It Started with a Blog

What It Covers

37signals cofounders Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson explain how their Signal versus Noise blog started in 1999 as casual link-sharing between colleagues, grew organically over two decades without marketing strategy, and became their primary customer acquisition channel.

Key Questions Answered

• •Authentic content creation: Write from genuine excitement about your work, not to move metrics or juice numbers. Audiences detect instrumentality instantly through micro-signals in your writing. Share ideas when inspiration strikes, not according to content calendars or publishing schedules that drain authenticity from your message.
• •Patience with metrics: Early audience building means starting with zero followers and resisting the urge to check analytics. 37signals built their blog for years without tracking counts, instead noticing regular commenters like Don Schenck. This prevented discouragement and audience capture where algorithms program you to chase engagement over substance.
• •Founder-led transparency: Share proprietary information others consider private, like the $27,000 quarterly royalty check from their Rework book. Founders can post interesting data within seconds without approval processes. Doing this 200 times yearly builds reputation as someone who shares valuable insider information unavailable elsewhere.
• •Long-form over social media: Email newsletters and blog posts create deeper human connections than social platforms. Seven thoughtful email replies from regular readers provide more value than thousands of shallow social media interactions. The instant feedback loop on platforms like X corrupts authenticity by training you to optimize for algorithmic engagement.