I started following Dan Koe over a year ago.

I first encountered one of his posts on LinkedIn. Then on Tik-Tok and then on X (Twitter).

I eventually stumbled across his YouTube videos and subscribed to his newsletter.

Recently, I purchased his $1,000 Digital Economics Course. (which I can't say enough good things about).

Four months ago, I would have laughed if you told me I would spend $1k on someone's 'course'.

But after a few months consuming as much of his content as I could, I hit the buy button.

What changed between never buying a course to spending 1k?

I had moved down the psychological trust funnel.

The journey from follower to purchaser took over a year for me.

For some people it's shorter, for others its longer.

But each of us goes through a journey of trust to go from a potential buyer to a buyer without even realizing it.

This is 100% by design and rooted deeply in human behavior, psychology and emotion.

The best marketing in the world doesn't even let you feel like you're being sold, but you are.

Just take a look at any Apple commercial.

The entire ad is designed to make you a customer of their products.

But you'll never realize that while watching their ad.

You are mesmerized by their design, minimal style, background music and the associated "status" of owning an Apple product.

I have seen this process first hand during my time at Forbes.

The problem is people don't know how to not come across as salesy. The other problem is people don't want to be sold.

So how in the hell do you remove sales from the equation but achieve the same end result?

The answer is in the trust journey.

The Trust Journey

Trust is the culmination of mini-tests that are subconsciously conducted.

Your best friend didn't become your best friend over night.

It happened through a series of interactions, conversations and situations that demonstrated to you that they were a trust worthy person.

The exact same process occurs during:

• social media scrolling

• website shopping

• interview process

• client calls

Here's what the trust journey looks like on social media:

saw their content > interacted > visited their profile > followed

This is story of how I started following everyone on my feed.

I came across some of their content in one of my feeds. It either educated, inspired or informed me. (or made me laugh) I probably liked or commented on some of their posts.

Then the next time I log on, I see more of their content. Once again get inspired, informed or educated. Now I might visit their profile and eventually follow them.

Each time you see someone's content, is a micro-interaction that either builds or loses trust.

All of this happens subconsciously.

Now that I am a follower, I am guaranteed to see more of their content. This will lead to me visiting their website and checking out their products or services

I am much more likely to join their newsletter or buy a product from them because they have built up a level of trust through the value their content provides me.

It is much more difficult to get me to buy your product on the first time I ever meet you.

But buying your product after reading your content for 4 weeks is a no brainer.

The key ingredient is trust.

Don't Be Fooled

Fancy designs, marketing, and your business plan are all great

But the brands and people that are making the most money, have tripled down on trust.

I never trusted anyone on the internet for most of my life, at least not to the point of paying them.

I am sure some of you reading this feel the same way.

That alone makes trust exponentially harder online because it's easier to hide.

A quick audit of some of the top creators:

Dan Koe

Ali Abdaal

Kieran Drew

Alex Hormozi

All of them have created a community that can verify they know what they are talking about simply through their ideas.

Their social content is better than what a 4-year degree has taught me.

Their ideas are the culmination of the experience, learnings and skills they have acquired over a period of time.

The key differentiator is time.

Trust is Compounding

As with all things, trust compounds.

The more someone is exposed to you and has a positive experience, the larger the gain in trust.

The benefit is that the longer you provide positive experiences, the higher degree of trust people will place in you. This can lead to better relationships, more business opportunities and more sales.

(Value + Authority) x Time = Trust

Each component of the trust equation is a skill you must master to achieve the desired outcome.

Value is the skill of providing other people with something so good they are willing to give away their money or attention for it.

Authority is the skill of understanding something on such a deep level that others look to you for guidance.

Time is the skill of discipline (which is the hardest of the three).

Value and authority are necessary, but unless you act on those skills for an extended period of time, it doesn't matter.

The good news is I can guarantee if you provide value, develop your authority and stick with it for 6-12 months, you will achieve whatever goal you set.

I can guarantee this because I've built it multiple times at Forbes and seen it done by countless other creators online who are now doing 6-figures+ in online revenue.

So here's the step by step formula to doing this yourself:

First, is identifying what you are an authority in. (or becoming an authority in-- you can build this over time)

Next, is learning how to turn that authority into value for other people. (is it content, product, service or all three)

Last, is executing on this every day and week for 6-12 months.

PS— I’m launching a free Magnetic Content Masterclass in January. You’ll learn:

• How to build and scale your online attention

• Craft content that creates your own customers

• Create unlimited content ideas

If you don’t want to miss out, you can use the form below. Spots are limited and won’t be free forever:

Talk soon,

Matt