Social Media: Harsh Mistress

In 2023, I stumbled on digital writing by accident. 

I was scrolling on YouTube and saw a video by fantastic Ali Abdaal. How to start an email newsletter  (https://youtu.be/ozWseKZV6Ac?si=8AIkpdHJd9DdAfAa) 

"A paid newsletter would be cool." I thought to myself. 

Out of curiosity, I started a free substack account that I hoped to monetize later. 

I was consistent for a few weeks but it didn't take me long to realise I sucked at writing big-time. Long story short, I ended up "killing" it after amounting only 23 subs -- including my mom. 

Didn't have time to waste.

Speed was of essence here as I had just quit Uni and wanted to make some quick bucks before my mom discovered that I quit. (Story for another day) 

So, I pivoted. 

I picked up copywriting. 

My strategy was super simple. 

▪︎ Learn the skill.
▪︎ Help others with the skill.
▪︎ Get paid to write words that sell.
▪︎ And eventually achieve digital freedom. 

FYI, I have just renewed this goal. Keep reading.... 

…… 

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. -- Mike Tyson

I purchased a couple of books to devour the skill - you know, I was ready to become another OG copywriter in the space until I hopped on X (for traffic) and everything went haywire. 

At the time, I was working in a day job and my routine was a bit tight. 

I would wake up at 4am to write before heading to work. Engage & network during tea and lunch breaks and read books in the evening after work.

Spoiler alert: My 9-5 was not the alibi to why I got sidetracked.

Infact, at some point, this routine was so fulfilling and I had so much clarity of everything I needed to do to eventually quit my job and go full time. 

And I did eventually quit my day job. Well, I mean, I got laid off before my due resignation date :) 

Now, I went full time on building online. 

Goal achieved, yay! Right?

Wrong... 

Infact I felt empty and lost than never before. 

Even after accumulating well over 800+ followers and 930k+ impressions on X. 

I felt like an imposter. 

I started out as a copywriting enthusiast and before I knew it, I was a Twitter growth guru teaching newbies how to grow on the platform. 

That's not what I set out to do. 

It all came down crumbling the moment I realised this was not a game I could sustain long term.

So I had to take a long break from social media in August 2023  to re-think my strategy for long-term sustainable success as a digital writer.

I wanted freedom but freedom where I did work that felt like play for a living. 

And showing people how to grow an audience definitely wasn't it. 

So, guess what I did after the break... 

I got another 9-5 day job and started building online all over again from scratch. 

...another day job? Yeap! Bills needed to be paid, right? 

...from scratch? Well, I haven't given up on my goals. I still want autonomy. Bad!

My pinned post on X:
https://x.com/itsdennischege/status/1892054674758324508?t=mFqHq543hUHcXlDt6925pQ&s=19 

Now... 

Why am I even telling you this? 

Simply put: 

To makes you wary of social media. 

Funny how I knew what I wanted to do to build my one-person business but I got distracted after seeing everyone in my network making small fast bucks teaching others how to grow. 

I boarded the ship and that's where I disconnected from my main course. 

Social media is a harsh mistress. 

You go in there intending to do "this" but end up "that" 

Shiny objects syndrome is real. (Talking from experience) 

Be warned! 

After the long break, I am back to the original course stronger and with 11 followers on X already as of writing this. 

And yes, I killed my 1st X account. 

To build one that is more aligned with my long-term goals. 

.... 

Right.... 

Look, the key is simple. 

FOCUS!! 

And knowing the right levers to pull. 

Here are the 3 levers to pull daily to build Digital Leverage the right way: 

1. Consume more offline and less online. 

Put it this way: 

The quality of your ideas is inversely propositional to the amount of time you spend scrolling on social media. 

While everyone goes shallow, go deeper. 

Resist the urge to consume only on X. 

Log off X. Do cool stuffs offline. Share 'em online.

Do otherwise and you'll sound superficial just like everyone else. 

2. Get good at a skill 

It easier to just fuck around than getting good at a craft. 

The better you become at a skill you enjoy learning, the faster you build your professional leverage. 

Pick one skill and give yourself 6 months. 

3. Nail 3 focus blocks 

a) Learning and studying block. 

Read books around the craft you are trying to master. 

Learn through imitation.
Pick 3 creators that are 2-3 steps ahead of you and note what they do and then do that.

Don't try to reinvent the wheel here. 

Instead, learn from people who have already cracked the code. 

b) Writing and Building blocks. 

Write every day.
This could be anything from content, emails or even journalling to get you creative juice flowing. 

Build stuffs. Anything. 

Mornings are the best time to do this especially if you are building your creator business alongside your 9-5 

c) Networking and Engagement block. 

Don't be a lone wolf. 

Find your tribe and grow together. 

Attract them by leaving impactful comments under big creators account or reach out to them via DMs. 

The goal is building long term relationships around the community you'll in. 

.... 

3 hours every day is all you need. 1 hour in each block plus showing up daily for 6 months without waver is the antidote. 

….. 

That's it friends. 

Don't make the mistakes I made. Focus. Be consistent. Play the long game. 

Hope that helps. 

P.S 

I recently saw a thread from Dickie Bush on X on how here he started out his digital writing journey. 

So relatable and I really enjoyed it. Take a look here... https://x.com/dickiebush/status/1522950043493453827?t=PtAdQ-7SkBQLR4qQ5VdhHQ&s=19 

I am curious... 

Is this the first time building online? Or another comeback like mine? 

Either way, what's your strategy going forward?  And how do you plan make sure you don't get distracted?

Curious to here your story... 

Talk soon, 

Dennis.