I Spent a Year Building My Brand — Here’s What I Learned (and Why It Actually Starts Now)

By Jack Righteous — June 1, 2025

I didn’t stumble into this. With over 20 years of experience in creative work, brand development, and strategic systems, I knew how to build. What I didn’t expect — or fully grasp — was how deeply I’d need to test and grow personally before my system was ready to serve others at scale.

The last year wasn’t me figuring things out randomly. It was a part-time but intentional test phase — not just for my content, but for me.

Now the system is ready. And I want to show you why one key shift changed everything — and how it can do the same for you.

🧱 Phase 1: The Setup Was the System

Throughout this past year, I:

• Created and tested a multi-part brand system (GET JACKED)
• Built tools (like custom GPTs) designed to serve creators
• Released AI music projects, articles, and visual content
• Ran multiple starter launches and newsletter experiments
• Focused on building in public and aligning with real creative needs

Every move had purpose — even when it wasn’t polished. I was gathering the raw material I needed to understand not just what my brand is, but how it can help others grow and measure success.

📊 The Shift That Changed Everything: Cohort Retention

After months of building tools and content, I stopped and asked a deeper question:

"Are people just showing up — or are they staying?"

This is where cohort retention comes in. It's not just a fancy metric. It's a truth-check for your brand.

🧠 Quick Teach: What Is Cohort Retention?

A cohort is simply a group of users who joined at the same time (e.g., customers who first purchased in May).

Cohort retention tracks how many of them come back — over time.

Instead of just looking at total sales or subscribers, it asks:

• Who returned in Week 1?
• Who’s still here in Week 4?
• Who stayed long enough to become loyal?

🔍 Why This Matters for Any Creator

Whether you’re a:

• Music artist
• Shopify seller
• GPT builder
• Faith-based community leader

You need to know what happens after someone joins. Retention tells you:

• If your content delivered value
• If your follow-up is working
• If your audience believes in what you’re building

📚 What I Learned From the Patterns

That told me exactly where to focus: follow-up systems, email storytelling, and brand re-entry points after first contact.

📬 Two Newsletters, Two Engagement Tracks

• The Righteous Beat: For my faith-based, music-centered audience
• AI Growth + Shopify: For builders and creators on the tech/business path

These aren’t just updates. They’re retention engines — where the brand story continues, trust compounds, and tools actually get used.

🎯 Recommended Retention Goals (for You, Too)

You don’t need 10k followers. You need a few hundred who come back. Start with this:

These aren’t vanity numbers. They tell you whether your system works.

🔁 The Takeaway: Retention Is the New Reach

Most creators measure:

• Traffic
• Sales
• Social engagement

But I’ve learned to ask:

• Who’s still here?
• Who’s opening the emails?
• Who’s building with me?

You can buy reach. You can’t fake retention.

And that’s where long-term brand equity is built.

💡 For Creators, Builders, and Brand Architects

If you're building:

• A custom GPT
• A Shopify brand
• A niche music project
• A Christian-themed creative ecosystem...

This is your moment to stop chasing first clicks — and start tracking second, third, and fourth actions. That’s where your real brand lives.

💌 Follow the Journey (and Learn While I Build)

I’m documenting this next 90-day phase in public — and using the very metrics I just showed you.

You’ll see:

• What I’m tracking
• What’s working
• What retention looks like in practice
• How to build it into your own system

🎯 Join The Righteous Beat Newsletter (Free)

📦 Download the Free AI Starter Kit — and start building your own retention system now.