I Never Had a Growth Strategy

I had a longing for belonging

Apr 04, 2025

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Are you reading this? I want to know who you are. I made a short form to learn more about who’s here—what you’re working on, where you hang out online, and whether you're curious about the zine. ☺︎ Fill out the form here! It helps me shape what’s next.

I didn’t set out to grow a brand. I set out to find my people.

I didn’t have a growth strategy when I first started my company. One reason: it wasn’t a company, it was a side project. I set out to find my people. I didn’t roadmap. I didn’t funnel. I didn’t optimize anything. I just…posted. I built something I believed in. I trusted that the right people would find it because I was making it for them. I was making it for me.

1997. Me and some punk rock babes at some Oi show in some bar. I was 18.

The community showed up because they liked what I was bringing into their world.

I remember my favorite metric story—the one that became the crux of my pitch for Lex. I memorized this stat and dressed it up with a little jargon from an advisor:
“In our first month, we saw 40,000 downloads—driven entirely by the community I built on Instagram.”

That was November 2019. I was still working my day job as a photo director. I had zero tech connections, no idea what “good traction” even looked like. All I knew was: something was happening. My side project was growing faster than I could manage, and it was because people were connecting with it.

Now I’m in this season of rewinding, peeling back, trying to understand what worked. Everyone wants to know how to build a community. I did it—on vibes and instinct. Now I’m retracing my steps, putting language to what was once just a gut-driven process.

I Took the Class

For most of my career, I’ve built community without a formal blueprint. But at some point, I realized I wanted to be able to name what I was doing—to put structure, process, and language around what had always been instinctive.

So I signed up for a course taught by Mallory Contois—one of the clearest thinkers in community-led growth. I’m a member of her community, Old Girls Club—a space I deeply value. Her work is direct, structured, and generous. Where I tend to move on feeling, she shows how to translate that into something teachable.

Now, with Mallory’s frameworks in one hand and my gut in the other, I’m starting again—on my quest to build communities for brands, startups, and me (and you!).

What is community-led growth, you ask?
Here’s how Mallory defines it:

Community-led growth is a marketing and product strategy that leverages human connection instincts to drive user-led growth, engagement, and advocacy. It's a strategy, not a channel. It emphasizes belonging over broadcasting. It motivates champions to organically amplify and contribute to growth.

Share Work Unseen

How I Really Grew My Substack (No virality required)

And now let’s talk about growing Work Unseen and our community.

Last week I shared:

Let’s talk numbers. A commenter (Mr. Noob, if you’re reading this—hi) asked:

“Do you know the people who subscribed recently?”
“Did your post go viral?”

The answer to both is: nope.

I don’t know most of the people who’ve subscribed in the past few months. My first 50 or so came from friends—people I texted or emailed directly. Then I pulled in a few hundred through my old Instagram (now closed). But the bulk of new folks? They found me through the Substack app.

Not because I went viral. I didn’t.

Here’s what changed – and these aren’t hacks:

→ I started posting Notes.
Way more than I did in 2024. I got kind of addicted, in a good way. I post, comment, re-stack, interact. But only when I feel like it. If it feels like “strategy,” I lose interest. If it feels fun, I’m in.

→ I leaned into community.
The Substack ecosystem rewards genuine presence. I’ve found friends here. I’ve had conversations that matter. (I tried TikTok, but it wasn’t for me. It’s for theatre kids. I’m an art school kid.)

→ I got referred.
This is the biggest one. Work Unseen started getting mentioned by newsletters I admire—Digital Fruits, Laid Off, Broken Growth, Fantasy Camp. That crossover audience has been the real magic touch.

Did I Visualize the Audience?

Another question from Mr. Noob was:

“Did you visualize the audience? Did you check if that vision matched who actually showed up?”

When I started, I wasn’t picturing a persona. I was picturing people I wanted to talk to—people like me. To be frank, I was writing for me. Wasn’t too concerned about the readers.

Now that I’ve honed into more of what I’m interested in sharing I’m gathering people who are creatives, late bloomers, thoughtful builders, quietly ambitious folks trying to navigate a weird, nonlinear work life. They’re who I hoped would come. And they did.

Most important tip: Write for yourself and your people will come.

One reader, Emma, commented in last week’s letter, What are you actually good at?

“I’m curious about your ability to build online communities. That’s something I wouldn’t qualify as a talent for myself, but an area I’m hoping to get better at.”

That question stuck with me.

This piece isn’t a guide—it’s a look back at how I built community without a strategy. Just a deep need to connect. To belong. To see who else was out there.

Turns out, that’s still what I’m doing. Now I’m sharping, refining my skills.

📬 Are you reading this? I’d love to know who you are.

Right now, Work Unseen is mostly me writing into the void—or maybe into a small, curious corner of the internet. I know there are people reading, but I don’t always know who you are. But I’d like to!

I made a short form to learn more about who’s here—what you’re working on, where you spend your time online, whether you’re interested in contributing to the zine (or just want to peek behind the scenes).

If you’ve been following along or feel aligned with this in any way, I’d love for you to fill it out:

☺︎ Fill out the form here ☺︎

It’ll help me understand who’s finding this and why—and shape what comes next.