200 days ago, I started posting to the void on X to get distribution for indie SaaS apps.
Stopped coding for a while to focus on content and got 265k followers on Instagram and TikTok.
Biggest lesson: if you have the courage to document a major life transition, that’s the most audience exploding content there is.
Coming back to indie SaaS now to see how well “distribution-first” really works.
writing my life timeline for content ideas and realized:
thought I'd never get an internship → American Express
thought I wasn't smart enough for Google → got in
thought I'd never quit → quit
thought nobody would care → 250k followers
identity has not caught up at all.
"Dream job" at Google.
Making $350k at 27.
But I was depressed. So I quit without a plan.
5 months later:
- 240k followers
- 25k newsletter subs
- $22k revenue
- $15.5k first brand deal
Here's my story of building an audience from zero (and how you can do the same): 🧵
When I started on X, I got 1 like per post.
Before I gave up, I dm'd an ex-Big Tech creator asking if building an audience was even worth it. She said it was the highest leverage thing she's done.
Today, I can't agree more.
If you enjoyed this, follow my journey @jimrtang
My experience and growth across platforms:
IG likes stories (+190k)
TikTok likes "raw" (+37k)
YouTube likes thumbnails + titles (+4k)
Threads+LinkedIn easier for new accounts than X (+10k total)
Email list grows from valuable freebies (+25k, 50% open rate)