Hard vs soft audience

The bar to acquiring one more soft audience is low. A pop-up form on a website that asks for email details does this. A thousand emails later, they still may not remember why you are in their space.

Getting someone as part of your hard audience often takes time. They didn’t come for the pop-up, though they may fill it out. They didn’t come for the freebies, though they may enjoy it. What they came for is connection and authenticity - the notion that they can trust that you will consistently deliver what you said you will deliver in ways that’s useful for them.

Some of your hard audience may not be on your mailing list, but they cross huddles to be served by you. They aren’t just true fans; they are evangelists.

What differentiates hard and soft audience is the degree to which trust is established. And the consistency with which the trust compounds.

Only a few things beat serving an audience that trusts you.