Lil Nas X's guide to going viral

Hello storytellers! If you look at the headlines that are dominating the news these days, it’s pretty easy to get gloomy about the state of the world. But the reality is that there’s plenty to be optimistic about. Not Boring’s Packy McCormick seems to agree with us. A few days ago he compiled ten stories that will reinvigorate your faith in the human race. If you need inspiration from fellow humans doing amazing things, we recommend you check them out. Just a quick scan will leave you way more energized and optimistic about the future.

Things you should know about

The podcast designed to make you a better creator: Ever wondered what a ‘day in the life’ of the creators you admire looks like? Thanks to Workweek and Adam Ryan, you’re about to find out. They’re a launching a new podcast that will explore topics like finding inspiration, staying consistent and monetizing like a pro. Don’t know about you, but we will definitely be tuning in.

Understanding your audience through data: When Tyler Denk worked at Morning Brew he spent a year and hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to understand his audience better. He knew solo writers don’t have the same resources. That’s why when he started Beehive, he resolved to build this capability into the product sooner rather than later. As of this week, you can get deep dives into your audience data without breaking the bank. Cheers to that!

Lil Nas X’s guide to going viral: There’s a reason Lil Nas X is a Gen Z icon. He went from broke to a Grammy Award winner in a flash. And he did it all on social media, without spending a penny. Toby Howell breaks down how Lil Nas X used a combination of memes, a good beat, smart SEO and a little bit of luck to go viral and become a country music icon.

News from the Community

Grace Gong scored an interview with the founders of Magic Eden, the Solana-based NFT marketplace that’s valued at $1.6B less than a year after launching. This is gonna be a good one.

Toby Howell already has 14,000 subscribers for his newsletter, Homescreen. Just a week ago, he was at 10,000. That’s 40% week over week growth! If Homescreen was a startup, VCs would be throwing money at it.

KP received a killer job offer and expects two more to drop by the end of the day. What a way to end the week! We can’t wait to see what’s next for him.

Do you have news you’d like to share with the community? Send it our way and we’ll add it to the next newsletter.

Just for fun

Turns out Elle Woods might’ve been on to something when she made her resume scented. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel discovered that our friends are likely to smell similar to the way we do. According to their study, our scent is not only similar to that of our current friends, but can also be used to predict friendships. Seems like when you click with someone right away, it really is chemistry.

With love,

Team Salley