Founder of Creator Science — running experiments, interviewing remarkable creators, and studying trust. 🎥 piped.video/@jay
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He posted the FIRST TikTok about ChatGPT...and his audience grew from 0 to 200,000 in two weeks.
Today, @rileybrown has 1.5 million followers, raised $9 million to build @vibecodeapp_, and one of the most impressive content machines I've seen.
And he talked me through it.
Timestamps:
(00:00) How Riley's first ChatGPT TikTok got 20 million views
(04:56) First mover advantage:
(07:50) How Riley films his videos
(11:24) Why structure made his content worse
(13:06) My honest moment
(21:33) The case for educational screen-share YouTube videos
(26:45) His content strategy
(30:43) The seven-account Twitter strategy that tripled revenue
(37:37) Gimmicks that actually boost retention
(41:00) Why AI writing your scripts is suicide in the long run
(42:37) The content farm future and how to survive it
(50:14) Platform rankings: where to start today
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I love Ted Lasso.
And I love this story about Brett Goldstein (the actor who plays Roy Kent).
Brett was hired as a writer for the show but started to feel like he actually could be one of the characters…
So he filmed himself doing a couple of scenes as Roy and sent it to the team for consideration.
He already HAD a job on the crew but he probably wouldn’t have been cast as a character without going out of his way to prove himself and then ASK for the role.
What else might you accomplish if you just pushed a little further?
If you asked for what you wanted?
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Today is my 30th birthday!
In my first 30 years of life, I've had two exits, worked at a startup now valued at $4B, gotten engaged, bought a house, created a TON of content, and built a great little following of readers and listeners.
Here are 30 lessons learned (thread) 🧵...
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I earn $40,000+ per month as a solo creator.
If I had to start over, here's what I'd do: 🧵
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I think about this idea from @MrBeast a lot.
Community can be an unfair advantage when you find people to share with and learn from.
When you’re operating solo, you just can’t compete with someone who is learning from the experiences of several others in real time.
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I earn $40,000+ per month as a solo creator.
Here are 20 lessons I wish I'd learned sooner: 🧵
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I earn $50,000+ per month as a solo creator.
If I was starting over in 2024, here's what I'd do: 🧵
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Today is my creator anniversary!
I left my $80K/yr tech salary and started my business on April 20, 2017.
Revenue by year:
2017: $29,468
2018: $72,713
2019: $54,547
2020: $103,007
2021: $149,953
2022: $336,809
2023 (proj): $609,256
Keep going.
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Felt kind of weird to make the intentional effort to capture this moment.
But, in hindsight, already grateful we did it.
I’ve never regretted documenting a moment — but I l’ve often regretted not.
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I'm on pace to break $300K this year as a creator.
But that's not from one single product or service – it's split between a bunch of different income streams.
Here are 8 revenue streams you can add to your own business: 🧵
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Paid membership communities are sexy because their business models resemble SaaS products.
But paid communities are SUPER hard to do well over the long term, due to four major differences... (thread) 🧵
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I am not a designer.
But people often compliment me on how well-designed my projects are.
Here are my top 7 design tips for non-designers: 🧵
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You're one cold email away from changing your life.
I've been able to interview legends like @JamesClear, @herfirst100K, @Codie_Sanchez, and @sivers on my podcast – and it's all thanks to cold email.
Steal my proven cold email formula: 🧵
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I doubled my revenue and earned nearly $350K in 2022 as a solo creator.
Here are 23 of the most important lessons learned that you can carry into 2023: 🧵
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why start a project when you could just buy the domain name and imagine starting the project?
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2. Build your network.
Budget time every week to meet and have conversations with someone new.
Meet them with no agenda. Meet them to build a bond and learn about them as a person.
The world runs on relationships – build some!
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My success as a creator traces back to one pivotal moment in 2017.
I was lost in a job I didn't enjoy. I desperately wanted to do something out on my own – but I couldn't get myself to move forward.
So I hired a coach who gave me a simple exercise:
Go for a walk. No phone, no music, and no distraction.
He told me to bring a pen and notebook and to listen to whatever voice was playing in my mind.
Below is a photo of what I was telling myself over and over again:
I am not an artist. I don't have good ideas, I can't do creative work, and I am less valuable because of it.
I truly believed that I wasn't creative. I wanted to do creative things, but I felt like I couldn't.
The next day, to prove myself wrong and start letting go of this limiting belief, I began writing a daily newsletter.
After a full year of writing a daily newsletter, I no longer believed this. Even better – I kept creating.
Now, my entire livelihood (which is much more lucrative than that job) is based on my creativity.
YOU can change your beliefs.
And by changing your beliefs, you can change your reality.
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Want to build an online course?
I've built 5 online courses with $100K+ in sales and another 7 with LinkedIn Learning.
Here's the step-by-step process I follow every time (even if you're not a video editor): 🧵
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This idea from @JamesClear is something that I think about all the time.
Just the second episode of my podcast and it's still one of my all-time favorites.
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I upgraded my iPhone 14 Pro Max to an iPhone 17 Pro Max a week ago.
I gotta be honest, I can’t tell the difference.
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6. Selling is the most important skill you can learn.
We are selling every day – products, services, even ideas.
Learning how to ethically sell to another human is a skill you can use in any context.
...and ethical selling is rooted in empathy.
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Today is my creator anniversary!
I left my $80K/yr tech salary and started my business on April 21, 2017.
Revenue by year:
2017: $29,468
2018: $72,713
2019: $54,547
2020: $103,007
2021: $149,953
2022: $336,809
2023: $565,424
2024 (proj): $845,082
Keep going.
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I earned $69,248 per month as a creator in 2024.
If I had to start over, here's what I'd do: 🧵
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Steal the tech stack powering my $300K creator business:
• Newsletter: @ConvertKit
• Website: @Ghost
• Community: @circleapp
• Courses: @teachable
• Scheduling: @savvycal
• Tasks: @NotionHQ
• Design: @canva
• Storage: @Dropbox
• Forms: @TallyForms
• Duct tape: @zapier
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30. If you want to have an extraordinary life, you need to make extraordinary choices.
If you want to have a different outcome than your peers, you need to build a different system than your peers.
You have to do things your way, and you usually have to take risks.
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Every creator needs to see this.
@tferriss is one of the best content creators ever. His longevity and work quality are unmatched.
And in this clip with @david_perell, he highlights the biggest opportunities (and risks) facing creators today:
Reputation and credibility.
He calls credibility “the new gold” and in a world where the ability to make *something* gets easier and easier, quality and integrity become the scarce resource.
If you want to be in this game for the long term, you can’t make short term compromises.
And Tim is a fantastic role model.
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1.) Start an weekly newsletter
If you have experience in a particular industry or niche, start there and position yourself as an expert.
If you don't have experience, pick something you're obsessed with and position yourself as a curious learner.
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1. Access is easier than you think.
The people you think you could never meet or talk to? Chances are you can.
Your timing and approach are important, but it's never been easier to get in front of just about anyone you'd want to online.
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If the person you were three years ago would be psyched about the person you are today, then maybe you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.
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4. Design matters a lot.
We trust things that LOOK trustworthy. We distrust things that LOOK untrustworthy.
For right or wrong, we often conflate trust with design, so you might as well invest in good design.
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After 6 years as a solo creator, I earn $50,000 per month.
If I was starting over, here are 5 things I’d do to reach this milestone faster:
- Start a weekly newsletter
- Publish daily on social media (to direct people to my newsletter)
- Offer 1:1 consulting
- Roll out newsletter sponsorships
- Create a digital product based on what I’ve learned about my audience
With these steps, you’ll be creating three lines of revenue: consulting, sponsorships, and products.
Over time, more revenue streams = a more resilient creator business.
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BIG news:
The Creator Science team is growing!
My wonderful, talented wife Mallory (@clouseplant) will be joining the business full time as a full partner at the beginning of the year.
I’m VERY excited about this — and it’s going to have a huge impact on the creators we serve too.
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14. Focus less on time management and focus more on energy management.
Time management assumes that all time is created equal. But we all have different times of day where we perform certain aspects of our work better.
Design your days to optimize for your best energy.
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60,000 people showed up to watch a creator soccer match today.
Pat McAfee signed an $85M deal to put his YouTube show on ESPN.
Media is changing.
Gatekeepers are irrelevant — all that matters is your ability to attract an audience and entertain them.
nitter.app/pubity/status/17005398…
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In two years, I grew my podcast to 1 million downloads and over $100,000 in sponsorship revenue.
I've gotten to interview creators like @TomFrankly, @JamesClear, @herfirst100K, and @AliAbdaal.
It's been life-changing.
Here are my top 20 lessons for new podcasters: 🧵
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Breaking down the 7 streams of income that earned me $338,000 in revenue this past year:
47.73% - Memberships
15.65% - Sponsorship
10.99% - Services
10.08% - Royalties
9.41% - Digital Products
6.08% - Affiliates
0.07% - Patronage
A few thoughts and observations about each: 🧵
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Two massive milestones today:
✅ First $100,000 month
✅ 60,000 email subscribers
Things are happening FAST right now.
Incredibly grateful.
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7. Storytelling is the key to selling.
We make decisions on emotion and our own rationale. Our rationale is usually the story that seems the most plausible (or desirable).
If you master storytelling, you master selling.
And remember what I said about selling?
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5. Distribution matters as much as (or more than) product.
If you have a great product and no way to get it in front of people, it doesn't matter.
Average products with great distribution win out all the time.
Build your own distribution or partner with someone else.
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The more you tweet, the more your following grows.
But if you're like me...it's easy to de-prioritize writing on Twitter.
I wanted a system that forced me to write at least ONE tweet per day.
So I created the #Tweet100 Challenge. It's free, and you can join too (thread) 🧵...
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16. You don't need to share your opinions.
We all have opinions. Nothing wrong with that.
But remember that it's really hard to look intelligent, and really easy to look stupid.
So be careful when you open your mouth.
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18. Finding a partner* is game-changing.
When you have someone who loves and supports you unconditionally, it has a massive impact on your life and work.
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
*Applies to both life and business partners!
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Want to create an online course?
I've built 5 online courses with $100K+ in sales.
Here's my step-by-step process you can follow (even if you're not a video editor): 🧵
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Instead of trying to build an audience...
Build an association with a specific word or idea.
• James Clear: Habits
• Dan Runcie: Business x Hip Hop
• Codie Sanchez: Boring businesses
• Nick Huber: Sweaty startups
• David Perell: Personal Monopoly
• Wes Kao: Spiky Point Of View
When you are associated with a specific word, phrase, idea, or movement, that connection spreads.
As it spreads, it gets stronger.
That association is what builds the audience – and a very targeted audience at that.
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3.) Go HARD on Twitter
There's still a lot of opportunity on Twitter – especially with Threads.
Turn on notifications for big accounts in your niche and become visible (and appreciated) by being an early value-add in their replies.
Tweet daily and publish 1-2 threads per week.
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2.) Study, study, study
Whether you're starting from zero or already have experience in your niche, become one of the most knowledgeable people IN THE WORLD on that subject.
The better you know a subject, the more unique, insightful, and compelling your work.
So read – a LOT.
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3. The difference between a big outcome and a small outcome is usually relationships.
Behind every decision is a person, even if it's override power over an automated system.
In most cases, there are people who can make a big difference for you.
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26. Stand out by being reliable.
The bar for reliability is shockingly low.
If you always do what you say you're going to do on the timeframe that you say you're going to do it, you'll stand out.
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9. Balance your ambition with patience.
Ambition is important, but patience is often required. Sometimes things take time!
"You can't get nine women together and have a one-month pregnancy."
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Tomorrow marks one year on YouTube!
Stats so far:
• 7,928 subscribers
• 263,503 views
• 24,900 hours of watch time
• $1,038.78 in earnings
That comes from:
• 35 interviews
• 2 solo videos
• 9 clips
• 79 shorts
Here's what I've learned: 🧵
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I earn nearly $50,000+ per month as a solo creator.
If I was starting over today, here's how I would choose which social platforms to focus on: 🧵
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We just hit 10,000 subs on YouTube!
We’ve seen a ton of growth over the last month.
On July 5, I sent a message in Slack that said my goal was to hit 10K “by the end of the summer” and Christmas came early. 😬
Super proud of what we’ve been able to do in the first 374 days of uploading — and we’re just getting started.
Thanks for watching! 🙏
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I interviewed @JennyHoyosLOL and learned a TON about @YouTube Shorts.
If you don't know Jenny, she averages 10 million views per video on Shorts.
And she learned (in part) by studying ALL of the Shorts from @MrBeast and @RyanTrahan. Seriously – she literally scraped and analyzed the transcripts of thousands of Shorts.
This week, she shares it all with us:
• How she comes up with ideas
• The structure of her Shorts
• Why she edits to be exactly 34 seconds
• How much she thinks about retention
...it's a masterclass.
And it's live on our YouTube channel right now!
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21. Living cheaply is a skill.
Want to take risks and build your own destiny?
You have a LOT more options when your cost of living is low.
Pay off debt, cut costs, and suddenly you'll have a lot more flexibility.
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Five days ago I celebrated 20,000 subscribers on the channel and yesterday we crossed over 30,000. 🤯
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Four years ago, I recorded the first interview of a new podcast that eventually became Creator Science.
Me, in my 600 square foot apartment.
Seth Godin, in a literal sound booth.
I said, “We’ll record for 45-60 minutes.”
He said, “45 minutes sounds good.”
45 minutes it was! 😂
Forever grateful for him going out on a limb and giving me a shot.
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Spent the last few days building out my home gym!
We bought a new house a couple months ago with a three car garage and I’ve been itching to turn it into my workout space.
She’s ready!
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Announcement time!
Creative Elements has joined the @HubSpot Podcast Network! 🎉
The team at HubSpot is working to build the #1 podcast network in business and I'm pumped to join their growing roster of business shows.
More below:
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20. You don't get what you don't ask for.
Want something? Ask for it.
Got rejected? Well, you're no worse off than before, huh?
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More than 200 members have joined The Lab and I've done a 30-minute welcome call with just about all of them.
...but I have to say, this was a first. 💩
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Tom Hanks is one of the greatest actors of all time.
But it’s actually the role he DIDN’T get that changed his life…
I love this story of NOT giving up when things didn’t break his way.
He walked through new doors as they opened in front of him. He made new relationships and he got better at the craft.
Years later (including time on unemployment) and he’s one of the most celebrated actors of all time.
Sometimes things don’t happen TO you — they happen FOR you.
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11. Resilience makes up for any deficit.
The most common denominator I see between entrepreneurs is resilience.
You will fail a lot. You'll be wrong a lot.
But those who succeed are those who persevere. You can make up for a lot of knowledge or skill gaps with resilience.
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A small audience that LOVES your work is better than a large following that glances over it.
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Everyone on Twitter feels so intense.
Don’t get me wrong, I work hard, but…
• I’m married
• We live in an Ohio suburb
• We have two dogs and a cat
• My wife is my business partner
• We’re expecting our first child
I just want to do work I’m proud of while living a normal, chill life. My biggest focus right now is setting us up for maternity + paternity leave.
But Twitter makes me feel like a weirdo. 😅
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I don’t know who needs to hear this, but…
If you find a pair of pants you love, just buy a second pair.
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How to start from zero as a creator:
• Choose a subject you're curious about
• Spend a ton of time exploring it
• Publish summaries of what you learn
• Listen to the voice in your head that starts connecting dots
• Form original opinions based on the data
• Publish those opinions
• Constantly improve at your craft
If you're willing to do this for 3+ years, great things will happen.
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I've earned nearly $100K as a creator this month.
But it was TOUGH to get here.
13 warnings new creators MUST hear: 🧵
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24. Friendships come and go (and that's OK).
You have friends for different seasons of life. You may outgrow friendships. It doesn't mean they weren't genuine or didn't serve a purpose.
Sometimes you let people go.
And if you don't want to let someone go, then make an effort!
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8. People buy from whom they know, like, and trust.
If you have something to sell, why not start with people who already know, like, and trust you?
Otherwise, expect to spend some time building the relationship before a sale is made.
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6.) Start offering 1:1 consulting
Your subscribers will look at you as more knowledgeable than them.
Offer hourly 1:1 consulting to your readers – start at $100/hr and add a booking link to your email signature.
Increase the price $100/hr every 10 bookings.
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I'm gonna get a little woo woo – I no longer create content if I'm in a negative headspace.
So much of creation is the transfer of emotion.
If you want people to have a positive emotional response to your work but it was created from a negative emotional headspace, it won't work.
I can't explain it. I don't even care to try. But I really believe it.
The emotion of creation must match the emotion of consumption.
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I've generated nearly $350K this year as a creator.
Build your own creator business by following my PARTS framework: 🧵
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I turned a half-baked idea into $6,000 in 30 minutes.
You can steal my playbook (for free):
🧵
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4.) Repurpose your best threads
There's a huge arbitrage opportunity for turning your best threads into carousels on LinkedIn and Instagram.
You can use Tweetpik or go the extra mile and use a design template from @canva.
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17. Think long-term.
We are wired for instant gratification. But the harder something is to build or achieve, the more rare and valuable it is.
Go against your instincts and build for the long term. You'll create something of higher value that is harder to replicate.
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Announcement time!
I'm excited to share that my virtual accelerator and private community, Unreal Collective, has been acquired!
In January, I'll be joining @PatFlynn and the Smart Passive Income team as Community Experience Director. 🎉
Here's why I'm making the move...
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1.) Choose a word or phrase to become associated with
Every creator business needs a premise – a differentiated perspective on an idea.
• James Clear: Habits
• Codie Sanchez: Boring businesses
• Nick Huber: Sweaty startups
• Brené Brown: Vulnerability
• Ryan Holiday: Stoicism
When you are associated with a specific word, phrase, idea, or movement, that connection spreads.
As it spreads, it gets stronger.
That association is what builds the audience – and a very targeted audience at that.
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I don’t know who needs to hear this but sometimes I want to burn my entire business to the ground and start over.
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My podcast has 1.5 million downloads. It's won awards and is even part of the @HubSpot Podcast Network.
...but that podcast has also been the hardest platform for me to grow.
If I had to start over, here's what I'd do: 🧵
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