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18 Comments

FB or not FB?

Hello,
I'm thinking to document my startup adventure and looking for a good place to do it. Candidates are:

  • Twitter (currently in use)
  • Medium
  • Own blog
  • Facebook page
  • One (two) weeks email updates
    Currently, I'm posting updates on Twitter but I'm not sure that my TA (and all interested in my product's updates) uses it much.
    Medium doesn't look like a good place to post on the weekly base.
    Email updates are not bad but I always feel like I'm crying in the vacuum.
    My own blog is not ready yet...
    So, I'm thinking about FB page. Does have anybody the experience of posting updates there?
    #ask-ih
  1. 3

    What's the delay in getting your own blog up? I'd recommend doing that if possible.

    I (personally) most definitely wouldn't do it on FB, too much of a closed environment and they are always changing their rules.

    If it were me I would:

    • start my own blog, see it as a long term investment
    • syndicate/repost content to relevant places. dev.to was mentioned, Product updates on IH is another option
    • find/follow people on Twitter who would be interested in your story and start sharing updates there. Perhaps focus on sharing useful bitesize snippets/threads on Twitter rather than focusing on direct 'read my blog post' links within a tweet.
    1. 3

      Thanks for great pieces of advice! I will consider this approach.
      Can you explain, though, what is the difference between "syndicate" and "repost"? Is syndicate like a guest post?

      1. 2

        It means you use their importer. That way, their rel canonical will point back to your site and Google knows your blog is the source.

        If you just repost, then Medium or wherever will outrank you for your own content.

  2. 3
    • Twitter is good of you have a following
    • Medium is good for SEO
    • Own Blog is (see Medium)
    • Facebook is (see Twitter)
    • Email is (see Facebook)

    I'd go with Medium, get that SEO, build up some search engine clout, and prepare a post for launch. Writing weekly will also be a great chance to increase your writing abilities.

    1. 1

      I agree that Medium is good for SEO and audience building. I own a lot to. Medium. I just wanted to rant about how their marketing bad practices ruined the platform for me. I feel so frustrated.

    2. 1

      Considering that your product is developer related I would also think in blog posts on dev.to. I did so for my https://fullstackjob.com and got some nice traffic out of it.

      1. 0

        dev.to looks so ugly that I can't make myself to use it... :\
        Thanks for the advice, though :)

        1. 1

          Well, that's true, but dev community like it. and if this are the guys you wanna talk to... ;-)
          Another one, which always can help if well done (to promote a blog post) is Hacker News. But this is then reeeeeally ugly :-)
          https://news.ycombinator.com/

          1. 2

            You know what?
            I don't think that HN is ugly - they just don't have any design. But dev.to has...
            Actually, bad design is not a problem. The problem is I didn't know about this resource until recently I accidentally listened to the interview on IH. I couldn't imagine that there is such a big dev resource I didn't know about! How come? I'm more than 15 years in the industry and no clue.

            1. 1

              good point. No Design @ HN :-)

            2. 1

              This comment was deleted 5 years ago.

    3. 1

      Twitter is good of you have a following
      Not sure what you meant :\
      Medium is good for SEO
      Why do you think so?

      1. 1

        If you have lots of your target users following you on Twitter. that's be helpful. And medium is for blogging. Blogs have huge SEO potential. And great SEO = Traffic

        1. 1

          If you have lots of your target users following you on Twitter. that's be helpful.
          I have NO followers at all.

  3. 2

    I'd put it on your own blog, tweet each post when you write it and optionally syndicate to Medium.

    1. 2

      +1. Medium is not good for SEO - they used to sometimes be good for sending built in traffic because their algorithm suggested articles but they stopped suggesting "normal" peoples' articles and only the publications that paid them. Then they removed your ability to have your Medium articles on your own domain. Then they started covering the screen with all kinds of signup screens and modals.

      Medium is circling the drain, and any benefits they used to offer are long gone. Own your platform (aka, your own blog on your own domain). That way, your worst case scenario is that you want to change your domain and simply set up redirects for all of your posts.

      Choose whatever is the fastest way to set up your own blog on your own domain. Resist the temptation to muck around with custom software and themes - just start writing and sharing!

      1. 1

        Well, I considered Medium and FB because they already have huge audiences. Nobody knows about my resource but any article on these resources can appear in readers' feeds. So, it's just a trade I think :(

        1. 1

          Medium and FB don't know about your resources either. Expecting them to distribute for you is a lottery at best.

          In my experience, it's a mistake outsource the most important aspects of your business and hope someone else will do a better job than you. There is no replacement for finding the people you can help where they are, and helping them!

          1. 1

            Medium and FB don't know about your resources either. Expecting them to distribute for you is a lottery at best.
            I didn't mean the will distribute but just using tags can help -> your article will be shown anyway in the feed for this specific tag.

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