I had a weird dream the other night.

In my dream, there were two women who came up to me and my son. They claimed to be his aunts.

This is where it gets even weirder: I didn’t know them. But they fawned over my boy like he was family, and I just stood there for a moment wondering what was going on. Who were these two women claiming to be my son’s aunts?! It gave me the creeps!

And then it hit me: If these women had engaged me immediately, if they’d said something like “Hey, we’re here because we love your kid so much,” or “We can’t wait to meet him,” or even “We’re so sorry we missed his birthday party last year!”—I might have stayed around. I might have believed they were actually my son’s aunts in my dream.

But because they gave me time to question their legitimacy—to question whether they actually knew him—I woke up with this marketing revelation: We lose people when we don’t immediately engage them.

When was the last time you marketed yourself by randomly releasing a blog post, creating a new product, or live stream without engaging your target audience first? Typically there isn’t a lot of success when you release something out of the blue without engaging or nurturing your target audience first. It’s like making your target audience work out before stretching first. Working out before stretching can only lead to injuries.

Engaging or nurturing your audience is about building your relationship and trust with them. You do that by providing them with value over a period of time. You can foster a deeper relationship with your audience by creating content that speaks directly to their needs and interests. Ensure your content is relevant, so it’s not just about the product or service you sell but also about what your audience needs, wants, and cares about.

Here are some ways to engage your audience:

Keep in touch consistently

Letting your customers know that you’re always there for them is what keeps them coming back for more. In fact, according to a recent study by Salesforce, companies that sent at least one email per week saw a 36% increase in revenue and a 28% increase in customer retention. That’s huge! So keep those emails coming! Email marketing campaigns are important.

Use social media effectively

Social media can be a great way to interact with your customers on a more personal level than email allows. I know it may seem scary, but talk on Instagram stories! It allows your audience to feel more connected to you, and you can get them excited about your upcoming offering.

Educate your audience

Create a blog post series that educates your audience on a specific topic related to your product or service. Share some behind-the-scenes or your inspiration on how you came up with your new product or service. Allow your audience the opportunity to be invested and excited in the upcoming launch of your product or service.

When you engage with your audience properly, then you can build that trust. So next time ask yourself:

“Am I being a creepy aunt (saying nothing valuable and giving people time to question why I’m here), or am I actually engaging the people I want to be close to?”

The lesson here is don’t be that creepy aunt.