You don’t need thousands of followers to start making sales. You need to give the people who do find you a reason to believe in what you’re offering.

One of the things that stops a lot of new entrepreneurs is the feeling that nobody knows who they are. You create a product, put it online, make a few posts, and then you look at somebody else who has 50,000 followers and think, “Why would anybody buy from me?”

I want to tell the Resell Circle community something: everybody who has an audience today started with nobody knowing who they were. Every business had a first customer. Every creator had a first follower. Every person with 10,000 customers once had zero customers. The question isn't whether people know you today. The question is what are you going to do so they trust you tomorrow?

You Don't Need Fame—You Need Credibility

There's a big difference between being popular and being trusted. Somebody can have thousands of followers and still have trouble selling something. Another person might have 300 followers, but those 300 people pay attention because that person has consistently demonstrated that they know what they're talking about.

That's the position I want you working toward. Don't wake up every morning trying to become famous. Work on becoming useful, knowledgeable, consistent, and trustworthy in the area where you're trying to do business.

If you're selling a product about starting a cleaning company, start demonstrating what you know about cleaning businesses. If you're teaching people how to become mobile notaries, answer questions about becoming a mobile notary. If you're selling templates for small businesses, show people how those templates can make running a business easier.

Let people see that you actually understand the subject.

Start Teaching Before You Start Selling

One of the fastest ways to build credibility from zero is to teach something useful.

You don't have to give away everything you know. But you should be willing to give people enough information that they can experience your value before they're asked to pay you.

Think about five questions somebody might ask before purchasing your product. Those five questions could become five pieces of content. Explain something. Demonstrate something. Correct a common mistake. Give somebody a shortcut. Show them something you wish you had known when you started.

Now people aren't just seeing somebody saying, “Buy my product.” They're seeing somebody who might actually be able to help them.

Show People That You're Actually Doing It

People want to see more than claims. Whenever possible, show the work behind what you're teaching.

If you create planners, show how you use one. If you teach a business strategy, show examples of how you've applied it. If you're building something, take people behind the scenes. If you've learned something through experience, tell the story of how you learned it.

You don't have to pretend you're the biggest expert in the world. In fact, trying too hard to look bigger than you are can hurt trust. Be where you are, but demonstrate what you know.

Real experience gives you something valuable to talk about.

Let Your First Customers Help Build Your Reputation

Your first few customers are extremely important because they can help establish the credibility that you don't have yet.

Take care of them.

Make sure they receive what you promised. Answer reasonable questions. Pay attention to their feedback. Find out what they liked and what could be improved. When someone has a positive experience, ask them for an honest review or testimonial.

Over time, you don't have to be the only person saying your product is useful. Other customers can begin saying it too.

That's much more powerful.

Make Your Business Look Like You Care About It

You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to look professional, but presentation matters. If somebody has never heard of you before, they're looking for signals that tell them whether they should trust you.

Read your product descriptions before publishing them. Fix obvious spelling mistakes. Use clear images. Make sure your product actually contains what you promised. Respond professionally when somebody asks a question. Don't make outrageous claims just to get somebody to click.

Every little interaction is either building trust or taking some of it away.

Be Consistent Long Enough to Become Familiar

Sometimes people don't buy because they've only seen you once.

Think about how trust develops in the real world. The first time somebody sees your name, you're a stranger. The second time, maybe they recognize you. After they've seen several useful posts, watched a couple of your videos, read one of your articles, or interacted with you, something starts changing.

You become familiar.

That's why consistency matters so much. If you post today, disappear for six weeks, come back with a sales pitch, and disappear again, you're constantly starting the relationship over.

Give people enough opportunities to get to know what you do.

Build Trust One Person at a Time

When you're starting from zero, don't disrespect small numbers.

If seven people watched your video, talk to those seven people. If two people commented, respond to both of them. If one person asks a serious question about your product, give that person a serious answer.

Sometimes we're so busy looking for 10,000 people that we ignore the ten people already standing in front of us.

Your first 10 customers matter. Your first 25 followers matter. Your first five reviews matter. Those small beginnings are how you start creating evidence that there's a real business behind your name.

Give Yourself 30 Days of Visibility

Here's something practical I want you to try. For the next 30 days, commit yourself to consistently showing up around the subject you want to be known for.

During those 30 days, teach something several times each week. Answer questions when you see them. Talk about your experiences. Show some of your work. Participate in conversations with people in your market. Make offers when appropriate, but don't make every interaction a sales pitch.

Most importantly, don't quit after day six because you didn't become famous.

At the end of those 30 days, look at what happened. Which subjects got people's attention? What questions did people ask? What content started conversations? Did anyone join your audience, inquire about your product, or make a purchase?

Use what you learned to make the next 30 days better.

Nobody Knowing You Is Temporary

Being unknown isn't a permanent condition unless you stay invisible.

You don't have to wait until you have a huge following to create something. You don't need celebrity status before you can sell a digital product. You don't need thousands of people telling you you're an expert before you start sharing what you've actually learned.

Start where you are. Help the people you can reach. Demonstrate what you know. Keep your promises. Take care of your customers. Ask for honest feedback. Keep showing up.

Eventually, somebody who didn't know you will know you. Somebody who knows you will begin trusting you. And somebody who trusts the value you provide may eventually become a customer.

Don't worry about everybody knowing your name. Start by giving the people who discover you a good reason to remember it.

— Bishop Al
Founder, Resell Circle