Every distribution tactic has an expiration date.
Viral loops get gamed, paid ads get expensive, SEO shifts. Algorithms change their minds about you overnight, and they never explain why.
I’ve watched this happen enough times to stop being surprised by it. What surprises me is how many smart people keep optimising for the thing that decays, while the thing that compounds sits quietly in the corner, underrated.
That thing is trust.
Not “authenticity” in the vague personal-brand sense that gets thrown around on LinkedIn, but actual trust — the kind where someone shares your product with a friend, not because they were incentivised or because there was a referral bonus, but because their reputation is on the line and they’re willing to let others know.
What Compounding Trust Actually Looks Like
I keep seeing the same dynamic across completely different contexts.
The newsletter you actually open: not because you remember subscribing, but because you’ve never been disappointed by it.
Every distribution tactic has an expiration date.
Viral loops get gamed, paid ads get expensive, SEO shifts. Algorithms change their minds about you overnight, and they never explain why.
I’ve watched this happen enough times to stop being surprised by it. What surprises me is how many smart people keep optimising for the thing that decays, while the thing that compounds sits quietly in the corner, underrated.
That thing is trust.
Not “authenticity” in the vague personal-brand sense that gets thrown around on LinkedIn, but actual trust — the kind where someone shares your product with a friend, not because they were incentivised or because there was a referral bonus, but because their reputation is on the line and they’re willing to let others know.
What Compounding Trust Actually Looks Like
I keep seeing the same dynamic across completely different contexts.
The newsletter you actually open: not because you remember subscribing, but because you’ve never been disappointed by it.