Audience aggregation involves getting the attention of a group of people with similar characteristics first, then selling access to that group to a third party. Because attention is limited yet valuable, getting a specific group of people together is useful to businesses that want to get the attention of those people.
To start a business that provides value using audience aggregation, you need to:
- Find a group of people with similar characteristics or interests.
- Create a way to consistently get that group’s attention.
- Find third parties that are interested in paying for the attention of that group.
- Sell access to that group without alienating the group itself.
Audience aggregation is beneficial to the audience because it receives something that’s worthy of their attention. Ad-supported websites are a great example: visitors benefit from the information and entertainment that the sites provide in exchange for being exposed to some advertising. If the advertising is overwhelming, they may leave, but most people are willing to be exposed to some advertising if the content is good.
Audience aggregation is also beneficial to the advertiser. When done well, advertising gets attention, attention brings prospects, and prospects convert to paying customers. As long as the sales that result from the advertising bring in more revenue than the cost of the advertising plus the business’s Overhead, the advertising is a profitable tool. This means that the advertiser can keep supporting the aggregator by buying more advertising. The aggregator, advertiser, and audience all win.
To learn more about audience aggregation as a form of value, check out The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman.
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