How to Never Be Forgotten

You're recommended a review of the top 5 new coffee roasters.

Seeing one that looks interesting, you go to their website and purchase a bag of coffee.

A week later a box shows up on your doorstep. You forgot you ordered coffee but you’re excited to try it out.

“This is actually really good!” You think.

Three months later, you need to get a gift for your friend who really loves coffee (if you don’t have a friend like this, send it my way, please. I have a problem).

You go to the store and buy your friend a bag of Starbucks coffee, forgetting all about that amazing bag of premium coffee you ordered three months ago.

Why, after such a great a great experience, aren’t you ordering from the same company over and over and over again?

Today we’re going to explore Consistency – why we develop a preference for things we see most frequently.

The Sticky Factor of Consistency

Why do we like something we see often?

To put it simply, we’re inclined to gravitate toward things that feel familiar. Finding something new takes a lot more work.

The discovery of this effect is commonly attributed to Robert Zajonc, who researched it heavily in the 1960’s.

One caution, however, is that you can have too much of a good thing. If we’re shown something too often we might start to get tired of it. Maybe even annoyed by it.

Connecting with your audience

Stay top of mind with your audience.

You might see a new subscriber, follower, or customer and feel like your job is done. In reality, it’s just getting started.

All of those interactions are a gift and, if you want to build an audience that sticks with you long term, you should always say thank you and continue to give.​

How to apply this

Let’s look at how you can apply this right now to continue growing an audience that sticks.

Publish routinely

Our lives run on a weekly schedule. If your favorite TV show added new episodes every few weeks, sometime between Tuesday and Friday… it likely wouldn’t be your favorite show. It would fall into obscurity in favor of other, more consistent, shows that hold your attention.

Set a content schedule and stick to it. Weekly at least.

Check out this video from Ali Abdaal if you need some inspiration for how publish consistently.

Be contextual and timely

Say hi to new people and continue to be as relevant to what you know about them as possible. Here's a DM I sent this week:

Real people are giving you their time, attention, and maybe even hard earned money. Don’t let that go unrecognized.

The Takeaway

You might get someone to take action once, but that’s just the beginning of creating a true connection with them.

Continue to consistently give value and be present. That’s how you build an audience who sticks with you.

‍