First 1:1 since Blake E took over writing (Jacob previously ran the account). Substantive call: strategy reset, workflow reset, and direct client feedback on pipeline responsiveness.
Strategy decisions (change the drafting approach)
- Primary goal: FOLLOWERS (explicitly chosen over impressions or conversations when Blake forced the pick).
- Diagnosis of current state (Pierce’s own read, Blake agreed): most posts reach ~100 impressions with rare outliers at 1.2k+ (Cerebras post, “institutional name on your resume”, “load bearing”). Too many same-format, same-length posts; cadence and format have been “more fitting for LinkedIn.”
- New mix: higher-volume SHORT form on X to widen top of funnel + continued long form carrying real insight/POV, now blended with humor. Pierce: the AI Twitter accounts that grow combine “deep analysis + pithy takedowns/humor.”
- Platform split: 80-90% X, LinkedIn opportunistic (cross-post long form when it fits; he already posts podcast snippets there himself; check nothing else is planned that day before cross-posting).
- Voice tension acknowledged: his natural style is dense text blocks; he will “play the algorithmic game” IF framed as an explicit hypothesis being tested.
- Hypothesis-driven content (his explicit ask): every format experiment should be contextualized as a hypothesis (“this post tests X”), informed by teardowns of ~5 fast-growing accounts in his space, evaluated after 5-10 posts of a format, then validated/promoted/demoted with data. He wants to see the numbers.
- Format appetite: wide open (“let’s just rip it”), one-liners fine, mild cringe tolerated if it grows the account, no LinkedIn-tier cringe.
Workflow decisions
- Weekly drip, NOT big batches (explicit reversal of Jacob’s glut-then-backlog pattern; Pierce reviews faster with fewer items).
- Blake’s cadence: prompts + research Mondays, write and deliver Tue/Wed, feedback the rest of the week. No pressure on Pierce to answer every prompt weekly.
- Prompts over content interviews (Pierce prefers async thinking time; opposite of the Mantis/Jeffrey preference). Prompt rules Blake stated: short, open-ended, skippable, aimed at stories or differentiated takes.
- Voice sources: (a) his weekly podcast, new episodes every week, Blake will mine each one (Pierce called it the best bootstrap for his perspective + contemporary takes); (b) his random musings in the Slack channel (Jacob may have exhausted the old ones); (c) meeting transcripts he shares when non-confidential.
- Notification gap: the automated app-integration Slack notifications DO NOT surface for him. He wants a direct human-feeling ping from Blake when a batch is ready (“hey, here’s a trigger, take a look”).
Client feedback on the old process (feed the improvement loop)
- Pipeline lag complaint: he would comment/move items in review, then edits stalled; new items kept arriving while his prior comments sat unaddressed (“I’d be paying to then review more material, but the additional four in review aren’t really that good. I’d ideally like to see the comments that I sent back”). Wants less async lag on the edits-required leg specifically.
Context notes
- Jacob previously ran the account with content interviews + large batches; both reversed by this call.
- Pierce is technical (AI space), lives in SF, data-driven by temperament.
- Personal rapport: Blake in Nashville area, four kids, farmhouse; Pierce ex-partner Nashville connection.