279. You Have to Get Good First (Then the Audience Follows)

If you’re trying to grow your audience for your online business, you’ve probably heard advice like “build the audience first” or “you need followers before you can launch.” But what if that’s backwards?

In this episode of On Your Terms®, Sam shares the real foundation of sustainable audience growth—and why focusing on followers, email list size, or social media metrics too early can actually slow you down. Instead, she breaks down how mastering your craft (whether that’s writing, podcasting, video, or your core service) is what truly builds an audience that sticks.

You’ll hear…

1. Why obsessing over audience size can distract you from building actual skill
2. The “wedding vs. marriage” analogy that changed how I think about growth
3. What I realized after being in a mastermind with serious writers
4. How to practice your craft in public without spiraling over metrics
5. How to consume content in a way that fuels your output (instead of becoming a content junk drawer)
6. A simple way to audit whether your time matches what you say you want

Click here to find the full show notes and transcript for this episode.

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