3 builders who never spoke to each other

Give away the method that makes people hire you

Write down everything you have learned doing the work, including exactly how you use your own product, and publish it the way a chef publishes recipes: knowing the method does not stop people coming to you, it is what makes them come. Content built around the problem stays useful to readers who never buy, and the credibility arrives immediately even when the revenue does not.

The method

1. 01

   Write down everything you have learned in your trade and publish it - the book sells itself and brings the clients with it.

2. 02

   Publish your methods the way chefs publish recipes: knowing how it is done does not stop people coming to you for it, it builds the credibility that brings them.

3. 03

   Write down how you personally use your own product, every workflow and shortcut, because that document is the marketing.

4. 04

   Instead of advertising, publish content built around the problem your product solves so it is useful to readers who never touch the product.

5. 05

   Count the credibility even if the revenue disappoints: publishing moves your public profile immediately.

What it returned

• 19

  David Ogilvy had 19 clients in 1962 when he took a long break to write up 14 years of advertising lessons; the book sold a million copies and within two decades the agency had 3,000 clients across 267 offices.

• Jason Fried of 37signals calls this emulating chefs: a chef does not fear that sharing a recipe keeps you home from the restaurant

• Blog traffic doubled and Twitter following doubled after The App Design Handbook came out

• He found Basecamp through 37signals' blog, FreshBooks through their invoicing advice, chose Wistia over free YouTube because of their video production series, and bought Rework because they had already taught him so much

Sources

• My First Year Teaching: How I Built My Audience - Double Your FreelancingBrennan Dunn · doubleyourfreelancing.com · Your Audience Is Not A Piggy Bank · 2013-08-15
• “Michelin Guide” MarketingHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Confessions of an Advertising Man · undated
• The Audience Shortcut: How the Right People Paying Attention Changes EverythingNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Case Study #2: From Selfish to Service Mindset · 2025-07-01
• How Nathan Barry and Sacha Greif Sold $39k Worth of eBooksNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Coming Up With An Idea, And Making Sure It’s Good · 2012-10-03
• How teaching and storytelling can build a profitable businessNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Start teaching · 2013-09-03
• An Unstoppable CombinationNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Learning Marketing · 2013-01-10
• Why Everyone Else is More Popular Than You AreNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · 2012-03-13
• Spreading the Word: How to Do Marketing on a Shoestring Budget – The Bootstrapped FounderArvid Kahl · thebootstrappedfounder.com · The Power of Tribes · 2020-06-11
• I accidentally made myself obsoleteLuca Restagno · solopreneurtofreedom.com · I accidentally made myself obsolete · 2026-04-15