Hi Reader,

Your Instagram followers are not your community.

I know that's not easy to hear. But sometimes, being useful means saying the hard thing.

Last year, I started a full-time MBA program, got busier than I imagined, and only made 12 IG posts the entire year.

The business kept going strong.

Sales were steady, salaries went up, we became more efficient. The team stayed strong.

Not because of followers. Because of community.

People kept buying and joining our programs, without a launch, without consistent posting.

Last month, when we needed to hire, I posted the role inside our community and got high-quality applications. Didn't need to post it anywhere else.

Referrals bring me paid speaking engagements I didn’t pitch for.

I'm hosting a physical event in Toronto this June, and tickets have started selling without even posting it anywhere. Community at work again.

My experience is not really the point, but I wanted to give you real-life examples.

Now think about your own business.

If Instagram deleted your account tomorrow, would you still have an audience?

If life got busy and you went quiet for three months, would you still be relevant?

I know it's comforting and validating to have thousands of people who follow you on social media. I do, and I like it.

But I’ve also seen that while some of your followers are part of your community, you don't have a 30K community just because you have 30K followers.

Here's what's worked for me:

1. Emails. I don't care about the arguments of whether email is dead or not. Back in 2017, people were saying that, but that's when I started building my email list, and I have zero regrets.
TOOL: Kit​

2. Community. Too literal, eh? I know😆. Inside SHOWUP Circle, members learn from each other and from me. I keep them accountable every week and teach them about branding and business. They support each other and buy from each other, while I teach them about brand and business.
TOOL: Circle​

Having people who trust your expertise, follow your work beyond Instagram, and buy what you sell is an asset.

So, build your audience, AND also grow your community.

Whatever you do, don't overcomplicate. Find the tool that works for you and use it, not 5 tools.

If you have any questions about building your community, please hit reply.

Worth Remembering

The time will pass anyway.

I have officially completed my MBA.🎉

Grateful and tireddd, but I did it.🥹

My mind has expanded in ways I can't fully describe yet, and there are so many powerful lessons from this season.

But top of mind right now is: If you don't do the thing you planned to do, the time still passes anyway.

One year from now, you'll be a year older. What else will have changed?

Worth asking as we head into a new month.

Rooting for you,
TM