"Don't surround yourself with yourself..."
It's a feedback loop. That's how cults work. Find the sad, the alone, the bitter. Give them community, purpose, esoteric knowledge. Groom them. Get them pissed off. Anger is the plow to set the seeds. After that, water, and let them exercise their free will. Wipe your hands.
Suggestion is more powerful than an order. At least once the ideology has been implanted.