The standard journey of influencers

1. Start with podcasting or video blogging (YouTube/TikTok)
   1. It is hard to build an audience when you don’t have one
   2. Start with interviewing other podcasters/creators to bring yourself to the front of their audience
   3. Alternatively, build an audience via engaging (tweet replies) high-value customers or by catching the trending topics
2. Build a one-way connection with your audience via newsletter on email/WhatsApp
   1. The goal is to connect directly with your followers and not be dependent on social media algorithms for too long
3. Build a community via Facebook/Slack/Telegram/Circle groups
   1. Once you have a critical number of connections, invite them to a community
   2. In the initial phase, maintaining and running a community requires work
   3. Eventually, the community becomes self-sustaining
4. Monetize
   1. Selling branded merchandise
   2. Large-ticket affiliates like insurance
   3. Paid consultation calls
   4. Fan funding (Patreon) for exclusive content access
   5. Organizing a Conference