The Future of Marketing in 2025 and Beyond: Why Community Building is the Ultimate Growth Strategy
Friday, May 02, 2025
The Future of Marketing in 2025 and Beyond:
Why Community Building is the Ultimate Growth Strategy
Hey guys, I'm incredibly excited to share some massive insights with you today about where marketing is heading—and it might not be what you expect!
I recently had the opportunity to interview two marketing powerhouses who are coming to Funnel Hacking LIVE in September, and they both revealed the same critical strategy that's driving their phenomenal results: community building.
What's fascinating is that while everyone is panicking about AI replacing content creators and worrying about algorithm changes, these marketing pioneers are quietly building empires through an approach that AI can't touch.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
This game-changing episode reveals:
- The #1 reason most launches flop—and how to reverse it with one simple shift
- The two paths to traffic—and which one works best if you're just starting out
- The Dream 100 method for tapping into other people’s audiences
- Why publishing consistently is the fastest way to find your voice and build trust
- How to craft offers your audience already wants—before writing a single sales page
The Massive Shift Happening in Digital Marketing
Before I dive into what I learned from these marketing visionaries, I want to share something important: Funnel Hacking LIVE is doing something we've never done before. For the first time ever, you can experience the entire event virtually for FREE!
That's right—you can register at funnelhackinglive.com, attend the full event, and then decide afterward if it was worth paying for. If it wasn't valuable to you, you pay nothing!
This is a perfect example of what I'm about to share—putting community and value FIRST, then letting the business results follow naturally.
Now, let's talk about the future of marketing and why community building is becoming the ultimate competitive advantage.
Why Information Is No Longer Your Most Valuable Asset
For years, we've built businesses around selling information. Courses, coaching programs, membership sites—all based on the idea that information itself is valuable.
But one of my FHL speakers, Pace Morby, shared something that stopped me in my tracks:
"I don't think courses are going to matter in the future. You can go to AI and write a course on underwater basket weaving better than any of us could create. The value's not in the course and information—the value is in the COMMUNITY. AI can't build a community."
This is a fundamental shift in how we need to think about marketing and business growth strategies. Information is becoming commoditized. The real value—the thing people will actually pay for—is the community, connection, and context around that information.
"Before I ever show them how much my solution costs if they say yes, I show them how much it costs to say no to my solution."
How Richmond Dinh Builds Community One Person at a Time
My first guest, Richmond Dinh, shared a strategy so simple yet powerful that I immediately implemented it myself (and made $200,000 within weeks).
Richmond discovered what he calls "Tiny Challenges"—one-on-one challenges where instead of trying to market to large groups, you focus intensely on helping just ONE person at a time.
Here's why it's revolutionary for finding new customers:
- It eliminates the marketing stress of filling a webinar or challenge
- It lets you perfect your process with direct feedbackIt creates superfans who naturally promote you to others
- The conversion rates are astronomical (3 out of 10 people typically buy the next step)
What's fascinating is that Richmond found a way to scale this approach by selling "observer seats" where people can watch the one-on-one coaching. Half of these observers end up purchasing his high-ticket offers!
This approach is perfect for anyone who's struggled to get traction with traditional marketing or feels uncomfortable presenting to large groups. By building your community one deep connection at a time, you create unstoppable momentum.
Pace Morby's $100 Million Community-First Approach
Now let me tell you about Pace Morby, who built a $100 million business in just THREE YEARS using community as his primary marketing strategy.
Pace started by simply helping people for free. He would meet aspiring real estate investors at a Circle K gas station and take them around in his Prius for 12 hours, showing them every aspect of his business.
When 60 people showed up one morning, he realized something powerful was happening. Despite being adamantly "anti-guru," Pace reluctantly started a free Facebook group where he would answer questions with video responses at 3-6am every morning from his garage.
The demand became so overwhelming that he finally launched a community (not a "course" or "mentorship") priced at $10,000. The results?
"We did 400 sales our first week at $10,000. I think we did four million dollars in a week, something like that. Right out of the gate. No ad spend, no cold traffic, nothing."
The Helper's High: The Secret to Pace's Marketing Strategy
What makes Pace's approach to finding new customers so effective isn't complicated marketing funnels or sophisticated advertising—it's what he calls the "helper's heroine":
"I love it. There's nothing like being able to create traffic, send them through something, people pay you. It's magical, but then what's magical is the helper's heroine that I get... when you have somebody who goes, 'I went from not making money to making a ton of money because of what you taught me.'"
This deep commitment to service has led to extraordinary loyalty. During one affiliate promotion with Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi, Pace messaged his community on a Sunday saying he'd go live for an hour after church. With just a 5-minute notice:
- 5-6,000 people registered for his impromptu webinar
- He outsold ALL other affiliates combined in just that one hour
- When he hit his target, he literally told people to stop buying
That's the power of a genuinely engaged community.
Where Pace REALLY Makes Money (Beyond the $100 Million)
While $100 million in front-end sales is impressive, Pace revealed something even more intriguing:
"I make way more money on the backend, and I am going to talk about that. Why should you build a community is not just because it feels good and you love people, but there's other ways to make money after people come through the funnel..."
At Funnel Hacking LIVE, Pace will be revealing exactly how he monetizes his community beyond the initial sales—strategies that are generating substantially more than his already impressive front-end revenue.
The key insight from both speakers is that as AI and other technologies continue to evolve, human connection becomes MORE valuable, not less:
"Because you look at AI, you look at everything that's changing, human beings are going to gravitate to people that actually build community... People need community. We were built for community."
The Real Future of Marketing: Beyond Technology
What's fascinating about these growth strategies is that they don't rely on algorithmic advantages, cutting-edge technology, or outspending the competition. They're built on something much more fundamental and timeless—genuine human connection.
While other marketers chase trends, these leaders are creating movements. While others optimize for short-term conversions, they optimize for long-term loyalty and impact.
The results speak for themselves:
- Richmond's students are seeing 30% conversion rates on premium offers
- Pace built a $100M business in three years with minimal advertising
- Their communities are self-propagating, with members running 150+ meetups weekly without the founders present
This isn't just a nice-to-have approach—it's becoming the essential foundation for sustainable business growth in the coming years.
How to Start Building Your Community Today
You don't need a massive audience or sophisticated tools to begin building a community-centered marketing strategy.
Here are three ways to start:
- Consider Richmond's Tiny Challenge approach - Start with helping just ONE person at a time with incredible depth and attention.
- Document the process and results.Show up consistently where your people are - Like Pace's parking lot meetups, find ways to connect with your audience in person whenever possible.
- Lead with value, not transactions - Both Pace and Richmond built their empires by helping first, monetizing second.
As Pace put it so perfectly: "Guys, you lead with your heart. You care about people. What happens is people talk about you. The best thing that you could ever do is just forget about the money and really figure out how can I serve my audience as much as possible."
Additional Resources for Community Building
Ready to implement these strategies in your own business? Check out these essential resources:
Join Russell's 3-day virtual event where you'll learn the exact framework for "one-to-many" selling that can help you sell anything to anyone online - even if you're an introvert with zero followers!
The #1 funnel builder on the planet that helps you convert your online visitors into paying customers - with the easiest to use, fastest, and most optimized platform for turning clicks into cash!
Subscribe For More Community Building Insights
Don't miss future episodes of The Russell Brunson Show where Russell shares his cutting-edge strategies for building and scaling businesses. Each episode delivers actionable insights from his experience building multiple 8-figure companies and coaching thousands of entrepreneurs.
Your Questions About Community Building Answered
Isn't building a community much slower than paid advertising?
While it may take longer initially, community building creates momentum that paid advertising can't match. Pace went from free meetups at a gas station to a $100 million business in three years with minimal ad spend. More importantly, his community is now self-sustaining and growing organically, while businesses dependent on ads must keep spending to maintain growth
How do you monetize a community without alienating members?
Both Pace and Richmond demonstrate that when you genuinely serve your community first, monetization becomes natural and welcome. Members actually want ways to go deeper with you. The key is ensuring that each paid offering delivers exponentially more value than what you give for free. At Funnel Hacking LIVE, both speakers will share their specific monetization strategies.
How does community-based marketing work alongside traditional funnels?
Your marketing funnels become dramatically more effective when built around a community-first approach. You'll see higher conversion rates, lower acquisition costs, and more repeat purchases. Richmond's Tiny Challenges create a 30% conversion rate on high-ticket offers—far above industry averages. Your funnel becomes the mechanism for deepening the relationship, not starting it.
Can I build a community if I'm just starting out?
Absolutely! In fact, starting with a community focus from the beginning is ideal. Richmond's Tiny Challenges approach specifically helps beginners start generating income without requiring a large audience. Remember, both Pace and Richmond started with simple, humble beginnings—a gas station meetup and one-on-one coaching sessions.
Ready to transform your online selling with your authentic marketing approach? Join us at the next Selling Online Event at sellingonline.com. For just $100, you'll get three full days of in-depth training on creating effective one-to-many presentations that convert!
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