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January 24, 2025 • 14 mins

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Uncovering Your Hidden Network: The Power of a Potential Audience Audit

In this episode, we explore the often-overlooked power of utilizing your existing network to kick-start your project or business venture. Drawing inspiration from J.K. Rowling's early days before she became famous with Harry Potter, we emphasize the significance of a small but supportive network. The episode introduces a methodology called the Potential Audience Audit to help you identify and leverage the hidden reach within your social media contacts, email lists, and personal connections. Through step-by-step guidance, you'll learn how to conduct an in-depth audit to discover your true audience potential, validate your offerings, and build momentum without the need for a massive following.

00:00 Introduction: The Power of a Small Network
02:15 The Audience Myth: Debunking the Need for a Huge Following
03:25 Untapped Potential: Discovering Your Hidden Audience
05:19 Conducting Your Potential Audience Audit: Step-by-Step Guide
09:18 Putting Your Audit into Action: Leveraging Your Network
12:56 Key Takeaways: Maximizing Your Audience Potential

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello and welcome to the market.

(00:01):
Your message show.
I'm your host, JonathanMilligan.
And we are going through thethird book in the series.
Validate your offer.
This is an important bookbecause a lot of people will
start their business online.
And then they're trying tofigure out how do I create

(00:21):
something that people will wantand how do I do it without
wasting time?
And that's what this third bookin my book series is all about.
Now as a thank you for being aloyal podcast listener, I am
making the audio book availableone chapter at a time every
single week.
And as you're listening to this,we are currently going through

(00:43):
that.
Validate your offer.
Now, if you ever want the audiobook or you want the book or the
workbook, you can go to platformgrowth, books.com again, it's
platform, growth books.com, andyou could order one of those.
And of course, listen, as you gothrough the book or use the
workbook to implement what youhear.

(01:06):
In each episode.
So with that being said, let'sjump right in to today's
chapter.

Speaker 38 (01:12):
Chapter 13.
Create your potential audienceaudit.
Before J.
K.
Rowling became a household name,before Harry Potter took the
world by storm, she was justanother aspiring writer with a
dream.
Tucked away in a small Edinburghflat, Rowling poured her heart
into the story of a youngwizard, not knowing if anyone

(01:32):
would ever read it.
Like many writers, Rowling feltisolated and uncertain.
She had no publishingconnections.
She had no huge social mediafollowing.
This was the early 90s, afterall, and she had no way of
knowing if her work wouldresonate with readers.
In short, she felt like she hadno audience.
But Rowling did have something.

(01:53):
A small, but mighty network offriends, family, and former
colleagues.
People who knew her believed inher and were willing to support
her journey.
When Rowling finished her firstHarry Potter manuscript, She
didn't have a huge platform fromwhich to launch, but she did
have a few close connections.
She reached out to an old friendfrom her days working at Amnesty

(02:15):
International, who put her intouch with a literary agent.
That agent saw the magic inRowling's words and agreed to
represent her.
The rest, as they say, ishistory.
Harry Potter and thePhilosopher's Stone was
published in 1997 and Itlaunched a global phenomenon.
The series spans seven books,eight films, theme parks, and

(02:36):
much merchandise.
But it all started with Rowlingrecognizing the potential in her
existing network.
She didn't have a massiveaudience at the start.
But she had something just aspowerful, a small group of
people who were ready tochampion her work.
This chapter is all aboutuncovering that hidden potential
in your own network.
We'll cover a process called thepotential audience audit.

(02:58):
It will help you see how manypeople you could reach by using
your existing connections.
Here's the thing.
You don't need a massivefollowing to validate your offer
and make sales.
You just need to start with thepeople who are already in your
corner.
As rolling story shows, even themost successful journeys can
start with a single connection.
So if you're feeling like youdon't have an audience, take

(03:21):
heart.
Your potential reach is probablymuch greater than you realize.
Let's uncover it together.

Speaker 39 (03:27):
The audience myth.
Why you don't need a hugefollowing to launch.
Let's talk about a common beliefthat holds many people back from
launching their offer.
The idea that you need a massiveaudience to be successful.
Here's what most people do.
They look at their social mediafollowing, see a modest number,
or even a big fat zero, andhttps: otter.
ai I can't possibly launch yet.

(03:50):
I need thousands of followersfirst.
So, they put their offer onhold, waiting for that elusive
big break that will magicallybring in a huge audience.
But here's the problem with thatapproach.
By waiting for a huge following,you're missing out on the
potential audience that'salready right in front of you.
You see, most people have a muchlarger network than they

(04:11):
realize.
You likely have access to manypotential customers.
They are in your social mediacontacts, your email list, your
friends, your family, and yourcolleagues.
But when you're stuck in the, Ineed a huge audience mindset,
you overlook those valuableconnections.
You miss out on opportunities tovalidate your offer, get
feedback, and even make sales.

(04:33):
So what's the alternative?
It's time to conduct a potentialaudience audit.

Speaker 40 (04:37):
Untapped potential, how to discover your hidden
audience.
A potential audience audit isall about uncovering the hidden
reach of your existing network.
It's a process of mapping allthe people you're connected to
directly or indirectly.
It's about getting a clearpicture of your true audience
potential.
This audit involves a few keysteps.

(04:59):
First, you list out all yoursocial media accounts and note
your follower count on each.
Then, you export your emailcontacts from all your accounts.
Next, you identify your top 50.
The 50 people you have the strongest, most engaged
relationships with.
By the end of this audit, you'llhave a clear, data backed
picture of your potential reach.

(05:21):
And, spoiler alert, it'sprobably much higher than you
think.
The power of connection.
Leveraging your network forlaunch success.
Once you've done your potentialaudience audit, it's time to put
that insight into action.
This is where the magic happens.
Instead of waiting for a huge,anonymous audience, You start
engaging with the people alreadyin your network.

(05:43):
You let them know about yourupcoming offer.
You ask for their feedback andsupport.
Remember, these are people whoalready know you like you and
want to see you succeed.
They're much more likely toengage with your offer than cold
leads who don't have thatpersonal connection.
And as you start to validateyour offer with your existing
network, Something amazinghappens.

(06:05):
Those initial supporters startspreading the word.
They share your offer with theirnetworks.
Momentum builds.
And before you know it, youraudience starts to grow
organically.
That's the power of startingwith the audience you already
have, rather than waiting forthe audience you wish you had.
So, don't let the, I need a hugefollowing myth hold you back.
Your audience is already there,waiting to be uncovered.

(06:28):
All you need is a potentialaudience audit and the courage
to start connecting.

Speaker 41 (06:31):
How to conduct your potential audience audit.
All right, let's break down thesteps to create your potential
audience audit.
Grab a pen and paper or fire upa spreadsheet and let's get
started.
Step one, list your social mediaaccounts.
First up, make a list of allyour active social media
accounts, Facebook, Instagram,Twitter, LinkedIn, write them

(06:55):
all down.
Then next to each one, note howmany followers or friends you
have on that platform.
Now, I know what you might bethinking, but my follower count
is so small.
Here's the thing, though.
Even if you only have 100followers on Instagram, that's
still 100 potential customers.
And when you consider the sixdegrees of separation theory, it

(07:18):
suggests that everyone isconnected by no more than six
social links.
Your reach could be larger thanyou think.
Takeaway, don't underestimatethe power of your social media
audience, no matter the size.
Those connections can be thestart of something big.
Step 2.
Export your email contacts.
Next, it's time to round up youremail contacts.

(07:41):
Log in to all your emailaccounts.
These include your personal,work, and that old Hotmail
address you still use for somereason.
Then, export your contacts intoa CSV file or spreadsheet.
If you're thinking, Do I reallyneed to include all my accounts?
The answer is yes.
A study by the Raticati Groupfound that the average person

(08:02):
has 1.
75 email accounts.
That means you likely havecontacts scattered across
multiple inboxes, and each oneis a potential lead.
Takeaway.
Your email contacts are agoldmine of potential audience
members.
Don't leave any stone unturnedin your audit.
Step 3.
Identify your top 50connections.

(08:24):
Now, out of all your socialmedia followers and email
contacts, who are the 50 peopleyou have the strongest
relationships with?
They could be close friends,family members, colleagues, or
just acquaintances.
You've had great conversationswith them.
Write down their names.
These are your top 50.
As Porter Gale says, yournetwork is your net worth.

(08:46):
These 50 people are your innercircle, your champions.
They're the ones most likely tosupport your launch, give you
honest feedback and spread theword about your offer.
Take away.
Your top 50 are your secretweapon.
Nurture those relationships andthey'll be the foundation of
your launch success.
Step four.

(09:06):
Estimate your potential audiencereach.
Finally, it's time to crunchsome numbers using industry
standard reach estimates,calculate the potential audience
you could tap into through yoursocial media followers, email
contacts, and top 50.
For example, if you have 1000Instagram followers, the average
user has 150 followers, so yourpotential reach on Instagram

(09:31):
could be 150, 000 people.
1, 000 times 150 equals 150,000.
It's like an iceberg.
Your immediate following is justthe tip.
There's a whole lot more beneaththe surface, or think of it like
a tree.
Your direct connections are thebranches, but they lead to a
vast network of roots.

(09:53):
These are the roots of yourconnections and their
connections.
Your potential audience auditwill likely reveal a larger
audience than you thought atfirst.
That's the reach you have towork with.
As you validate and launch youroffer, remember this audit isn't
about collecting a huge,faceless crowd.
It's about seeing the value inyour current connections.

(10:14):
You can use those relationshipsto build momentum, so don't get
discouraged by small numbers inthe world of launching.
Your network is your superpower.
Audit it, nurture it and watchit grow.

Speaker 42 (10:26):
Today's exercise, conduct your potential audience
audit.
All right, it's time to put allthis theory into practice.
Let's dive into your potentialaudience audit.
Here's what I want you to do.
Set a timer for 15 minutes andcommit to focusing solely on
this exercise for that time.
No distractions, no excuses.

(10:46):
This is important work.
First, open up a new document orgrab a fresh piece of paper.
Start by listing out all youractive social media accounts.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,LinkedIn, Tik TOK.
If you've got a profile, writeit down next to each account.
Note down your current followeror friend count.
Don't worry if the numbers seemsmall.

(11:08):
Remember, we're looking at thepotential here, not just hard
numbers.
Next, hop over to your emailaccounts.
Yes, all of them.
Export your contacts from eachaccount into a CSV file or
spreadsheet.
If you're not sure how to dothis, a quick Google search will
give you step by stepinstructions for your specific

(11:29):
email provider.
Once you've got all your emailcontacts in one place, it's time
to identify your top 50.
These are the 50 people you havethe strongest, most positive
relationships with.
They could be friends, family,colleagues, mentors.
Anyone you feel would besupportive of your launch.
Write down their names.

(11:50):
If you're feeling extramotivated, jot down a few notes
about each person.
How do you know them?
When was the last time youconnected?
Finally, it's time to estimateyour total potential reach.
This is where a little mathcomes in handy.
For each social media account,multiply your follower count by
100.
Why 100?
It's a conservative estimate ofhow many people each of your

(12:12):
followers could potentiallyreach.
So, if you have 500 Instagramfollowers, your potential
Instagram reach is 50, 000.
500 times 100 equals 50, 000.
Do this for each social mediaaccount and add up the totals.
Then, add the number of emailcontacts you exported.

(12:32):
Finally, add 50 for your top 50.
The grand total is 50, 000.
That's your estimated potentialaudience reach.
I bet it's a bigger number thanyou expected.
That's the power of thepotential audience audit.
It reveals the hidden reach ofyour existing network, but this
exercise isn't just aboutnumbers.
It's about strategy.

(12:53):
Now that you know your potentialreach, it's time to make a plan
to tap into it.
As you look at your top 50 list,start thinking about how you
could reach out to each personwhen you're ready to validate
your offer, could you send apersonal email, schedule a
coffee chat.
Invite them to a special previewof your offer.
The key is to make it personal.

(13:13):
These are your champions, yourinner circle, treat them as
such.
As for your wider network, yoursocial media followers and email
contacts, start brainstormingways to warm them up to your
upcoming offer.
Could you share teaser postsabout the problem your offer
solves?
Could you run a survey to gaugetheir interest and pain points?

(13:34):
The potential audience auditisn't just a one and done
exercise.
It's a living, breathingstrategy document.
Keep it handy as you movethrough the validation and
launch process.
Remember, your network is yourmost valuable asset as you
launch.
This audit is your roadmap toleveraging it effectively.
So, don't skimp on thisexercise.

(13:55):
Put in the time, put in thethought, and watch as your
perception of your audiencepotential shifts.
You've got this.
Your audience is out therewaiting for what you have to
offer.
It's time to start connectingwith them.
Key takeaways.
Your audience could be muchlarger than your followers.
It includes your social mediacontacts, email contacts, and

(14:16):
friends.
Conducting a potential audienceaudit is a key step.
It helps find your hiddenaudience before you validate and
launch your offer.
By leveraging your existingnetwork, you can reach a wider
audience, validate your and makesales even without a large
following.
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