Secret to self-sustaining audience growth inside…

Clean, enticing thumbnails. A responsive, aesthetically pleasing website. Beautifully optimized videos. Rian Doris seems to have it all locked in.

But when you dig a little deeper, you learn that his strategy goes far deeper than optimization. It’s rooted in an ethical view officially coined in 2017, but tracked back as far as the oral constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy. 

Hey — Paige, here! Back with another creator deep dive.

Longtermism focuses on our ethical obligation to future generations. A lot of people think about this concept in terms of social issues — building a better world for the next generation. 

But Rian Doris takes this a step further and adapts longtermism as the foundation for his content and his marketing strategy (his 305K+ subscribers prove this is worth dissecting). 

Let’s take a look at his content: 

On the surface, Rian’s content is centered around one driving concept: achieving flow state. 

For one major purpose: unlocking personal potential.

But on a more intrinsic level, he teaches people how to unlock a flow state so that they can achieve a better life long-term. He helps people invest in themselves now for the betterment of their lives tomorrow.

When we look at his strategy, we get a little deeper into the effective altruism-rooted longtermism. 

How does Rian Doris leverage his social channels to fuel his business when he doesn’t accept sponsorships or run ads? 

His agency, Flow Research Collective, sells courses, coaching and cohorts. 

And he’s adapted longtermism to drive his strategy that moves his ideal buyers from his personal-brand subscribers to his business, all while making sure those who aren’t ready to buy (and may never be) are satisfied and coming back for more content.

First, Rian creates content that’s evergreen and attractive to a broad audience — who wouldn’t want to learn neurobiology hacks to cut their workday in half? 

Then he shares content that’s a little more tailored to his niche — lead magnets. 

Finally, he drives the superfans to his business’s website. 

This has taken his business from 0 to $17M in yearly revenue. 

His personal brand, YouTube and videos don’t generate significant revenue because they don’t have to. They are simply tools to help people and his business have a bigger, brighter future.

When he builds, he’s not building for today. He’s not leaning into virality. He’s creating an ecosystem that generates long-term interest and builds trust with the 97% continuously. 

I hear you now — how do I validate the spend on content that doesn’t convert? Attribution has always been tricky… we’ll get to that. But first: 

How can you embed longtermism into your strategy? 

Take a step back from your ICP for a sec. They are still vital, but who do they hang out with? Who might you be able to educate or help that’s in the same crowd, but not quite aligned? What do they want? 

If your business functions by selling accounting software to busy CFOs, take a tiny step back and…

• Look at the next biggest ring in your audience, finance professionals in leadership

• Dig into what they care about and what they want (automation hacks, new tips and tricks, growth and development opportunities, ways they can impress their bosses, etc.)

• Invest time in creating content that aligns with those goals and interests. 

This approach builds trust and provides you with evergreen content that can help your ranking and performance when you do decide to release content that’s more product/solution-focused. 

Another example: You sell a marketing solution to CEOs at bootstrapped start-ups…

• Step back, your next biggest audience is probably the employees at the startups currently wearing 30 professional hats

• What do they care about? My bet — saving time, maximizing results, and probably some form of automation or done-for-you product that is actually valuable. 

• Create content around those goals

Once you have a solid plan for broader audience reach, leverage your existing ICP-targeted content to ensure your content path is crystal clear. 

When you’re creating just for your ICP, you’re only reaching the 3% of your market that might be ready to buy. When you cast your net a little wider and lean into building trust with the 97%, you’re building a strategy that will fuel a better future for your business. 

Best part — when you do this consistently the audience growth and conversion start to fuel themselves. We’re not aiming for quick ROI here, but long-term sustainable ROI. 

Rian Doris uses themes of longtermism throughout his entire strategy, optimizing each step of the way. And it’s built him a sustainable business that makes a difference to his ICP and beyond. 

The takeaway: Leveraging your content strategy to focus on long-term business goals by building trust with an audience just beyond your ideal customer can result in sustainable audience growth and conversion. 

That’s it, ya’ll! Happy creating!

Paige Peterson
Newsletter Aficionado, Sweet Fish

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