The advice that saved my week

Pressure to grow? Read this

Inside today's episode

  • Two well-timed pieces of advice

  • Quick update on the Reed Between The Lines 2 shoot

Last Thursday, I was in a tough spot.

My wife had just undergone her second kidney surgery in two months.

Our two- and four-year-olds were running circles around our energy reserves.

And I was two days away from running the biggest marketing project since I went all-in on The Reeder.

(Important sidenote: my wife, Shali, is recovering well. Priorities are in check.)

I was tired. And stressed.

As a result, my creative flow was completely stalled like an overheated car on a Palm Springs highway in July.

Meanwhile, pressure for “more growth” was mounting from all sides:

  • Grow sales

  • Grow LinkedIn

  • Grow the newsletter

  • Protect my margins

Then, there I was with “Write newsletter” on my to-do list while the voice in my head went into a full creative spiral.

I was paralyzed, bouncing between topics and second-guessing every angle. Frustration had officially taken over.

  • This topic isn’t good enough.

  • No one’s gonna care about this.

  • Is this even what my audience wants?

I’d wasted over two hours with nothing written.

I took a break and opened LinkedIn.

Then, the last straw. I saw a video from a LinkedIn “guru.”

He was ranting about how the key to making great content was, “Never make your audience think.”

It had 1,300+ reactions.

Geezus.

I closed LinkedIn and went to bed frustrated. ​

The next day I got two pieces of advice — a “one, two punch” — that brought me back to life.

Punch One: Eddie’s Newsletter​

Someone wrote to Eddie asking:

This image is a screenshot of a message or excerpt, possibly from a LinkedIn post or a newsletter. The text reads: “Hey. How’s your engagement on LinkedIn. My posts abd others in my catagoey took a nose dive. Even with posts k ow performed well in the past.” There is a note at the bottom that says: “Tap to read Eddie’s full newsletter.” Some words appear to have typos, like “abd” instead of “and,” “catagoey” instead of “category,” and “k ow” instead of “know.”

Tap to read Eddie’s full newsletter.

Eddie wrote to his readers:​

“...it’s the wrong question! For engagement and reach on social media—the land of pods and bots and algorithmic flux—is a false proxy, a misleading indicator, a flawed measure of the actual quality, or importance, or substance of your work… ignore false proxies.”​​

I rattled off a quick:

This image shows a conversation snippet where the user is messaging someone (referred to as “VeryGoodCopy”). The message reads: “This is perfect timing. great work dude”

​

He texted me back: Perfect timing?

I replied with a voice memo sharing my recent struggles (mostly what you’ve read above), topped off by the guru’s dumb video — which happened to be The Plagerist, the same guy who’d stolen Eddie’s work and then lied about it. (Eddie revealed this story and how he confronted the plagiarist on Reed Between The Lines — jump to 2:10 to see it unfold.)

Eddie:​

This image captures a text conversation between two people. The discussion focuses on criticism and authenticity in marketing. Key points include: • One person refers to someone as “the false proxy king” and adds, “And ppl can tell.” • The other replies: “Damn that’s so accurate.” • Another message critiques proof in marketing claims, saying: “How do I know this works? Because I’ve done it for 100 clients.” Like that’s… not… proof.” • The next part includes a YouTube video thumbnail with the title “DON’T BE AUTHENTIC” and a description: “Marketing Expert Reveals Secret For Building an Audience That Buys | Seth Godin.” • The message under the video reads: “Starting at 18:30 or so” indicating a timestamp suggestion.

​

Tapping that link led to…

Punch Two: Seth Godin

​The video featured Seth Godin, the legendary marketer, interviewed by social media star, Erika Kullberg. She asked him a question I’d been wrestling with all week. I paraphrased it below for clarity:

"Should I invest where I can get more views (TikTok), or where I can go deep on topics (YouTube)?"

Seth’s answer was brilliant. And I suggest you watch it. But these 11 words were exactly what I needed to hear:

“I don’t write to grow my audience. I write for my audience.”

​That's when it clicked.

It’s not about my outcomes; it’s about my impact.

The brain fog cleared. The pressure to grow was gone. I remembered why I started this in the first place.

My goal has never been to have the biggest audience. It’s to serve the audience I already have — and to make the biggest impact possible.

That’s why my company is called The Reeder. It’s not about me. It’s about you.

And audience growth is about me.

The Takeaway

If you’re feeling the overwhelming pressure to grow—like you’re falling behind or not doing enough—remember this:

  1. “Don’t chase false proxies for success.” — Eddie Shleyner

  2. “Write for your audience, not to grow your audience.” — Seth Godin

Do that, and everything else will fall into place.

At least, that’s what I’m betting on.

​Holler at you next Saturday,Devin

This week was the best production in Reeder history.

I never say that about my work. I'm a tough self-critic.

But I can confidently say this is the best work I'm capable of doing at this point in my career.

And I'm damn proud.

We made a couple of strategic decisions worth sharing:

  1. We made the location a "character" in the show. So we shot in an art gallery:

This image shows a behind-the-scenes look at a video shoot setup. It features two monitors on tripods capturing a cozy, art-filled studio space. The room being filmed has vibrant artwork displayed on the walls, a couch with colorful throw pillows, and other eclectic furniture. The lighting includes warm overhead bulbs, creating an inviting atmosphere. The monitor in the foreground displays the same scene, with a timer and recording settings visible on-screen.

​

2. We recorded dedicated "entertainment" segments to promote each episode.

I can't share too much yet, buuut I did bring multiple costumes, and we went sneaker-shopping:

This image captures two men standing inside a sneaker and accessory store during what appears to be a filmed conversation or interview. One man is wearing a pink sweatshirt, while the other is dressed in a black hoodie and sneakers with animal print details. Behind them is a wall displaying various sneakers and socks, neatly organized. A cameraman with professional equipment is visible in the foreground, recording the scene.

​

The first episode drops on January 15th. Stay tuned 👀

PS: You can watch Reed Between The Lines season 1 on YouTube here.

My Growth Took Off Once I Started Creating Content That Converts

Every content engine needs fuel.​​The best fuel is highly engaging content.​​I took 30+ content plays — including templates, examples, and frameworks — that helped Gong and The Reeder:

-Grow from 12,000 → 180,000+ LinkedIn followers-Drive an average 1,200+ webinar registrants-Convert audience into qualified pipeline and revenue

And put them all inside my digital playbook, Content That Converts.​​Each “mini-chapter” is carefully written to be easily read, understood, and applied that day — so you see results in hours, not weeks.​​You can get your copy here.

​

​

Update your email Preferences or unsubscribe here​

© 2024 The Reeder, LLC

Sent from San Diego, California

Keep Reading

View more
caret-right
© 2026 The Reeder, LLC.
beehiivPowered by beehiiv