First of all, you may be wondering, “What is the Clubhouse app and why do people keep talking about it?!” Clubhouse is social media app that is audio-only. It allows people to listen to or actively participate in live discussions, similar to an actual teleconference with people from all walks of life all over the world.
Nothing is recorded on Clubhouse. When the room ends, that conversion is gone forever. Some users liken it to a never ending, free conference or masterclass and keep their notebook and pen handy.
If you’re not on #clubhouse you need to join. The exposure and access to great minds here at home & from around the…
Posted by Earlene Camielle on Monday, January 11, 2021
A few days ago, we sat down with Clubhouse etiquette expert Desiree Mondesir and discussed the features of Clubhouse, why it’s worth the hype and how it can be leveraged by entrepreneurs, influencers and small business owners. Desiree compared Clubhouse (often shortened to CH or “the club”) to a Country Club or dinner party where you have the opportunity to rub shoulders with the higher echelons of society. She noted that connections matter, and that it is important to put your best foot forward on the app starting with a professional photo and detailed bio.
The Importance of Your Bio
Desiree noted that your bio should clearly articulate the following:
- Who are you?
- What have you done?
- What do you do?
- What is your purpose for using Clubhouse?
- How are you [re]presenting yourself on Clubhouse?
We love this example by serial entrepreneur Courtney Adeleye below.
With bio in hand, you can begin to leverage Clubhouse in various ways from marketing and insights to dating and mentorship, but first here are a few tips Desiree provided to position yourself for success on the app:
- Strategically follow.
- Strategically choose your rooms.
- Learn the lingo.
- Be a listener and a speaker.
Clubhouse is the only app where you gain followers by being a good listener.
Desiree Mondesir
We asked Desiree to provide tips on how to leverage Clubhouse as an entrepreneur or business owner from the following perspectives:
- the gleaner – gaining business insights
- audience builder – growing your following
- marketer – marketing your business, products or services and
- direct monetization / cultivating your niche – e.g. charging to edit bios or to moderate a room.
The Gleaner
With so many rooms and experts to choose from, Clubhouse is a literal free university, free masterclass or free coaching session. As you move from room to room, Desiree suggests the following:
- Go where you want to glean.
- Listen well.
- Add value to the room.
- Connect professionally.
- Properly steward connections.
Related: “Clubhouse Lead Generation”
The Audience Builder
Desiree explained that you can speak in a room or moderate a room on Clubhouse and literally gain hundreds of followers across your linked platforms (e.g. Instagram or Twitter) overnight. She provided the below tips for those seeking to expand their reach using Clubhouse:
- Be intentional about the rooms you visit.
- Be strategic about the rooms you create.
- Govern your room well.
How do I govern the room well?
Desiree provided the following tips for effective room management:
- Set the room. Note that once you start a Clubhouse room, you can’t edit or change the room’s title or description so be considerate of that as you are setting up the room.
- Reset/refresh the room in the event the room goes off topic.
- Lead and pay attention to the direction of the conversation.
- Be selective about co-moderators:
- Don’t accept every invite to moderate a room. Be intentional.
- Don’t invite just anyone to co-moderate a room. Make it make sense.
- Sometimes good speakers should be upgraded to moderators.
- If it’s not your room, don’t lean into your moderator position unless you’re asked to.
- Everyone doesn’t have to speak.
- Just because they raise their hand doesn’t mean they have a right to speak.
- How long have they been in the room?
- Are they a good addition?
- Are they a troublemaker?
- End your own room.
- Unless it’s just a fun, chill room, it is most professional to end your own room unless you hand things over to a trusted co-moderator.
- Sometimes you have to end your room to end the drama.
The Marketer
Have a business, products, services or resources that you really want people to benefit from? Market on Clubhouse! Desiree provides the following tips to do so:
- Be consistent about the theme of the rooms you create.
- Create/apply for a club.
- Host rooms with titles similar to your club name.
- Always title your rooms.
- Moderate rooms that align with your brand and what you’re marketing.
- Create healthy room collaborations.
- Be consistent!
Direct Monetization on Clubhouse
Desiree suggests that you seek opportunities to monetize Clubhouse based on offerings, skills or talents you already have. Have a course? Launch one on Clubhouse. Host events? Be a paid Clubhouse moderator. Have books? Talk about them on Clubhouse or host book launches or live readings on the app! Here are Desiree’s other tips:
- Books
- Workshops
- Courses & Schools
- Mentorships
- Free consultations
- Paid consultations
- Closed room conferences
- Hybrid conferences
- Paid collaborations
- Paid moderating
Desiree also highlighted the personal benefits of participating on the Clubhouse app which deeply resonated with many of our listeners. She explained that you can leverage Clubhouse to showcase sides of yourself that don’t come across well on other apps, to speak out on topics you aren’t normally able to (e.g. Desiree is known for religious topics but has relished the opportunity to speak on relationships in Clubhouse) and even to reinvent yourself in ways that would be difficult given the expectations of your following on other apps. So what are you waiting for?! Join Clubhouse today (by asking an actual personal friend of yours for an invite) and follow Desiree when you get on.
Want to learn more about Clubhouse but missed the IG Live? You can listen to our full conversation here:
Want to learn more about Desiree? Follow her on Instagram here. We’ve also linked one of her books below.
Don’t miss our next event! Up next is this live YouTube session with Teneisha Grimes: