I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
Being a creator is a multiplayer game
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Hi Reader, One benefit of founding ConvertKit (soon to be Kit) is I get a front row seat to what’s working for the most successful creators. There are so many different kinds of creator businesses and various strategies people use to grow, but there’s one thing they all have in common: Successful creators don't go on this journey alone. I’ve yet to see any successful creator “make it” without connecting and collaborating with others in their space. It’s certainly true in my journey as well. Successful creators think in terms of community over competition. Nick Huber talks about a mindset shift he had early in his career: “WHO, not how”. Instead of facing a problem and thinking, “HOW can I solve this?” Ask yourself, “WHO do I know that can solve this?” While he’s coming at this from a perspective of delegation and operating from a point of high leverage as a leader, I think it also applies to the creator journey. How can you turn what you’re currently treating as a single-player game into a multiplayer game? Instead of wondering, “How can I do this alone?” ask, “WHO can I do this with?” That doesn’t have to mean turning your business into a partnership (although you could). It could simply mean finding someone to collaborate with on a project idea. Or joining a mastermind group of peers at a similar level where you all help promote each other. Every creator I follow used masterminds, meetups, and conferences to find people to help on their creator journey. They’ve treated their journey as a multiplayer game. In the early days, growing your email newsletter was really difficult. You had to plan collaborations or newsletter swaps—and those would only be one-off events. But now tools like Recommendations with Kit (I'm just going to start saying Kit now) help you grow faster. Partner with someone who recommends you back and you both can grow faster together and the partnership runs automatically all day, every day. There’s a lot of power in partnering with other creators on a platform where you actually own the audience. That’s the beauty of email. We’re creating more ways for you to partner with other creators. For instance, if you have a Kit account, you can now add your social and website links to your creator profile in Creator Network to help people connect with you. You can also easily view others’ latest posts in their profile to see if they’d be a good fit for you to recommend. Click below to learn more about Recommendations and find partners on the Creator Network: Find partners on the Creator Network » PODCASTZero to $125,000 in 30 DaysIn this episode, I chat with Aaron Francis, Co-Founder of Try Hard Studios, who shares his incredible journey of making $125,000 in just 30 days from their SQLite video course.
Watch or listen to episode » BOOKGive to GrowMy friend, Mo Bunnell, just launched his new book last week, Give to Grow. It’s all about growing your business through the power of relationships. Instead of focusing on tactics and persuasion, investing in relationships will help you close deals without relying on pressure. “When you focus on relationships, you’re focused on helping instead of selling. You win more of the work directly in front of you. You create demand for the higher value work you want to do for the clients you want to do it for. And when this flywheel of success starts spinning, everything becomes effortless.”
– Mo Bunnell
Learn the science and steps to get great at growth: Have a great week! —Nathan |
Nathan Barry
I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
Hi Reader, With ConvertKit becoming Kit, we’re undergoing a full rebrand. We’ve been sharing the journey in our Rebranding in Public documentary series. It’s today’s episode, you’ll get the first look at our new Kit visual identity. Watch the full behind-the-scenes process in episode 3: Video: Kit logo reveal Watch now » —Nathan
Hey Reader, Have you been considering building a personal brand but never seem to get around to it? Part of the reason may just be that it feels like too much work. But it may also be because you: Lack clarity - What will your brand even be about? Procrastinate - Will you get around to doing it next year? Fear being criticized - What will other people think of you? Don’t have enough time - Will you ever get a spare moment? Want everything to be perfect - Will things ever be good enough? If...
Hi Reader, As a natural introvert, I was someone who went to conferences and talked to no one. So it’s kind of crazy that now I regularly speak on stage in front of large audiences. Sometimes, that audience is my own company. This week, I’m on a team retreat with most of our 83-person team. At ConvertKit (soon to be Kit), we host two annual retreats every year. It’s an important part of our company culture, especially as a fully remote team. I was thinking back to our first retreat in 2016...