2 builders who never spoke to each other

Run a numbered series the community waits for

Publish as a recognisable, repeating format rather than as one-off posts, so the community that reads it builds an expectation and reliably picks up the next instalment. A weak reception on one entry says little about the format, and once a series works the right move is to keep running it rather than treating the first hit as a stunt.

The method

1. 01

   Build a long-running multi-part technical guide for your buyers' framework, and post each instalment to that framework's subreddit.

2. 02

   Publish your content as a recognizable numbered series so the niche community that reads it develops brand awareness and reliably upvotes the next installment.

3. 03

   A weak reception on a community post says little about the content; try again with the next installment, since timing alone can sink a submission.

4. 04

   Turn those teardowns into a repeating series about how other people built their audiences and businesses, and run each one through both your newsletter and your social accounts.

5. 05

   Give people a specific, repeatable format as the reason to follow you, phrased so one follower can explain it to another in a sentence.

What it returned

• Part four of Zue's Modern JavaScript series sat at number one on /r/django for nearly a full day and drew unsolicited thank-you notes

• Zue expected his Django JavaScript series to do well on the Django subreddit because the series had recognition there, and part five became the third highest post of the month.

• Parts one and two of Zue's guide fizzled on the Django subreddit, which he attributes partly to time of day, while part three later did much better and pulled the earlier parts into circulation elsewhere.

• Welsh cites Chenell Basilio growing quickly on Twitter with exactly this format, teasing the breakdown on social and delivering it by newsletter. He has since featured her twice in his own issues.

Sources

• Grow Your Brand By Rooting for OthersJustin Welsh · justinwelsh.me · 2. Break down someone else's work and share it publicly · 2023-05-06
• The marketing genius of Andrew SchulzHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Part 1 · undated
• I love Billboards designed for socialHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · I love Billboards designed for social · undated
• The marketing genius of Lil Nas XHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Part 1 · undated
• How Rev. Chris grew 100k Instagram followersHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · 1) Give people a reason to follow you · undated
• I'm building a new product!Cory Zue · coryzue.com · Shipping the damn JavaScript post · 2020-08-02
• Holy Crap!Cory Zue · coryzue.com · Publish “Modern JavaScript for Django Developers” Part 5: A+ · 2021-12-02
• Sailing into the futureCory Zue · coryzue.com · Last Month’s Goals · 2020-10-02