Three Huge Myths About Traffic

_{Day 21/100}

I need to get a couple things off my chest and just out there after years of watching this all happen in real time with friends, clients and even my own team.

We've been sold a bunch of lies about traffic generation. I've seen too many teams waste months, even years, on strategies that were doomed from the start.

Here are 3 brutal traffic truths that most "experts" won't tell you (but I will):

1. The Viral Post Fantasy is Killing Your Consistency

Everyone's chasing that one magical viral post that'll "change everything." So you publish sporadically, swing for the fences constantly, then wonder why growth isn't happening.

That random viral hit isn't a strategy – it's a lottery ticket.

Your traffic engine is built on your baseline content, not occasional spikes. The companies crushing it don't have more viral hits – they've systematically improved their floor.

When you double the performance of your "average" content (through testing and improvement), you create predictable growth that compounds weekly instead of waiting months between lucky breaks.

2. Your Audience Targeting is Completely Backward

"Write for beginners – that's where the volume is!" might be the most destructive traffic advice ever given.

You're an expert writing for people who fundamentally can't appreciate your expertise. Then you wonder why engagement sucks.

Target 2-3 steps behind your expertise level, not 10 steps behind.

The intermediate audience is your traffic goldmine. They understand enough to value your advanced insights but haven't outgrown their need for guidance. They're more likely to convert, share with relevant networks, and implement your advice.

When sites switch from "total beginner" content to intermediate content, their conversion rates typically triple overnight.

3. You're Fighting Against Your Distribution Channels

Here's what nobody admits: Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube – they're all actively preventing users from leaving their platforms. Your off-platform strategy fights their algorithm at every turn.

Stop treating platforms as distribution channels for your website.

Instead, create complete, standalone value ON the platform itself, then use curiosity gaps and implementation tools to pull only the most engaged users to your site.

Most of the time, the link in bio does just as good of a job, if not better, than adding one into your content.

This inverts the traditional funnel – put your best stuff where everyone already is and filter for the people ready to go deeper, rather than trying to attract everyone to your site first.

What traffic myths have you fallen for? Which of these truths hit home hardest?

Reply and let me know your biggest traffic struggle right now.

✌️ Tim "stuck in traffic but still tweeting" Hanson
CMO @Penfriend.ai