Why the Algorithm Loves Some Creators and Hates Others

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Hey solo creator,
Before we start, I just want to say HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 🥳
I wish you an incredible year filled with growth, creativity, and success.

There are secrets that can make the algorithm fall in love with you.

If you’ve been creating content online, you know how your best work sometimes gets no attention. Meanwhile, some low-quality bullshit blows up. Or even worse, you suddenly stop getting traffic because the algorithm doesn’t want you to get any.

But there are ways to win the fight against algorithms.

In my two years of writing content online, I’ve had content that reached 10 people and content that reached 120,000 people.

Here’s how to make the algorithm love you.

Don’t create in bad places

There are many places to write online, but some are traps.

Just like you wouldn’t walk down a dark alley at night, you shouldn’t create content on a bad platform. But what is a bad platform?

It’s basically a place that:

• will not help beginners grow

• will not show your content to your followers

• will punish you for promoting other platforms

For example, I have over 8,000 followers on Medium. When I publish new content, only 20-50 of those see it (sometimes less).

For some people, Medium still works great. For me, it slaughtered my reach a few months ago, so it’s not worth it anymore.

Combine this with the fact that curators pick what content gets more reach, and in my opinion, this should never be your main platform.

I say main because you can still get some benefits by reposting your content on it. That’s what most people do anyway.

How do you know which platform is good or not?

Unfortunately, you have to try it out for some time. Repost your old content on different platforms for a few months and see how it goes.

I was surprised to see that Threads and Instagram, for example, are good places to publish on. My content reached people without me doing anything else.

Same with Substack. Started from scratch a few months ago, and now I’m getting likes and subscribers daily.

After writing online for two years, my tier list looks like this. Bad places to create content:

• Twitter/X

• Medium

• Your own blog

Good places to create content on:

• Substack

• Threads

• Instagram

• LinkedIn

So, if you feel like the algorithm is hating you, it might not be your fault. Try a different platform.

What algorithms really want

It might sound strange, but there’s a point in your content creation journey when you have to stop caring about algorithms.

The only way to gain algo approval is to let your mind focus elsewhere.

That’s because the big secret behind algorithms is human psychology. That should be your main focus. Don’t think about what algorithms want. Think about what people want.

People have doubts, problems, and fears that prevent them from achieving their goals. If you can help, the algorithm will be on your side.

Algorithms monitor how people react to other people’s content.

Your likes, comments, and shares tell the algorithm if content is good or bad. Algorithms reward creators whose content triggers strong emotions.

There are many kinds of emotions. Algorithms mostly care about these:

• curiosity

• joy

• fear

• anger

Algorithms will ignore your content until you create something that gets strong reactions. That’s why contrarian takes work so well. It gets people to react.

Algorithms don’t think or feel. They just follow the numbers.

The only way you can make the algos love you

It’s not about cracking a secret code that will unlock unlimited likes and comments. It’s much simpler.

Be the best answer.

Social media is about learning, teaching, and entertaining. The creators who go straight to the point and deliver strong, useful value right off the bat will win.

When you give someone the information they searched for as fast as possible, they might like, comment, and share.

This is telling the algorithm:

This piece of content deserves to be shown to more people because it’s getting results.

There’s no better way to be the best answer than writing high-value content that just beats everything else out there.

Creating valuable content gets easier when you do these things:

• be concise

• use storytelling

• have a good headline

• help the reader achieve their goals

Your content doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough to be understood.

With the right tools, you can simplify the process and stay consistent without overthinking it. That’s exactly why I created the Substack Template Pack—to help you write great content quickly and effectively.

It’s a collection of 45 templates I’ve used to create content on Substack—without:

• Worrying about what to write next

• Wasting time on strategies that don’t work

• Spending more than 15 minutes a day writing

Get instant access here.