Cal Newport's counter-intuitive approach to audience building

Companies and their marketing teams all over the world are spread thin — sharing trendy and/or generic content across several social media platforms.?

Too often, we feel like we HAVE to be on every platform. But that’s just not true.

What if I told you that trying to fit in on LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube wasn’t the only way? (queue sighs of relief from every 1-person marketing team out there)?

Better yet — we have proof. Cal Newport has built a newsletter subscriber base of over 100,000, he’s written for the New Yorker for years and is a New York Times best-selling author of seven books.?

And Cal didn’t use short-form video to gain traction (which, in itself isn’t a problem). In fact, he isn’t on social media at all. So what is Cal’s secret to sustainable growth and success? It’s not hacking the algorithm. Cal intentionally chose to dodge what everyone feels obligated to do.?

Cal’s built his career on slow productivity. He has defined what is important to him and his career and he is quick to turn away from any cheap distractions.?

From an early age, Cal knew he wanted to be a damn good writer — and quick posts on Twitter weren’t going to get him there. So going against the advice any seasoned writer has received, Cal simply decided he wasn’t going to participate in short-form social media. And he stuck with it.

“Focus is becoming more valuable just because our economy is shifting to high-level work. We’ve forgotten how valuable focus is, and we’ve forgotten what it takes to be good at it.” — Cal Newport

Now, Cal releases occasional YouTube videos. But he sticks with full-length, in-depth conversations to ensure each is high-quality and fully engages the topic at hand.?

The trick here isn’t the mode in which he releases — but instead in the intentional decisions he made before content creation.?

Cal's decision to steer away from YouTube Shorts, Instagram, and TikTok wasn't due to a lack of time. Those platforms and mediums weren’t something he was waiting for time to invest in. Instead, he made the intentional decision not to do these things, instead, pouring his time into what mattered most to him — the careful design of high-quality, long-form content.

Better yet, he made this decision early, attracting a specific audience that appreciates the intentionality. By setting expectations around how people would interact with his content early (instead of trying to be all things for all people), Cal built a community and a career his own way.?

In short — we’re not telling you to hop off of all social media (though Cal may suggest otherwise). But tapping into Cal’s success will require distinct planning and strong decision-making before you get into the content creation process.?

For some, this means it’s time to re-assess your content creation process and intentionally commit to a medium and cadence. This will allow you to have a STRONG ‘why’ behind every piece of content you make.

“If you want attention, you have to earn it through a combination of quality, in the sense that you’re producing something valuable for your readers, and trust, in the sense that you’ve produced enough good stuff over time to establish a good reputation with the fellow bloggers whose links will help grow your audience.” — Cal Newport

Cal chose his blog as his first content space. Then his books. Then full-length YouTube videos. Building a like-minded community doesn’t have to live in these spaces, though. You can build intentionality into any platform.?

How do you know if you’ve built the right focus? It all goes back to value.?

What are you giving away with your content? How does your audience interact with it? What value do they get? And if you took the content and switched platforms, would it still hold value? (That’s Cal’s ultimate quality test)

Too often, we stick to quarterly goals. But that short-term horizon fails to account for long-term impact. The truth about Cal’s work: he wrote books five years ago that are in many ways more relevant today than when they were written because he picked the right topic and dug his heels in on quality. He intentionally built a moat with quality, evergreen content by avoiding the obligation to be everywhere, doing everything, all at once.?

Take a moment to focus on what really matters to your brand and audience. Where can you point your focus? And remember, you don’t have to conform to the grind of making every algorithm happy to gain attention.

The takeaway: If your niche is well-defined and you build intentionality into your decision-making before ever touching content creation, you can succeed — your way.?

This was originally written for the B2B Growth newsletter by our in-house newsletter aficionado, Paige Peterson.

You should follow her here on LinkedIn and subscribe to the newsletter so this goodness lands in your inbox every Friday.