Bullshit or Big Business?
What do you think?
My LinkedIn timeline is overflowing with new ‘gurus’ who say that writing launched their personal brands to extraordinary heights. Some of them even make millions.
I’m curious how – and if – that works, so I’m starting an online experiment to grow an audience to create and capture value with the knowledge and insights that I have build up over the last 20 years.
I, Remko. A regular guy, living a fairly regular life as a Gen X entrepreneur, strategic business design advisor and (digital) creator in Barcelona, Europe. No guru or famous person.
Yet. I want to see if the online advices of ‘new gurus’ work or not.
Create valuable content. Grow an audience. Monetise.
Simply said, these advices consists of a system of ‘writing’ long and short form content, publishing videos about topics that you identify with, build an audience with newsletters and indirectly direct your audience to a course or paid content, which will make them grow personally or in business as well. Adding value to their lives. Which will pay back as they buy your paid content or services.
As I helped other entrepreneurs and executives with building businesses, brands and digital products for 20+ years the ‘old fashioned way’, I want to check this new approach. See if it is something I can help others with as well.
Will it work?
I’d love to believe it works, yet I am also slightly sceptical that it can work for everyone. I wonder if writing about your knowledge and insights creates enough impact (transformative value) for others. So much that they want to pay you.
Let’s do an experiment
Being a Master of Science (engineer), I decided to take a ‘scientific’ approach: describe the assumption & the experiment, do the experiment, write about the findings and improve along the way.
Total transparency. I’ll start from scratch. Make mistakes. Learn along the way. Become better. I’ll do that in public, so I doesn’t look like ‘overnight success’ when it appears to work.
The assumption:
Everybody can grow an audience of 20.000+ people in one year and monetise the knowledge that they have.
The experiment:
For the next 12 months, I will follow a process of content generation – writing long and short form texts (no ChatGPT), video and images – to build at least 20,000 followers on LinkedIn, Instagram and X (Twitter). Currently I have about 1000 connections on LinkedIn and 100 followers on Instagram. Mostly friends, family and BJJ training buddies.
I will write about strategic business design – helping (starting) entrepreneurs to gain overview of their business and align their vision, strategy & execution. This is my main focus.
I will also write about (digital) design, entrepreneurship, solopreneurship, sustainability, simplicity, BJJ, health, strength, philosophy, branding, being multifaceted (a ‘generalist’) in a specialist world, and more things that I think might help you to new insights for self-improvement.
Every day – for max 2 hours – I write, post something of value, interact on social media and measure the results to improve my writing and topics.
The paid content
I will create value by giving useful insights and inspiration for the reader, and I will capture value by directing the readers to 4 types of paid services that hold even more value:
- online trainings and tools on strategic business design (f.i. the Strategic Business & Brand Alignment Canvas, my evolving ebook ‘Power Up with purpose’.),
- online trainings on digital design & branding (f.i. how to build websites & e-commerce ecosystems in a day, digital products and create authentic brands),
- affiliate programs that I support (like Urban farming Academy, Martial Art Fighting gear -, brands that I helped build, and tools that I use to get my work done.)
- Hands-on (business) design work, consultancy & coaching (things I currently already do)
To prepare the experiment I’ve build the Visionyzer website for the courses and my own website for the blog.
The preparation and creation of the first sets of content (paid and free) took me about one month in total. During the year I will create more, depending on what the audience values most.
Now, here’s the fun part:
If the experiment works: I will continue and you will have the guidelines to do it too. Just follow my steps.
If it doesn’t work: I’ve debunked a myth. (I’ll apply for a job @ mythbusters)
Let me know if you believe this will create big business, or if it is total bullshit.
