I've been a content creator / digital marketer since I left the Army circa 2013.
Since then, I've tested a LOT of things.
Some worked:
- I've written and published my own books
- Launched my own infoproducts
- Published other people's books
- Created and sold my own ecourse
- Consulted on and launched 30 new products
- Generated more than $1million in sales
- Built email lists of 100,000+
And many didn't.
In this time, I've learned many important lessons.
None more important than this:
When you cut through it all, there are only two ways to get early adoption to a new product, service, or brand. You must either:
- Build an audience
- Get featured in front of Other People's Audiences (OPA)
That's it.
Simple, right?
Option 1: Build an Audience
I've written about how to build an audience before.
This option takes time and investment. And it's worth it.
But what if you don't have an audience, or you want to grow beyond your existing audience?
That's where option 2 comes in:
Option 2: Get featured in front of Other People's Audiences (OPA)
The second option is to get featured in front of Other People's Audiences, or what I call "The OPA Method."
The OPA Method also takes time and investment. The payoff is that you can
There are several ways to access Other People's Audiences...
The OPA Method: How to Get In Front of Other People's Audiences
In no particular order, here they are:
1. Pay
There are many ways to get featured in front of other peoples audiences for a fee. Some examples include paid product placement and paid sponsorships.
Many larger brands choose to go this route.
It's the most scalable; the easiest to 'turn on'...but also comes at a steeper upfront cost. I would only recommend this for proven offers (or set a budget for a new product or launch and make sure you have good tracking in place with the intention to analyze your results and make adjustments).
2. Compensate (affiliate / commission)
This is more like a subset of 'pay' but a different approach and strategy. Instead of paying up front, you pay a commission (or compensate in some other way). This only works if you have a product and an affiliate program. If you don't have an affiilate program, reach out and I can help you set one up.
3. Barter
Do you already have an audience? Tons of people with online platforms do email swaps with one another, which can help get your content in front of a new audience (and the person you're swapping with, it gets them a new audience as well).
This is especially effective for affiliate and joint venture webinars and workshops. This is the fastest, cheapest way to get access to Other People's Audiences, but it also means you HAVE an audience (or something) to trade/barter/swap.
Of course, if you are starting 100% from scratch, the next option might be up your alley...
4. Bring people together
“You Can Have Everything In Life You Want, If You Will Just Help Enough Other People Get What They Want.” - Zig Ziglar
I love that quote. And one of the best ways to get featured in front of Other People's Audiences is by helping them get what they want.
A lot of brands are willing to collaborate if it means extra exposure, leads, etc.
That's where your creative hustle comes in.
Lots of ways to do this.
One way would be by co-creating an event or experience. By bringing together many audiences, you can create a rising tide for all participants...
What I'm proposing here is what Seth Godin calls the "impressario."
It works.
I co-hosted The Authority Super Summit and brought together 100 speakers in business, marketing, self-development, and more. I also brought together sponsors and resources, and I tied it all together into a memorable event, with rave reviews from event attendees and the speakers themselves.
What was so interesting about this experience is that by hosting the event, my cohost and I became authorities in our own right. We were the ones with the connections, sharing the best strategies, and the center of the show, sort to speak. We were therefore at the center of the culture, the community, etc. that we established.
This is a powerful position to be in.
The best part -- it's win, win, win.
The audience wins, the brand wins, and you can win too.
Next Steps to Apply the OPA Method
There are more "tactics" we could go into around the OPA Method. That's why I wrote this book, and I share more in my newsletter (definitely subscribe if you like the juicy insider stuff).
Leave a comment if you have used the OPA Method and what were your results, or if you have any questions.