Got wood?

In 2024, you can identify as anything you want:

• She/Her

• They/Them

• Zee/Zir

Or like Michael Jackson… “He/Heeeee”

So my question to you is…

Do you identify as a willow tree or a tumbleweed?

(I promise I didn’t smoke crack before I wrote this).

Lemme explain…

The “eXPeRtS”

You’ve probably seen the trend over the past few years on social media.

When crypto popped off, EVERYONE suddenly rebranded as crypto experts.

When NFTs were the new thing, EVERYONE suddenly rebranded as NFT experts.

When ChatGPT released, EVERYONE suddenly rebranded themselves as AI experts.

Usually, these were the same people jumping from one trend to the next.

I call these people “Tumbleweed Creators”.

They go wherever the wind (trend) blows.

Sure, at the start they grow a ton because they’re creating content around the hot new thing.

But every 3-6 months the masses lose interest in the trend and move onto the next.

The Tumbleweed Creator feels a knot in their stomach as they watch their content slowly lose engagement and their follower number drops.

So they panic and follow the masses to the next trend.

The Tumbleweed Creator is stuck in a never-ending cycle of growth, death, and rebranding.

And as a result, they build a shallow following of many followers, but never build an authoritative brand.

This leads to:

• High stress

• Fewer sales

• Lack of direction

• More competition

• Imposter syndrome

• Inconsistent engagement

Eventually, the Tumbleweed Creator burns out, gives up, fades into the abyss, and eventually dies in a freak rollercoaster accident at the county fair.

How to not become irrelevant

Now, when people think of strong trees, they think of an oak tree.

They’re sturdy, tough, and tall.

But if you’re a content creator, it’s better to be like a willow tree.

When it’s stormy and the winds are blowing, the branches on the oak tree snap off because it’s so rigid.

But the willow tree?

That baby stays rooted firm in the ground and bends with the wind.

It adapts to the changes while keeping its original form.

And as a result, it continues to grow tall.

So, what can creators learn from the willow tree?

Choose 3-5 core topics you want to talk about.

Use these are your roots.

For example, mine are:

• Writing

• Marketing

• Audience building

Most of my content revolves around these core pillars.

But as the trends change like the wind, I bend with it.

For example:

If ChatGPT is trending, don’t rebrand as an AI account.

Relate your core topics to the trend.

This ensures you benefit from the social media trends without restarting going through the painful cycle restarting from 0.

And over time, you’ll build an authoritative brand people know, like, trust, aaaannnnnd buy from ;)

Your Canadian friend,

Dakota “Got Wood” Robertson