Most creators try to grow by posting more. More content, more platforms, more hours. But the biggest creators and thought leaders grow in a very different way, and most of it happens behind the scenes.

I sat down with Domonkos "Doma" Eross, founder of Flowin, a creative agency for thought leaders, to talk about what actually drives audience growth right now. We get into his seven strategic steps to succeed as a thought leader, why creator partnerships are the number one source of growth in the creator economy, and Doma’s outreach technique for landing dream clients.

If you've ever wanted to know the systems the biggest creators use to consistently grow their audiences, I think you'll get a lot out of this conversation.

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:33 How Doma started working with thought leaders
03:03 Why direct outreach works
03:33 The Manchester United cold email
05:05 Why a well-packaged pitch gets attention
06:49 Using credibility to get past the first filter
08:06 How office hours turned into clients
09:13 Leaving energy vs lingering energy
10:13 Why curiosity beats a target list
11:59 How your network compounds
12:54 The seven steps to succeed as a thought leader
13:18 Step 1: Develop exceptional knowledge first
14:17 Step 2: Define your mission and theory of change
16:19 Step 3: Build an ecosystem strategy
18:21 Matching your ecosystem to how you make money
19:51 Step 4: Turn your ideas into the right content
21:18 Protecting clients from the wrong projects
22:38 Step 5: Build the right team
23:12 Why team size and influence don't correlate
24:55 How James Clear decides what to work on
26:32 Building a team around impact
28:26 The most surprising role on a thought leader's team
30:53 What thought leaders know about saying no
32:17 Focus on your craft and outsource the rest
33:22 Step 6: Creator partnerships, the #1 source of growth
35:14 Why Creator Network works better than list swaps
37:19 How partnerships work at a smaller scale
39:00 How much growth Creator Network drives
40:27 Why partnerships are a win-win
41:22 Set up partnerships before your podcast episode airs
44:27 Why the creator economy isn't competitive
46:32 What Doma has learned from his clients
47:57 Step 7: Build and perfect your organic channels
48:13 Why your newsletter is the only channel you own
49:56 Building a newsletter that sounds like you
53:05 The three phases of a book launch
54:15 Teasing your book in your newsletter
55:26 Why you need to book podcasts months ahead
56:08 The concentrated strike approach
56:34 How to pitch the biggest podcasts
58:48 Which podcasts actually sell books
59:50 The people behind podcast bookings
1:01:36 Using a live event to launch a book
1:03:37 How Doma runs Flowin
1:05:08 Why Doma doesn't want to scale
1:06:40 Final thoughts

If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one.

Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show

Follow Nathan:
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Kit: https://kit.com

Follow Doma:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/domonkoseross
Website: https://flowin.consulting

Featured in this episode:
Kit: https://www.kit.com
Flowin: https://flowin.consulting

Highlights:
03:33 The Manchester United cold email
13:18 Why thought leadership is the result, not the goal
24:55 How James Clear decides what to work on
33:22 The #1 source of growth in the creator economy
53:05 The three phases of a book launch

The #1 Way to Grow Your Audience in 2026 | Domonkos Eross | 149

The Nathan Barry Show

The #1 Way to Grow Your Audience in 2026 | Domonkos Eross | 149