Writing What Energizes You Builds Lasting Audience

Will Larson's approach to building an audience through consistent writing demonstrates a powerful growth strategy that's often overlooked in favor of chasing trends.

Larson's writing growth strategy centers on energy management and authenticity rather than optimization for short-term metrics. He's published approximately 1,000 blog posts over 16 years while maintaining demanding leadership roles at companies like Stripe, Uber, and Carta. The key to this sustained output isn't working harder—it's working smarter with your natural interests.

The core mechanism is simple but powerful: write about what genuinely energizes you, not what you think will perform well. Larson explains, "I feel really strongly that you can write a lot more if you write what you want to write." He avoids writing on schedule for external publications because the constraints drain his energy. Instead, he focuses on topics that align with his current work and thinking, creating a virtuous cycle where his writing improves his job performance and vice versa.

This approach stands in stark contrast to the common strategy of chasing trending topics. As Larson notes, "Everyone converges on the same thing that they think people want... it's crypto two years ago, it's like AI right now." The problem with this approach is twofold: it's harder to say something novel when everyone's covering the same topic, and it's difficult to maintain enthusiasm when writing about subjects you don't genuinely care about.

The execution is straightforward but requires discipline:

1. Before starting any piece, Larson asks himself: "Is this something I can write and publish?" If not, he doesn't begin.
2. He publishes almost everything he writes rather than accumulating drafts.
3. He doesn't worry excessively about quality—his blog posts are working thoughts, while books are where he refines ideas.
4. He ignores negative feedback from strangers, recognizing that trying to "debug people you don't know is a bad use of time."

The results speak for themselves. Larson has built a substantial audience that follows him across platforms, published multiple successful books, and established himself as a thought leader in engineering leadership—all while maintaining senior roles at top tech companies.

The most important insight is that consistency over time is far more important than initial traction: "The biggest risk to content creation of any sort is quitting soon because you get burned out... If you just keep writing good stuff, you'll build an audience over time, and you can take that audience from platform to platform."

For product leaders and ICs alike, this strategy offers a sustainable approach to building influence and expertise that doesn't require sacrificing your day job or chasing every new platform or trend.