How to frustrate your audience
You invite some friends over for dinner.
They arrive, excited for a night of good food and conversation.
But instead of serving dinner, you announce that you're just going to play video games all night.
It's your house, your rules, right? Well, yeah.
But your friends didn't show up expecting video games. They came for dinner. And now they're confused, disappointed, and probably pretty hungry.
This is kinda like what happens when we ignore our audience's expectations in favor of doing whatever we want with our personal brand.
See, an audience doesn't just materialize out of thin air.
They show up because we've created certain expectations through our content.
Maybe they expect to learn something new.
Maybe they expect a good laugh
Or maybe they're looking for a fresh perspective on a familiar topic.
Whatever it is, we've made a promise. It’s our job is to deliver on that promise.
This is where audience feedback comes in.
It helps us understand if we're meeting those expectations or falling short.
It's guides us towards content that resonates and away from stuff that misses the mark.
Now, this doesn't mean we should let our audience dictate every move we make. That would be exhausting and probably lead to some pretty bland stuff.
But it does mean we should listen. We should pay attention to what they're saying, both directly and indirectly.
Like any good relationship, it requires give and take.
Sometimes you'll challenge your audience with new ideas or approaches and they don’t know what to expect (because you’ve created a new world for them).
Other times, you'll give them exactly what they're looking for.
The key is finding the right balance.
So next time you're tempted to ignore audience feedback and just do your own thing, remember the dinner party analogy.
Your audience showed up expecting something.
Make sure you're not leaving them hungry.