Welcome to this week’s Creator Corner - where I answer 3 questions to help you write well and build your business.

Coming up today:

• What to do if you don’t have an interesting brand story
• What NOT to do if you want to build your audience
• Advice on how to ace your first digital product

Let’s dive in.

QUESTION 1

The Atroscious Penman asked:

​When I first started on Twitter, the people I looked up to had incredible stories.

They’d overcome the odds.

They had successful blogs and best-selling products.

They were at the top of their game and I felt like there was no way I could compare to them as a result.

But guess what?

2 years ago, I didn’t have a brand-defining story.

I was just a dentist who hated his job (join the queue).

But then I built an audience, quit my career, and launched a business. Recently, I quit coaching and consulting because I'd rather prioritize for freedom first.

These moves gave people a reason to pay attention.

The best stories happen in real time. So set a big goal, commit to your craft, and document the journey. Keep helping your audience win as you do. And I guarantee in 2-3 years time, you'll have a great story too.

QUESTION 2

Giacomo asked:

​I’m going to tell you a secret I haven’t shared before - but only if you promise to keep it between us.

After my first few months on Twitter, I was desperate. I’d been tweeting to the void like a man singing to a deaf dog. Nobody followed me and I was about ready to give up.

But then I got 300 followers in 2 weeks.

Wanna know how?

Follow for a follow.

I joined a specific group of people on Twitter and I followed 'em all. The ones that didn’t follow back, I unfollowed.

Finally, I'd made progress.

I’m sure you can see where this is heading…

My audience was entirely artificial. My engagement was still shit, but now I had a reason to be embarrassed about it too. I eventually unfollowed every single one of those people.

So yeah, not a good move.

If your followers aren’t reading your posts, then you’re either creating the wrong type of content or your content sucks.

For the first point, screw ‘em. They ain’t your target audience anyway. For the second point, screw ‘em. You’re gonna get better at writing and then they’ll wonder how you ‘improved so fast’.

Which leads me to the important point:

Take writing seriously.

The better you can communicate, the more people will care.

If you’re small, comment under big accounts to leverage their audience. As you do, build a small network of friends to support each other as you grow.

But most importantly:

Keep consistent.

Surviving the start is the hardest part - but it’s worth every effort.

QUESTION 3

Francis Manton asked:

​I’m not going to give you my entire launch strategy for two reasons:

1. I’m flying to Hamburg to go on a stag tomorrow and I don’t have time
2. I don’t have one

I’ll be straight up with you my friend, I’m not a pro at products. And I avoid teaching what I haven’t done because we have enough experts without experience online.

But I have just crossed 700 sales with the Viral Inspiration Lab, so I’ll give you one tip and one mistake.

Let’s start with the tip:

Build an email list.

I hate selling on social media. It feels cheap and tacky. But email is different. You can write emails that are fun and useful, and naturally pivot to pitching your products (I'll show you an example in a moment).

Plus, you can control the narrative.

If you sell a product, you can send 4-5 emails that tell an overarching story.

By email 5, people want to buy because you've built up the desire. But on social media you’re just shouting in a crowded room and hoping people notice.

My mistake with product building?

Not iterating enough.

Most of my sales come when I add a new module.

People get curious, and curious people buy.

But most people will build it and move on. Improving a product is much less sexy than starting a new project. I've tried not to make that mistake, but I know it could, and should, be better.

Why?

Because people who buy once, buy twice.

Your products don’t just build revenue, they build relationships.

So if you create something, go back and build it some more. You'll attract new customers. But more importantly, you'll delight the old ones.

That’s why in April, I’ll release a new training in the Lab breaking down my Twitter growth strategy to hit 140,000 followers. I'll host a Q&A for current buyers too - and I haven't shared my ideas publicly for almost a year. So I have a few good nuggets to share.

If you aren’t one of the 700+ creators inside, come fix that here.

I promise it’s worth it.

Kieran's Killer Resource of the Week

I almost didn’t want to give this one to you because these guys are the source of 90% of my inspiration.

I’ve spent countless hours hand-copying their writing too.

Andre Chaperon and Shawn Twig are some of the best marketers online. They don’t have a big audience, nor do they want one. When you read their ideas, you’ll see why.

(If you love marketing, I apologise for the rabbit hole).

​Their 2021 review is as good a place as any to start.

A Quote for You...

“It's far more important to write well than most people realize. Writing doesn't just communicate ideas; it generates them. If you're bad at writing and don't like to do it, you'll miss out on most of the ideas writing would have generated.”

- Paul Graham

​I had a few people tell me they’ve swapped out most of their writing process for AI. Sure, you save time, but at what cost?

Your best ideas are a result of shitty first drafts and painful iterations. Writing isn’t just about putting words on paper. It’s thinking. So don’t neglect the most important skill.