A personal update.

What I’m working on in March 2026

Tommy Clark
March 09, 2026

Hey!

Welcome to Social Files—your no-BS guide to building distribution for your product with executive content and storytelling.

It’s been a while since you’ve received one of these. I promise, it was for good reason. Compound has been busy, and…I’m moving!

I just locked down a place in NYC, and by the end of the month, I’ll be out there full-time. If you're in the city, hit me in the replies.

Today’s edition of Social Files is going to be a bit more unstructured. I wrote it to be more of an update on what I’m working on, how the agency is going, etc etc.

Shall we?

🔎 DEEP DIVE

A personal update.

What I’m working on in March 2026

I’ve gotten into a funk with my personal ‘content’ over the past few weeks. As such, you’ve seen less of me in your inbox. (Unless you're still in my 30-day welcome flow. Then you might be sick of me. Who knows.)

What happened?

Well, the short of it is that I just got bored. Most of our clients come to Compound for help with their LinkedIn. So, creating content about LinkedIn tends to help us get more leads. But—and I’m being so real with you—if I have to write one more post about how to optimize your LinkedIn profile, I might just k…uh, lose my mind.

I retreated into focusing more on my debut fiction book, The Shattered Planet. That’s been awesome, and I have zero plans to stop (hallucinating an entire fantasy storyline from nothing is a great protectant against AI rot). But I’d like to find my way back into enjoying business content.

So, I figured I’d start by sharing a personal update.

(Out of principle, I refuse to call this ‘building in public.’)

(1) Compound is almost 3 years old. By the end of this month, I’ll have been running the agency for almost 3 times as long as I’ve held a 9-5 job. We’re looking to add 50% to our revenue this year, and are hiring a VP of Ops to help us do just that.

This hire will also allow me more time to go hard on content again. I’d like to revamp this newsletter (with a slight pivot), my LinkedIn, and also work on a webinar series.

Yes, webinars! I used to be a staunch anti-webinar zealot in my Triple Whale days. I recently did one with Austin Hughes, CEO @ Unify, and it drove a ton of inbound. Turns out revenue is quite convincing.

(2) I’m moving! I’ll be in NYC at the end of March. I know some of y’all love Austin, but look, I am so happy to be getting out. There are too many run club influencers and cosplay founders here. And allergies have been kicking my ass this month.

I cannot wait to be in New York, and have the cracked-out energy coursing through my veins.

I’ll got a spot in the Financial District with one of my good friends. If you know the area well, hit me with some recommendations for coffee spots, bookstores, all that.

(3) I’ve written 70,000 words of The Shattered Planet, Draft II. We’re almost halfway through this pass of my debut science-fantasy novel. I’m pushing to have it done by EOM (which may be optimistic). Then I’ll be on to editing.

Whenever someone asks me ‘what’s the book about?’ my brain experiences some sort of malfunction, but here’s what I’ve got: The Shattered Planet follows Hector Ourelos, the second son of a high-ranking archduke in the Solar Dominion, after he watches from orbit as his home planet is turned to ashes, and his family along with it.

Classic revenge arc in a science-fantasy setting. If you like books like Red Rising or The Sun Eater, I think you’ll enjoy this story.

If you don’t like those books, well, reconsider your taste.

(4) I’m pivoting my newsletter, just a little bit. You’ll still get plenty of advice on how to grow on LinkedIn, but I’m broadening the scope of Social Files to include all of executive comms & storytelling. Same-same, but different.

Here’s an example. I believe building a compelling personal brand for a tech executive is a lot like constructing a compelling character in a novel. I’m working on a piece about how you can apply character-creation frameworks from popular authors, like Brandon Sanderson, to your executive content.

In all honesty, it’s more of a packaging pivot than anything. I don’t want to position myself as a ‘LinkedIn guru’ any longer. I much prefer the storytelling angle, when done well.

My friend Nathan Baugh (who also happens to have a book releasing soon), writes content in this vein that I enjoy a lot. He’s been an inspiration for this pivot.

In my experience, I tend to write my best work when I enjoy what I’m writing about. I’ve gotten away from that over these past few months, and I’m excited to get back to it.

Anyway, that’s what I’m up to.

If you're reading, and get value out of my newsletters, please do let me know. It’s always a bit hard to tell in email, aside from open rates and CTR. So replies give me a good idea of what ‘hits’ for you. Thanks for reading!

🗃 FILE CABINET

Here’s my favorite marketing and business content I bookmarked this week.

How to deal with “low engagement jail” on LinkedIn Tommy Clark 🎥
What all great stories have in common by David Perrell and Steven Pressfield 🎥
The 2026 E Commerce Masterclass That Will Make You Question Everything by Taylor Holiday 🎥

Check these out.

BEFORE YOU GO…

As always, thanks for allowing me into your email inbox every week.