So many bros out there talk about working for “themselves” and “being their own bosses”… and they’re lying.
To themselves AND to you.
They don’t have “multiple income streams” or “freedom”.
They are chained to ONE income stream: social media.
And they have no control over it.
Social platforms change regularly
Some of you youngsters weren’t around at the time, but I was first on Facebook back in the glory years of 2004.
Back then, it was “The Facebook” (until Justin Timberlake told them to change it), and it was exclusively for college students.
This was great for those of us who were petty enough to jump on there and see if their ex-girlfriends were still single after breaking our hearts.
I assume. Not me, of course.
Anyway.
The Facebook was great. You could post stuff and check out what other people post. That was… it.
Then it introduced the News Feed.
This was also great. Now you could log in and see a stream of everybody’s posts.
Then, Zuck started tinkering.
The News Feed no longer just fed you a stream of posts. It began deciding what posts to show you.
It became an ALGORITHM.
You could post stuff and your friends – who were also on Facebook every day – didn’t actually see what you posted!
Over the years, Zuck would change the algorithm a bunch of times, add new features, remove others, and so on.
We’d get mad at it, complain about it, then deal with it because it wouldn’t change.
Now it’s Elon’s turn.
The Mighty Arm of the Algorithm
I’m a big fan of what Elon Musk is doing and what he stands for.
However, I have to admit that Twitter (or X) has really sucked since he took over.
Growth for everybody has stalled.
Privately, I’m hearing from all sorts of creators on the platform that their businesses have suffered dramatically.
I have my own theories as to what’s going on with X, but the lesson is the same: the algorithm controls the content.
When you post on X, you no longer have control over who sees what you post.
The Algorithm does.
They tweak it. They change it. They add and subtract stuff. They do things in front of you and behind the scenes.
All of it affects your ability to communicate with your followers.
Shoot, I have nearly 12,000 followers on X. Only a couple hundred see most of my posts.
I’m not in control.
This is where the goo-roos get it wrong
I know most of the copywriting programs out there today.
I’m in some of them, even. I do research.
Every single one of them is teaching the exact same approach for getting clients (if they teach about getting clients at all – many of them don’t):
- Post daily on X
- Interact with those who engage
- DM them to sell them
They tell every copywriter to target coaches and course creators.
And then 95% of the writers on the inside make zero dollars.
But the money isn’t even the worst part. It’s the lack of control.
I work for myself for a reason
Why on Earth would I want my livelihood – my ability to provide for my wife and children – dependent on the whims of some dude in California or Texas?
It’s like having a really controlling boss.
Except I work for myself to NOT have a boss!
Relying on any social media platform for your business is like taking on all the risks of freelancing without the #1 benefit of doing it: the freedom and control.
You still have a boss, but you have none of the legal protections of an employee.
You’re taking on the worst of both worlds!
Those guys can change what they want about their platforms. I really don’t care.
And that’s because NONE of my copywriting client work comes from social media or “personal brands”.
I work for businesses. And I find them away from social media. And I connect with them outside of social media. And I close them outside of social media.
Elon could shut down Twitter tomorrow.
Next week, all of Facebook’s servers could go down.
My business would still hum along like nothing ever changed.
That’s because I deliberately built my business around skills that I can use anywhere at any time, instead of tactics dependent on one puppet master pulling the strings on my brand.
Personal brand-less,
Tom
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