Don’t recruit new followers. Get your followers to recruit for you.
“I don’t know who you are or why I should listen to you, but my friend said I should join so I will…”
These were the two words utters to me after one of the running shows at which I co-host a stage.
Clearly, one of our cult leaders had been busy and was recruiting his friends to the cause.
What’s great about getting followers to recruit is the level of built-in trust due to the follower’s relationship with the recruitee.
And so in this email, it’s worth looking at how to leverage the power of a highly motivated cult following in finding and recruiting good fit followers.
But how?
As a Cult Leader. your followers can be your greatest recruiters.
But even if they love you or love what you do, they won’t always go out and recruit for you and bring others they know into the fold.
As the most successful brands, movements, and even cults understand this: people don’t join a cult for the product - they join for how it makes them feel.
And when you produce an emotional experience for them that deepens the followers connect to you and to the wider group, they will want to share it.
Here’s how you can do it:
Control the environment
Your environment is everything.
It’s the foundation of transformation and belonging.
When followers step into the right environment, they don’t just feel more welcoming and at home than other places.
They may feel inspired, energised, heard, understood, relieved - a whole range of emotions.
And when that happens, they want to share it.
In some many examples, changing the environment leads to moving people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do.
- Think Dorito-munching couch surfers who have never raised a barbell in anger suddenly being able and willing to drop 100lbs of lbs of weight (The Biggest Loser)
- Or seemingly rational and intelligent but highly motivated men and women choosing to marry someone they’ve never seen (Love Is Blind)
- Or scores of previously sceptical and hard nosed business people transformed into crying and laughing dancing loons (any happy clappy Tony Robbins-level event)
Environments change states.
To shift the state of your followers, craft an environment that produces transformation.
Then hand your followers the tools to go out and recruit while they’re still in the zone.
An environment that delivers transformation and belonging doesn’t just keep followers — it inspires them to bring others into the fold.
Double down on belonging and identity
Humans are wired to want to belong to a tribes.
We will seek the right tribe unconsciously.
And followers feel like they’re part of something new and different to what they’ve experienced before, they don’t just hang around making small talk — they recruit.
Belonging and shared identity emerges when you to into the “us vs them” dynamic.
This switches on the primal tribal force in all humans.
Followers see themselves as insiders. They are part of a special group with shared values, language, and symbols.
Think about how cults, fandoms, or even brands achieve this:
CrossFit isn’t just about the workout — it creates a tribe of people who identify as tough, disciplined, and driven.
Harley Davidson customers don’t just buy a bike - they see themselves as rebelling against the system, embracing freedom and sticking it to the man.
Political or social movements thrive because followers feel they’re part of something bigger than themselves.
To create a shared identity for your community figure out:
- What do you stand for?
- What traits and behaviours do you align with?
- What are you fighting against?
When your followers feel they belong to a group and it becomes part of their identity, they’ll naturally want to share it with others who fit.
Build the right culture
What the hell is this, Jody?
We didn’t realise that cults appointed a “head of people”!
Of course, they don’t.
But culture is not table football, bean bags and awkward shoulder massages at your desk while your co-workers are staring.
We’re talking about culture in a more foundational sense.
Because the tone of your community is everything.
It sets the emotional temperature for how your followers feel, engage, and share.
If your tone is judgmental or overly formal, followers may not contribute.
They may not feel psychologically safe enough to actively engage for fear of being judged.
If they don’t engage, they don’t recruit.
Someone who is unsure or feels unsafe will hesitate to recommend you to others for fear of how it reflects on them.
On the other hand, nail your tone so followers feel certain and safe, and they’ll be encouraged to share without hesitation.
When followers feel good in your community, they’ll want others to feel good too.
Make your message clear
I can’t state this enough.
You need to make your Polarising Message so clear it's impossible to be misunderstood or confused.
Your followers can’t recruit for you if they need to go into lengthy explanation.
Clarity of message transforms followers into messengers.
If your cult 'hook' is easy to understand, followers will share your story with others.
If it's not, it won't go any further than the confines of your audience.
Here’s how to clarify your message:
- Focus on clear, compelling and polarising.
Your Message needs to hit all three to make it work.
Do not skip this. This is everything.
Control the language and you control the narrative.
Don't leave it to chance
Give your followers the words they can use when recruiting others —catchphrases, slogans, or key messages that stick in people’s minds.
- Focus on telling the right story
People don't respond to facts.
People respond to stories that make them feel something.
Ensure your story or purpose connects on an emotional level.
When your message is clear, your followers become natural ambassadors, capable of sharing your story.
Reward recruiters often and publicly
People respond to what they see praised or punished.
It is important to visibly and in public reward those followers who bring in others.
Doing so, communicates to the whole cult following “this is what to do if you want praise”.
And who doesn’t want to impress mummy/daddy, right?
It’s not just praise of course. They will also have the internal reward of feeling part of something bigger and showing their sense of belonging by inviting others to join.
Communicate consistently
You don’t necessarily need to tell your followers to go out and get new recruits.
But through your culture and rewarding those who do, it sets a clear expectation of what is a “good” behaviour.
Underpinning all this is constant communication. Being ever-present is a strong catalyst for increasing follower numbers.
Regular contact builds trust and momentum and keeps you front of mind.
And it works because - unlike manipulative cults - they not forced to bring in members.
Instead, they’ll naturally want to bring others who share the same aspirations into the fold.
If you want your followers to recruit more followers, you need to provide the right environment and framework to do so.
Start by shaping the right environment, building a shared identity, and fostering a tone that makes recruiting easy for them.
When these elements come together, your followers won’t just stick around—they’ll become your most passionate advocates.
And become your always-on sales team constantly recruiting on your behalf et and night.
In summary:
- Create the right environment
- Double down on belonging and identity
- Build the right culture
- Make your message clear
- Reward recruiters often and publicly
- Communicate consistently
It’s nearly competition time…
In the next few days, I’m announcing a competition the prize of which has never been offered before. It’s a participation competition and the prize, well, you’ll have to see it to believe it.
Watch out for my email on this.
Laters!
Jody
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Jody Raynsford
Cult Strategist, Leader of Cult Leaders and Chief Indoctrinator
www.howtostartacult.co.uk
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