Do You actually Own Your Audience?
Do You actually Own Your Audience?
Written by
Frankee Muryan
2 min read
2 min read
2 min read
Let me hit you with some truth: Most entrepreneurs are building businesses on borrowed time and rented land.
You think you "own" your 100K Instagram followers? Your 50K email list? Your Facebook group? Think again.
The Ugly Reality of Digital Sharecropping
Here's what actually happens:
Instagram decides to change their algorithm (again) and your reach drops 70% overnight
Gmail filters your "promotional" emails to a tab nobody checks
Facebook decides your group violates some obscure policy and shuts it down with zero warning
Just like that, your "audience" disappears. No appeal. No recourse. No business.
What Real Audience Ownership Looks Like
True audience ownership means just one thing: direct access that nobody can take away from you.
In 2025, that means:
First-party data collection - Names, emails, phone numbers, purchase history stored in systems YOU control
Multiple contact channels - If email dies tomorrow, can you still reach your people?
Platform independence - Your audience should follow YOU, not the platform you're on
The Ownership Acid Test
Ask yourself these questions:
Can you reach your audience without paying a middleman?
Do you control the communication channel directly?
Can you take your audience data with you anywhere?
Would your audience still be accessible if your primary platform disappeared?
If you answered "no" to any of these, you're building on quicksand.
Three Steps to Actually Own Your Audience
Build a multi-channel data collection system Don't just collect emails. Get phone numbers, app downloads, physical addresses. Each additional channel is insurance against platform changes.
Create direct relationship assets Develop owned media that doesn't depend on algorithms - podcasts, mobile apps, community platforms you control.
Regularly migrate your audience across channels The smart play? Constantly encourage followers to connect on multiple platforms. Instagram follower? Get them on email. Email subscriber? Get them on SMS.
I've watched too many "successful" brands collapse overnight when their audience disappeared with a platform change. Don't be one of them.
Real business stability comes from audience ownership. Everything else is just digital sharecropping.
– Frankee Muryan, Founder, ETP Tech
Share with an entrepreneur building on rented land 💪
Let me hit you with some truth: Most entrepreneurs are building businesses on borrowed time and rented land.
You think you "own" your 100K Instagram followers? Your 50K email list? Your Facebook group? Think again.
The Ugly Reality of Digital Sharecropping
Here's what actually happens:
Instagram decides to change their algorithm (again) and your reach drops 70% overnight
Gmail filters your "promotional" emails to a tab nobody checks
Facebook decides your group violates some obscure policy and shuts it down with zero warning
Just like that, your "audience" disappears. No appeal. No recourse. No business.
What Real Audience Ownership Looks Like
True audience ownership means just one thing: direct access that nobody can take away from you.
In 2025, that means:
First-party data collection - Names, emails, phone numbers, purchase history stored in systems YOU control
Multiple contact channels - If email dies tomorrow, can you still reach your people?
Platform independence - Your audience should follow YOU, not the platform you're on
The Ownership Acid Test
Ask yourself these questions:
Can you reach your audience without paying a middleman?
Do you control the communication channel directly?
Can you take your audience data with you anywhere?
Would your audience still be accessible if your primary platform disappeared?
If you answered "no" to any of these, you're building on quicksand.
Three Steps to Actually Own Your Audience
Build a multi-channel data collection system Don't just collect emails. Get phone numbers, app downloads, physical addresses. Each additional channel is insurance against platform changes.
Create direct relationship assets Develop owned media that doesn't depend on algorithms - podcasts, mobile apps, community platforms you control.
Regularly migrate your audience across channels The smart play? Constantly encourage followers to connect on multiple platforms. Instagram follower? Get them on email. Email subscriber? Get them on SMS.
I've watched too many "successful" brands collapse overnight when their audience disappeared with a platform change. Don't be one of them.
Real business stability comes from audience ownership. Everything else is just digital sharecropping.
– Frankee Muryan, Founder, ETP Tech
Share with an entrepreneur building on rented land 💪
Let me hit you with some truth: Most entrepreneurs are building businesses on borrowed time and rented land.
You think you "own" your 100K Instagram followers? Your 50K email list? Your Facebook group? Think again.
The Ugly Reality of Digital Sharecropping
Here's what actually happens:
Instagram decides to change their algorithm (again) and your reach drops 70% overnight
Gmail filters your "promotional" emails to a tab nobody checks
Facebook decides your group violates some obscure policy and shuts it down with zero warning
Just like that, your "audience" disappears. No appeal. No recourse. No business.
What Real Audience Ownership Looks Like
True audience ownership means just one thing: direct access that nobody can take away from you.
In 2025, that means:
First-party data collection - Names, emails, phone numbers, purchase history stored in systems YOU control
Multiple contact channels - If email dies tomorrow, can you still reach your people?
Platform independence - Your audience should follow YOU, not the platform you're on
The Ownership Acid Test
Ask yourself these questions:
Can you reach your audience without paying a middleman?
Do you control the communication channel directly?
Can you take your audience data with you anywhere?
Would your audience still be accessible if your primary platform disappeared?
If you answered "no" to any of these, you're building on quicksand.
Three Steps to Actually Own Your Audience
Build a multi-channel data collection system Don't just collect emails. Get phone numbers, app downloads, physical addresses. Each additional channel is insurance against platform changes.
Create direct relationship assets Develop owned media that doesn't depend on algorithms - podcasts, mobile apps, community platforms you control.
Regularly migrate your audience across channels The smart play? Constantly encourage followers to connect on multiple platforms. Instagram follower? Get them on email. Email subscriber? Get them on SMS.
I've watched too many "successful" brands collapse overnight when their audience disappeared with a platform change. Don't be one of them.
Real business stability comes from audience ownership. Everything else is just digital sharecropping.
– Frankee Muryan, Founder, ETP Tech
Share with an entrepreneur building on rented land 💪
Ready to scale your brand to new heights?
If you want to achieve ground-breaking growth with increased sales and profitability with paid ads, then you're in the right place.
Ready to Embrace your brand's Potential?
If you want to achieve ground-breaking growth. Choose us. We recognize your potential.
Ready to Embrace your brand's Potential?
If you want to achieve ground-breaking growth. Choose us. We recognize your potential.
Ready to Embrace your brand's Potential?
If you want to achieve ground-breaking growth. Choose us. We recognize your potential.