2 builders who never spoke to each other
Ride the story that is already moving today
Reach on a breaking story goes to whoever is quickest, and the post worth reading is the one adding the angle nobody else in that conversation has. A timely idea can outrun a decade of back catalogue, and when the trend cools you swap in the next one and keep the format running.
The method
- 01
React fast to whatever single story is dominating the platform that day, because speed is what earns the reach.
- 02
Take a story already moving through the news and add the single angle nobody else in that conversation is bringing to it.
- 03
Time the message to a news event that proves your product's premise, so the joke lands the same day people are already discussing it.
- 04
Riding an existing trend can compound audience faster than years of original output, so weigh a timely idea above a large content back catalogue.
- 05
When the trend you rode cools off, swap in the next rivalry and keep the same format running.
What it returned
- 1
Pieter Levels ran an ad for his jobs board aimed at remote workers on the very day Apple told staff to return to the office, picking up 1.5M impressions.
- 12,000
Flare TV went from 12,000 to nearly 2.5 million subscribers in seven months and from 70,000 to 60 million monthly views, estimated at $190k-$3m revenue; Fox News needed 16 years and 55,000 videos for the same subscriber count
Author cites LEGO, Oreo, Southampton FC and Tide as brands that do this well.
The example given is his write-up of the psychological dimension of the Evergrande story.
Sources
- What I learned from Sahil Bloom about building a creator flywheel – Jakob GreenfeldSahil Bloom · jakobgreenfeld.com · Twitter · 2022-08-07
- Growing 2.5 million subscribers piggybacking on viral trendsHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Piggy back on viral trends · undated
- I love Billboards designed for socialHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · I love Billboards designed for social · undated
- My Twitter Inspiration HandbookHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · 4/ “Quick reaction” tweets · undated
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.
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- Republish the winners with a new hook5 unconnected
- Cut one long piece into weeks of social posts5 unconnected