- Ole Lehmann (The AI Solopreneur)
- Posts
- 🐙 The Great Creator Shakeout is Near
🐙 The Great Creator Shakeout is Near
how to properly build distribution in this new paradigm
Hey there, solopreneur!
Last week hit different.
I was sitting on my balcony in Northern Cyprus, watching another Mediterranean sunset, when a harsh truth sank in:
AI is getting scary good. And almost every job I thought was "safe" is getting commoditized.
Now here's the thing - I always felt like being a content creator was somehow future-proof. Like we'd be the last ones standing while AI took over other industries.
The reality? I was lying to myself.
But here's what I finally realized after weeks of anxiety:
The real moat was never about creating content. It was always about owning distribution.
And right now? It's actually the perfect time to build distribution through content - if you do it the right way.
Because while AI makes it easier than ever to pump out:
generic threads
cookie-cutter blog posts
talking head videos
... it's also making them worthless.
The market is about to be flooded with AI-generated noise. In fact, it already is.
And that's exactly why owning real attention - genuine, human connection with your audience - is becoming more valuable than ever.
This isn't just theory. Let me show you my exact blueprint into how I’m building distribution that AI can't commoditize...
Lesson 1: Technical skills are becoming commodities while distribution becomes everything
Something wild happened last week.
I was reviewing some AI coding tools and it hit me: Everything's becoming push-button simple.
When AI can turn any technical task into simple English instructions, your coding skills aren't special anymore. Your Figma mastery? Your AWS expertise? AI's eating all of that.
But here's the plot twist - while starting a business gets easier by the day, getting anyone to care about it gets brutally harder.
The real growth hack for the next decade isn't about tools or tech. It's pure distribution. Raw attention. The kind you can't buy or fake. Your ability to make people care.
Marketing is becoming a bigger superpower than engineering.
how world-class marketers will feel thru the AI revolution
Lesson 2: Small, intense communities will replace mass followings
Something's shifting in the creator economy. While everyone chases follower counts and viral hits, the real magic is happening in smaller spaces.
Think about it - would you rather have 100k followers who scroll past your content, or 1,000 people who actually implement your ideas? Who show up to your events? Who trust your recommendations like they'd trust a friend?
The future isn't about reaching everyone.
It's about reaching the right people in ways AI can't replicate.
Lesson 3: Content isn't competing with other creators anymore - it's competing with AI
Let me paint you a picture of next year:
AI will flood every platform with perfect, polished, soulless content. Your competition isn't other creators - it's an endless wave of AI-generated noise.
What wins in this world?
Raw footage of your product development. Unfiltered stories of your failures. Behind-the-scenes videos that show the mess.
The stuff AI can't fake because it requires real experience, real emotions, real stakes.
Lesson 4: The physical world is becoming the ultimate moat
The most counterintuitive trend I'm betting on? Physical presence. While everyone else goes digital, I feel like the real opportunity is in the analog world.
Think running clubs for fitness creators. Pop-up dinners for food content makers. Masterminds where people actually meet in person. Books they can hold. Products they can touch.
Why? Because in a world flooded with AI-generated content, physical connection becomes precious. Rare. Worth paying for.
Modern man craves the tribe.
— Naval (@naval)
6:49 AM • Nov 4, 2024
Lesson 5: Build hyper-niche communities where AI can't follow
Stop trying to appeal to everyone. That game is over. AI will own the generic middle ground. Here's what I'm doing instead:
Go so specific it feels uncomfortable. Build inside jokes. Create community memes. Develop culture that only your true followers understand. The kind of stuff AI will never get because it's too nuanced, too human.
Example: Instead of "tips for entrepreneurs," I share specific stories about bootstrapped AI business owners building in public. My content repels most people. And that's the point.
Lesson 6: Hijack the channels AI hasn't touched
Everyone's fighting for attention on Twitter and LinkedIn. Meanwhile, the real engagement is happening in places AI can't reach:
Private Telegram groups where people actually talk
SMS updates that feel personal
Email newsletters that read like letters from a friend
Invite-only Discord servers with real conversations
The more intimate the channel, the more valuable your presence becomes.
Lesson 7: Turn controversy into connection
Here's something most creators won't touch: Strong opinions that might piss people off.
Why? Because AI plays it safe. Always. It's programmed to be politically correct, to never offend.
Your edge? Take actual stands:
Share the industry practices you hate
Call out the trends you think are BS
Defend unpopular opinions you believe in
Pick fights worth having
For example, I love to shit on people who use AI-generated comments on social media. Your engagement will soar when you stop trying to please everyone.
me everytime I see an Ai-generated comment on my tweets
Lesson 8: Make content that comes from lived experience
AI can write a great how-to guide. What it can't do? Share what it felt like to lose $10k on a failed launch. Or the real story behind why your co-founder left you.
Document everything:
The customer calls that changed your strategy
The team conflicts that made you stronger
The pivot moments that saved your business
The failures that hurt so much you wanted to hide in a cave
This isn't just content - it's your moat.
Want to see my exact game plan?
I'm betting everything on this approach:
Weekly behind-the-scenes VLOGs on X
Long-form YouTube content showing the real journey
Physical meetups starting in major European cities
Products you can actually touch and feel
Because in a world of AI perfection, human imperfection becomes priceless.
Speaking of human connection...
Something hit me hard last weekend.
2 old friends flew out to visit me in Cyprus. We spent our days hiking through ancient trails and lounging on Mediterranean beaches.
big boulder
No content creation. No business talk. Just real connection.and presence.
Sitting there watching the sunset, something hit me hard: I've been lonely these past few months.
The kind of lonely you don't notice when you're grinding 24/7 on your business, always chasing the next milestone, the next metric.
Everyone romanticizes the digital nomad life. The Instagram shots make it look perfect.
But there's something they don't tell you: its a world of shallow friendships. Everyone's always on the move, always optimizing, always "networking" instead of actually connecting.
You meet hundreds of people, but few stick around long enough to become real friends.
That's why I'm making a change for next year.
Instead of optimizing purely for business growth, I'm optimizing for friendships that last longer than a co-working visa lol
Because at the end of the day, its about the people, stupid.
Ole’s Bookmarks
Never Enough: From Barista to Billionaire. To be honest, I never liked Andrew Wilkinson. But I still bought his book, and now I’ve changed my mind about him. It gives a great insight into how he grew his agency revenue and used the profits to become the “Warren Buffet of tech businesses” by buying other companies. Great lessons on growing your business, delegation and investing principles. I’ve realized that this is what I want to do later in my life as well (in 2-5 years).
NSDR 15 Minutes. I use this video each day at 3pm to reset my nervous system and get some deep rest in. Try it, it only takes 15 minutes and the results are amazing (and they compound).
How I learn:
I get obsessed with a topic then spend 3 months reading everything I can on it.
Then do a field trip where I go and see a thing related to the topic (a museum, a town, an expert on the topic, etc).
And finally, I try to write an essay on it. A way to teach… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Sam Parr (@thesamparr)
3:10 PM • Oct 30, 2024
I am the exact same way. Once I get interested in something I go on a 2-3 month learning spree about it. When I do this, I am totally okay with being obsessed and neglecting pretty much everything else in life. Let me know if you have ever done this yourself.
Building in public weekly update #3 — [November 8th]
This week was a huge transition week - the main theme being about creating the right environment for my work/life balance.
Here's everything that went down:
I moved houses!
Finally moved to a quieter area in Cyprus with… x.com/i/web/status/1…
— Ole Lehmann (@itsolelehmann)
6:04 PM • Nov 8, 2024
My weekly build in public update. Moving houses is always a mission. Looking forward to diving back into creation mode once I’m all set next week.
That’s all for this week. Feel free to shoot me any ideas you’ve been into lately - I read all my replies :)
To your success,
Ole
P.S. — Want to quickly monetize with a digital product? The AI Course Creator shows you how to build digital products 10X faster using AI — from content creation to marketing materials. Over 385 students enrolled recently.
P.P.S. — Need to build an audience first? The AI Audience Accelerator shows you how to leverage AI to create viral content and build your X/LinkedIn following fast. (I used these systems to gain 100K X followers in 65 days).
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