Hey friends,
If you can’t tell, I’ve been watching Ali Abdaal lately.
I recently watched his video called “How Writing Online Made me a Millionaire” And one thing he mentioned about blogging was to build in public. To document the process.
My name is Mason Pomeroy. I’ve been very into self-development for 5 years now. You can find my oldest work online by looking up “962lifestyle”. 962lifestyle was a “business” that wasn’t actually a business that me and my buddy Jesse made. It never took off, probably because our content sucked and we gave up, but there’s content there if you want to go see it. It was very basic, wide stuff. Like “how to achieve your goals” style posts. We didn’t understand that that type of stuff doesn’t take off, but the whole reason we made broad stuff like that was because we thought appealing to a larger audience is the way to success.
The biggest lesson I’m learning right now about building online traffic is that we as people are unique, but not that unique. What we desire to make in our hearts is usually great content, because although we may think the niche is too small, that’s how you build a brand. You’ve got a bunch of specialized knowledge that perfectly fits these little, tiny niches. I’m realizing that trying to appeal to a large audience is actually what stunts my growth, and the niche topics that I want to cover aren’t to save for when I gain a following-They’re the means to the following.
Right now, the biggest problem I face is the massive (what feels like) pile of sand I have to dig through in order to build a following.
I do my work for its own sake, but I can’t not build a following. This is what I want to do.
What I’ve realized in this journey is that making friends is the key to get the ball rolling. The more into the community I get, joining discords, direct messaging people, etc., the more I realize how powerful one person is. When I meet someone new, have a genuine conversation with them, we share our socials, we communicate, we bounce ideas off of each other, it’s awesome. And the best thing about making these friends? They’re free engagement. Every single new friend you make will be liking your posts consistently. Commenting, sharing, etc. Having a friend in your niche is like having an extra advertisement running for you at all times. It’s great.
Right now, I don’t have many friends in my niche. Maybe 5 or 6, but only 2 or 3 of them are consistently engaging. The others are people to talk to. What I’m realizing, and what I will share with you, is that I need to stop focusing on the first 1000 subscribers but start focusing on the first 100 friends.
Every friend I make is an extra like, comment, and share. If with every post I make, let’s say 50% of my 100 friends do this, Thats 50 likes (plus whatever the algorithm brings) 50 comments, and 50 shares! So that means with every post, I’m getting massive engagement which is driving my growth through the roof.
I’m not exactly sure how to make these friends, but I’m in the process of doing so. Maybe I will make a group, a tribe, lead an engagement group for content creators in the self-development niche. Even if it’s just 20 people to start, imagine the compound growth I can achieve there.
As I am writing this, I’m getting a beautiful idea on how to get the ball rolling. I will post a video titled “I’m starting a small group of self-improvement content creators.” If I do this, and just 5 people find me through there, say I get 5 from networking on Instagram, 5 that I already have, and 5 friends of the new friends. Thats 20 people, that’s a strong engagement group, that can really help our growth. The best thing about this is that I not only will be helping myself, but I also will be helping other people like me get the ball rolling.
So, there is my current plan for growth. If you have any advice, would like to join this group, etc., reach out to me on discord (Mason#6599) or Instagram @expandmason.
The other problem I’m dealing with is impostor syndrome. I’m only 17, so who’s going to want my advice? Well, I think I am successfully curing my impostor syndrome, and I’m doing it well. Basically, I shifted my identity from “self-help guru/teacher” to “self-help mentor/friend.” I realized no matter how young I am, I can help the people that are one step behind me. I can help the younger version of myself. I can be that productive friend you never had, that friend who’s good at talking and giving advice, and getting people to take action. I can do this, and I’m confident in it. Just that change in self-image changed everything. My motivation skyrocketed. For people to watch me as a friend they never had, that’s beautiful.
The second way that I cured the impostor syndrome is shifting the mentality to “I must be a perfect teacher who knows the most and only teaches” to “I will teach as I learn, I will share my highlights and what I found interesting, all while building in public and documenting my journey.” This mindset shift is also changing everything, as I am not perfect, I can be humble. I can teach as I learn without posing as some sort of God. I can be that friend to bounce ideas off of, to learn from, to grow with. That means everything to me, because younger me always wanted more friends like that. My most meaningful friendship, Jesse, his website here, is one just like this. We bounce ideas off of each other, we grow together, we share our content on each other’s platforms.
So, in short, my goal is no longer to build an audience. That will come. Right now, I must take the first step, and make friends.
If you want to befriend me on this journey, message me on discord (Mason#6599) or on Instagram @expandmason. Thank you for reading,
Mason
MASON POMEROY 