The power of reputation, the need for strategy, plus the challenges of growing an audience for your content

Recently, I reached out and asked a simple favour — to take a few minutes to complete a reader survey for Reputation OnRamp.

The goal? To better understand where you’re at in your journey as a professional, a business owner, and — most importantly — as someone striving to build a credible, visible, and trustworthy presence in today’s chaotic online world.

To those who contributed: thank you kindly 🙏

Your responses were thoughtful, honest, and in many cases, quite revealing. The insights gained were deeply aligned with the themes we explore each week in this newsletter, which is heartening.

Here's what stood out - and what it tells us about the challenges (and opportunities) facing reputation-driven solopreneurs and professionals.

Let’s go!

You're experts … but you’re also human

First things first: nearly every single respondent identified as an expertise-based practitioner — people who trade in knowledge, experience, and advice. Many of you are solopreneurs or micro-business owners, working either independently or with a small team behind you.

Critically, 100 per cent of you say that having a strong personal brand and reputation is important to you professionally.

Going a bit deeper, all respondents indicated it’s important for the sustained success of their business to be genuinely perceived as a trusted, credible authority in their field.

This validates a key assumption behind this newsletter, and the broader Reputation OnRamp philosophy: being credible and trusted isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ - it’s central to your business success, the difference between being considered… or being the one people come to first.

Do you feel overwhelmed?

While the external perception might be that “you’ve got it all figured out” — the reality is far more nuanced.

Over half of respondents admitted to sometimes feeling overwhelmed in the day-to-day running of their business, but at least there were times when they felt they had everything under control.

A quarter of respondents concurred that “it’s crazy out there!”

One person summed it up perfectly:

That’s the entrepreneurial rollercoaster. And clearly, many of you are not alone on that front!

What’s keeping you up at night?

When I zoomed in a little further and asked which specific areas of PR, content, and communications were causing the most angst, here’s what topped the list (in order):

• Organic social media (making it actually work)

• Earned media (e.g., publicity, speaking gigs)

• Content marketing — including strategy, creation and distribution

A handful of you said: “ALL OF IT!!! 😩”

Seeing social media at the top of the list doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, given the constant algorithm changes and toxic nature of some of the platforms. Of course, the fact organic reach has been screwed down on most social channels continues to be a huge bugbear for business owners.

Drilling down, while those who struggled with content selected a range of things that were giving them grief, two key ones stood out:

1. “I haven't got a coherent strategy that provides sufficient direction for my content efforts”

2. “I'm having trouble growing an audience for my content”

The answers around content indicate to me that producing enough good content and making it work for your brand and your business remains an issue for many readers.

From where I sit, strategy (or lack thereof) constantly hinders people’s progress when it comes to content marketing. There is so much noise from self-proclaimed ‘gurus’ around how to succeed with content (without even trying!) that many business people simply become disenchanted.

Be careful of people who claim to know the ‘secret’ to content success. What’s worked for someone else might not work for you, because you are unique - you have different goals, aspirations and experiences compared to other business owners. This is why having a strategic plan tailored to your needs is critical.

When developing a content strategy, you need to do what’s right for you and your brand and your business versus simply jumping on the latest trend that seems to be working for others.

I’ll get off my soapbox now 😁 

The majority of respondents who said they were struggling with social media indicated:

• “I'm having trouble growing my audience (number of followers) on social media”

• “I haven't got a coherent strategy that provides sufficient direction for my social media efforts”

Notably, the key issues people are having with content are the same for social media. Again, this is not something that surprises me.

A good strategy will help you grow an audience for your owned and social media channels, but there are still some headwinds such as reduced organic reach on social media generally, content saturation (increasingly much of it AI-generated drivel) and the ongoing challenge of promoting your content in social posts, only to have those posts penalised (extra reduction in reach) because a link is included. Sheesh!

When it comes to earned media, the statement that resonated most was:

• “I'd love to do more (earned) public speaking gigs but not sure how best to go about it”

Personally, I was surprised that readers weren’t having challenges with (or they weren’t interested in) generating earned media exposure for their insights, stories and ideas.

I’m convinced editorial publicity provides huge upside for solopreneurs and company founders, those who are genuine credible authorities in their industry.

That said, I was heartened by the fact some readers are interested in doing more public speaking. Presenting on stage can be anxiety-inducing for many people, but it’s still untapped territory in my mind and thus a tremendous opportunity for experts and thought leaders to build awareness for their personal brand.

All the things …

A few of you want to do “all the things” across owned media (content), social media and earned media but struggle to know where to start, or you lack the resources needed to make it happen effectively.

Now, I admire people’s willingness and desire to go big (and wide) - it’s certainly doable, but it needs to be underpinned by a savvy strategic plan along with an investment in expert freelance support, otherwise you run the risk of just doing a lot of ‘stuff’ and suffering burnout.

PLEASE NOTE: Interestingly, a handful of readers like the idea of having an 'accountability partner' to keep them focused and on-track with their owned/earned/social media efforts - as an aside, I undertake this role for a few clients; I’m more than happy to create a small group where I provide guidance, accountability and support (I call this a GASpod!) PLEASE REGISTER YOUR INTEREST HERE IF THIS SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT.

Okay, let’s keep moving …

Social Media: Love-hate relationship

You’re active on the socials, but you’re not necessarily enjoying it.

Almost everyone listed LinkedIn as a primary platform, with Instagram a clear second in terms of popularity. No surprises there.

Facebook, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) were also in the mix, but far less consistently.

When asked which platforms people actually enjoyed participating on, a few of you said “None.” 

Substack was mentioned a couple of times, with someone asking if it qualifies as social media Fair question! The answer is “yes”, well sort of - Substack is essentially an owned media channel first, but in recent times the company has launched Twitter-like functionality in the form of Substack Notes.

Long-form content: Quiet consistency

Here’s a bright spot.

A large percentage of you are already producing long-form content in some shape or form, particularly written articles for newsletters and blogs. Podcasts and YouTube also get a mention.

This is incredibly encouraging!

While the fast-twitch world of short-form video gets all the hype and buzz, it’s long-form content that often builds the deepest trust and loyalty over time.

So, if you’re wondering whether your newsletter, podcast, or blog is worth the effort - this is your reminder: yes, it is ✊

Where to from here?

This survey confirmed what I’ve long suspected, and what some of you (and others) have told me privately:

• You care deeply about your reputation, your expertise, and your impact.

• You’re serious about becoming a credible authority, but unsure of the best path forward.

• You’re juggling a hundred things; some days you’re clear and confident, other days things can be a bit chaotic!

• And, while you’re all-in on creating content for your social and owned media channels, there are genuine challenges associated with such activities, particularly on social media where the landscape keeps changing and the competition for people’s attention is red-hot.

My takeaway?

You don’t need more “hacks.”
You don’t need another template, funnel, or social media cheat sheet.

What you need — what we all need — is a clearer, more human and more strategic approach to building visibility, trust and influence in today’s noisy, algorithm-driven, digital-first world.

That’s what Reputation OnRamp is here to provide.

💬 Final thoughts (and a thank you)

To everyone who responded to the survey - thank you again. You’ve helped shape the direction of this newsletter (and the broader mission behind it).

In coming issues, I’ll dive deeper into some of the key pain-points raised during the survey, namely:

• How to show up on social without selling your soul

• What it really takes to become a credible authority today

• The building blocks of sustainable (and strategic) visibility

And if you didn’t get a chance to contribute to the survey, don’t worry, your input is always welcome. Just hit reply and share your thoughts with me anytime :)

Let’s keep the conversation going.

Onwards,

TY

In case we haven’t met yet …

Hi, I’m Trevor. I help purpose-led business owners become clear and confident in how they leverage PR, content and digital communications for profit, impact and legacy.

Would you like to discuss how I can help you in a coaching capacity to build your profile and reputation as a trusted and credible expert or thought leader in your industry?  CLICK HERE TO BOOK A NO-OBLIGATION 30-MINUTE ZOOM CALL