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Content builds trust before you meet
Trust at scale
Metro life, and San Francisco especially, is among the most transactional places on earth. Media makes it possible to build relationships at scale in a non-transactional way: it reaches people, shows what a creator stands for, and builds trust and credibility before the two have met in person.
From newsletter to podcast
A weekly newsletter kept one writer relevant to the people who already knew them, and marketing it made it grow. A podcast followed, and the first brand sponsorship made it feel like a real thing. After going full-time, the return jumped, and guests such as Alfred Lin and Alex Karp started coming on.
Relationships of your own
The relationships that follow are a person's own, with no employer behind them. Most guests end up becoming friends and texting afterward, and they are excited to come on.
How does content build trust before a meeting?
In 1956, sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl coined the term parasocial interaction. They used it for the one-sided bond that audiences feel with people they see on television and hear on the radio. Repeated, personal exposure makes an audience member feel they know the person. That feeling of familiarity can carry into a first real meeting, which is why a creator's guests and readers often arrive already comfortable.
Why do acquaintances open more doors than close friends?
Sociologist Mark Granovetter published The Strength of Weak Ties in 1973. He surveyed people who had recently changed jobs in the Boston area and found that many learned of the job through acquaintances rather than close friends. Close friends tend to share the same information, while acquaintances connect to different networks. Public content works like a broad set of weak ties, linking a creator to many people they have never met.