How to gain followers on Clubhouse

Clubhouse is the latest social media craze that has digital entrepreneurs standing in line to join. If you want to grow your business with social media, now is the time to get involved.

In this article, we’ll look at how to gain followers on Clubhouse, so you can use it to build your brand and grow your knowledge business. 

What is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse is a live, real-time audio social network. There are no posts, images, videos, or private messaging. Members join, start, and moderate live talks.

The core unit of activity on Clubhouse is the “room.” Rooms are impromptu or scheduled conferences that anyone can start and host. 

Another feature is the “club.” Clubs are like Facebook or LinkedIn groups, but more powerful. You must apply to start a club, and there’s a long waiting list. But once you get nominated to join a club, you’re in!

The benefits of Clubhouse for digital entrepreneurs

There are several benefits of Clubhouse that are especially valuable for digital entrepreneurs. Here are the top three.

1. Source of inspiration for new products
   

Want ideas for your new Kajabi course? Scan the room topics that are related to your business. Take note of the topics that:

• Attract a lot of attendees
• Are talked about day after day
• Disappear after a brief cameo
  

Then join the rooms that have the most attendees and eavesdrop. Listen to the speakers and listeners’ questions. Those questions point the way to lucrative market opportunities. 

2. Real life feedback on new ideas

Clubhouse is perfect for testing new ideas and potential digital products. Use the room title and description to float an idea you’d like to test.

1. Start a room.
2. Put your idea in the title and description. (Treat it like a headline.)
3. Invite two or three experts to join you as co-moderators. 
4. See how many people you attract and what they say when you invite them to the stage.
   

If you can fill a room, you know the topic is popular. If not, tweak your idea and try again.

3. Market research
   

Once you start a room, you can conduct informal surveys to give you early feedback on your ideas. Here are two ways to do a survey:

Ask speakers to give their opinion. Give speaking privileges to everyone in the room. Then ask your question. (You’ll need to moderate the discussion carefully!) 

Ask people to rapidly click their microphone off and on. The rapid-click is how users give applause on Clubhouse. For a survey, ask a yes/no question and ask people to “clap” if they like it. 

How to use Clubhouse to boost your online knowledge business

Let’s look at how you can use Clubhouse to boost your online knowledge business. Here’s a simple 3-step process for doing that.

Step 1. Build your brand

Consistently show up and participate. When you’re in a room, provide value. As soon as you’re ready, host a room and share free, valuable content. That’s all it takes to elevate your thought leadership. 

Step 2. Gain followers

It’s easy to gain followers on Clubhouse if you get involved. Each time you start a room, users will be notified. If they enter your room and see you moderating a lively discussion, they’ll stick around and follow you. 

The algorithm also helps. When newcomers join, Clubhouse prompts them to follow other users based on the topics they say they’re interested in. If you establish yourself as a thought leader in your topic, you’ll show up in that list.

Step 3. Push them into your owned channels

The adage, “Don’t build your house on rented land,” should be top of mind on Clubhouse. If Clubhouse ever decides they don’t like something you say or do, there’s nothing you can do to keep from being banned.

When you introduce yourself or take the stage, let people know what you do. Tell them how to find your website, mailing list, or podcast.

Colombian digital entrepreneur Alvaro Mendoza found a whole new audience for his newsletter and courses on Clubhouse. When he hosts a room, he pauses after 15 minutes to reset the room and talk about his conference. Alvaro has gained thousands more clients and subscribers who are primed to buy more of his digital products.

How to gain followers on Clubhouse

Now, let’s talk about how to gain followers on Clubhouse. Here are 10 tips that will establish you as someone to follow on Clubhouse.

1. Provide value first

Don’t try to show off. Don’t try to pitch your products. Just focus on adding value to whatever room you’re in. When you have a question, keep it concise. Don’t waste time. Add to the conversion.

If you host a room, maintain control Don’t let it turn into a pitch fest. Keep the ratio of educational content to commercial content at 10 to 1. 

2. Briefly announce who you are

When you do ask a question, quickly announce who you are, what you do, and where people can find you. Use your elevator pitch.

In a recent post about room moderation gone wrong, the writer described question-askers telling their life story as their intro. Embarrassing.

3. Get in now

Clubhouse is still new. Don’t wait to get in and mark your territory. It’s easier to establish yourself as the authority on your topic now, before many celebrities are in.

Fernando Labstida has become one of the go-to people in Spanish on content marketing. He gets lots of followers every time he hosts a room. And Clubhouse’s algorithm tells other Spanish-speakers interested in content to follow him.

4. Flesh out your profile description

Your Clubhouse profile description is key to getting more followers. When new members join, they’ll see it. Consider adding lots of relevant emojis to make it stand out.

Tip: Add your website link to your profile. You never know when you’ll resonate with somebody who wants coaching or digital courses right away!

5. Pay attention to clubs

You can’t speak in a club until someone nominates you, but do follow them. If you’re nominated to join a club, you can host rooms there. Clubhouse will then announce that you’re speaking to other club members.

6. Attend often in your area of interest

Attend as many rooms in your area of interest as possible. Get to know the people who frequently host and attend these rooms. Raise your hand to ask questions. Make thoughtful comments. 

And don’t discount small rooms. It’s easier to get onstage. 

7. Host your own rooms

The most powerful way to gain followers on Clubhouse is to host rooms. The trick is to get participants to show up to your rooms. Here are five ways to do that

‍Schedule them in advance. Once you schedule a room, promote it on your social networks and mailing list.

Write a compelling description. Let people know what you’ll be talking about and why it matters.

Invite thought leaders to be co-moderators. Celebrities can pack a room.

Respect people’s time. Keep the room on topic. And don’t go two or more hours. 

Practice good moderation skills. Reset the room every 15–20 minutes. Set the ground rules with your co-moderators and anyone you bring on stage. Don’t be afraid to send people back to the audience or to silence their microphone while they’re waiting to speak. 

8. Be consistent

Schedule a series of rooms every day at the same time, and stick with it. Consistency often wins over uniqueness, creativity, or celebrity status. 

9. Set your priorities

To gain followers, you may need to prioritize Clubhouse over your other social media channels. This is normal when a new channel opens. The key is to manage your time.

Since Clubhouse only lets you connect Twitter and Instagram, you can focus on Clubhouse and still be present on those channels. 

Don’t worry that you’ll be creating less content on other channels. As Joe Pulizzi said in a recent tweet: “The most successful content creators in the world are probably producing less content than you. Fewer channels & consistent delivery builds a loyal audience.”

When Michael Stelzner joined Clubhouse, he went “all in.” His conference business was severely hampered by the pandemic. Before the pandemic, Social Media Marketing World pulled in 7,000 attendees every year. At the time of this writing, Stelzner has more than 25,000 followers.

10. Don’t be a jerk

If you’re polite, you’ll get followers. So brush up your people skills:

• Thank people. 
• Set expectations. 
• Avoid talking too much. 
• Don’t monopolize people’s time or control the room. 
  

Using Clubhouse to grow your knowledge business

Clubhouse shows a lot of promise for digital entrepreneurs looking to build their platform online. It’s a place where you can interact with people in real time. It may not be a substitute for in-person gatherings, but it’s the next-best thing.

Like with YouTube and other social media platforms, you may not monetize Clubhouse directly. But, you can still use it to help grow your brand, your authority, your email lists and eventually, get customers for your knowledge products. 

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Further material

Check out Kajabi’s free downloadable ebook resources.
Attend free Kajabi webinars Monday - Friday to answer your questions about Kajabi's capabilities.
Tune in to the Kajabi podcast, Kajabi Edge to hear interviews with Kajabi Heroes.
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