Build Something People Return To

Every time someone reads your newsletter, watches a video or turns up to something you’ve organised, they’re making a small trade. They give you their time.

Whether they realise it or not, they expect something in return.

For a long time, we assumed that return was knowledge. You could teach something useful, share expertise or explain how something works. We don’t live in that world anymore.

When answers are everywhere, the return people are really looking for is how they feel after spending time with you.

Did that time mean something? Did they leave feeling clearer, more capable, or more connected to other people?

When you make something people enjoy, they come back to it.

In two months, it will be Creator Day ’26.

Preparing for it has reminded me the experience we create for people is everything.

It doesn’t have to be an event. It could be a newsletter, a podcast, a community or anything you build that encourages people to come closer.

Let me explain from where my focus is at the moment. Traditional conferences are usually built around a model we’ve been used to for generations, a room full of people sitting in rows while speakers deliver presentations.

The format works, but this is where the relationship side stops.

When we started Creator Day in 2022, we made a small but important shift. There’s a part of the day where everyone is brought together into smaller groups so people can actually get to know each other.

That moment has become the most important part of the day. It’s when people realise they’re not just attending a conference, they were always a part of it.

The goal isn’t just to deliver talks. It’s to create a day where people feel connected to each other in a way that goes beyond another LinkedIn connection.

We can generate explanations, summaries and tutorials. Everything we need is in front of us and takes seconds.

When the supply of content explodes, the way people decide what deserves their attention changes.

Instead of asking, “What can I learn here?” It’s about:

– Who helps me make sense of things?
– Who makes me feel capable?
– Where do I feel comfortable spending time?

In other words, people filter the world by how the role it plays for them.

They gravitate towards places where the experience is meaningful.

I see this with our Lunch Clubs. The occasion itself lasts ninety minutes, but the part that matters most is encouraging people to stay afterwards. As the events are held in restaurants and bars, people naturally continue the conversation. The environments are built for people to socialise.

The encouragement is for people to feel connected to each other, as opposed to treating the event as a lead generation exercise and leave as soon as the event has finished.

When someone gives you their time (online or offline), they are making an investment.

What they hope to receive back is the experience of having spent that time well.

If it feels worthwhile, they will invest again and that’s how audience relationships begin.

It’s similar to running a restaurant and being a good host, people remember the places they felt special, rather than just as a customer.

Often it’s the small touches that matter. For example, we have a WhatsApp group for Creator Day and the conversation of hotels to stay. I wanted to show that a hotel was only a matter of minutes from the train station, so I made a video and posted in the group chat. The reason I did it is for people to have a feel for where they were heading.

It wasn’t needed, but it helped people picture where they were going and feel more comfortable about the trip.

That’s the experience I want Creator Day to create, the sense that people are part of something together.

One post doesn’t create loyalty. Neither does the occasional newsletter.

What people remember is the emotional history you build. It’s the small moments that are repeated over time, to help people make that attachment. This is why we go in the sea every Friday, it’s the repetition that brings people together.

Small experiences that make someone feel:

– they understand something more clearly

– they feel recognised

– they see new possibilities

– they feel part of something

– they feel confident enough to act

Over time, you stop being someone interesting to follow and become someone people trust.

That’s the shift from simply broadcasting ideas to creating a place where people feel welcome. It also means you don’t have to constantly produce more.

Instead of always pushing out content, you’re creating space for conversation and participation. 

I am learning that people return because they like how it feels to be there. When hundreds of people travel to Poole for Creator Day, it isn’t because they need information. It’s because they want to be around others who share the same spirit.

You make something for people to feel good in the space you are making. This is what keeps you here for the long term as you are creating the platform. It becomes something people look forward to.

Most of the work I do revolves around three outputs, a newsletter, live events and a membership community.

But what matters today isn’t the format, it is the environment those formats create.

When someone opens the newsletter each week, they’re greeted by someone else saying hello and to connect with. When we run sessions in YATM Club, the goal is to figure things out together and it’s the collective effort that works.

People return because they know how it will feel when they arrive. They will feel supported, recognised or part of something.

With many of us working independently or remotely, that sense of connection matters more than ever.

You don’t need to start with a blank screen and “What should I post?” A better question might be:

What return does my work create for the people who spend time with it?

If someone leaves with greater clarity, a sense of possibility, or the feeling that they belong somewhere, their time felt well spent.

Over time, your work starts to play a different role in people’s lives. Content builds the relationship. Relationship becomes trust.

People don’t just return for answers. They return to the places that make them feel less alone.