Write, write, write

There are few truisms that get parroted around when it comes to startups:

• Ideas don't matter, execution does
• You don't need more features, you need more users
• Build in public

Yet I see so many founders complaining that they don't have any users or revenue, yet there is zero content on their websites. How else are you going to find users?

A little Tangent: $4 Trillion Lesson in Intent

Why is Google a $4+ trillion (at the time of writing) company? Because it created one of the best business models ever.

• User types a search query [best user feedback app]
• Google knows the user has the intent to find/try a user feedback app
• Google sells ad space on the search results for the query to user feedback app companies
• Since the user has a strong intent to take action, the ads get really high click through
• User feedback app company gets user, Google gets money

Search Engines are the best place to find users because we know the users making these queries have a problem and are looking for a solution.

Free Ads

I hope what you don't take away from that is to go set up an Google Adwords account and throw your credit card at the problem. Paid ads is one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a founder if you haven't shown you can acquire users organically.

Remember, after the user issues a query, they don't just get ads, they get actual results linking to websites. Results that are free to show up in. You just need to do the work to rank there. Your content is how that user's intent becomes your user.

Write, write, write

So back to truisms and the title of this post. Everyone says you need to work on SEO. But so many don't.

It's not easy. It's a grind.

But the first step? Write, write, write.

Every day. Write.

It doesn't need to be good – aim for 70% and hit publish. You need to write content to even have a shot of ranking. And with practice, you'll get better and faster at producing content. You can always go back and update 😄

What about AI?

Definitely use it! If you're just looking to build a web presence, copy and paste AI content might work. But if you're looking to build a following, your voice still needs to come through. People are pretty good at detecting AI-slop. That said, AI is great for giving feedback or drafting, especially if you find it hard to get started.