Smart entrepreneurs start building relationships, growing their audience, and establishing their platform long before they need to make sales. This proactive approach ensures you're never scrambling for traffic when you finally launch.

One of the fastest ways to grow your audience is to tap into existing communities. Here's Russell's proven approach:

Quoting Nathan Barry's article "Endure Long Enough to Get Noticed," Russell explains that great content often takes time to be discovered:

"If step one in building an audience is to create great content, step two is to endure long enough to get noticed... There's so much content being produced, we can't possibly discover it all. So instead, we wait for the best content to float to the surface after time."

When you consistently publish content, you create more opportunities for people to discover you. Even if growth seems slow initially, the compounding effect over time is powerful.

You don't need fancy equipment or extensive training to begin publishing content. Here's how to get started immediately:

There's another powerful benefit to this approach: when you build an audience first, you can create offers they actually want.

"I don't build a funnel first and then look for traffic," Russell explains. "I find the traffic source first, and then I build a funnel and an offer based on what that traffic actually wants."

This insight came from a question at an event in the UK about why Russell's funnels always seem successful. The reason? He reverses the typical approach:

While many entrepreneurs focus on flashy social media metrics, Russell discovered a surprising pattern: 100% of his high-ticket Inner Circle members were podcast listeners, not social media followers.

This reveals an important truth: long-form content (like podcasts, detailed blog posts, or in-depth videos) often converts better than short-form content because it builds deeper relationships with your audience.

When you consistently deliver value through substantive content, you: