Over the last couple months I've been trying to be more deliberate about growing my Twitter audience. Usually that means every couple weeks I put out a twitter thread about something new and then ask my friends to reply or retweet it.

Last week I wrote a whole thread about companies that are remote first vs remote forced. I spent over an hour on it, but unfortunately it only got 30 retweets and 70k views.

Then on a whim I fired off a quick tweet that took me 60 seconds.

Nathan Barry @nathanbarry It's crazy to me that a college student and a billionaire own basically the same phone and laptop. For all the inequality in the world, access to tech in the developed world is a remarkably level playing field. November 19th 2021 654 Retweets 8,163 Likes

It got shared incredibly far and has hit 850k views. Very little work turned into a crazy amount of attention.

Over the weekend I puzzled over what my takeaway should be—but before I share mine, what would your takeaway be?

Here was my first take:

Nathan Barry @nathanbarry Work on a tweet thread for an hour and it gets very little traction. Fire off a tweet in 30 seconds and it gets 100k+ views. Twitter is weird and a good reminder that effort and results aren’t always correlated. November 19th 2021 14 Retweets 252 Likes

Then after some more time to think about it, here are more of my thoughts:

1) Effort and results aren't always correlated. That doesn't mean everything is chance or that you shouldn't put in the effort.

2) Consistent output gives more opportunity to create a hit. Think of it like tracking shots on goal in soccer. Not everything is going to go in, but you need to take the shot to have an opportunity.

3) Copywriting really matters. I think my thread on remote first vs remote forced is good, but the hook isn't. It's worth spending more time on titles and subject lines.

4) You can always relaunch. Take something that has good bones and repackage it. Keep learning and iterating until it hits.

What did I miss?

FROM THE PODCAST

Andrew Warner

Andrew and I talk about his new book, Stop Asking Questions. It’s a great read on leading dynamic interviews, and learning anything from anyone. We also talk about longevity and burnout as an entrepreneur. Andrew gives me feedback about my interviewing style real time (which I loved), the direction I should take the podcast, and much more. Interviewing is a great skill for a creator to hone, so I think this episode will benefit a lot of people!

Watch the episode here »​

If you're in the US, have a great thanksgiving. For everyone else: enjoy a regular Thursday.

P.S. If you launched a Black Friday / Cyber Monday promo on ConvertKit Commerce tell me about it on Twitter or in a reply. If you haven't got one up yet, there's still time!