Build Your Audience with 3 Easy Tools

Whether you’re a business owner, a service provider, or just someone with something to say, building an audience can feel overwhelming—especially if you think it takes a big budget or a complex strategy.

But here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be that way.

Jay Papasan, author of The ONE Thing, recently shared how he grew his newsletter from just 89 subscribers to over 12,000 readers without spending a single dollar on advertising. In a companion guide to his podcast, he breaks down the tools and strategies that helped him build a loyal audience through consistency, clarity, and smart systems.

Here are three tools he recommends that I think are especially worth checking out:

1. Read-O-Meter

Want more people to open and read your content? Try letting them know how long it’ll take.

Read-O-Meter is a free tool that calculates the estimated reading time for your writing. Including that time estimate (for example, “2 minute read”) in a subject line or title can make a surprising difference. People are more likely to click when they know exactly what kind of time commitment they’re making.

2. Hemingway App

Clarity matters. The Hemingway Editor helps make your writing bold and clear by analyzing it for complexity and readability. It flags long sentences, passive voice, and unnecessary jargon, and then gives your content a grade-level score.

Shorter, simpler sentences are often more powerful and much easier for your audience to connect with. Even small tweaks can make your message more inviting and easier to digest.

3. Google Docs for Idea Capture

This one is simple but powerful: keep two running Google Docs—one to collect inspiring quotes or questions, and another to jot down content ideas as they pop into your head.

The key is not waiting until you “sit down to write” to think of ideas. Instead, build a habit of capturing them in the moment. Over time, you’ll create a goldmine of content topics and avoid that dreaded blank page.

The Bottom Line

Growing an audience doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes, the right tools combined with consistent effort are all it takes. Try adding a reading time estimate, simplifying your writing, or setting up a better idea capture system. These small shifts can lead to stronger engagement and make the whole content creation process a lot more enjoyable.