Entertain, Inspire, or Educate, Simply: Every message must make people laugh, learn, or feel motivated to act. And it must do so without requiring explanation.
Podcast: Inside Tech's Water Cooler: Breaking Down the Magic Behind TBPN with John Coogan & Jordi Hays
To make a piece of content widespread, it should be filtered through three questions about its audience: Did they laugh? Did they learn something? Did they feel motivated? At least one must be true.
In Jordi Hays' words:
Is it wildly entertaining? Is it wildly inspirational? Is it wildly informative, and is it actually bringing novel information to people?
For me, if it doesn’t fit into those buckets, it’s just not going to hit. You can have something hit in any of those buckets. A poster, for example, can entertain. They can post something that’s super funny with perfect timing, and it can get a million views. It can feel emotional and inspiring, like the iconic Founders Fund vibe reel.
And there's an important modifier: simply.
Complexity kills virality. If an idea needs backstory to make sense, it won't spread.
Therefore, Jordi has a litmus test: "When people pitch us marketing ideas, I tell them, 'I have more context on your business than 99.9% of people in the world, and I'm going to need you to repeat that marketing idea back to me because I'm still confused.'"
If an expert is confused, imagine a stranger scrolling past. They won't stop to figure it out.
This is like telling a joke! If you have to explain the setup, it’s not funny. Marketing works the same way. The meaning must be immediately apparent.