The team calls it \u201cThe Gentlemen\u2019s Agreement.\u201d And you should absolutely try something similar. <\/strong><\/p>\n Entrepreneurs Sam Parr and Shaan Puri didn\u2019t set out to be podcasters or YouTubers.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were operating in the mindset of \u2018We\u2019re creating this for us, and if people watch it, great,\u2019\u201d says Arie Desormeaux. \u201cThey weren\u2019t identifying as content creators.\u201d<\/p>\n So when the show started to organically pick up followers, they had to decide whether to do all the things that content creators are \u201csupposed\u201d to do: Ad breaks. Engagement farming. Begging for subscribers.<\/p>\n Desormeaux is a senior producer for HubSpot Media and one of the minds behind the ongoing success of My First Million<\/em>, which currently boasts almost 900,000 followers.<\/span><\/p>\n But it didn\u2019t start that way, and she shares with me the thinking behind one of their early moments of explosive growth.<\/p>\n \u201cInstead of doing something we should <\/em>be doing, just by default, we decided to make it a funny exchange, and then turn that into a bit that\u2019s also a value add. We\u2019re going to turn it into something that becomes part of the language of the audience.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n So, instead of the typical \u2018like and subscribe,\u2019 Parr and Puri came up with the Gentlemen\u2019s Agreement. Here it is in Parr\u2019s words<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cIf this is the first episode you\u2019re listening to, you get this one for free. But if it\u2019s the second <\/em>episode or more that you\u2019ve listened to, here\u2019s our Gentlemen\u2019s agreement. You go to whatever app you\u2019re on, and you click \u2018subscribe\u2019 or \u2018follow\u2019 or whatever it is.<\/p>\n \u201cWe make this for you. We\u2019re your little laboratory rats. We\u2019re doing all this crap for you, just go and do that for us.\u201d<\/p>\n The effect was nearly immediate, with the show picking up 210,000 subscribers within a matter of months.<\/p>\n And while it\u2019s nearly impossible to say this was the sole<\/em> reason in isolation, Parr himself described the Gentlemen\u2019s Agreement as \u201cthe biggest needle mover.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t simply that listeners were honoring the agreement. They were sharing it. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll see it in the YouTube comments. You\u2019ll see it on LinkedIn,\u201d Desormeaux says. \u201cIt becomes almost inside baseball<\/a> for people who know. It\u2019s become a proper noun.<\/strong> And that creates an inclusion factor.\u201d<\/p>\n That inclusion factor is what she attributes the success of the tactic to. The very words \u201cGentlemen\u2019s Agreement\u201d have become a way for listeners to identify with each other. It has transcended engagement farming to become community building.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Like and subscribe\u2019 is such an anonymous way of communicating to people. <\/span>It\u2019s transactional. <\/span>I\u2019m talking to you like you\u2019re only what\u2019s on the other side of a button. It\u2019s a signal for the brain to check out,<\/strong>\u201d she explains. \u201c[Whereas,] the Gentlemen\u2019s Agreement is a relationship-building tactic. It\u2019s a goodwill agreement between us and the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, you shouldn\u2019t copy this tactic word-for-word. Not only would that be ungentlemanly, but it would also be ineffective. Your unique audience needs your unique language.<\/p>\n But Desormeaux shared some thoughts on how to find the lingua franca for your listeners.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone who is creating content on the internet is doing the same value exchange with their audience. Whether it\u2019s entertainment, tutorials, interviews, it\u2019s all the same.\u201d You\u2019re exchanging your content for their attention.<\/p>\n But when you simply ask for likes, you\u2019re presenting it as a one-sided equation. Instead, remind your potential audience that the exchange goes both ways.<\/span><\/p>\n Parr and Puri make no secret of the amount of effort they\u2019re offering in return.<\/p>\n By now, you can probably spot engagement farming just by the change in tone, without even listening to the words. So many content creators treat these moments as a chore, so that\u2019s what listening feels like.<\/p>\n \u201cIt becomes part of the noise of the internet. It\u2019s the same as, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s take a quick ad break.\u2019 They\u2019ve heard it so many times, it\u2019s lost its potency.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, find the wording that matches the soul of your content.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat is the tone that your audience responds to? My First Million <\/em>is entertainment first, nerds second, and business third.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s why the Gentlemen\u2019s Agreement is presented as a funny, kinda-nerdy business proposition. It probably wouldn\u2019t work for, say, a podcast about knitting grannies.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we had done it one time, it would have just been a novelty. Doing it consistently is what creates a movement. <\/span>Bringing it back from episode to episode is what lodges it in the brain.\u201d<\/p>\n And they don\u2019t just mention it in each episode. They also use it in their social media<\/a> posts, create tongue-in-cheek shareable content<\/a>, and even slap it on their merch<\/a>.<\/p>\n The result? \u201cThe audience recognizes it and uses it in situ.\u201d<\/p>\n During one episode, Parr mused that the Gentlemen\u2019s Agreement may have lost its novelty, but Desormeaux isn\u2019t worried.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s novel for whoever is hearing it for the first time, for people who haven\u2019t subscribed yet.<\/span>\u201d<\/p>\n In other words, if you\u2019ve heard it enough to tune it out, you\u2019re probably already a subscriber. (Or you\u2019re breaking the agreement. Tsk, tsk.)<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s value in the subversive. It IS cringe and unlikeable to ask for subscribers,\u201d Desormeaux admits. \u201cBut somehow, making fun of the economics of being a content creator helps to claw away the objections of the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n If you acknowledge that it\u2019s cringey, they can\u2019t call you cringey. Part of the success of the Gentlemen\u2019s Agreement is that it disarms the transactional nature by acknowledging the transactional nature.<\/p>\n![\"Click](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/bcbe2652-03f9-49fe-b517-acedc47b6f27.png\")
<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Arie](\"https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/arie-desormeaux-matg-blog.webp?width=650&height=650&name=arie-desormeaux-matg-blog.webp\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nGentlemen, behold.<\/h2>\n
The Inclusion Factor<\/h2>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net\/hub\/53\/hubfs\/matg-mfm-gentlemans-agreement-graph-email.jpg?width=560&height=162&name=matg-mfm-gentlemans-agreement-graph-email.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCreating Your Contract<\/h2>\n
1. Focus on the essential value exchange.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Stay in character.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Don\u2019t worry about being repetitive.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. Acknowledge the awkwardness.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Click](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/e1f0958d-1b15-418e-b4db-45ee531f71af.png\")
<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/track.hubspot.com\/__ptq.gif?a=53&k=14&r=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.hubspot.com%2Fmarketing%2Fthe-gentlemens-agreement&bu=https%253A%252F%252Fblog.hubspot.com%252Fmarketing&bvt=rss\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n