5 ms·

In the offline world, much of what "trends" is stuff that hacks people's reward system. E.g., high-fructose corn syrup, french fries, nicotine, slot machines.

In the offline world, much of what "trends" is stuff that hacks people's reward system. E.g., high-fructose corn syrup, french fries, nicotine, slot machines. It's bad for us long term, but satisfies our evolved physiological needs in the short term. Most of the trending content on social media is the same, and much of modern news and commerce has adapted to it. From what you've said, you're trying to win at the same game, against people/companies who are far more experienced, skilled, resourced and cynical than you. The answer: don't play that game. Find a small niche of people you can satisfy with earnestly good quality content. Think really small - like, 5-10 people, who you can get to know personally and whose interests you can address really really well. Then grow gradually. It will seem painfully slow at first, but with a consistent effort over a long enough period of time, you can achieve exponential growth and eventually build a huge audience that really cares about what you have to offer. One of the best people to follow for guidance on how to do this is Seth Godin. Follow his daily blogs/emails, and read his books, particularly Linchpin, Permission Marketing, Purple Cow and The Dip. Simon Sinek is another person worth paying attention to.

baud147258 7y ago
> Find a small niche of people you can satisfy with earnestly good quality content. To do that, you need to find what's the online place(s) where they meet (forums, FB groups, subreddit, blogs...) or even create one yourself
- nogabebop23 7y ago
  If you are targeting 5-10 people (as suggested) you can easily create this space yourself.
throwaway55554 7y ago
Joshua/WOPR: A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?
at-fates-hands 7y ago
> It will seem painfully slow at first, but with a consistent effort over a long enough period of time, you can achieve exponential growth This is the part most people don't get. A great example is Jonny Giger. He's a skateboarder most people have never heard of. He's pro, has his own youtube channel which now has around 380K followers. He rides for a company most people have never heard of called Revive. He basically hacked the entire industry. His first pro video part was just released a few months ago. He's been creating his videos for EIGHT YEARS to grow his audience, and do it his own way. Because of the revenue he makes on his channel, he literally has no need for big corporate sponsors, or to constantly put on insane video parts or do well in contests to stay relevant like most pro's have to do these days. He puts up regular content about learning tricks and revisiting old tricks that haven't been done in a long time. He has a whole series where he's just trying to learn some of Rodney Mullen's hardest tricks. In my mind, he's a legit pro and is a really skilled skater. The cool thing is he's done it completely on his own, instead of taking the normal route. Yes, it can be done, but it didn't happen over night did it? No, it didn't. It was dogged persistence on his part and sticking with something I'm sure people told him was impossible, or wasn't going to happen. As insular as the skateboard industry is, I'm glad there are guys out there like Jonny getting it done on their own terms.
- guevara 7y ago
  +1 for Jonny Giger mention. That guy is awesome.
egfx 7y ago
But stay away from anything Sam Ovens. Jokes aside, it’s actually worth watching the free email list webinar. Watch until the end for a masterclass on the art of the hard sell. He spends 90% of the video tearing the customer apart and making them weak and responsive. It will likely make you feel even worse about sales but it’s probably effective.

baud147258 7y ago

> Find a small niche of people you can satisfy with earnestly good quality content. To do that, you need to find what's the online place(s) where they meet (forums, FB groups, subreddit, blogs...) or even create one yourself

nogabebop23 7y ago
If you are targeting 5-10 people (as suggested) you can easily create this space yourself.

throwaway55554 7y ago

Joshua/WOPR: A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess?

at-fates-hands 7y ago

> It will seem painfully slow at first, but with a consistent effort over a long enough period of time, you can achieve exponential growth This is the part most people don't get. A great example is Jonny Giger. He's a skateboarder most people have never heard of. He's pro, has his own youtube channel which now has around 380K followers. He rides for a company most people have never heard of called Revive. He basically hacked the entire industry. His first pro video part was just released a few months ago. He's been creating his videos for EIGHT YEARS to grow his audience, and do it his own way. Because of the revenue he makes on his channel, he literally has no need for big corporate sponsors, or to constantly put on insane video parts or do well in contests to stay relevant like most pro's have to do these days. He puts up regular content about learning tricks and revisiting old tricks that haven't been done in a long time. He has a whole series where he's just trying to learn some of Rodney Mullen's hardest tricks. In my mind, he's a legit pro and is a really skilled skater. The cool thing is he's done it completely on his own, instead of taking the normal route. Yes, it can be done, but it didn't happen over night did it? No, it didn't. It was dogged persistence on his part and sticking with something I'm sure people told him was impossible, or wasn't going to happen. As insular as the skateboard industry is, I'm glad there are guys out there like Jonny getting it done on their own terms.

guevara 7y ago
+1 for Jonny Giger mention. That guy is awesome.

egfx 7y ago

But stay away from anything Sam Ovens. Jokes aside, it’s actually worth watching the free email list webinar. Watch until the end for a masterclass on the art of the hard sell. He spends 90% of the video tearing the customer apart and making them weak and responsive. It will likely make you feel even worse about sales but it’s probably effective.