10 Things to Try in Your Business (BEFORE You have an Audience!)

Putting yourself out there in business can be intimidating. Especially if you are an introvert, (like me!) To take away some of that intimidation, you’ll definitely want to think about these 10 things to try in your business (BEFORE you have an audience!)

Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you buy from my link I might make a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay. See the full affiliate disclosure here.

At the beginning, it can seem incredibly frustrating to NOT have an audience yet.

When you have 10 followers on Facebook (and 2 of them are your parents….). When you are only getting a few page views on your website per month. When your email list growth is incredibly slow.

Of course, you WANT to build that up fast, so that you can start to see the success…. and the money!

BUT – what if we flipped that whole idea on its head?

What if we considered the amazing OPPORTUNITIES you have when you have almost no audience??

Think about it. This is the time, right now, when you can give anything a try.

All of those live videos you’ve been intimidated by? Give it a shot (no one’s watching yet anyway!) You can just BOLDY dive in and try anything now. Think of those things that might seem much scarier trying later for the first time, (when you will have a much larger audience!)

I’m sure there are many people out there that aren’t afraid to try something for the first time in front of a crowd, but I am NOT one of them. No sir.

Want me to talk in front of a group? I’ll need to prepare first.

Want me to play a piano solo? I’ll need the sheet music ahead of time.

Want me to be in a video? I’ll need to comb my hair first.

Just sayin’. I’m a preparer.

And if you are too, this time period where your following is small is YOUR MOMENT to PREPARE.

Don’t wait.

Protip: Make a plan to try each of these things at least ONCE as soon as possible in your business. My favorite tool for making things happen is this planner right here. The Living Well Planner lets you set monthly goals as well as a daily plan to make stretch-goals like these happen!

Here are 10 Things to Try in Your Business (BEFORE you have an audience!)

#1. Post photos of yourself.

Put some photos up on your website and your social media of your actual self. It can be easy to hide behind your company logo, use stock photos, or photos of all of the good your business is doing. Those can be great, and have their place!

But people want to be doing business with an actual person. Your growing audience will need to get to know YOU. So start putting yourself out there now, and practice posting photos of yourself.

#2. Do lives regularly.

Live videos are a crucial part of a business’s social media strategy these days. And, admittedly, going live can feel very intimidating! If you are not used to being on live camera talking to an audience, this is something that is worth practicing now.

Since your audience is small, you will likely not get a lot of comments and interaction. But remember, that’s not necessarily the main point right now. You get the blessing of fumbling over your words and plan when there’s not a large crowd watching. (This doesn’t just happen to me, right??) And by the time you DO have an audience watching, you’ll be an old pro.

#3. Give Instagram live a try.

Any form of live video can give business owners the heebie-jeebies at first! This is another one, where you just need to kick yourself out of the nest. Try it once, and see how it goes!

When Instagram live becomes a large part of your social media strategy, you can have the confidence of knowing that you’ve certainly done it before, and can do it again.

Would you like to get more comments on your social media posts…. with LESS WORK from you? Grab the 100 Questions Graphics Pack! These 100 graphics come ready to post as-is, and also as customizable templates. Head here to download.

#4. Write blog posts.

If a blog is a part of your business plan, get writing! Even if you don’t have a following, or readers or anything. The point here is to practice writing. Practice getting in the routine and writing things that you hope will resonate with the audience you will have one day.

If it’s your first experience with writing, you may be stumbling through the process. That’s ok! The only way to get better is by writing.

Need some tips? Head to: 10 Tips for Writing a Blog Post (that people want to read!)

#5. Fill out your “About Me” sections.

On your website, and on any relevant social media pages, write a great, personal About Me section. Sure, you may want to include the stuff that makes you qualified for your position. But what people really want to read is the personal stuff!

Give your (future) readers something to grasp onto. Show them your unique personality in these sections!

Chances are, that these sections of your website and social media can actually help you gain the exact followers that you want. You WANT them to be attracted to your unique take on your business.

And you can only accomplish that by getting personal.

…Which bring us to #6….

#6. Create personal social media posts.

Yes, on your business page.

The entire point of a business being on social media is to CONNECT with your audience. Even though you haven’t built a large audience at this point, you can still practice connecting!

Put up posts now and then about yourself and your real, actual life. Share your goals, your hopes, or what inspires you.

In the long run, including these types of posts regularly are what will connect your audience with you and your business.

Practice putting these posts up now (and work through the insecurities of doing it before you have a following!)

#7. Comment on other social media pages.

Let people start to see that you are a business that pays attention. You are actually ON social media, just ready to connect with people.

Don’t just scroll through your home feed. Comment on posts as your business and get some conversation going.

#8. Send regular emails to your email list.

One of the beauties of an email list is that NO ONE knows how many people are on it! When you get an email from a business, you have NO IDEA if there were 10,000 people that got this email, or if it was just you.

Even if your list is ridiculously small, email regularly.

Emailing people can be intimidating at first. You will most definitely want the practice of writing emails and sending them out. Start now, when your list is small. You will be glad you got in the practice later on!

#9. Post regularly to Instagram and Facebook stories.

If you are using these for the first time, it can feel a little goofy. There are simply things to figure out, and some confidence that needs to be built. And, unfortunately, this isn’t one you can practice “offline” in some way. You simply have to learn by doing it!

Try them out when your audience is small! That way if you are a fellow “preparer,” you’ll be ready and practiced up when your following is huge.

Related Posts:
The Complete Guide to Instagram Stories

#10. Try selling on your pages.

Don’t wait until you have a massive following to try selling to your audience for the first time!

First of all, your people need to be brought up and understand that you are a business, and you WILL sell your products from time to time. If you give your audience a regular dose of this fact, then they won’t mind at all when you do.

Also, selling can feel intimidating! This is another time when you get the blessing of practicing your sales pitches in front of a small crowd. Sure, you may not have a massive number of sales. But you will have gained some experience and confidence, that’s worth A LOT!

When your following is small, you have a (hopefully brief!) window of time where you get to PRACTICE all of those big, scary things in your business. Make a list of all of these, blow through them all, and take any fear out of them!