• YOUR BLOG EATS FIRST

    From ‘Where does blogging fit in your newsletter strategy?’ First, publish freely on your own site. When stuck, employ constraints. Follow-up anywhere else you want. This keeps you healthy, curious, and prolific. Remember, anything can be a blog post. Not everything can be YouTube video, a podcast, or pithy quote for social media. The full post is… [KEEP READING]

  • Substack live with sarah fay

    Had a great talk with Sarah Fay about Substack Notes, Substack Live, building an email list, and making sure the people on your email list stay on your email list. [KEEP READING]

  • YOUR EMAIL LIST IS GOLD

    Posted this on Substack Notes recently: “Most of your readers are probably reading via email, not the Substack app. Which means FOCUS ON YOUR SUBSCRIBERS! Substack Notes is nice and all, but it’s a lottery ticket, and your email list is already a pile of gold.” The image below shows the top traffic sources for… [KEEP READING]

  • LIVE! With Laura Kidd / Penfriend

    LIVE! With Laura Kidd / Penfriend

    Get on Laura’s email list here: https://penfriend.rocks/hello Get Laura’s music on Bandcamp! [KEEP READING]

  • Quitting Spotify, making an album and more with Olivia Rafferty

    Quitting Spotify, making an album and more with Olivia Rafferty

    As you can see, Olivia and I had a horrible conversation about quitting Spotify, making an album about geology, and lots more. This was recorded on Substack Live, so some things you might here throughout are usually reactions to people making comments during the live stream. Subscribe to the full podcast RSS feed here. [KEEP READING]

  • NOT WHAT BUT WHO

    Here’s a bit of some Email Guidance I wrote someone recently, about launching a newsletter. They were wondering if they should plan out what to write, and I started riffing on stories: But think of three stories you like telling people. Or even three stories that involve the wonderful people in your orbit. It all… [KEEP READING]

  • Talking music and newsletters and community events with Chuck Marshall

    Substack is a busy place these days, and I’m definitely taking full advantage of the Live functionality to talk to interesting people. Last Monday I got talking to  Chuck Marshall. I didn’t leave that call thinking about NEW SUBSCRIBERS or engagement, but rather, “wow, Chuck is a cool guy, I’m glad we got to chat!” Little did… [KEEP READING]

  • Getting “Artfully Cacophonous” with Sean Reid: Collecting, Signaling, and Childlike Wonder

    Sean Reid was a guest on one of our recent Escape Pod Zoom calls, and he dropped the phrase “artfully cacophonous,” which led to some good laughs! He talked about all the toys and other fun items he collects, and I was reading the part of Austin Kleon’s ‘Show Your Work’ where he talked “Don’t be a… [KEEP READING]

  • Your marketing team has the week off

    Your marketing team has the week off

    You’re a one person team, I get it. But the marketing team needs a week off. This week we’re not looking for more subscribers. We’re gonna put “growth” on hold this week. Instead, your job is to get your sales team making sales. Your shipping team making your paying customer happy. Your front office team… [KEEP READING]