Hi Dang. I do think we're arguing from the same side more than you might think.
Contrary to what you're saying one of the main lessons in the case study is NOT to use a clever title. To quote, "bleed out all the superfluousness".
Regards to the Nike story I never extrapolate back from this or generalise from this title. To quote, "In spite of this success, I’ll be the first to admit that I am pretty clueless when it comes to Hacker News."
And regards to your final paragraph, again, I couldn't agree with you more. And that is in fact the whole point of the conclusion. To quote,
"But to call him a great marketer I think misses the point. Adriaan is a great Hacker News user. He understands the intricacies of the forum, offers thoughtful insight, and is never pushy with his business. The naked eye doesn’t see self-promotion. It sees someone passionate about privacy. He isn't a marketer on Hacker News, he's a Hacker News user on Hacker News.
Once you start hanging with your perfect audience, you don't have to try so hard."
The reason why Adriaan is so successful is because he is intellectually curious. And that he isn't writing articles drummed up by a group of content marketers trying to game the system.
My own experience certainly backs this up. The two case studies I've submitted that reached the front page of Hacker News both took were purely done out of my own interest.
Contrary to what you're saying one of the main lessons in the case study is NOT to use a clever title. To quote, "bleed out all the superfluousness".
Regards to the Nike story I never extrapolate back from this or generalise from this title. To quote, "In spite of this success, I’ll be the first to admit that I am pretty clueless when it comes to Hacker News."
And regards to your final paragraph, again, I couldn't agree with you more. And that is in fact the whole point of the conclusion. To quote,
"But to call him a great marketer I think misses the point. Adriaan is a great Hacker News user. He understands the intricacies of the forum, offers thoughtful insight, and is never pushy with his business. The naked eye doesn’t see self-promotion. It sees someone passionate about privacy. He isn't a marketer on Hacker News, he's a Hacker News user on Hacker News.
Once you start hanging with your perfect audience, you don't have to try so hard."
The reason why Adriaan is so successful is because he is intellectually curious. And that he isn't writing articles drummed up by a group of content marketers trying to game the system.
My own experience certainly backs this up. The two case studies I've submitted that reached the front page of Hacker News both took were purely done out of my own interest.