Remember when OpenAI killed thousands of startups in 2023?

OpenAI had an update allowing users to upload PDFs. It killed thousands of “wrapper products” – startups providing a service by “wrapping” around ChatGPT's API.

For a company to be solid, and sustainable – it has to own its stand-alone product.

For marketing, that's your audience

If your business is built solely on social media, you're on rented space.

The landlords (TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn) can take that away from you anytime.

I see this happening too often.

You take for granted that it's all good right now. Ahh, it won't happen to me. I play nice by the rules. That is until you do.

But I don't rely on social media. My traffic is organic!

Great! Until you realize you're under Google's mercy too. And they, at any time can decide to kill your business.

Small review site lost 91% of its Google traffic to affiliate-focused SEO content
Google’s search results are dominated by big brands. SEOs for smaller sites are complaining. It’s like 2003 all over again.

Own your platform

Today, we use Instagram and YouTube to talk to our audience. Other businesses use even more platforms to reach their audience.

If any of these channels are to ban us – it'll suck, but we'll be fine. If ticketing platforms like Peatix, and Eventbrite were to go under, we'd be OK. We use our own site!

To have options beyond the control of invisible hands is a power.


2 things to do today

Sign up for a free Enginemailer account. And start building your own platform of audience, free from the controls of social media giants and platform owners. (Use code "CMOMAILER10K" to lift the daily sending limits)

Work with me at Daily CMO. We're looking for ambitious individuals (Penang and KL) for our agency, focused on helping businesses grow. These roles are for those who want to get good at marketing. (We're focused on education!) Salaries depends on skills, with performance bonuses.

Share this post