Why I launched this project
I will never forget the story behind this website. I was sitting in the Portland Airport with the CEO of Carrot (carrot.com). We were talking about marketing strategies for some upcoming campaigns. He was talking about popular author’s frameworks and models and it was clear to him that I was lost on what he was talking about.
He strongly encouraged me to start standing on the shoulders of giants and read more books to help me get ahead in my career.
It hit me in the gut. I knew he was right. I was fresh out of college and though I did all the “required” reading to land a job and have a career.
I asked for some book recommendations and it ignited a new passion within me. I read close to 20 books that year. Books that ranged from business to personal growth and self-help.
I created a website to start documenting some of my insights and share them with the world.
Highlights 👍
I learned how to custom code a WordPress theme from a starter template. This is a skillset I enjoy to this day and has allowed me to take on side projects with a bigger capacity.
I also used this website to uplevel my SEO knowledge. Not only did I strategically select keywords and write long-form content, but I was able to guest post on large websites to drive high-quality backlinks.
The result was a newsletter that actually had subscribers.
Some of my work has been featured on
Lowlights 👎
I ran out of steam on blogging long-form content. I also lost this website’s content due to a server crash and never recovered all of it. Pretty bummed about that.
Instead of re-creating a bunch of content and trying to drive more backlinks, I decided to shift the focus of the website to help others get unstuck and find their purpose by sharing some frameworks, content and creating some challenges.
I haven’t devoted enough time and attention to the challenges but hope to use my knowledge of marketing automation tools to make a challenge that is worth entering. I have it on my 2021 roadmap to pick this project back up and make it more meaningful.
Biggest Insights
Blogging is a great way to be creative and help others. The space is ultra-competitive and guest posting is a successful SEO strategy but takes a lot of time. I would guess my close rate on guest posts was 1:5. For every 5 pitches, I would get a yes.
At some point, I would love to own a website that I can pay others to help with the writing, curation, and pitching. But until then this will remain a one-man band.