Build Once, Sell Twice: Takeaways from Jack Butcher's Course
Jack Butcher is a graphic designer turned entrepreneur. He’s grown an impressively large platform on Twitter and Instagram with fans who not only consistently engage with his content, but also buy his products.
He shares exactly how he grew in his class “Build Once, Sell Twice.” While you’d have to take the class to see the fantastic Google Sheets, videos, and designs, I wanted to share takeaways that might benefit you.
This article is divided into two parts:
Part I: Jack’s insights
Part II: How I implemented Jack’s insights into my own business and the powerful results
Part I
Make content that points out the problem.
Make product that provides the solution.
You have skills and you’ve validated there is demand for them.
If you’re ever received a paycheck, you have a skillset that has demand. You’ve validated that you have something to offer and someone is willing to pay you for it.
Becoming an entrepreneur or creating a digital product is simply about shifting WHO is paying you for your skillset.
You have more value to offer than you even realize.
Jack (like most of us) has never written a single line of code in his life. This actually enables him to move faster.
The opportunity cost to learn code would mean neglecting skills he already has, which he’s already validated demand for, meaning it would be an extremely unwise investment of time and energy.
Keep this in mind as you go down rabbit holes of learning new things, or feeling like you don’t know enough to get started.
Curiosity drives competence.
You don’t necessarily need a business plan. You need:
1) Curiosity
2) Core competencies
For example, take what interests you (philosophy, business, mindset, writing) and combine it with your competencies (branding, marketing, design) and you have your niche.
Most people haven’t been patient enough to benefit from compound network effects.
They see a lack of growth and start to lack belief in the concept altogether.
Listen for the small indicators that you’re going in the right direction: a high email open rate, positive comments on your content, a few shares here and there.
You don’t need permission from anyone but yourself.
Jack didn’t need permission to sell anyone his course, he just posted thousands and thousands of times until people believed he had something of value to offer.
You can measure the quality of your product based on how easy it is to collect social proof.
If you have to beg for social proof, go back and improve the product.
If people give it voluntarily, go out and tell more people about your product asap.
Speak in statements. People only trust you to the degree you trust yourself.
Make noise, listen for signal.
You don’t know what’s going to resonate with your audience until you publish.
Tweet 100 times. Gather evidence of what type of content your audience likes.
“Escape competition through authenticity” —Naval Ravikant
If you’re building an audience online, remember you are the asset. The way you see the world, your unique experiences, and even your sense of humor. Let people get to know you. Own who you are.
Leverage the internet.
Speak once, stream twice.
Write once, publish twice.
Design once, use twice.
Build once, sell twice.
We all know the best way to grow is ‘provide value’ but that’s rather vague.
Your business can provide value in many ways:
Functional - make something easier for your customers
Monetary - help your customers make or save money
Social connection - help your customers feel socially connected
Psychological - increase positive feelings in your customers
Jack ends with an encouraging look at his progress over time with the note: keep going.
Part II
Metric Growth
I started using my Twitter account as a playground for practicing Jack’s insights.
Here are my Twitter analytics from the past 28 days:
I experienced really positive signs that these tips work. I’m going to continue practicing these skills on Twitter and will also be experimenting on Instagram next. The idea of experimenting and finding the right content type that works for you and your audience is key.
We’re allowed to evolve as people, and therefore, our content evolves, too.
Mindset growth
I can’t numerically show that my mindset has grown as a result of Jack’s class, but I wanted to share that this is actually the most impactful growth I’ve noticed. Taking his class taught me new things, but also gave me clarity.
It was the tiny permission slip I needed to try new things, to recognize how far I’ve come and that the journey sure-as-hell-ain’t-over yet.
Next steps
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