The Ultimate Guide to Organically Growing Your Audience and Boosting Digital Product Sales Without Ads
In the fast-paced world of online entrepreneurship, building a loyal engaged audience is essential to success. Whether you're just starting with digital products or have multiple ones created, nurturing a thriving community is key to driving traffic to your products, which expands your reach and increases sales.
In this comprehensive guide, I'll dive into actionable organic strategies to grow your audience when you don’t have budget to run ads.
But first…
What Is Organic Growth?
“Organic growth is growth you achieve through your internal efforts and existing resources.”
The word “organic” is associated with “free” since the growth doesn’t involve paid advertising or hiring someone to grow an audience for you.
But it’s important to remember that there is a “cost” of organic growth: time and effort you’re personally spending.
Most new entrepreneurs on tight budgets start with organic growth because they have more time than money. Then once money starts coming in consistently, they set a small budget aside to invest in paid growth strategies that grow their audience in the background. (That’s what we do.)
Even when you reach the point where you have more money than time, keep organic growth strategies to maintain a connection with your audience - especially if you’re the face of your business.
Benefits of Organic Growth
Here’s why organic growth is invaluable for your business.
Lower costs. Organic methods are cost-effective and offer long-term benefits. They lay the foundation for sustainable growth as loyal followers are more likely to become repeat customers and brand advocates.
More control. Since you’re not working with a third party, you have full control over the messaging and branding your audience sees. Also, you can pivot faster when you notice a current strategy isn’t working.
Feels better. Organic strategies foster genuine connections and build trust with your audience. Most modern consumers are savvy enough to tell when they’re talking to YOU versus a bot or virtual assistant pretending to be you. Plus, you’ll get to have real conversations with ideal customers that inspire ideas for future content to attract more people.
How To Grow An Audience From Zero
If you're just starting, don’t worry! Building an audience from scratch is entirely achievable with the right approach and when you don’t skip key steps.
Before diving into strategies, make sure you’ve done the following:
Identify Your Target Audience With A User Persona
Before you can attract followers, you must first be clear and specific about who you're targeting. To do this, create a detailed user persona.
“A user persona is a tool to help you understand your audience and see them as real people with pain points your digital product solves.”
A user persona describes a person’s demographics, interests, behaviors, and frustrations. With this information, you can customize offers that resonate with him or her. This person is representative of the type of people in your niche who would buy your digital product.
Here’s an example of my user persona for my business:
DON’T BE GENERIC. If you’re not able to create a detailed user persona, that means you need to do more market research and talk to people to get deeper insights.
Create 3 Pieces of High-Quality Rich Content
“Rich” content shares a wealth of value because it addresses your audience’s most important problems or desires. It gives people a taste of how you can help.
When you have high-quality Rich Content, you’re able to attract people to your business, give them a taste of how you help, and keep them coming back for more.
You should have at least 3 pieces of rich content to start.
Why 3 pieces?
Because creating 3 pieces of content feels much more doable than creating 30 days’ worth of content =)
One piece of Rich Content should definitely be a LEAD MAGNET. (more on that in a bit). Here’s one of mine:
The other two pieces can be blog posts, videos, podcasts, or social media posts that aim to educate, entertain, or inspire your followers.
Some examples of my Rich Content:
VIDEO: 3 Signs It's Time To Offer Digital Products In Your Biz
BLOG: A Beginner’s Guide To Creating & Selling Digital Downloads
PODCAST: How To Turn A 1-on-1 Service Into A Digital Product (FAQs)
Establish At Least One Communication Channel
Building relationships and having conversations with your audience is crucial for fostering loyalty and trust. Encourage dialogue by asking questions, requesting feedback, or hosting interactive sessions/live streams.
You’ll need at least one communication channel that you consistently monitor so you can engage and respond to comments, messages, and inquiries promptly.
Channels include:
Email List (my #1 recommended channel)
Facebook Business Page
LinkedIn Page
Instagram/YouTube/Facebook Lives
Messenger Conversations
Website Contact Form
You don’t need all of these in the beginning. Start with one channel and add others over time.
Example:
Imagine you're a wellness coach specializing in stress management. Host a weekly Instagram Live session where you discuss stress management tips, answer audience questions, and share personal anecdotes. Encourage viewers to participate by asking questions or sharing their own experiences in the comments.
Define A Doable Content Posting Schedule
The goal is to establish a posting habit that trains your audience to anticipate new content from you. For example, I’m subscribed to a YouTuber who I know posts a new video each Tuesday. Because he’s so consistent with his posting schedule, I visit his channel every week to see what’s new.
You, too, can build that excitement and anticipation for your own content.
Here’s a sample posting schedule:
Post 2x per week to a social media account (Mondays and Wednesdays at 12pm)
Publish 2 blogs per month (Tuesdays at 6pm)
Send weekly newsletters to email list (every Thursday at 9am)
What feels doable for you differs wildly from another entrepreneur.
If consistently posting content 2x a week to your Instagram sounds overwhelming, then stick to once a week. Commit to that for 90 days to build a habit, then decide if you’re comfortable doing more.
“TIP:
You don’t have to come up with a brand new piece of content each time you post. Remember the 3 pieces of Rich Content?
You can repeatedly share that content and just tweak the caption that goes with it.”
Or repurpose the same piece of content into different formats. For example:
Turn a long blog post into an infographic or slide carousel
Turn a video or podcast transcript into a blog post
Extract audio from a video to turn it into a podcast episode
Work smarter, not harder.
Maximizing Growth and Digital Product Sales
Once you’ve established an online presence and have existing digital products to sell, it's time to level up your organic growth strategies. Here are some advanced tactics to amplify your audience and boost sales:
Build An Email List
I mentioned that one piece of Rich Content should definitely be a Lead Magnet - often called a “freebie.” The freebie is used as an incentive to grow your email list.
Email subscribers get something of value in exchange for providing their email address. A lead magnet could be an e-book, cheat sheet, checklist, or quick guide.
You want an email list so you have a group of ready people to sell to. Don’t make the mistake of launching your Digital Product to an “empty room.”
Check out my additional resources for email marketing:
Collaborate with Influencers and Partners
Partnering with influencers, industry experts, or complementary brands helps expose your products to new audiences and enhances your credibility.
Identify influencers or thought leaders in your niche and explore collaboration opportunities, such as guest blogging, co-hosting webinars, or participating in joint promotions.
For example, if you’re a health and wellness coach, you could:
Collaborate with a wellness influencer or nutritionist to co-create a digital product bundle combining your expertise.
Co-host a joint webinar where you both share insights and tips on holistic well-being
Promote each other’s products to your respective email lists in the weeks leading up to a launch
Where To Promote Your Digital Products
Expand your digital product's visibility by sharing it across multiple online spaces. More eyeballs gives you a better chance of boosting sales.
Here’s where to showcase your offers:
Website or Blog. Feature your digital product on the Home page and in your online shop. If you blog, link to the product in relevant blog articles, like in an “Additional Resources” section at the end of the article. (You’ll see me do this below.)
Social Media Profiles. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. allow you to include at least one external link in your profile. Have that link go to a digital product sales page. Or if you have a “Linktree,” one of those links should point to your product.
Online Marketplaces. Take advantage of the built-in audiences who are already visiting popular online marketplaces (like Etsy, Gumroad, or Udemy) searching for content to buy.
Email Newsletters. During a welcome sequence sent to new email subscribers, include an email that highlights available digital products. Also, add a link to a product or to your online shop as part of your email signature.
Online Forums and Communities. Post your product in relevant threads on platforms like Reddit, Quora, Facebook Groups, or LinkedIn Groups. Make sure to follow any rules regarding self-promotion and try to offer value first before pitching your paid product.
Podcast or Webinar Guest Interviews. Hosts usually ask guests if they want to promote something at the end of the interview. Point listeners to either your free lead magnet or to a digital product.
Virtual Summits. Summits attract a broad audience and tap into the networks of participating speakers. Apply as a speaker and have your expertise be exposed to new people. Summit hosts usually allow speakers to promote a free resource and/or include a product as part of a resource bundle for summit attendees. Again, direct attendees to either your free lead magnet or a digital product.
Take Action Checklist
Let’s recap!
Below is a checklist to maximize your organic growth and digital product sales. In the next 24 hours, complete ONE item from this list.
Then in the following 24 hours, complete another item. And so on…
Create User Persona of your ideal customer
Create a Lead Magnet (1 type of Rich Content)
Create 2 more pieces of Rich Content
Establish one communication channel
Define a doable content posting schedule. (Then follow your content posting schedule for 90 days.)
Start an email list (I use and recommend ConvertKit)
Identify an influencer, peer, or brand you can collaborate with
On your website, add a link to your digital product on the Home Page
On your website, feature your digital product in your online shop
Add a digital product link to your social media profiles
Add your digital product to an online marketplace
Send an email to your list promoting a digital product
Add a digital product link to your email signature
Join a forum or community whose members match your user persona. Look for posts or threads where you can add value - which can lead to you linking to your product as a follow-up
Apply to be a podcast guest
Apply to be a webinar guest
Apply to be a summit speaker
Need to create a freebie to start growing your email list? Check out this resource 👇
Create Your Freebie Checklist In Less Than 1 Hour
Use this Canva template to create a checklist (the easiest freebie to do)! Includes pages for the cover, intro, checklists (3 layouts to choose from) and next steps.
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