But you have nothing they need.

They have the audience. The income. The credibility. You're just starting.

What do you offer someone who already has everything you want?

Most people make two mistakes here.

Mistake 1: They offer nothing. They ask for advice, introductions, or time without giving anything back. They take and hope reciprocity will follow.

It doesn't.

Mistake 2: They try to offer the same things successful people already have. "I can help with your content" when they already have a team. "Let me share your work" when they already have reach.

It's irrelevant.

The give that actually works is different. It's not about what you have. It's about what you notice.

Here's what I've learned building relationships with people further along:

They don't need your audience. They don't need your help with tactics. They don't need generic praise.

What they need is someone who understands what they're trying to build.

Most people see the surface. The followers. The revenue. The success.

Few people see the gaps. The challenges. The problems they're actually solving for.

That's your opening.

When you have nothing to trade, offer one of these three things:

Not "Great post!" attention. Specific attention.

Read their work deeply. Notice the pattern across multiple pieces. See what they're building toward.

Then tell them what you see.

"I've read your last 5 articles. You're building toward X, and I think the throughline is Y. Is that intentional?"

That's valuable. Because most people consume their content without seeing the bigger picture.

You're showing them you understand their trajectory, not just their latest post.

You have fresh eyes. Use them.

When you're inside something, you miss patterns. When you're outside, you see them clearly.

Tell them what you notice that they might not:

"Your best content always includes stories about [specific thing]. Have you noticed that pattern? Because your audience clearly responds to it."

Or: "You talk about positioning, but your best insights are actually about psychology. The positioning is just the frame."

They can't see this themselves. They're too close. You can.

That's worth more than any tactical help you could offer.

Not any introduction. The relevant one.

Most people try to "add value" by connecting someone to anyone in their network.

That's noise.

Instead, notice what they're working on. Then ask yourself: "Do I know someone who's solving this exact problem? Or someone who needs exactly what they offer?"

If yes, make the introduction. If no, don't force it.

One highly relevant connection beats ten random ones.

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I've done this building relationships with people running newsletters bigger than mine, building businesses I want to learn from, creating leverage I'm still figuring out.

Here's what worked:

I read someone's content for a month. I noticed they kept circling back to one theme but never addressed it directly. I sent a short message: "Have you considered writing about [specific thing]? It shows up in everything you write but you never tackle it head-on."

They wrote that article. It became one of their best performers. They remembered I saw something they didn't.

That's the give. Not tactics. Not help they don't need. Just attention that reveals something valuable.

When you have nothing to trade, people assume you can't provide value.

They're wrong.

Value isn't about what you have. It's about what you see.

Fresh eyes. Patterns they're blind to. Specific attention in a world of generic engagement.

That's what you offer when you're starting. Not your audience. Not your expertise.

Your perspective.

Tomorrow: Why smart people make terrible decisions. The cognitive traps that ruin judgment, and how to catch them before they cost you.

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