of the audience is completely irrelevant… It's possible to get attention without trust, but it’s not worth anything. It’s possible to get trust without attention, that’s worth a tonne."

Both of these statements struck me.

Because every meaningful opportunity I’ve had, whether it’s a new client or collaboration, or a new coaching relationship, came from showing up for people one-on-one. Not broadcasting. Not posting every day. Just helping people, genuinely, with no expectation of anything coming back my way.

Let me give you a recent example.

A few days ago, I commented on someone’s Reddit post. It was nothing special, just me trying to help someone who was clearly struggling. Another Redditor (not the original poster) read that comment and told me later, “I have to talk to him. He’s speaking directly to what I'm going through.”

But then, he accidentally closed the tab. Lost the post. Lost the comment. In his words, he started to panic because he felt like he had just stumbled on what he’d been looking for, and now it was gone.

Thankfully, he remembered he had opened my Reddit bio in another tab and managed to track me down.

He reached out. We hopped on a call. We talked for over an hour, just two people trying to figure out his next step. I never pitched him. I never even mentioned my coaching.

And at the end of the call, he said, “I need to work with you.”

It all started with one genuine comment on the internet.

So here’s my point:

If you want to grow your income, your business, your impact, help people solve real problems, one person at a time. Make their lives a little easier. Show that you care.

Trust scales way faster than attention ever will.

If any of this hit home and you want some help figuring out your own path, let’s hop on a call. (I have a few open spots left over the next couple of weeks). I’d love to hear your story and see where you’re stuck.

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Have a great week!

Colin

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