MODULE 4

Growing Your Audience Strategically

The Boy Who Kept Writing into the Void

Emeka was a passionate Nigerian writer who ran a blog for two years. He wrote weekly. He poured
his heart out. He promoted on WhatsApp, Instagram, even Facebook groups. Yet his blog posts rarely
got more than 20 views — and most of them were from his close friends and family.

At one point, he considered giving up.

But instead of quitting, Emeka did something different. He paused. He reached out to a few of his
loyal readers and asked:

“Why do you read my blog?”

“What keeps you coming back?”
“What problems do you face that my writing helps solve?”

What he discovered changed everything.

It turns out, most of his readers were young, faith-driven professionals struggling with purpose,
comparison, and low confidence. They didn’t want random writing prompts — they wanted
guidance, perspective, and clarity. Emeka began tailoring his content directly to them — using their
language, answering their questions, and showing up consistently.

Fast forward 1 year: His email list crossed 2,000 subscribers. His blog now gets over 10,000 monthly
readers. And just last month, he launched his first digital course on “Clarity for the Christian
Creative.”

Moral of the story? Emeka wasn’t failing.

He just wasn’t speaking their language yet.

“Don’t build a castle in the clouds. Build a campfire and invite people to sit with you.” —
Bernadette Jiwa

 Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Let’s start with a truth that’s often ignored:

You don’t need millions of followers. You just need the right ones.

If 500 engaged readers would buy every book you write, listen to every podcast you release, and
support your creative career — you’re not a small brand. You’re a powerful one.

Audience growth isn’t about chasing trends or going viral. It’s about resonance and relationships.

You need to shift from creating for your audience to creating with your audience.
It’s one thing to write. It’s another thing to be heard. You can pour out your soul into every sentence,
but if it’s not reaching the right hearts, the right ears, or the right minds — it’s like throwing seeds on
concrete. Knowing your audience is not about boxing yourself into a niche — it’s about becoming
intentional. The better you know the people you’re writing for, the more likely your words will matter
to them. And in a world of noise, impact comes from precision, not just passion.

 Understand Your Ideal Reader

If you try to speak to everyone, you will speak to no one. The more specifically you know who you’re
writing for, the more deeply you’ll connect. So briefly let us discuss some steps you need to take to
get to your ideal readers:

Create an Audience Profile:

 What keeps them up at night?  What content are they already

consuming?
 What do they dream of creating or
becoming?  Where do they hang out online?

Give them a name. Visualize them when you write. Speak to one, and you’ll reach many.

 Go Where They Already Are

You need to go where your audience are in order to help them experience what you have in store for
them. So, where are your people located? Your audience isn’t waiting for you to build a website. You
can find them in places like

 Facebook groups  YouTube comments  Writing

communities
 Reddit threads  Twitter/X
conversations

When you locate your audience, do not join the trend on social media. Ensure you are as realistic as
possible. Your aim is to serve not to sell. Many writers make the mistake of wanting to sell when they
are not willing to serve.

If you wish to a great writer, then you must be willing to serve at all times; much more than you are
willing to sell. Learn Ask questions, find out about your audience, offer insights, celebrate them. Be a
contributor, not a promoter.

"People hate being sold to, but they love being seen." — Alex Hormozi

The Rule of Generosity states that Growth is a side effect of service. For instance, if you help 10
people solve a problem, they’ll tell others. If you write something that helps someone, feel seen,
they’ll share it with others who may be facing something similar.

As a writer, you need to be generous with your knowledge, stories, encouragement, and time. There
are certain elements that you could share in your writing, such as:

 Behind-the-scenes lessons  Free tools or templates

 Mistakes you’ve made (and what you  Book or podcast recommendations

learned)

Your growth as a writer is directly proportional to your impact. So if you are impacting lives through
your writing, then it can be said that you are experiencing growth.
One of the things that fuel your growth is how well your content reflects what your audience care
about. You need to create content that sparks conversation, invites participation, and is relatable to
your audience. Now, none of these would be possible if you are writing to the wrong audience; now
do you see why you need to find the right audience? Yeah. You really don’t want to write for people
who are unable to resonate with you and vice versa.

Your best content is a mirror, not a megaphone.

 Why Audience Clarity Matters in Personal Branding

Branding is connection. And connection happens when people feel like you see them. When they
scroll past hundreds of posts, but pause on yours — because your words make them feel heard,
helped, or even healed.

Without audience clarity your message feels scattered, your engagement stays low, your content
lacks consistency and your brand doesn’t grow. No one wants to experience these

With audience clarity you attract aligned readers, your message feels magnetic, you show up with
more purpose and your writing starts to work. These are all wonderful experiences, aren’t they?

 The 3-Layered Audience Model

Here we have an audience model that will help you categorize your audience and help you build.

Layer Description Examples

Core Audience The exact people your content “Christian female fiction
is designed for writers in their 20s struggling
with self-doubt”
Supportive Audience People who enjoy your content “Other writers, creatives, or
even if it’s not exactly for them readers who value storytelling”

Bystander Audience People who stumble on your “Random browsers, curious

content occasionally readers, people who share
once in a while”
Now remember you’re not ignoring the wider audience — but you’re building with your core in
mind. These are your people.

 Practical Strategies to Attract and Nurture Your Audience

Write in their language: Learn to speak how they speak. Drop the high grammar when needed and
speak heart-to-heart. When you speak their language, you will grab their attention not just one time,
but every time you show up. If your audience is Gen Z, then you need to speak their language to
establish effective connection with them. The Gen Z’s love excitement and engagement.

Address their real pain points: Don’t just inspire — solve. Your content should not just address the
problem; it must also present possible solutions to help address the issue. If they’re struggling with
time management, write about that. If they’re stuck in fear, meet them there.

Use content categories that serve them: For instance, “Writing tips for overwhelmed creatives,”
“Storytelling for healing,” “Faith-based creativity hacks”
  The Power of Effective Collaboration

You must have heard this popular saying “No man is an island”. Growth for writers doesn’t happen in
isolation; growth happens in practice. So as a content creator, try tagging another writer to your
posts. In this way, you grow while helping others grow and gain more visibility. You could also
organize guest blogs, guest interviews, live sessions with fellow writers etc

Writing is a thriving and vibrant ecosystem, and just like every ecosystem the same principle of
growth applies – “together”.

There’s a popular proverb that says “If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.” — African proverb TIP BOX
“The writer’s job is not to be
heard — it is to listen so
 Case Study: Nikita Gill deeply to their audience that
Nikita built a massive poetry following by consistently sharing short, when they write, it feels like
powerful verses on Instagram and Tumblr. the reader wrote it
themselves.”
She didn’t follow the rules. She wrote for herself — and her specific — Unknown
readers: sensitive, introspective people healing from heartbreak and trauma.

Her audience came not just for her poems, but for her presence. She replied to comments. She
shared others’ work. She showed up.

The moment you know who you’re writing for, everything else starts to make sense. Your tone, your
stories, your strategy — it all flows naturally. You stop yelling into the void. You start speaking to
souls.

Don’t just write what you love.

Write what they need — in a voice that only you can use.

Your tribe is waiting. Go find them — and serve them

PRACTICAL APPLICATION SESSION

 Prompt: Define Your Ideal Reader Avatar

Answer these questions:

1. What kind of people do I want my writing to help or inspire?

2. What life stage or season are they in?

3. What problems, passions, or questions do they wrestle with?

4. What kind of language do they use — formal, slangy, playful, poetic?

5. Where do they spend time online — blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram?

6. What would they Google if they were looking for help I can offer?
Exercise: Connect with 5 Readers This Week

 Reply to comments

 DM someone who shared your work

 Ask an open question in your Stories or post

 Start a poll

 Offer to help someone for free

Assignment: Audit Your Growth Channels

 Where is your audience actually engaging with you?

 What kind of content brings the most response?

 Are you spending time where it counts?

Double down on what works. Let go of what doesn’t.