This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
On social media, engagement is everything, but sometimes even great content gets lost in the algorithm shuffle. We've had a number of questions about this from listeners who are trying to grow their Instagram or TikTok or YouTube platforms, and it's just such a struggle with algorithms deciding what viewers get to see. Even if people follow you, you don't always get to show them your content. So that's what inspired today. Besides us, they're to create a private mastermind pod for Instagram creators.
Her idea was to gather a small committed group of people who would support each other's posts right after they went live. So this evolved into something more than just a hack. It in fact became a hub for sharing trends, testing strategies, and helping creators grow in a smart, intentional way. We're gonna hear the story from Sarah. It's part of our Throwback Thursday series, where we take a look at someone whose story has evolved since we first featured them.
Creator builds Instagram mastermind pod. That is today's topic, feature, and title. I'm gonna pass the mic to Sarah. I'll be back at the end with a quick wrap-up. [Music]
This all started because I got tired of watching good creators burn out.
My name is Sarah, and I work in a social media strategy, mostly freelance. I kept seeing the same thing. Someone would post a high effort reel. They'd get 40 views. They'd wonder whether it was worth continuing.
The algorithm rewards consistency and engagement, but it's not exactly fair or transparent. So I created a test group, five clients and friends, all with small but solid accounts. We made a private DM thread and agreed on a system. Whenever someone posted, they dropped the link in the group and everyone else would like, comment, and save it within the first 15 minutes. Now that small boost made a noticeable difference in reach.
From there, it grew. I branded it as a mastermind pod and opened applications through my newsletter. It was free at first. Once I hit 25 members, I added a paywall. $19 a month for access to a structured engagement group, weekly trend breakdowns, and live audits.
I set the ground rules, no ghosting, no low effort comments, no spam. I also added a spreadsheet for post tracking and introduced drop windows to batch engagement, and it worked. People were hitting the explore page. They were doubling their reach. They were making real connections.
By month four, I had around 80 paying members, bringing in about $1,500 a month in income. Not life changing, but consistent and super lean. The main costs were time and a few automation tools. Now the coolest part was how people started collaborating. One beauty creator got a brand deal after another pod member hyped her up in the comments.
A fitness coach tripled her email list with a giveaway another member helped promote. It became more than a pod. It was an idea lab. Eventually, I hit a wall with scale though. Managing the group took hours each week, and I didn't want it to feel like just another engagement for engagement swap.
So I kept membership. I turned it into a quarterly cohort model with onboarding calls, topic specific groups, and trend sessions. Today, I run it three times a year with 40 to 50 members per cohort, charging $49 for a full month. Now it's still part time, but it's the most satisfying thing I've ever built because it helps people show up for each other, not just gain the algorithm. And honestly, I still use it myself.
Every time I post something I actually care about, I drop it into the pod. And like clockwork, a few dozen creators show up to say, we see you. [Music]
Awesome. Thanks so much to Sarah for sharing her story. Listeners, let me know what you think, who you'd like to see featured from our archives of thousands of episodes.
If you have a question or an update about your hustle, that's great too, sidehustleschool.com/questions. There's a notes page. There are notes pages for every single episode, I should say 3183 episodes and counting, they're all completely free. You can download or stream on the website. And of course new episodes drop every day, seven days a week.
Listen wherever you get your shows. My name is Chris Guillebeau. You're listening to Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
