Part 1

Casual Audience to Active Audience

We begin our journey at the base of the Pyramid of Fandom, which is the biggest segment: your casual audience members. These are the people who come to you randomly. They stumble upon your brand through a link on another website, or a Google or YouTube search, or maybe they found you through social media, or even by word of mouth. They’re here because of their curiosity, but they may not stick around; they could take you or leave you. They might come back from time to time to see what you’re up to, but they’re not connected to your brand in a meaningful way—yet.

Your mission is to help bring these casual audience members, people who have just been introduced to you and what you have to offer, to the next level of the pyramid, where they become part of your active audience. Your active audience are your subscribers and followers. They’re the ones who have subscribed to your emails, who now follow you on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. They’re the people who have opted in—the ones who are interested in you and your brand, and have taken action to get more from it.

To move people from casual to active, you need to create a moment of activation—something that connects them to you and makes them go, “Oh, that’s different, and I like it.” You need to speak to people in a way they’ll understand and appreciate, addressing their needs and pain points in the right language. And of course, you need to deliver them value! Give them a taste of what they’ll get from you if they subscribe and stick around. Make it a no-brainer for them to take the next step and continue to hear from you.

These first five strategies are all about turning casual audience members into active participants in your brand:

At this point, I’m sure you’re wondering what the heck a DeLorean has to do with turning casual audience members into active ones. (You might even be wondering what the heck a DeLorean is … )

But have no fear, as I’m about to explain it all …