Hi friends,

Back in May when I started my indie hacker journey, I was almost sure that I needed to build a SaaS to be a successful maker (at least that's the trend). But I had a procrastination problem, so I decided to write a book about it. Slowly, writing took all my attention and I wasn't that excited about building a SaaS anymore. It's a long term commitment after all.

So I was asking myself: "what can I do today that could help me later on, no matter what path I take?" I found the answer to be a personal brand, or in other words, an audience. If you build a SaaS or info-product, you are after people's money. When you build an audience, people give you something more valuable, their attention.​

The question now is, how to build an audience? I used to think that audience means social media, means Twitter. But the problem with social media in general and with Twitter, in particular, is that the user’s attention span is super short. I find it so hard to deliver value within a tweet of 280 characters, and still, compete with hundreds of other tweets. On top of that, a tweet is not enough for someone who just started like me to build credibility and earn others’ trust. Which are very critical to get anyone's attention. Twitter is great, but it needs something else to back it up.

So what are the alternatives? The obvious choice for me was blogging, why? I enjoy writing, I want to become a better writer, It helps me build my credibility and earn people's trust. And after writing my first couple of blog posts I decided to start this newsletter to share what I learn.

To sum things up, if you are like me, not 100% sure what to focus on or you don't know where to start, content creation is your best bet. Whether it’s blogging, newsletter, Youtube, podcast, or whatever you feel right for you. You don’t need something to sell to build an audience. And soon enough you may experience the joy it brings with it, something like this message (👋Nic)

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Finally, If you still need a little push to start creating. Here are some more reasons why you should:

1. It feels great to create and not just consume
2. It helps you think, rethink, and think about thinking (metacognition)
3. You will be learning A TON, not just about any subject but about yourself

Have a lovely week!

Jamal

Quote of the Week

Everyone has a personal brand, whether you like it or not. A personal brand is just your professional reputation. Whether or not you’re actively thinking about it, you DO have a professional reputation, or you will soon enough.
- Ali Abdaal