Organic vs. paid (one strategy always prevails)

Not sure if Indie Hackers community likes little anecdotes like tweets?

Here's a thought of mine, re-shared here, though:

One of the better votes of confidence on the web are backlinks. Put work out there that you care about, that resonates and starts discussions.
People will write about, cite, and share it with others.
"Buying awareness" doesn't resonate how a consistent, organic strategy does.