Jason Leow

Indie hacker, solopreneur | Creating a diverse portfolio of products + services.

New LifeBlog post - Writing is like cooking https://golifelog.com/posts/writing-is-like-cooking-1639264889515

Day 345 - What to build with GPT-3? https://golifelog.com/posts/what-to-build-with-gpt-3-1639200902189

After waiting for almost a year, I finally got access to @OpenAI’s GPT-3!

Can’t wait to tinker with it for Lifelog and other project ideas. Love how timely this is – just when I’m done with my #100daysofmarketing challenge. Nothing like something new and shiny to get me back into hacking.

Brainstorming potential ideas and use cases:

Lifelog
• Summarizer
• Paraphraser
• Critique
• Prompter
• Keyword extracter
• Translator

Other project ideas
• Text to website builder
• Text to UI prototypes
• Javascript code generator
• CSS library generator
• AI copywriter
• Chat bot
• Email generator
• Content ideas generator
• Ecommerce product descriptor
• Ideator
• Coding helper

What other project ideas can you think of?

New LifeBlog post - The power of hitting publish https://golifelog.com/posts/the-power-of-hitting-publish-1639188115614

New LifeBlog post - Write awake, edit asleep https://golifelog.com/posts/write-awake-edit-asleep-1639119615437

Day 344 - Completed https://golifelog.com/posts/completed-100daysofmarketing-1639104355383

How it started: Why I did #100daysofmarketing
• Goal: Find 1 repeatable distribution channel for Lifelog
• Why: I tried marketing for 2 months in Jul-Aug but had no results. My efforts were scattered. I was frustrated. So I set a 100-day challenge to improve focus and make learning more intentional, and ultimately shift my identity.
• Started on 1 Sep, ended 9 Dec 2021
• Wrote 42 posts to document my journey of #100daysofmarketing
• Logged my tasks every day on Twitter for public accountability

Metrics: Before vs after - % difference
• Twitter followers: 1137 vs 1858 - 721↑, 63%↑
• Lifelog: Added 12 new members, 3 new paid (still on free trial)
• SEO: 4k vs 6k monthly page views from 103 blog posts
• Medium followers: 184 vs 245 - 61↑, 33%
• Channels reached: 2 (Twitter, Instagram) vs 12 (add Medium, Quora, Facebook, LinkedIn, Telegram, Indie Hackers, Dev.to, Hashnode, Codenewbies, Hacker News)

Results
• Achieved goal of finding 1 repeatable distribution channel for Lifelog = Twitter. But realised that 1 channel is not enough, no matter how repeatable or scalable
• Tripled my publishing volume, created a new content hub for my marketing efforts
• Iterated my Twitter approach 3 times
• Got 2 viral tweets which I learned a lot from (i.e. it’s all chance)
• Rekindled my childhood passion of drawing, and started sketching for Visual Twitter

🎉🎉🎉 FINALLY YAAAASSSS!!! I completed 100 days of marketing!!! 100daysofmarketing

Day 100 - IT'S. EFFING. D-DAY! 100daysofmarketing

Day 100 #100daysofmarketing - IT'S. EFFING. D-DAY!

🏠LifeBlog https://golifelog.com/posts/the-breakdown-is-where-the-breakthrough-happens-1639006359109

ℹ️Quora https://qr.ae/pGqGAn

📚Medium https://medium.com/@jasonleow/every-benefit-you-get-from-writing-218465b2d113

👍FB https://www.facebook.com/106430768053361/posts/299701775392925/?d=n

💼 LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jasonleowsg_when-stuck-go-straighten-something-up-activity-6874553138959986688-Ii-l

✍️ Posted on @catalinmpit's Daily Writing Notion doc

🐦Twitter engagement

Day 343 - 100 days of blogging, part 2 https://golifelog.com/posts/100-days-of-blogging-part-2-1639018492967

I crossed 100 days of blogging on LifeBlog a few days ago. Some thoughts, lessons and questions gleaned from the past 100 days of writing about writing.

I wrote part 1 yesterday. This is part 2:

• Re-learning the beginner’s mind
As a community lead, I got to bring others along with me. Having to re-learn the beginner’s mindset was humbling, and kept me grounded.

• The streak as a forcing function
Having to write more and write differently for an audience took it to the next level, forcing new mistakes and failures, catalysing new growth which I would have otherwise never bothered with had I stayed with my personal writing.

• Audience writing 101
I had always wrote only for myself and for my goals. But through the blog, I have to write for others. I got to think like the reader, walk in the shoes of budding daily writers. These are new reflexes, and useful ones for my overall marketing skill stack!

• Making connections to other writers & creators
I ended up connecting and making friends, joining new communities.

• Looking ahead, a new content hub
I repurposed my old writings in this new blog. Now I have a new archive to repurpose writings from. Yet I don’t feel like I got it nailed down despite 100 days. It’s been 100 days of blogging and marketing. Yet I feel like I’ve only just begun.

Onwards!

New LifeBlog post - The breakdown is where the breakthrough happens https://golifelog.com/posts/the-breakdown-is-where-the-breakthrough-happens-1639006359109

Finally got access to OpenAI's GPT-3 - can't wait to tinker with it for Lifelog and my tech for good projects!

Recorded face-to-face interview with Channel 8 news show Hello Singapore 狮城有约 - broadcast sometime in Dec!

Jason Leow Author

…who's wearing a huge mask on his face all the while haha

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Carl Poppa 🛸

ooh we have a mini celeb in our midst! 👀

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Day 342 - 100 days of blogging https://golifelog.com/posts/100-days-of-blogging-1638933663388

I crossed 100 days of blogging on LifeBlog a few days ago. Some thoughts, lessons and questions gleaned from the past 100 days of writing about writing:

• Writer’s block is when I’m fighting what I’m writing
• Write once, publish twice
• Idea pipelines don’t work for me
• Write what I want to know, not what I know
• Data-driven writing is the way to go

I wanted to do 10 lessons from 100 days, but ran out of steam and time. May be continued…

Day 99 - T minus 1 day! 100daysofmarketing

Day 99 #100daysofmarketing - T minus 1 days!

🏠LifeBlog https://golifelog.com/posts/just-write-is-bad-advice-1638918475621

ℹ️Quora https://qr.ae/pGqRJR

📚Medium https://medium.com/@jasonleow/cognitive-biases-that-creators-writers-should-look-out-for-43fbc516cd4d

👍FB https://www.facebook.com/106430768053361/posts/299019558794480/?d=n

💼 LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jasonleowsg_your-mood-is-a-room-you-enter-to-write-activity-6874129711849639936-WRp4

✍️ Posted on @catalinmpit's Daily Writing Notion doc

🐦Twitter engagement

New Lifeblog post - “Just write” is bad advice https://golifelog.com/posts/just-write-is-bad-advice-1638918475621

Day 341 - 7 of my fav Medium hacks https://golifelog.com/posts/7-of-my-fav-medium-hacks-1638848848419

Here’s some of my favourite hacks:

• Use the canonical link in your posts to link the SEO juice back to your blog or website.
• Create a post that’s a collection of your tops posts, pinned at the top of your profile. That way people can scan and discover other posts easily rather than scroll all the way down in chronological order.
• Your profile banner is like your landing page, your marketing funnel. Write a clear tagline and use the right visual to convey what you’re about in 3 seconds. The job of your profile banner is to get readers to scroll down to read the first article.
• Actually write alt text for your images - images with alt text are great for people who are visually impaired to ‘read’ your post through using screen reader software. Alt text improves web accessibility, which improves your SEO juice. I even add my URL to the alt text to see if it helps with back-links.
• How to get 100 followers through Medium communities (so that you can apply for Medium Partnership Program). Search for articles “Get 100 followers on Medium”. Go the the article. Clap, comment, highlight and follow. Politely ask for follow. The Medium community is helpful and will often do.
• Images are almost a necessity now for every article. Use Unsplash, Pexels for free-for-commercial-use images. I crop these images into longish, horizontal banner format because with the usual 4:3 rectangular format, you often have to scroll down 2-3 times to start reading - no point creating a barrier to reading more than it has to.
• Remember to use the analytics for data-driven writing. See what works better, and double down on the topics/formats that work.

New LifeBlog post - Writers are designers of a reading experience https://golifelog.com/posts/writers-are-designers-of-a-reading-experience-1638843199897

💵 Sold yet another BF-sale single license mobile navbar Carrd plugin (US$9.90)...thanks Anir!

🎉 Cooongrats! 🥳

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Jason Leow Author

Thanks Ostap! 💪

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Day 97 - T minus 3 days! 100daysofmarketing

Day 97 #100daysofmarketing - T minus 3 days!

🏠LifeBlog https://golifelog.com/posts/effortless-writing-1638746921155

ℹ️Quora https://qr.ae/pGl60j

📚Medium https://medium.com/@jasonleow/never-set-another-goal-without-first-appreciating-pearsons-law-a0d14e419c1d

👍FB https://www.facebook.com/106430768053361/posts/297926318903804/?d=n

💼 LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jasonleowsg_non-negotiable-boundaries-an-extreme-but-activity-6873443646520332288-g6jW

✍️ Posted on @catalinmpit's Daily Writing Notion doc

🐦Twitter engagement

Day 340 - My inner board (bored) meeting https://golifelog.com/posts/my-inner-board-bored-meeting-1638753988101

What does your inner voice sound like?

They say your inner voice is the voice that your parents used on you.

Somewhat true. But it can change. My inner voice used to be just a stern, paternalistic coach.

But these days, I’m now adding more voices. I’ve been trying to convene a board meeting instead - the coach is still there, but there’s also a nurturing and motherly guide, a grounded and realistic pragmatist, and a trickster god.

It’s not perfect. Sometimes other voices take over and become dominant for a while. The best is always when the different voices work in unison, not in conflict. A single dominant voice usually bring poorer outcomes.

But it’s a start to better inner conversations.

New LifeBlog post - Effortless writing https://golifelog.com/posts/effortless-writing-1638746921155

Day 96 - T minus 4 days!

Day 96 #100daysofmarketing

🏠LifeBlog https://golifelog.com/posts/writing-for-clicks-1638660220877

ℹ️Quora https://qr.ae/pGlms9

📚Medium https://medium.com/@jasonleow/emotion-first-writing-2a0e86df056b

👍FB https://www.facebook.com/106430768053361/posts/297427972286972/?d=n

💼 LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jasonleowsg_a-warning-about-words-activity-6873134637590413312-tndn

✍️ Posted on @catalinmpit's Daily Writing Notion doc

🐦Twitter engagement

Day 339 - Zero to one https://golifelog.com/posts/zero-to-one-1638662280684

In anything new you do, going from zero to one is the hardest part of the journey.

Getting your first user to try your MVP - difficult.
Writing your first few lines of code ever – challenging.
Going from $0 to earning your first $1 from the internet – hardest.

Most of us think we need BIG motivation to start, in order to climb over that high wall blocking you from reaching “one”. In one grand (but impossible) leap.

We all know how hard it is to muster up that amount of motivation from the get-go… that’s why most don’t even start.

Starting laughably small is how we get motivation to begin with.

We actually shouldn’t try to go from 0 to 1, but 0 to 0.01 first. Then 0.01 to 0.02. And as we do that, our motivation grows in tandem.

That’s how we can go from zero to one.

New LifeBlog post - Writing for clicks https://golifelog.com/posts/writing-for-clicks-1638660220877