7 Tips for Selling Online to a Small Audience

“My audience is growing but still small! When can I start selling?”

Ready for your online business to become profitable -- but worried your audience is still too small?

I’ve been there, and I want you to know that it’s NEVER too soon to sell your offer!

You have pre-clients in your small audience, and they’re following you for a reason! They’re just waiting for you to share how you can support them!

Here are 7 tips to help you SELL to your small audience!

1. Build two-way engagement

We all love to buy from people we know personally, and who know and like us in return!

But one key ingredient many business owners forget is true, authentic engagement. You know: making your customers feel seen, heard, and valued!

This is easy to do just by asking questions to learn about their experience, and acknowledging their gifts and accomplishments! When you keep asking questions, you’ll start getting genuine responses.

Focus on getting your community ENGAGED, because engaged followers are ready to buy!

2. Cultivate joy and have fun!

When you’re having FUN and genuinely enjoying what you do, you are your most magnetic! We all love being around (and buy from) people who seem truly happy and lit up.

So, how can you tap into your playful, joyful side? How can you really cultivate true joy in your work day, especially when you’re sharing your offers?

Gratitude is a simple shortcut! Looking even for simple things to be grateful about shifts you back into joy in a few seconds. Or you can go all-out and write a list of 100 things you’re grateful for!

Other go-to methods: having a quick solo dance party, listening to a song that pumps you up, paying someone a heartfelt compliment... the list goes on!

Tap into your excitement about and belief in what you’re selling! Picture the testimonials and reviews you’ll receive about your service or product, and how you’ll feel when you read them.

3. Send direct invitations

With a HUGE audience, you can sit back and wait for a small percentage of people to raise their hands and be proactive about buying.

But with a small audience, YOU want to be more proactive, and make each person feel special and seen.

That’s where direct invitations come in! When you have a new offer, reach out personally to people who have already been enjoying your free content, to see if it’s a good time to take the next step!

Remember how you feel when someone invites you to a party or a dinner. It makes you feel special and valued! That’s the same idea when it comes to personally inviting your customers to take the next step with you :)

4. Create a clear sales path

One HUGE advantage you can create for your biz is a simple sales path.

Think of this simply as hospitality: When your guest arrives, you don’t just leave them to figure things out on their own. You show them where to put their coat, where to put their suitcase, where to sit, where to find the bathroom… and you put a drink in their hand!

Your guest feels at ease knowing someone’s handling the logistics, they can find the things they need, and you’ve thought things through in advance. They can just sit back and enjoy!

That’s how your customer feels when you’ve thought through their sales journey! First they read your blog, then they get your freebie, then they get to know you through your emails, then they receive your first paid offer… and so on!

5. Ask questions before creating offers

Businesses with big audiences spend time and energy doing market research before investing in a new product. Even if they skip this step (at their peril), they can usually afford to make an educated guess about what their customers will buy.

But business owners with small audiences can do market research too! Gain an edge by cutting out the guesswork and asking your peeps what they need. Find out as much as you can about their problems they face, what they’ve tried, what they’re looking for, and what the market needs!

The end result will be a product or service that truly MEETS the needs of your customers and is easy and exciting to buy!

6. Get on VIDEO! (Seriously!)

One way to fully leverage your small audience is to be PRESENT on video.

Getting seen on video helps you make a bigger impact + impression on each individual person, versus making a very light impression on a large number of people. What a beautiful way to serve your community!

I know, right now you’re probably saying “But I’m too shy / awkward, my nose is crooked, etc.” just like I did before I started showing up on video. We ALL start with those old stories!

But I promise, if you want to sell to a small audience, video is the way to go! And your audience will LOVE your imperfections, because you’ll be giving them permission to love their own.

7. Compelling brand message

Okay, last tip for you is to have a compelling brand message that INSPIRES and MOVES your customers! This isn’t about moving them to buy - it’s about moving them to take action in their own lives!

We all want to be better, healthier, wiser, calmer, stronger, more confident versions of ourselves. And we LOVE brands and companies (and people) - big and small - who inspire and encourage us to make it happen!

So your brand message should inspire your customers to do exactly that! You want your services and products to remind your customer of who they want to be, and help them be that person.

If you’re feeling lost about how to make this happen for your business, grab the Brand Messaging toolkit - it’s the fastest way to get clear on what YOU have to say to the world (and your market)!

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Hi, I’m Ashley!

I’m all about growing your mission-driven business with heart and intention! If you’re ready to attract your tribe + dream clients to your biz, you’re in the right place! 🧡

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