BC GROWTH HACKING
Saved by @zmbnski

How I auto-share ~120 blog posts to Reddit every month, reached 35k karma, and gotten millions of views.

And why I love building automation so much!

A thread!

 I have hit the top of Reddit hundreds of times.

Through all of the love and hate that I get on the platform, I think I've found that it's here to stay.

After years of posting on Reddit, I've slowly built an automated system that is now 100% hands off.
This is my Starter Story backend, where I save the content of my stories in a markdown format.

This is great for Reddit because Reddit is also in a markdown format!
While I edit and publish starter stories, I set the "reddit title" in advance.

This is so I don't really ever have to think about it again. Once that's set, the system knows it should post this one to reddit, and that should be the title.
I also create a "Reddit intro" and "outro"

Although the content of the blog post is stored in my database, I still should introduce myself in the Reddit post.

I use other variables in my database to construct this.
I even tag the Reddit user (just recently starting tracking this data in my database) as they will get a notification when their post goes up.

This (and other data) is filled out when the interviewee is plugging all their info.
Here's another fun thing.

Reddit has an algorithm that will "shadow ban" (google it) your posts if you have certain links.

I have a list of links that I will strip from the markdown automatically:

(this list has been built from trial and error mostly)
I also need to make sure we only post one story per day to Reddit. Maybe one day I will increase this.

This is our content calendar.

When you see a⭐️that means it will be automatically posted to Reddit.

This content calendar allows us to schedule WEEKS in advance with stories.
Then, once a day, a worker runs that will post that story to 4 different subreddits (you can see which ones in screenshot)

I run these at 15 minute intervals to avoid tripping any spam things.

Here's the code. Just a few lines.
I also started my own subreddit!

https://t.co/wkIMCyNfw3

I post ALL stories there, and we just passed 600 members. Small, but growing a little every day :)
In addition to stripping blacklisted links for the reddit post, I also do a few other things:

- strip out affiliate link params
- remove blockquotes
- add links for the images

This gives the post a "less bloggy" feel IMO.
The automation timeline!

This has all been a process:

1. at first I manually posted and found what works
2. then i set reminders to do it
3. then i built the code that writes the intro (copy/paste)
4. then i configured the API
5. then i made it so i could just click "post to reddit"
6. then i created the worker

This is high level, but I slowly did this and tweaked over the last year. Many bumps in the road.

Automating things is an iterative process!!!!
The benefits of automating?

Other than the obvious benefits (save time/money) the biggest benefit is that I'm not constantly checking Reddit anymore, seeing how upvotes are going, seeing the latest hater comments, etc.
I'll often check the site and find my post hitting the front page and I had no idea!

Anyways, that's it. Hope you found something interesting out my fun little automation.

Even though it's simple, I'm proud of it!

Happy to answer any questions. What do you think of this?

More from Pat Walls

Pat Walls
Pat Walls
@thepatwalls
I'm doing an AMA on @IndieHackers.

Drop some questions in there! Happy to answer anything, esp around building side projects with a full-time job :)

https://t.co/da4Ael9TnE


My high level plans for Starter Story.


On almost quitting

cc: @daviswbaer


@daviswbaer How I find so many businesses to interview


@daviswbaer On balancing different projects
STARTUPS
Pat Walls
Pat Walls
@thepatwalls
If you have less revenue/growth/success than you wish you had, then the best thing you can do is OWN IT.

Write a tweet, tell your friends, and move on.

Once you own it, you fix it.

99% of people on Twitter/social media/internet won't do this.

Being radically transparent and honest is a competitive (and life) advantage.

From @RayDalio's Principles:


My new product has 14 users and <$400 monthly revenue. I've spent the last 4 months on it.

I'm going through a lot of pain to validate and grow it.

But if anyone asks me how it's going I will tell them exactly that.

If I asked them, I would hope they would give me the raw truth as well. Truth builds trust.

I think that goes for your internet audience as well. Authenticity is attractive.

I see this with @starter_story all the time - people don't want to share their revenue yet because they don't have any, or it's not high enough (not all cases but often).

I wish I could tell them that getting the cat out of the bag would actually fix the problem itself!!
LIFE
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Pat Walls
Pat Walls
@thepatwalls
And here they are...

THE WINNERS OF THE 24 HOUR STARTUP CHALLENGE

Remember, this money is just fun. If you launched a product (or even attempted a launch) - you did something worth MUCH more than $1,000.

#24hrstartup

The winners 👇

#10

Lattes For Change - Skip a latte and save a life.

https://t.co/M75RAirZzs

@frantzfries built a platform where you can see how skipping your morning latte could do for the world.

A great product for a great cause.

Congrats Chris on winning $250!


#9

Instaland - Create amazing landing pages for your followers.

https://t.co/5KkveJTAsy

A team project! @bpmct and @BaileyPumfleet built a tool for social media influencers to create simple "swipe up" landing pages for followers.

Really impressive for 24 hours. Congrats!


#8

SayHenlo - Chat without distractions

https://t.co/og0B7gmkW6

Built by @DaltonEdwards, it's a platform for combatting conversation overload. This product was also coded exclusively from an iPad 😲

Dalton is a beast. I'm so excited he placed in the top 10.


#7

CoderStory - Learn to code from developers across the globe!

https://t.co/86Ay6nF4AY

Built by @jesswallaceuk, the project is focused on highlighting the experience of developers and people learning to code.

I wish this existed when I learned to code! Congrats on $250!!
MAKERS
Pat Walls
Pat Walls
@thepatwalls
After one full year, I'm officially free of credit card debt! 💳

So last year I realized I was in a horrible financial situation 😞

I had to sat down and made a REAL budget 💪

One year 👉 Paid off total of $24,705!! 😱

How I did it 👇


2/ First off, I want to talk about embarrassment. Nobody talks about their financials, unless of course, they are great! So I NEVER hear about other ppl in credit card debt.

This has made me feel like I'm a failure or that I can't even manage basic financials...

3/ So I hope this helps others out there feeling the same way.

Maybe it's how I was raised (my parents aren't great either with it) but I consider myself pretty savvy.

4/ How I got in this situation?

Living in places like SF and NY and never saving, living basically paycheck to paycheck. Then I did a coding boot camp and funded most of it off credit cards. Then I moved to NY.

Spending on my CC and thinking I'll figure it out later.

5/ Going on expensive trips with friends and funding it off my CC. Having friends that don't have to focus too much on budgeting (parents help them) and keeping up with their lifestyle.
ALL
Pat Walls
Pat Walls
@thepatwalls
Last month, 250k people visited https://t.co/nkcmLxbhzC, mostly from Google search.

Here are some things I've learned about SEO:

1. Second-and-third-order consequences

SEO is a "mind game" of second-and-third-order consequences. The work you do today will not yield results immediately.

Write an article, publish it, and then get no results. This makes you think you "did it wrong". Most people quit here.

Just go in with the expectation that you won't see results for six months after publish.

Instead of getting discouraged, just write more and publish more. By the time you published your 20th article, you might start finally seeing the results of your first.

2. SEO industry is mostly BS

Try to avoid SEO experts and industry nonsense, they are mostly distractions.

*Examples of distractions*: Google algorithm updates, schema markup, page speed, meta tags.

Do you think you’re smarter than Google’s algorithm? Maybe today, definitely not tomorrow.

Write and publish compelling content that answers the searcher’s query. That’s it!

@Moz:
SEO , STARTUPS

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Marketing Examples
Marketing Examples
@GoodMarketingHQ
🔥 How to build a website which converts email subscribers

THREAD...

Over the last 2 months, Marketing Examples welcomed 31,000 first time visitors. 4,000 of these visitors subscribed to the email list.

That’s an email opt-in of 12.9%.

The industry average is 2%. The top 10 percentile average is 5%.

So, screw it, I’ll go there:

“Marketing Examples is one of the best websites in the world at converting passers-by into email subscribers.“

What follows is a series of things I've observed whilst trying to build a website which maximises email subscribers.

1 - Being obvious works

I imagine a few of you have read The Alchemist. Pretty good book right? How many of you signed up to Paulo Coelho's email list?

No matter how good your work no one is going to go out of their way to sign up to your email list. You have to make it obvious

There are four ways to sign up to the Marketing Examples email list:

1) From the fixed position navbar
2) At the end of any article
3) Through the exit intent popup
4) Directly from the subscribe page

From any given point you're only one click away from subscribing.
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joshbuckley
joshbuckley
@joshbuckley
Paid user acquisition is a curse. Later stage consumer startups that depend on it are the walking dead.

• After launch, ROI declines consistently across every advertising channel
• Early metrics are misleading because traffic is front-loaded due to the way ad algos work

Digital ad metrics have decayed every year since the industry was created.
• CPMs on major ad networks are now increasing at ~40%/yr.
• In 1997, CTR on HotWired was 78%. In 2019, Facebook’s average CTR is about 0.9%.
(H/t @andrewchen)

Facebook/Google algorithms are so good at targeting people that paid acquisition traffic tends to be highly front-loaded.

Founders and investors are often shocked when numbers rapidly decay — because the ad population has been saturated.

So, what’s the answer for these startups? I think a few things:
1. Optimize ad spend as the userbase saturates
2. Build a distribution moat to re-target customers later
3. Focus the core business on things that spread organically
4. Explore emerging advertising channels quickly
GROWTH HACKING
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Dan \u26a1\ufe0f
Dan ⚡️
@DanPierson
~2 months ago, I started working @bolt_travel’s funnel more systematically, with friendly email+ text reminders in days after folks applied to join.

We’ve seen a 40% lift in conversion.

Your product is very important to you. It’s priority #201 for everyone else. (1/3)

Obviously, you want to be tactful and respectful. We‘re a very high touch product, people spend considerable time applying, so I‘m comfortable with that kind of outreach.

We haven’t had a single person complain about text or email reminders. (2/3)

bottom line: if they spent the time to show interest, that means they want to know more. And like everyone else, they might just have a lot going on and need a reminder every once in a while.

Don’t be afraid to surface your product (while respecting privacy and attention) /end
GROWTH HACKING
Marketing Examples
Marketing Examples
@GoodMarketingHQ
🔥 7 practical ways to write copy that converts:

1/ Get specific

Landing page copy is full of unfalsifiable, blanket claims: “more, easier, faster ...”

If you want to stand out get specific. You can’t bullshit specifics:


2/ Call out the type of customer you serve

People pay attention when they know something is specifically for them:

“What? Loads of authors are using this. I’m an author. Maybe I should be too ...”


3/ Use value-based messaging

Talk less about your product and more about the value your product brings.

People don’t want a better toothbrush. They want a brighter smile:


4/ Write for one reader

You're not talking to 1000 people. You're talking to the single person reading your page. So write like it.

An informal tone and addressing your users personally (“you”) makes a big difference:
GROWTH HACKING
Martin Delaney
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@FoundersHustle
Want to grow your Twitter audience around a niche subject?

Here's how 16-year-old @PrasoonPratham attracted 40,000+ followers wanting to learn about machine learning over a few months, from scratch! 👇🧵


2. Pratham joined Twitter June 2019 to learn more about his life passion, programming.

In May 2020 he got curious about machine learning and started tweeting about it.

But, he was just a beginner! 🙃

No matter.

By the end of the year he reached circa 40k followers.

3. So, how can someone with no prior experience on a subject become an influencer in such a short period of time?

Particularly on a platform that counts numerous—highly followed—machine learning experts amongst its ranks of users from the likes of Google and Amazon. 🤔

4. Pratham says he found a "gap in the community."

Before Pratham came along most of the machine learning content tweeted by 'big' subject matter accounts was by experts for experts.

He catered to beginners.💡

5. A lot of tweeters trying to build a Twitter audience make the mistake of choosing a topic that is already popular and simply emulate the top voices within it. 🗣️

Unless you have overwhelming domain authority, there’s simply too much noise to compete effectively with them.
GROWTH HACKING

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We should stop confusing what someone was doing when we became aware of them with all they are capable of, interested in, or ever hope to be

Let folks have their many talents, interests and gifts. Life is far more fun with variety, loves.

A lot of folks have come to know me as an activist & I’m grateful that folks care to know me at all.

But I wasn’t born in 2014. I was a whole teacher, executive, policy person, speaker, arts and culture lover, reader, writer, woman of faith, fashion and more before 4 yrs ago 🤷🏾‍♀️

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Can I live?

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