To Grow Your Audience, Focus on Deeply Serving the People Who Are Already in Your Room
Serve the people who are already here.
How many times have you fallen into the trap of thinking, “ I need more [insert here: followers, email subscribers, clients]?”
More, more, more…
And more for what exactly?
As a new business owner, I fell into the trap of thinking more Facebook page likes meant a more successful business. Back in my food blogging days, I had 1,200+ Facebook followers and exactly zero clients.
Fans, likes, and comments are surface-level. They don’t equal clients.
Ask yourself this: Do I need more people in the room to be able to connect with the people already here?
Here’s a simple exercise:
Figure out how much revenue you want to bring in for the year.
Determine your packages and figure out how many clients you can serve within each.
Calculate how many clients are enough.
Try different ways to attract clients until you find a way that works. Stick with that way.
Repeat.
And pivot as needed.
This is an overly simplified version of running a service-based business, of course. And it really can be this simple.
My first business was teaching small, in-person group cooking classes. I was creating simple recipes and blogging consistently about plant-based food. I showed busy people how to prepare plant-based meals by batch cooking on weekends. At the time, I had been plant-based for a few years and was working a full-time corporate job with two young kids at home.
The best way for me to serve during this time was to help other busy parents learn what I knew.
I’ve since boomeranged back to plant-based living, but teaching cooking classes no longer brings me joy. Writing this blog, writing books, coaching business owners on their copy, and holding the space for my writing community to write what brings them joy.
Yes, you’ll see a lot of commas in “what I do” — pun intended.
The theme that runs through all my work — staying grounded in who I really am and doing only the work I can do.
The real gold is in serving the people who vibe with you, not just around you.
For a service-based business, you likely don’t need 10,000 Instagram followers to have a full client roster. How many do you truly need?
It’s like having guests over to your house. They’re standing in your kitchen, staring at you, and instead of you asking them if they’d like salt on their margarita, you walk away to send some emails inviting more guests.
“I need more guests! My party is only a real party if there are 4,000 people here.”
These people who said “yes” showed up on time, took their shoes off (Canadian thing), and are here in your kitchen. Essentially, you’re saying, yeah, you’re fine, but it’s not enough that you’re here — I need to invite some more people to make it a real party.
Umm, what?
Can you imagine being that person?
You’ve probably been there before. You’re at an event, and you’re excited to meet that charismatic, engaging character whose green eyes light up the room. She waved you over, and you got a chance to talk with her, walk right up, look her in the eye, and say hello.
She says hello, then spends the next 15 minutes looking over your shoulder. Waving at others, she recognizes too, seeing who else important might be in the room.
If this has ever happened to you, you’ve probably felt grossed out and would have walked away.
So, how can you show up and serve the people who are already in your virtual “room”?
Ground yourself in service.
Here are some specific examples of how I do this in my business:
If I don't have time to send handwritten notes to new clients, then I’m too busy to do the basics — and something needs to change.
The kind of business I run goes deep with fewer people. That’s why I love one-on-one coaching, copywriting, and small groups.
I love social media and have curated a feed that inspires me. Instead of focusing on the number of followers, likes, and shares, I focus on sharing my content to give it a place for people to see it and welcome growth opportunities.
If someone shows up in my inbox or my Instagram DMs with a question or is looking for a resource, I’m going to serve as best I can with no attachment to any outcome or return.
I keep in touch with people I’ve connected with over the years. I’ve done this since my corporate days. And I don’t do this so that I can sell to them later. I genuinely care about nurturing relationships. Nothing beats authentic connection.
I show up every day and ask, “How can I serve today?” In 2020, when I wanted to stop doing done-for-you copywriting services and grow my membership, a bunch of people reached out to me for help, asking if I could help take their brick-and-mortar business online. They wanted to hire me to write. I quickly pivoted, let the membership community grow organically, and focused on who I could best serve.
A note on boundaries
Grounding in service isn’t about letting people pick your brain for hours for free — I did that early on in my business. Now, when I start getting questions that lead to a common theme, I document them and turn them into blog content, and then I have somewhere to direct people. This strategy takes time, and I’m still serving in only the way I can.
And if someone asks a few questions and then replies with 10 more — well then, they need some support. If I’m resourced with additional time, I might send them a quick video answering their questions. If not, then I’ll direct them to a strategy call where they can book a time to chat.
Now more than ever, I appreciate the time to go deeper with people — not wider.
Try this every day for a week — show up to your work with a service mindset and ask, “How can I serve today?”
Then, notice what comes up.
Did you notice a new business opportunity?
Remember an important skill you have?
Were you able to help someone change their life?
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