This is a great reality check! It’s so easy to get drunk on engagement while the actual structure stays hollow. Loved "You are getting better at being seen, not at being chosen". It's a sharp way to put it, I will come back to that thought.
I think the biggest culprit are the platforms, they optimise what gets seen and we tend to gravitate towards that as well and then it becomes a sad cycle that leaves you drained and unchosen
I needed to see this today! As I'm in the space of analysing my own work and trying to transition to creating demand. I now know what's resonating but this post helps me look at it through the lens to create something that creates demand! Thank you!
I appreciated you highlighting the difference between engagement and demand Aria. It's an important one.
The engagement gives you the fuel to keep going. The demand buys the fuel.
Exactly
Engagement does feel like fuel because it keeps things moving; it gives you energy, feedback, a sense that something is working.
But demand is what sustains it. It’s what allows the work to actually continue without relying on momentum alone.
We end up trying to run the whole system on engagement, which is why it eventually starts to feel unstable.
This is a great reality check! It’s so easy to get drunk on engagement while the actual structure stays hollow. Loved "You are getting better at being seen, not at being chosen". It's a sharp way to put it, I will come back to that thought.
I think the biggest culprit are the platforms, they optimise what gets seen and we tend to gravitate towards that as well and then it becomes a sad cycle that leaves you drained and unchosen
I needed to see this today! As I'm in the space of analysing my own work and trying to transition to creating demand. I now know what's resonating but this post helps me look at it through the lens to create something that creates demand! Thank you!
That’s exactly the right place to be.
Once you can see what’s resonating, the next shift is asking what, within that, can actually be shaped into something someone can choose.
Because not everything that resonates is something people will pay for; but it points you in the right direction.
You’re already past the hardest part, which is seeing the difference.
I agree. The problem is that people want free stuff.
BUT
Why do they want free stuff
I think the most common response would be that they don't have the money. Or they don't want to invest their money into something they are unsure of.
Maybe there is a targeting problem or the message isn't clear enough
You should be clear about what you can offer and the freebie crowd will fall off
People want engagement and they turned away when a writer is desperately is trying to sell to them. That's why people just want free stuff.
This makes a lot of sense and reveals some of the assumptions that keep people stuck in the the same spot.
I think the biggest driver is that platforms conditioned us for engagement not earnings