Today, on a call with a 4th line personality client, we were discussing the topic of building a tribe. This client had a lot of tribal energy and that 4th line in their profile – both of which indicate that they need to be very mindful of their network. They also need to “focus on their tribe”, as it is often referred to within the online domain.

Your Network

The natural question in terms of marketing is, “What is considered someone’s network?” Is it a Facebook group? When we talk about building a tribe, we immediately think about creating a group or community, such as a Facebook or LinkedIn group.

But here is a thing – when you ask a question, any question, the answer you get depends on that question.

Let me explain. You ask a marketing strategist how to build a tribe. Their immediate response will be something like, “Start a Facebook group,” “Create an offline or off-main-platforms community,” “Organize get-togethers,” “Build your email list,” and, naturally, consider all (or any of these) your tribe!

These strategies are not wrong, but the original question itself is flawed.

You see, it’s not about how to build a tribe (as there are many strategies for that); it’s about defining what a ‘tribe’ is FOR YOU and what kind of tribe aligns with you energetically, mentally, spiritually, and in terms of your available energy.

How I “got it wrong”

In my early days of building my online visibility on Facebook, I fully embraced an organic marketing strategy that focused on building a Facebook group as a tribe to nurture and convert into clients. So, I started a Facebook group.

I was very consistent and active in it, creating content that I thought was valuable, and inventing activities to get people involved, for example by setting various challenges. Over a couple of years of all that hassle, I grew it to a couple of thousand people.

However, no matter how and what I tried, the expected results of members converting into clients never came true. In fact, all members who were highly engaged were already my clients who had already found me and converted into my programs from elsewhere (like my podcast appearances, another interview I gave, and articles I wrote and paid live video challenge-based launches I ran outside the group). Those who joined my group first just did not seem to ascend into my funnels, no matter what I put out there.

That made me very frustrated. I obsessively thought about what those people were looking for, and it even made me question why they’d joined my group in the first place. Two insights became very prominent.

First, most people joined to learn something they were looking for – but they did not see me specifically as their guide through it.

The second thought was even more eye-opening! I realized that it wasn’t about doing something right or wrong, but rather it was about doing something that wasn’t energetically aligned with my personality.

In my private offline life, I don’t have a large social circle. I prefer spending time with very few exclusive people, mostly in one-on-one scenarios. Running a free Facebook group for strangers felt inauthentic to me, because I naturally have reservations about large group settings. I do not feel comfortable in large events, or even in family gatherings.

So, the realization that having a Facebook group didn’t fit my personality was significant – even though, ever since I was a child, I always seemed to be the leader of a group, e.g. Class President, a front person in my bands, and a speaker at our social events. Leading others comes naturally to me – it just happens – I say what I feel and see out loud, and others follow. Or I take an action everyone else is just waiting to take, then they all follow.

My insight is that, for me, “leading a group” is different from hoping that some group members will “convert into clients.” When I guide a group of people in a natural scenario, it’s for our collective benefit, not to make individuals pay me. When I try to “nurture a sale”, it falls on deaf ears.

This self-reflection allowed me to redefine what building my tribe means. It is much more about whom I attract by showing up, and letting them come to me, than trying to stick with strangers who look for some information that I might be able to teach them all in one “room”, and give it to them when anyone else can do exactly the same thing for them.

WHO gives it is less relevant than WHAT they are receiving. So, when they receive that information, they do not need ME anymore. They are not part of MY TRIBE at all, essentially.

And my tribe comprises those who need my guidance and my “light.” It is not the information – it is how I help them integrate it.

Nowadays, I still have a small Facebook group for my clients, past and present. I don’t constantly push engagement, or bombard them with sales pitches. I use these groups to reach out to my community for collective benefit. I don’t nurture or upsell in these groups. I only share things that inspire me, such as a good quote about Human Design.

I understand it’s not “right” from a traditional business perspective, but it feels correct and in integrity with who I am. And money flows regardless, by the way. That is something I discovered when I overcame my fear of missing out – and completely deleted that first free Facebook group!

In four years, I haven’t created any launches, or traditional marketing-based activities targeting these groups. I believe that, when the people in them are ready, they will approach me. I don’t have to do things that aren’t energetically aligned with who I am.

Disclaimer – this doesn’t mean I have no sales funnels in place, but that they are rooted in the aforementioned stances.

The other way to do things – your way!

Human Design has helped me say no to traditional methods, making things simpler, clearer, and easier. I’ve built a business by marketing around ME, doing things I enjoy and understand the value of, which align with my personality.

My “tribe” includes people in my world, whether or not they are in my Facebook group. My tribe are people who appreciate me as a guide, and they see and recognize me, which is a success for me as a Projector. They can be in my Facebook group or on my email list if they choose to stay consistently connected. But I do not need to force them into any activities for the sake of it.

I encourage you to consider who your tribe is, and to invent ways to connect with them, even if “getting together” as a way of communicating doesn’t feel natural for you. Find what feels more natural and safe and offer it as the way they can indeed get access to you. 

Look beyond the business agenda of converting people into leads and clients. How do you like to connect with your tribe in your personal life? Translate that into your business! It will be more profitable, aligned, easier to show up for, and easier to grow.

I pretty much walk my talk in this respect. I do not like socializing with people I do not know intimately, so I create content that can be consumed without me being “live” there for them. And since the essence of all my business offers is access to me through one-offs (Marketing Blueprint By Design™), an ongoing mentorship or even an invitation to come and hangout with me in my medieval home town of Tallinn – accessing me in those containers becomes an gateway for those to join “my tribe”.

By the way, the 4th line is one of my fractal lines (the decimal behind the Nodes on my personality side) and I am also heading towards my Chiron return shortly, which will highlight the importance of more partnering with others and collaborations, which means I need to understand what networking that aligns looks like to me. I feel this topic is directly affecting me and my life even though my profile is as self-absorbed as it can possibly get (1/3), so it is not a design of someone “needing” others to be self-sufficient.

The networking and the 4th line

I couldn’t just finish this article without emphasising the most crucial part. If you are a 4th line person, remember – the quality of your network is crucial for your influence and your impact to be meaningful. It can also influence and impact you in debilitating ways. Literally those around you will determine your potential and the quality of your success. Hang out with loosers and this is all you get. Surrounding yourself with higher quality people, whose mindset you find inspiring will benefit you so much more than hoping that there is an opportunity you may find in just about anybody.

This hope, often a trait of a 2nd and the 6th line, too. And I must emphasise how vulnerable the 2/4s are – you are prone to naive assumptions that are eventually going to backfire – AGAIN! You tend to make the same mistakes over and over again. Both of your profile lines do not know what call to answer, and who to connect.

So yes, follow your strategy and Authoriry to determine who is correct in your life an business, but even more so, ask yourself if people in your world reflecting what you want to be? Because if you feel you are constantly taken advantage of, this only means you are making poor choices surrounding yourself with poor quality people. And when that happens the 2nd line will feel so hurt and vulnerable and the 6th line will slide into their natural pessimism and apathy about everyone and everything.  

You might have heard an expression that the 4th line is not “for strangers.” You see this has to do with the energy mechanics of the 4th line, it needs to become FAMILIAR to be influencial. Actually, it is good news because the 4th line is all about building the Know, Like & Trust factor. Which online visibility can so easily do. 4th line marketing cannot just present a solution to the mess (that is the 5th line “vibe”). The 4th line requires a more heart-based connection in order for that influence and impact to happen. It requires building a bond rooted in trust and friendliness.

And it is not that hard – if you focus on the right things! Create content, use storytelling, write a memoir – just let them see behind the curtain, become that trusted virtual bestie (through content). The rest is up to you. If you like meeting new people personally, use some form of virtual coffee dates inside your nurturing funnels. If not – you do not have to. Just record more videos, write more articles. Let them binge without you being there. The more they feel they know you, the more influence you and your offers have on them. Work WITH your Design, and your preferences. The world operates by the 4th line themes, I wrote about in my book, On Visibility That Sells. 

Understanding what networking means for you, who “your people” are (and I do not mean it in terms of your traditional ideal client avatar), and what is the most natural and aligned way for YOU to stay connected to them, is absolutely vital to not only succeeding in your ventures, but to how you feel about yourself and your relationships with them.

For more guidance on how, order your personalized Marketing Blueprint By Design report today.