Another gem from Bradley Spitzer:

“The people producing the most important work right now are not the most connected. They’re the most protected. They have walls around their attention that would strike most professionals as rude, antisocial, or out of touch.

They’re none of those things. They’re just clear.”

Since I’m not on Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn / etc. I see way less. I am “less connected.”

But I host multiple Zoom calls every week with energetic, enthuisastic folks talking about escaping social media and big tech.

I need to be clear to host those gatherings, as they require energy and focus. By eliminating 3+ hours per day of scrolling, I have the bandwidth needed to be an attentive host.

I am giving my focus and attention to my guests, not giant megacorps.

In last month’s “LET’S BUILD AND HOST A WEB PAGE IN 90 MINUTES” Focus Escape Pod Zoom call, we did what we set out to do: we made a web page, and we got it up on the web (most of us).

We actually had fun on a mid-week Zoom call – just look at what some people said:

“I just impressed my 16 year old!”

“I’m going to experimenting more, I remember how playful this is!”

“Finally I get it!”

“This was awesome!”

So, maybe we’re not replacing our Squarespace or WordPress site next week, but maybe we can think about ditching LinkTree, or make a better looking sales page for our latest offering.

We’ve got confidence now. Maybe we can publish to the web without paying big corporate platforms for hosting some simple HTML pages. And we did it together, as a group, rather than try to figure things out by watching a dozen YouTube videos.

Want to learn with us? We’re doing it again this month.

Wednesday, Apr 29 from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM EDT.
Get more info and register here

My friend Bradley Spitzer sent me this, from David Hieatt:

A newsletter is playing the long game. But it is a good game. The more you can help your readers, the more they trust you.

Around 2 years ago, I started a paid for newsletter.

98% of your free newsletter readers won’t sign up for it. 2% will.

That’s enough.

Then make sure you put a ton of effort into writing it.

And just keep going.

Your biggest talent is you won’t quit.

You don’t have to out run a bear, you just have to out run your friends.

This my third conversation with Max Pete, and we talk about the difference between having an audience and building an actual community, the slow grind of consistent output versus going viral, and why honest and real beats polished on social right now – and actually how the most best thing you can do on any platform isn’t broadcast, but connect people to each other.

“One of the coolest things about having an audience is bridging the gap between so-and-so and someone else. Being like, oh, someone’s looking for someone — I know that person. I can connect them together. That is the coolest thing.”

If you’re looking for help with building a regular outreach habit or just need a pep talk about charging what you’re worth, this is a good one to watch.

I drop post ideas into WordPress drafts throughout the week. Then, on the weekends, I flesh out those posts and schedule them.

That’s over 100 posts so far this year on this site. Just four have 100+ views. But this is the practice, something I do regardless of who shows up.

My blog posts inform the posts I haven’t written yet, they become the solutions to problems I didn’t know I had. They get referenced in member calls and workshops. They become subconscious scripts for future conversations I’ll have months from now.

Blogging is lower stakes writing, and the payoff goes far beyond views.

I noted this comment from Sarah Jo Austin, which perfectly aligns with our Social Media Escape Club vibes:

“I wore myself out last year making IG reels out of my Substack content. I stopped in January, thinking I would go back, but the time and creative energy I’ve gotten back is worth not engaging in IG at all.”

Trying to convince people on one platform to follow you to another (and to fork over their email address) is hard work, and eventually you need to ask yourself if it’s worth the time and energy.

Social media platforms make it easy, right?

Easy to sign up! Easy to find your friends! Easy to post a video! One click purchase!

People LOVE “easy” on the internet.

How are we making it easy for our readers with our newsletters? Our websites? Our booking pages?

How many clicks are required to book you?

How many clicks to pre-order your new album or book?

From Clarissa We, who wrote “Made in Taiwan, Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation (A Cookbook),” which “earned out in two years and has sold far more copies than I have social media followers.”

“Don’t confuse virality with value. Follower counts are just noise. Quality is what actually sells.“

We don’t exist in a meritocracy. The best stuff doesn’t always “win.” But as they say, you don’t need to outrun a bear, you just need to outrun your friends.

You don’t need to be the best in the world, you need to be the best for 10 people, then 100, then maybe a 1000. Your mileage will vary.

But we’re not gonna win anything with mediocre work, or cos-playing as a social media manager and expecting great results.

The work comes first, and it’s a good practice to make it great.