Be social on social media.

I’m an introvert.

I was never one to want a lot of attention, make a lot of friends, or throw myself into big social settings.

I found that all I really wanted to do was focus on my hobbies, work on my business, and just relax or fixate on the random interests I had at the time.

But over time, I realized that avoiding social interactions—both in real life and online—was holding me back.

The idea of putting myself out there on social media can feel exhausting, but I’m going to break down exactly how you can unlock unparalleled growth in your business and your audience by becoming social on social media.

And no you don'y share everything about your life.

You can be as private as you would like.

You only need to share the information that you feel comfortable with and that is most likely already public on your personal accounts that you currently have.

Creators are not influencers, you do not have to dance or post memes to grow an audience.

For the longest time, I hid behind my introverted personality, convinced that I could just focus on my work and let success come to me.

Maybe post some photography work on Instagram every once inawhile and then just wait for the inquiries to pour into my inbox.

But I was wrong.

I eventually realized I did needed to be social, develop a good network, and eventually build relationships with people to be able to accomplish what I wanted to achieve

Fast forward to now, and I make my full time living from content creation.

But and how would an “introvert” choose to grow an audience of +200k people and an email list of 8000 people?

Let me explain-

You need to be social on social media.

You cannot hide behind an “introverted” personality if you want to have a big effect on the world.

As a freelance photographer, I still had to social.

As a content creator, I still have to be social.

If I was trying to climb a corporate latter, I would still have to be social.

Making some friends along the way will only help you achieve what you want.

But I’m not telling you to go out and party, dance on tables, or talk to everyone you make eye contact with.

I’m going to break down exactly how you can learn to become strategically social to grow your business and audience.

Many people use their introversion as an excuse to not engage, but in today’s world, that simply doesn’t make sense.

When you’re building something—whether it’s a personal brand, a business, or a creative project—you need to interact with people for your work to be known and seen.

And if that means stepping out of your shell, then so be it.

It's a skill that you can start learning and stop ignoring.

It’s time to be social on social media again.

The biggest mistake I made when growing my audience

When I grew my audience I was breaking out of my shell and still getting comfortable posting and sharing my ideas online.

I saw the future and impact social media can bring to anyone who decides to post a few videos, and I knew it was my next step in my personal progression.

Since I had a background in photography, and had a few influencers in my personal network— I learned a few things and started making content.

I eventually figured out "how to go viral" and started growing fast.

But I wasn’t showing my personality and building a community.

And this was the biggest mistake I made-

I thought posting content was enough, putting myself out there, showing my face.

But I wasn’t networking, commenting, or DMing people.

That meant I was missing out on opportunities, connections, and even potential clients or brand deals.

The truth is, we now live in a digital age where networking has zero barriers to entry.

In the past, your ability to connect depended on location, status, education, and industry.

Now, all you need is the internet—but there’s a catch.

Social media is a skill.

You have to learn how to write, communicate, and build relationships online.

This is a new way of communication.

Yes, you can connect with anyone you so chose, but you need to learn how to communicate online so they people actually reply to you.

Why do you need to DM more people

I personally have seen people in my network literally closing $20K–$40K deals over DMs.

Multiple people are approaching million dollar years, as 1 person, with no sales calls in my direct network.

Read that again if you'd like.

And many more people doing much more than that with just 1 extra degree of separation from myself.

It really is all a game, but you need to learn how to play it.

Learn a few skills that are valuable in the marketplace.

Most likely you already have a few skills since you’ve been hopefully working or studying for a few years.

Build an organic network people and micro community when you start posting content.

Your content will serve as a public resume and your own creditability for when you start to network and get to know some people on social media.

When you have clarity on your offer can add value to people, then you can officially join the future work - The Creator Economy.

Someone just commented on your post? Maybe they need a video editor.

Someone posted about launching a business? Maybe they need a website.

Someone mentioned back pain? Maybe they need a fitness coach.

Someone made a post about feeling stuck in life? Maybe they need a mentor.

People have all sorts of problems in their life and you can position yourself as someone who can help.

Problems fall under 3 main evergreen markets that will never disappear.

You can check out more info here if curious: (watch from around 16:10)

Your network is built from one conversation at a time.

So do not try and sell a product or yourself right away.

Please.

We will be getting into how to build trust and a community in the next section.

My point is people all over the internet are open to receiving some cool value and having some helpful conversations.

But most people don’t even think to reach out.

Instead, they scroll, consume content, and wonder why they’re not growing.

You can start helping people for free first, before you start getting paid.

That’s typically how it goes.

If you’re intersted in creating your own income, your own business, or literally just want to build anything in your life and you’re not posting on social media, you already lost.

Your DMs are the easiest way to start getting in front of people—even without an audience or “viral” content.

Many people think they need a huge following before they can start networking.

That’s completely wrong.

Networking is how you’re going to build your first community of 30-60 people.

It’s how you start.

If you just manually build your audience—one DM at a time—you can start growing.

Once you have a following, it becomes a badge of credibility, proof that you’ve stuck it out and have built something of value for people.

Then your content will be reaching more people, in your niche, and your content will serve as an asset that keeps giving back to you.

Even when your not working, your content will still be working for you.

How to Start DMing People (the with or without you method)

Before you start DM’ing people you have to be genuine and have a source of value or genuine curiosity to lead with.

This is not a method to just hunt for sales or a new client.

This is to build a community and audience and plant the seeds for something much bigger later on.

Here’s a rough framework of what that might look like for you:

Use these prompts in your own words to sound natural.

Lead with a compliment. Share a post they wrote that resonated with you and send it to them with some more insight explaining why you like it.

Engage with their content. Comment, like, and follow don’t be a complete stranger if you genuinely like their work. (which you should like their work if you plan on dming or talking to them)

Ask questions and understand what their goals are (after you break the ice). Ask:

“What are your plans for [x project]? It’s been cool seeing some of your content about this”

“Do you have anything you’re focusing on right now? It looks like you’ve been dialling in your content must have something bigger in the works.”

Offer value. Share a helpful resource, connect them with someone in your own network, recommend a podcast. Something that is free, to help them accomplish what their building. Even if it’s not exactly related to your own business. This is literally just to make some friends and help each other out.

Follow up. Keep in touch every once in awhile and slowly develop a relationship.

“I remember you mentioning [topic]—came across this today and thought you’d find it helpful.”

“Yo, I wrote this post the other day based on what we talked about—thought you might find it interesting.”

This framework can be used over the course of weeks and should be followed as a lose guideline.

Don’t force it.

Just be natural, show genuine curiosity, and offer free value when you see something that makes sense for them.

The whole goal here is to build a community for your own content to grow.

Plus with enough good karma points, you’ll just be well connected overall.

Plant your seeds and continue doing your thing.

The with or without you method. Real connections take time, but they pay off in ways you can’t imagine.

This only works under one assumption…

You actually enjoy what you do and what you post about.

If you love your work, networking won’t feel like a chore—it’ll be a natural extension of your passions and interest.

I love jiu jitsu, I could probably talk about it all day.

Equally I also love content and online business.

It’s a fun topic for me to share and I get to connect and network with people who also appreciate it.

Your personal brand, your content, your community—it’s all connected.

In fact once you really start to tune in— you realize your personal life, romantic life, and business life is now also all connected.

Your work and personal brand become 1 flowing entity as you share who you are and value to the world.

This is why it’s important to genuinely hold your self to a high standard with good, strong morals.

Everything you do flows together, so make sure you truly love what you’re building.

So, if you’re reading this and you like online business or content: send me a dm and let me know your thoughts.

Cheers, Ethan

P.S I am closing off enrolments into the 1:1 Catalyst Program soon.

There is 1 spot left out of the 4. If you’re intersted in taking that leap and "3xing" your income from organic content creation then you can apply here and we’ll take look to see if you’d be a good fit.

This program focuses on building out your content system to grow an audience while then scaling your new authentic offer so you have a true meaningful purpose in your content (plus earn loads of money along the way)

The more people you affect = The more money you will make.