How to Build an Algorithm & Platform-Proof Audience (Fireside Fridays)

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3-min Read

TikTok just got banned in the US.

(At least temporarily)

1000s of businesses have already been hit.

Your business might have been a victim too.

No social media platform is exempt from going down.

That’s why, in 2025, it’s more important than ever to own your audience.

How do I know?

I too, felt that same feeling of panic.

Context:

• I switched to UA → GA4 in June 2023, which explains the sharp rise.

• I have seasonal traffic from the blog. So there are peaks.

I lost 70% of my revenue overnight because I was over-reliant on Google’s SEO algorithms.

From 1000 users a day → 200 users a day.

Overnight.

Shocking, I know…

So after anxious consideration…

In 2023, I made the simple decision to create a newsletter. (this one!)

Today, I can’t imagine my life without it.

Let me share more.

Hi friends!

I’m experimenting with a new series lineup that will go out every Friday.

(on top of the usual Wednesday tutorials!)

That means you’ll receive The Juicer issues 2x/week.

But on Fridays, I wanted to get way more personal.

I wanted to speak to you as a friend as we wind down for the week.

I’ll share things like:

• How I grew my online audience

• My personal marketing tips and tricks for LinkedIn

• How to do growth hacks on LinkedIn

• Successful case studies of others/myself

• etc.

I’m calling it…

Fireside Fridays.

I hope you’re as excited as I am about it 😃

Here’s the new The Juicer issues posting schedule:

• Walkthrough Wednesdays: Ultra-practical AI tutorials for LinkedIn growth.

• Fireside Fridays: A personal story/case study/breakdown of AI adoption success.

(Oh, btw this issue is a Fireside Fridays issue.)

All issues will be labeled “(Fireside Fridays)”.

Ok, let’s get started on building an algorithm/platform-proof audience.

My Relationship with Algorithm-Based Platforms

It was September 2023.

I:

• Had quit my stable full-time job in tech

• Built a successful birdwatching blog

• Was brimming with confidence

• Ready to scale my biz

• Had plans to sell

But something completely unexpected happened.

Google’s September 2023 Helpful Content Update dropped.

My traffic and revenue plummeted by 70% overnight.

All my hard work put into SEO.

Disappeared like Thanos’ snap.

I felt my anxiety peak.

People were ranting on X/Twitter.

The reason?

The first generative AI models were out → GPT-2 and Google was clamping down on it hard.

In defiance, I created this newsletter. (The Juicer)

I stopped relying on algorithms for reach.

And built a 27k-strong audience online.

Want to learn how?

Summarized timeline:

• 2020: Started print-on-demand side hustle

• 2020: Started a bird-watching blog

• 2022: Started a personal blog

• 2023: Started a newsletter

• 2023: Started posting on LinkedIn

• 2024: Scaled newsletter + LinkedIn

• 2025: Continue scaling newsletter + LinkedIn

My Lessons Learned

Here are several lessons learned after my 5 years of building an audience online.

1. Never Be Reliant on a Single Traffic Source

Diversify, diversify, diversify.

While I was writing blog posts, if my posts didn’t rank, they didn’t work.

I was 100% reliant on Google for my traffic source.

I was setting myself up for failure.

I got hammered.

So here’s my honest advice.

Never be reliant on a single traffic source.

Master one social media platform, then move to the next and diversify.

2. Owned Media > Earned Media

Basically, you want to be in the sweet spot between the 3 types of media.

Social media platforms are earned media.

They do well to bring in the eyeballs using algorithms.

But they don’t work well for retaining your audience.

Once a platform like TikTok or SEO goes down, you lose all your revenue.

To counter this, keep an email list.

With it, you can send directly to your audience.

You will now own your media channel and be platform agnostic.

How to Build an Algorithm & Platform-Proof Audience Online

1. Create a Newsletter

The very first step is to create a newsletter.

There are a few email marketing platforms I recommend:

1. Beehiiv

2. Kit (Previously Convertkit)

3. Substack

These are platforms built for growth.

(They are all free to start with)

Sign up on one of these platforms.

Pick one based on your expertise with emails.

From simplest → most advanced:

Substack → Beehiiv → Kit

2. Pick a Posting Schedule

Next up, pick a posting schedule.

I started with a weekly cadence, but you can do more if you want to.

Your posting frequency should depend on how long your audience takes to consume your emails.

Tutorials take a while to sit down and follow, so I picked weekly.

Then never miss a week.

3. Be it Short or Long; Never Miss an Issue

If there’s only one thing you take starting a newsletter, it’s to be consistent.

Consistency is key.

Because it allows you to run through enough iterations.

And with more iterations, you will collect more data points.

So you know what’s resonating with your audience.

Eventually, you will have a clearer picture of what content to double down on.

I never missed an issue all this time.

Week after week.

And it paid off with building trust with my audience.

4. Build Lead Magnets Using AI

This is the fuel to the fire.

Lead magnets are the best surefire way to pull your audience off a social media platform.

You can easily create them with AI.

I teach them more in a previous issue here.

5. Funnel LinkedIn Leads to Your Newsletter

Create a landing page for your audience to get the lead magnet.

Then on Beehiiv, run them through a welcome email, with which you will fulfill the lead magnet.

Your Story

Now that I’ve shared my story on building an online audience.

What’s yours?

Hit reply and send in your story.

Tell me:

• How you began

• What problems have you faced

• How you overcame them

• Where you are now

It can be just a single paragraph.

There’s a chance I’ll pick your story to be featured in next week’s Fireside Fridays issue.

That’s all, let me know if you like this format.

Talk more next week!

Justin Chia

P.S. This is the last time I’m offering a 50% off my mini-course, “Automate 30 LinkedIn Posts in 1 Day using ChatGPT Prompts“ (the name might change), when it launches.

Join the waitlist now.