Weekly Insights

Directory Insights,Every Sunday

I share stories from the directories I'm currently building, SEO tactics that work, and the occasional lesson learned on my journey to build a portfolio of profitable directories.

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    Past Newsletters

    Some of you should teach

    written by Frey Chu Some of You Should Teach I’ve met with over 30 people one-on-one for SEO & Directory consulting sessions in the last two months. ​...

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    3 Lessons I Learned Spending Thousands on Backlinks

    written by Frey Chu 3 Lessons I Learned Spending Thousands on Backlinks ​ If you've been teaching yourself SEO, you've probably noticed that SEO can b...

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    Yesterday I made $521 in Passive Income

    written by Frey Chu Yesterday I made $521 in Passive Income ​ Earlier this week, I published a full-buildout video where I create a directory manually...

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    I almost gave up and got a 9-5 job

    written by Frey Chu I almost gave up and got a 9-5 job ​ You ever see this meme? ​ ​ ​ 10 months ago, in November 2024, I was about to be the guy on t...

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    If You’re Stuck, Try This 15-Minute Daily Practice

    written by Frey Chu If you're stuck, try this 15-minute daily practice (to find your directory niche) I recently spoke with someone in my Ship Your Di...

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    For first time directory builders

    written by Frey Chu For first time directory builders (this why you're not behind) ​ This week, I made a video about how non-coders like me can now ea...

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    Rare niches & how to find them

    written by Frey Chu Rare niches & how to find them ​ In a recent video , I spoke about how finding an amazing directory niche for passive display ad i...

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    Traffic that pays vs. traffic that just looks good

    written by Frey Chu Traffic that pays vs. traffic that just looks good ​ Traffic with buyer-intent > Monthly website visitors ​ This is one of the mos...

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    Building faster ≠ building value

    written by Frey Chu Building faster ≠ building value ​ With AI tools being all the rage, this is just a reminder that I built my $2k/month directory l...

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    New Broadcast

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    My Budget Tech Stack for Building Directories in 2025

    written by Frey Chu My Budget Tech Stack for Building Directories in 2025 When I first started building directories, I spent $500-$1000 (each) to buil...

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    How I'm finally learning AI coding the Right Way

    written by Frey Chu How I'm finally learning AI coding the Right Way (Lessons after 50+ hours) ​ For the last year, AI coding tools didn't click for m...

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    Why you should simplify everything

    written by Frey Chu Why you should simplify everything ​ This week I got to speak with Tim Stoddart , and honestly, he's likely the most successful di...

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    What 6 & 7-figure directory builders are really doing

    written by Frey Chu What 6 & 7-figure directory builders are really doing ​ I’ve noticed the core strategy behind a lot of six and seven figure direct...

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    The Trap My 23-Year-Old Self Fell For (Again)

    written by Frey Chu The Trap My 23-Year-Old Self Fell For (Again) Lately, I've been noticing myself fall for a mental trap that I thought I climbed my...

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    My Half-Baked Directory Somehow Landed a Lead

    written by Frey Chu My Half-Baked Directory Somehow Landed a Lead I built portapottymatch back in October 2024 as a personal experiment and left it si...

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    My 7-Day Directory Is Ranking on the First Page

    written by Frey Chu My 7-Day Directory Is Ranking on the First Page ​ Last week I talked about how I published comicbookstores.co . ​ I figured I'd sh...

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    I spent 10 days building a pSEO Wordpress Directory

    written by Frey Chu I spent 10 days building a pSEO Wordpress Directory ​ For the last 10 days, I’ve spent around 60 to 70 hours building a programmat...

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    I sat down with a $200k/yr directory owner

    written by Frey Chu I sat down with a $200k/yr directory owner ​ I spoke to Kimi Green last week. She's the CEO of SamsList.co , the yelp for accounta...

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    A Directory for...Broken McDonalds Ice Cream Machines?

    written by Frey Chu A Directory for...Broken McDonalds Ice Cream Machines? ​ This is your reminder that directories can be fun, successful, a little h...

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    Community Is the Hedge Against AI

    written by Frey Chu Community Is the Hedge Against AI AI can scale content and automate tasks, but it can’t scale relationships. ​ And I really believ...

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    How to Make Your Directory AI-Proof

    written by Frey Chu How to Make Your Directory AI-Proof ​ A question I've asked myself everyday this week is: How do I make my projects AI-proof? ​ Wh...

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    A weird piece of advice that actually works

    written by Frey Chu A weird piece of advice that actually works ​ Pressure and expectations can ruin your momentum as a builder. ​ I think that’s obvi...

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    First-time directory builders are quietly winning.

    written by Frey Chu First-time directory builders are quietly winning. ​ It's been 4 months since I started sharing everything I know around building ...

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    New Broadcast

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    Pro-Tips for Building a $10k/Month Directory

    written by Frey Chu Pro-Tips for Building a $10k/Month Directory ​ Let’s talk about the most real path to a $10k+/month directory. ​ The most reliable...

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    How I Built a Recession-Proof Directory (and You Can Too)

    written by Frey Chu How I Built a Recession-Proof Directory (and You Can Too) ​ One of the secrets to my success in the directory world has been choos...

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    High Standards = Slow Starts

    written by Frey Chu High Standards = Slow Starts There's 7 core filters and questions that I run every directory niche idea through before doing anyth...

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    Proof Simple Directories Can Still Win

    written by Frey Chu Proof Simple Directories Can Still Win Someone built this directory...and it ranks on Google. ​ ​ Link to directory ​ ​ It's a sim...

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    Schedule Your 1:1 with Frey

    Hi {{ subscriber.first_name }}, You're receiving this invitation because were one of the first 20 members to sign-up for SYD Pro! 🎉 As promised, here...

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    SYD Pro is Now Live! 🚢

    written by Frey Chu SYD Pro is Now Live! Hey {{ subscriber.first_name }}, ​ I just launched Ship Your Directory Pro — my live, interactive community f...

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    You're Not Building A Directory

    written by Frey Chu You're Not Building A Directory You're learning how to distribute ideas on the internet. ​ This is the first thing I told myself i...

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    4 Signs To Build A Digital Product For Your Directory

    written by Frey Chu 4 Signs To Build A Digital Product For Your Directory This month, one of my directories saw a small downturn in display ad revenue...

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    Someone Copies Your Niche Idea...Now What?

    written by Frey Chu Someone Copies Your Niche Idea...Now What? A common question I get in the Ship Your Directory community is “Someone is building a ...

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    The Unexpected ROI of Doing Nothing

    written by Frey Chu The Unexpected ROI of Doing Nothing One of my small directory websites is 9 months old and just quadrupled it's daily revenue. ​ I...

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    Build Directories Where Others Aren't

    written by Frey Chu Build Directories Where Others Aren't I just paid $150 for 24 hours worth of wifi access. ​ Why? Because when you're floating in t...

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    Chaos, Penguins and Delusional Optimism

    written by Frey Chu Chaos, Penguins and Delusional Optimism When things don't go your way, what's the story you tell yourself? ​ I've asked myself thi...

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    365 Days Ago I Quit My Job

    written by Frey Chu 365 Days Ago I Quit My Job with Directories It's officially been one year since I quit my corporate job. ​ In the last year, I've ...

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    The richest feeling in the world

    written by Frey Chu The richest feeling in the world There's this video on TikTok that my 30-year old ass loves - it's of a husband coming home from w...

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    7 Harsh truths of directory building

    written by Frey Chu 7 Harsh Truths of Directory Building This week has been kinda nuts. A month ago, I got this DM: ​ ​ listen to the pod here ​ ​ And...

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    Why I pay for friends

    written by Frey Chu Why I pay for friends (and you should too) I know this sounds shallow, but I'm a simple spender. ​ If something can save me time, ...

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    New Broadcast

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    SYD Community Is Now Live!

    Hi {{ subscriber.first_name }}, Today I launched a free community for directory builders. Just wanted to personally invite you to join - I'm also host...

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    The future of directories

    written by Frey Chu ​ The future of directories Growing up with two older sisters, I learned early on that foresight is a secret cheat code to life. T...

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    Start the unsmart way

    ​ Start the unsmart way One thing you should know about me is: I'm not smart. What I mean is, objectively there have been experiences in my life that ...

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    How I quit my job with directories

    If you're trying to quit your job (or already quit) to become a full-time builder, I'm speaking directly to you. I quit my job back in March 2024 to g...

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    Why I turned down $40k for my directory

    In September 2024, I decided to list the first directory website I ever built for sale. Some stats at the time I tried to sell it: Monetized for 15 mo...

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    the story of my $1500/directory (with receipts)

    The story of goodwilloutlet.com: what I learned building a $1500/month passive directory. ​ Hey guys and gals, Just kidding {{ subscriber.first_name }...

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