Jack Raines on the Value of Building Slow

I've touched briefly on the epidemic of clickbait on Twitter. All of the people I've covered in this newsletter are exceptions to the rule in some way or another, whether through sheer talent or ingenuity.

Jack Raines falls into both categories, not to mention his laugh-out-loud style... but what is so unique about Jack's work (whether on Twitter or in his Young Money Newsletter) is his commentary on the ever-growing volume of empty-calorie Twitter threads garnering countless accounts tens of thousands of followers.

While writing seriously excellent pieces on finance — a term I use loosely considering the breadth of Jack's writing — he's routinely skewering creators putting out content informed solely by the whims of the algorithm in the pursuit of clicks.

Before checking out one of my favorite Young Money pieces, this thread Jack posted will get you acquainted pretty quickly.

It was his most viral Tweet ever. A thread listing the alphabet. Absolute kill-shot.

One of his recent pieces also uses the alphabet, but rather for ironic clickbait, it's a brilliant rebuke of the format.

The piece, titled "Flavor of the week," starts off with one of his beautiful home-cooked memes and proceeds to reference his viral alphabet thread, clarifying:

Jack compares his "Mona Lisa" thread to the lame attempts to funnel "traffic to one's newsletter, website, product, course, business, whatever."

I feel like here's a good place for an aside...

Hopefully, there isn't a total lack of self-awareness here on my part. The idea for this newsletter is largely to write about strategies employed for writing Twitter threads. And I myself have probably been caught in this trap described by Jack. Though, for the writers I choose to highlight it is apparent to me that their threads may use rhyming strategies, whether through hooks or general structure... but the difference is they are writing about useful, interesting, or otherwise insightful topics.

Jack dubs the thought process "expedited audience building" and assures readers he understands the urge to conform.

But rather than give in to the viral monster, he offers a different perspective. This strategy isn't merely cringe or some kind of shortcut... it's actually the wrong long-term growth strategy.

Then, he cites the Bible, cause why not. Despite my biblical illiteracy, it works. Using the parable of houses built on sand and rock (from the seventh chapter of Matthew, obviously), Jack explains "things easily built are just as easily destroyed."

Essentially, those chasing the Flavor of the Week are building their houses on sand. They may reach a larger TAM and convert a sizable portion, but readers who come for the viral (and unoriginal) content are going to catch on, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Jack compares this phenomenon to a company attracting 'conditional' shoppers based on absurd discounts and unsustainable incentives. The customers won't stick around if they have to pay full price.

This evokes a similar sentiment to Kevin Kelly's 1000 True Fans: Finding your tribe, an audience that actually recognizes the value of your work, is the most effective way to build a following that is truly sticky.

As a concept, few would argue. But in practice, it's truly rare, and getting rarer by the day. That's why Jack's takedown of the growth hackers is so important — he's not just pointing out why it's 'easy' or flooding us with lousy content. He explains why it's a mistake that will actually hurt these creators in the long run.