4 builders who never spoke to each other
Post in your own voice, not a copied format
Adopting a successful creator's format does not bring their expertise, timing or luck with it, so the copy underperforms the original and reads as imitation. Finding your own register by trial, and growing on insight you personally earned rather than repackaged, is slower and produces something the feed has not already seen.
The method
- 01
Build your public persona on your own natural mode instead of copying a successful creator's; trying someone else's style on is a test, not a destination.
- 02
Copying a successful creator's post format tends not to transfer, because you do not also inherit their expertise, timing or luck.
- 03
Run your own experiments instead of posting what everyone else in your category posts - the format that works may sit unnoticed for years.
- 04
Work out your own voice and visual style by trial rather than copying a template, because communities give reach to the distinctive ones.
- 05
Grow on insight you personally earned rather than on repackaging what other people have already said, even though repackaging does build followings.
What it returned
- 30,000
A friend of Welsh's has 30,000 followers having never read anything about personal branding, posting instead about life as an American in Asia and self-publishing two books.
Conan O'Brien's absurdist self-mockery, David Letterman's sardonic irony and Jay Leno's mainstream affability each built a career from a completely different natural style.
He spent two and a half years posting ordinary photographs - family, congregation, himself - before finding the format, and nobody had done it before him.
Sources
- What I learned from Sahil Bloom about building a creator flywheel – Jakob GreenfeldSahil Bloom · jakobgreenfeld.com · Twitter · 2022-08-07
- Finding your "zone of genius"Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Don't imitate others · undated
- Don't build a brand. Live a life.Justin Welsh · justinwelsh.me · Why Most People Get It Wrong · 2025-02-15
- How Rev. Chris grew 100k Instagram followersHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · And finally ... · undated
- 10 lessons learned launching 7 SaaS and generating $200k+ total revenuesLuca Restagno · solopreneurtofreedom.com · Find your communication style · 2024-01-18
the second source
Three plays a week, for the phase you are in
No roundup of links, no news. Three tactics more than one builder arrived at separately, with the numbers each one returned and the disagreements left in.
More in social
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- Republish the winners with a new hook5 unconnected
- Cut one long piece into weeks of social posts5 unconnected