How to Grow a Following on Clubhouse (Next Big Social Media App)

In this post we’re going to go over how to grow a following on Clubhouse, which I believe could be one of the next biggest social media platforms coming out. I actually heard about the app back in April or so and had a few friends already hop on. I didn’t really think too much of it because audio isn’t my thing, but now it’s definitely trending upwards now and gaining momentum. I’ve seen many celebrities including Tiffany Haddish, Keyshia Cole, and Lupe Fiasco use the app, and I’m hearing about Clubhouse everywhere. I also have a friend who essentially used it to skyrocket his growth with his personal brand, which made me turn my head and want to learn more about the app.

Look at how the keyword is growing on Google Trends!

Clubhouse is very interesting because it is exclusively audio only. There’s no way to send text messages to each other or video chat on the app. It’s ALL audio. Because it’s brand new, everyone is still currently figuring out the best way to use the app. If you want a rundown of how the app works check out this post on how to use Clubhouse.

At this stage Clubhouse is invite-only, so you can’t use the app unless you’re one of the few selected for an invite. Everyone’s also making guesses about its strategy and about how you can form a Club, which I’ll go into more later. I’m actually more introverted so Clubhouse is probably a harder avenue for me – it can be a bit anxiety inducing for me to join live, audio-only chat rooms and talk to people. BUT I’ve already learned so much from the app, and I feel it’s helping me improve my speaking skills, so I’m all about it. From my experience, I want to present my findings here.

PS here is the video version of this blog post:

How to Grow a Following on Clubhouse

1. Get on Early

I have a friend who got into Clubhouse around the end of November, and by getting in earlier and talking to people constantly, he’s amassed almost 7,000 followers. I respect his grind! And the way he was able to grow was that he organically went into rooms and raised his hand. Eventually an influencer actually brought him onboard and allowed him to grow alongside.

Because Clubhouse is currently not saturated and is invite-only, this is a chance for you to ride the wave and get on top of it. If you get on early and continuously participate, you’ll be rewarded. So don’t sleep on the app before the wave is over and people start using hte app more and more. Pretty soon everyone’s going to have it and it’s going to be much harder to stand out.

It’s like my experience with TikTok – although I was still a bit late to the game, I believe I got in at a good time as a financial content creator. Since I went on earlier than most Instagram or YouTube influencers, I was able to leverage the platform to grow over 181k followers and get these people to follow my YouTube (now 13k+ followers) and Instagram (now 44k+ followers). That’s why I’m keeping my eye on Clubhouse and trying to get in sooner.

I do want to emphasize that it’s not always the smartest thing to keep trying to leverage every single platform there is. For example, I don’t believe audio is my strength as I’m not the best at talking, though Clubhouse is letting me network and helping me overcome my fears. Instead, I feel video is more of my strength, as both Pat Flynn and my other friend recommended me getting on YouTube and TikTok based off my skillsets. So on top of blogging, I expanded to other multimedia platforms that matched my passions and skills. So even though I talk about getting on early, it’s crucial to initially figure out if Clubhouse is right for you – does it align with your strengths as well as your audience? Is Clubhouse where your demographic is? Or is it helping you in some shape or form? Don’t just try to hop onto everything and spread yourself too thin.

2. Flesh Out Your Clubhouse Bio

It’s really important to flesh out your bio because first impressions matter a lot when it comes to getting those follows. The first two lines of your bio are actually very important, because when you’re searching for people through the app, these lines appear first. Make it exactly what you’re about or show your achievements right off the bat.

Here’s my current bio, which I’m still working on (and it’s a bit cut off at the bottom):

PS: Follow me on Clubhouse at @sharontseung for passive income, financial freedom, and entrepreneurship tips! 

With my bio, I write my achievements and stats, and talk about my story, niche, mission, and where to find me. These are important components to making your profile shine.

As you can see above, make sure sure to connect your social media profiles. You can currently connect your Instagram and Twitter profiles, so make sure to do that to give users another place to check you out.

3. Invite Influencers and Powerhouses to Clubhouse

When you first get started, you only receive 1 invite to use. I found that after using the app for a few days, I was granted 3 extra invites I could give to others. This made me notice how critical invites can be.

I became a bit more strategic with who I invited. The most important thing is you want to invite people who will actually use the app. Don’t invite people who will never open Clubhouse or just lurk, because it seems the app does evaluate who you invite. I noticed that when I scheduled an event and added some cohosts, the cohosts I invited to the app were actually placed towards the front despite how I ordered my cohosting invites.

Here’s a screenshot of the event I created (and Ryan and Sean were my invites):

That’s why I have a feeling that Clubhouse does care who you invite. If Clubhouse finds you invited people who are influential in the app, they’re likely to favor you.

Another benefit is that when you nominate others, your profile is presented on their profiles as a “Nominated by”. That means that there is a link back to you, and if they continue using the app and others check out their bios, it’s another chance of getting discovered.

Here is an example of someone I invited. As you can see, it has the nomination at the bottom:

The fact that invites are written as “nominated by” and that invites are so exclusive shows that Clubhouse really wants to make sure you’re inviting the right people who will grow the app. They’re actually rewarding people with invites because they’re so hard to get. So the people you bring on are super important – make sure to use your invites wisely.

4. Attend Rooms and Raise Your Hand

This goes back to what I mentioned in point 1, and how my friend organically grew his following to almost 7,000 followers. I went in a big chatroom the other day, and I actually raised my hand to ask questions. By pitching a little bit of where I’m at/what I do and simply asking a question, I gained a decent amount of follows. One of the best things you can do to grow on the app is to join conversations, ask good questions, and add value. The more you participate, the more chance of discoverability and the more opportunities to network with some big influencers.

I also find that Clubhouse is such a great tool for networking because it’s almost like attending mini conferences without actually buying tickets and physically going to conferences. Having conversations with audio and hearing each other’s voices is a solid way of connecting with other people. So as you participate, don’t just think about how to grow your following on Clubhouse – think about how it can actually be A. beneficial for your education and for hearing other people’s experiences and B. a great way to meet people.

5. When You Speak, Pitch a Bit of Yourself Before You Ask Your Question

When you raise your hand to speak, I believe it’s critical to give some backstory because it gives everyone in the audience a chance to get to know you better. People will naturally peruse your bio and try to learn more about you, to see if what you’re doing is relatable to them. This is another chance for you to get discovered, so pitch yourself wisely. You don’t need to go into your entire backstory unless time permits you to do so (usually moderators want audience members to get to their question quickly). However, it’s good to say what your niche is and what achievements you’ve been able to acquire – then segway into your question, as long as it all connects naturally.

6. Host Panels – Collaboration Over Competition

As I entered rooms, I found one of the best formats is one where there’s a panel of speakers (all moderators) and an MC to host and guide the event. In this way, audience members are raising their hands to ask a question, and after the question is asked, the MC pushes them back down to the listener level. I find this format works because Q&As are fast and informative. Conversations in which everyone is speaking tend to drag out and stray to different topics. I have joined plenty of awkward chat rooms on Clubhouse already! So following a solid format helps to make things informative for audience members and incentivize them to join, listen, and follow the hosts.

Example of a panel:

If you’re going to host panels, you’ll need to connect with others in your space and bring them together. Hosting a panel allowed me to connect with people I haven’t talked to in a while and bring everyone together for the same purpose. You really shine as a connector on the app, because your room looks stronger when there are more people attending. When you schedule out an event and add cohosts, these events notify the cohosts’ followers, so the growth is exponential if you have more people hosting and working together. Because of this, you should collaborate more versus compete with others.

7. Apply to Form a Club

On Clubhouse, there are clubs that are interest based groups that members can join. This will help you grow faster as it’s another way for people to follow and get notified when the club has new events. In the future, they may have a club directory so it’s a good idea to get a club sooner than later. My friend applied for a Club and got accepted because he got in early.

If you want to apply for a Club, click here. Rumor has it that in order to get accepted into a Club, you need to moderate rooms or speak for 21 days consecutively. I don’t know if that’s true, but my advice is to use the app more often than not and actually contribute.

UPDATE:

I’ve just gotten my Club! I think I did hop on the app for many days consecutively, but I definitely did not speak each day of it!

PS – would love if y’all joined the Club as well at Passive Income Entrepreneurs:

 

Conclusion

Hope you guys liked this guide on how to grow a following on Clubhouse. I tried to make it pretty comprehensive based off what I’ve learned so far. If you’re great at networking, public speaking, and communicating with people, I think this platform is for you. Clubhouse can be a great way to blow up fast.

Also, if you want more tips around entrepreneurship, finance, and passive income please follow me on Clubhouse at @sharontseung. Maybe we can work together! I’d love to collaborate with other entrepreneurs and financial freedom fighters.

If you’re also interested in more Clubhouse information, check out these posts:

• Should I use Clubhouse? Pros and cons of Clubhouse
• Clubhouse tutorial for beginners – how to use Clubhouse
• How to start a Clubhouse room – 4 successful Clubhouse room ideas
• How to make money on Clubhouse

Lastly, let me know in the comments below if this post was helpful for you!