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19 Comments

Why I started blogging and Twitter is not enough

Back in May when I started my indie hacker journey, I was almost sure that I needed to build a SaaS to be a successful maker (at least that's the trend). But I had a procrastination problem, so I decided to write a book about it. Slowly, writing took all my attention and I wasn't that excited about building a SaaS anymore.

So I was asking myself: "what can I do today that could help me later on, no matter what path I take?" I found the answer to be a personal brand, or in other words, an audience. If you build a SaaS or info-product, you are after people's money. When you build an audience, people give you something more valuable, their attention.​

The question now is, how to build an audience? I used to think that audience means social media, means Twitter. But the problem with social media in general and with Twitter, in particular, is that the user’s attention span is super short. I find it so hard to deliver value within a tweet of 280 characters, and still, compete with hundreds of other tweets. On top of that, a tweet is not enough for someone who just started like me to build credibility and earn others’ trust. Which are very critical to get anyone's attention. Twitter is great, but it needs something else to back it up.

So what are the alternatives? The obvious choice for me was blogging, why? I enjoy writing, I want to become a better writer, It helps me build my credibility and earn people's trust. And after writing my first couple of blog posts I decided to start a newsletter to share what I learn.

To sum things up, if you are like me, not 100% sure what to focus on or you don't know where to start, content creation is your best bet. Whether it’s blogging, newsletter, Youtube, podcast, or whatever you feel right for you. You don’t need something to sell to build an audience. And soon enough you may experience the joy it brings with it, something like this message (👋Nic @TheWonderingZall)

Finally, If you still need a little push to start creating. Here are some more reasons why you should:

  1. It feels great to create and not just consume
  2. It helps you think, rethink, and think about thinking (metacognition)
  3. You will be learning A TON, not just about any subject but about yourself

The post is over, but I would really appreciate your help with a project I'm working on. would be great if you could fill this for me, it takes less than a minute: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf99K27_5VeL6Ocu61bvQo3r2NyZtsUvEuD8iNmbT2FsAg2OQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

  1. 6

    The problem with social media is not so much the short attention span of readers. The problem is the platforms and their algorithms own the relationship with your readers.

    Newsletters and blogs break this chain.

    1. 1

      And lets not forget that social posts have a very short shelf life.

    2. 1

      Good point about owning the relationship. You also have more control over the experience of your interactions. Social media is crowded and your message sits alongside who-knows-what.

      In your experience, how does discoverability differ between social media and newsletters/blogs?

      1. 1

        My experience with social media is relatively limited and unusual, in that I'm not on Facebook and spent almost a decade on Google+ (don't laugh, it was far from the ghost town it was pictured as).

        But I don't see much difference in discoverability between social and newsletters/blogs, in that there's limited or no discoverability for the small guy. It's incredibly difficult to be found unless you already have an established platform. It takes a platform to build a platform.

        On Google+ I got up to 270K followers. But only because at some point the algorithms started recommending me and my content, and later Google prominently featured me in a program for highlighting creators.

        Now I'm only on Twitter with 2.8K followers. It's like having 280, i.e. there's not much action.

    3. 1

      I love what you said and the way you've phrased it.

      1. 1

        Thanks, it's unfortunately easy to express because of the impact this is having.

    4. 1

      Very valid point.
      Newsletters and blogs are important to keep a direct relationship with your audience

  2. 3

    "... if you are like me, not 100% sure what to focus on or you don't know where to start, content creation is your best bet."

    Completely agree 💯It will pay off in the future and positions you as a thought leader: it indirectly sells people on you.

  3. 1

    Lol! This made my day!😂 👋🏻

    1. 2

      😁
      I didn't know your handle, now it's official :P

  4. 1

    Congrats! Building an audience and personal brand is the BEST thing you can do, for any business model. It's a powerful lead generation tool. I do enjoy playing around with Twitter and have yet to dive too deep into my company's newsletter, though.

    1. 1

      What does your company do?

      1. 1

        SEO-driven content marketing agency for B2B SaaS companies. Most of our leads come from my personal brand.

        1. 2

          that's great!
          I need to learn how to leverage my personal brand, but need to build it first :D

          1. 1

            Are you bent on sticking to Twitter or also playing around on LinkedIn?

            1. 1

              I have mixed feelings about Linkedin, is it really that useful?
              for me it's just where I get spam from recruiters

              1. 1

                I'm honestly a huge fan of LinkedIn. It's getting a little saturated with influencers and a lot of repetitive stuff but it's a great place for networking. I recommend! Maybe we can trade tips - I'm still trying to figure out how to leverage Twitter

  5. 1

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