Building an Audience That Actually Engages

I’m sure that, like many of you reading this, you’ve fallen into a trap of chasing numbers. We all know the typical phrases:

• “If only I had 10,000 followers, then I’d succeed.”
• “Once I hit 100K subscribers, I’ll finally make sales.”

But here’s the truth: a big audience doesn’t guarantee success. What matters isn’t how many people follow you, or comment your blog, video or any other entry you make. It’s really more about how many actually care, trust you, and interact with what you share.

Think about it: a business with 500 engaged followers can outperform another with 50,000 silent ones. Engagement is the currency of online business. Without it, numbers are just vanity metrics.

This week, we’ll explore how to build an audience that’s not only growing but also deeply connected to you and your brand. We’ll break it into three parts:

1. The Foundations of Engagement – Why people engage in the first place.
2. Practical Strategies to Create Real Connection – What you can do daily to spark conversations and, more importantly, loyalty.
3. Turning Engagement Into Long-Term Growth – How engagement drives sales and builds a thriving community.

So let’s get cracking!

Section 1: The Foundations of Engagement

Engagement Is Built on Emotion

People don’t engage with content because it’s perfect. They engage because it makes them feel something. Remember when you decided not to post the blog entry or video you had written or created because it didn’t “feel perfect“? Well that post, because you wrote it with feeling, could have had the engagement you were looking for.

The types of engagements we all tend to want to read can pretty much be summed up with these four types (let me know if I’m missing something here):

• Inspiration: “If they can do it, so can I!”. Your message inspires someone to take action in building their online presence or business.
• Relief: “Finally, someone who gets my struggle.” Your message hits a cord with the reader about the different struggles you went through to get to where you are.
• Curiosity: “I need to know more about this.” You picked a cord with your message; the reader wants to know what else you have to provide for them.
• Belonging: “I’m not the only one dealing with this.” As an online business owner, you’re a “one-person” business, you do everything and the support is not only necessary but welcoming.

If your content stirs no emotion, it won’t spark engagement. The first foundation is to think less about information and more about transformation. Because at the end of the day, you have about 3-4 seconds to grab their attention.

Trust Comes Before Engagement

People don’t comment, share, or buy from just anyone. They need to believe you’re real, trustworthy, and consistent.

• If you post once every three months, you won’t build trust. Your inconsistency won’t spark that curiosity of “what will he or she be talking about this week or today?“
• If your message is constantly changing, people won’t know what you stand for. Now don’t get me wrong, It’s ok to change; you just need to make sure that your message is constant.
• If you sound too polished and corporate, you’ll feel out of reach. Well, this one is easy! Do you really want to sound like a politician? Yeah, didn’t think so!

Consistency, clarity, and authenticity lay the groundwork for engagement. One thing to also remember: this takes time, it’s not an overnight thing.

Attention Is Earned, Not Given

In today’s world, attention is the most valuable resource. People are flooded with content. The creators who stand out are the ones who earn attention by respecting their audience’s time. Remember the 3-4 seconds I talked about? For that, you need to understand that all your messages need to have:

• An opening with a strong hook. Think: “Three things I learned yesterday!“
• Getting to the point quickly. No time to start talking about the neighbours barking dog at 3am!
• Sharing value that feels fresh and useful. Put yourself in your readers shoes: what would be interesting to read or listen to?

The takeaway: Engagement isn’t an accident. It’s built on emotion, trust, and earned attention. That’s why those who post and have a good following regularly have strong numbers. People come back to read or listen to what they have to say because the message is engaging.

Section 2: Practical Strategies to Create Real Connection

Now let’s get practical. How do you actually spark engagement? How do you actually get people to stop scrolling and actually listen to what you have to say?

I remember when I started as a salesman, one of the sales course I was sent to gave out the message that “more was better”. Now remember, this was the mid 80’s where I guess the “flash” part was important. What I decided to do though was use what my grandfather had told me: “listen more…talk less”.

I also took the time to find out about my customer. What was he looking for? Maybe a connection I had could provide the answer. Even if I didn’t make the sale. And you know what happened? I got calls from those I had visited because they had found that I wasn’t there to sell them something but had made a connection with them about their needs and wants. Not what I wanted to sell.

So let’s take a look at 5 strategies you could use (let me know if you have others):

Strategy 1: Invite Interaction

Sometimes, people don’t engage simply because you didn’t ask them to. Make it easy by including calls-to-action like:

• “What’s your take? Drop it in the comments.”
• “Save this for later if you’ll need it this week.”
• “Tag a friend who needs this reminder.”

The small act of asking can double or triple engagement. After all the years of experience I’ve gained either as a salesman or working for a bank or another company, it’s truly incredible how so many times I’ve met people who just didn’t ask.

As a manager, I vividly remember one employee who was distraught about the quarterly review we had just gone through. Over coffee, she was generally happy about it all but she thought that she would get a salary review. I smiled and told her that I was waiting for her to ask for it but she never raised the question. To be clear, I had already given it to her. One thing was clear from that point on: my staff would ask!

Strategy 2: Share Relatable Stories

People connect with people, not logos. Share your journey, your wins, and even your struggles. We’ve all had them. The good, the bad and even the ugly. You have to personalize the story or comment you want to bring across. Remember, there’s nothing stronger than being relatable.

• If you’re in affiliate marketing, don’t just post product links. Tell the story of how a tool saved you hours of work or helped you finally get results.
• If you’re building a coaching business, share a client’s transformation (with permission) or your own “before and after” story.

Relatability helps build the community. When people see themselves in your story, they naturally lean in.

Strategy 3: Show Up Consistently

We’ve talked about this in a previous post, engagement doesn’t come from one viral post. It comes from repeated interaction. Posting regularly, even 3–4 times a week, trains your audience to expect and look forward to your content.

My mentor Dean Holland helped me on this front. He told me to pick one platform (social media); become good – if not great at it – and then, only then, look towards another. Spreading yourself thin across 6–7 platforms.

Having said that, I do use a software, Affiliate System, provided by Dean that lets me post my content to different platforms. Doing so helps me get my message across these all the while staying focused.

Strategy 4: Mix Up Content Styles

Different people engage in different ways. Some love quick tips, others want in-depth tutorials, and others are drawn to motivational content. Rotate between:

• Short-form videos (Tik Tok, Reels) → quick hooks & emotional impact.
• Blog posts or YouTube → deeper education.
• Email newsletters → personal, direct conversations.

Yes, you could say “but Marc, you just told me to focus on one platform?” and you’d be correct. What I’m saying is, you can make a longer Tik Tok video and cut it in 2-3 videos that you could also post on YouTube, (or vice-versa), and use the written side of it to create your newsletter or from your blog entry. Creating that type of variety, all the while providing a constant message, keeps your audience engaged without burning them out.

Strategy 5: Respond Like a Human

One of the simplest but most overlooked ways to build engagement is replying. When someone comments, respond with more than just “thanks.” Add a thoughtful follow-up. Show you’re listening. And yes, that includes the type of response you’d prefer to delete. As my other mentor Sophie mentioned, the algorithm doesn’t care about the content, it cares about the engagement.

Some responses you could use:

• Follower: “This was really helpful, thanks!”
• You: “Glad it resonated! Out of curiosity, which part was most helpful for you?”

Remember the part about asking a question? That one question can open up a full conversation and turn a casual follower into a loyal supporter.

The takeaway: Engagement grows when you invite it. When you share stories. When you show up consistently, vary your formats, and respond like a real person. We all know of AI coming around and how they can create “automatic” responses. More and more people are seeing through that and can tell the difference.

Section 3: Turning Engagement Into Long-Term Growth

Engagement Creates Community

The magic of engagement is that it transforms a following into a community. Instead of people just watching you, they begin to feel like they’re with you. When you’re able to provide that type of engagement, it becomes very powerful. As an example: the support community I’m currently in with Dean Holland at Internet Profits is one such place.

Communities don’t just consume content. They interact with each other. They share your posts. They recommend you to friends. They show up again and again because they value what you bring to their table.

And the best part? Communities are far harder to copy than content. A competitor can imitate your posts, but they can’t steal your loyal, engaged audience.

Engagement Drives Sales Naturally

Here’s the key: sales become easier when you have engagement. Why? Because people buy from those they know, like, and trust. Engagement builds all three. Hence the reason to stop trying to sell and open the door to engagement.

Think of it like this:

• Someone who never engages with you is a cold lead.
• Someone who regularly comments, likes, and replies is a warm lead.
• Someone who emails you back or messages you after a post is hot, they’re already halfway sold.

By focusing on engagement, you’re shortening the sales cycle without ever having to be pushy and that is a very powerful tool.

Long-Term Growth Through Feedback

Engagement also gives you feedback. Comments, questions, and messages reveal what your audience really wants. If you pay attention, ask questions, your audience will tell you:

• Which problems matter most.
• Which formats they love.
• Which offers they’re excited to buy.

Smart entrepreneurs listen closely to engagement signals and adjust their strategy. That’s how you build not just an audience, but a sustainable business.

The takeaway: Engagement isn’t just “likes and comments.” It’s the bridge between audience, community, and customers.

Conclusion: Engagement as the Real Metric of Success

At the end of the day, your audience size means little if nobody’s paying attention. Engagement is the difference between shouting into the void and creating meaningful impact.

When you focus on emotion, trust, and interaction, your audience stops being passive. They start to care, respond, and stick around for the long haul.

This week, challenge yourself to measure success differently. Don’t just count followers, count conversations. Don’t just track views, track replies. And don’t just create content, create connections.

Because when you build an audience that actually engages, you’re not just building a business. You’re building a movement.

Like what you’re reading or have any questions? Don’t be shy, write it up in the comments section for me to reply and more importantly, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for continuous insights and tips.

Trust the journey – victories await along the way!