People who buy vinyl and cassettes? They check their email.

People who buy concert tickets? They check their email.

People who order merch? They check their email.

You don’t need a social media account to buy any of the above, but you need an email address.

And every smartphone comes with an email app pre-installed 🤔

Yes, I preach the good word of email newsletters, but don’t think of it as “writing a newsletter,” think of it as “communicating directly with your fans.”

All those photos you share on Instagram and Twitter that only 5% of your fans see anyways? Yeah, use those.

You can even include a link, unlike when you keep posting URLs in your Instagram post (please stop doing that).

Maybe you’re afraid that your first email newsletter will suck, right?

Guess what? My first HEAVY METAL EMAIL post sucked. This one is a little better.

I got better at it because I kept doing it.

My first week running Noisecreep sucked, but eventually we got to follow Bring Me The Horizon around Times Square in 2010.

Let’s be honest – your first Tweet was definitely horrible.

Writer Natasha Mascarenhas told a story she learned from her professor, when asking “how long is it going to take to become great?” His answer was basically, “no one cares about the first 500 stories.”

Get your crap emails out of the way now, when you’ve got 100 dedicated fans on your list that won’t care either way.

FOUR THE WEEKEND TASKS

Due Monday, friends.

1. Start thinking about your Social Media Escape Plan. Not just because of horrible algorithms, but for when you get locked out of your account.

2. Valentines Day is 38 days away. Come on, there’s nothing more metal than love and heartbreak! Plan something fun for Feb 14th, I dare ‘ya.

3. Have you messed around with the LINK IN BIO thing yet? Come on, Buffer says “Tweets with a link garner 28.76% less reach.” It could be worth testing for your own projects.

4. Try actually replying to a few fans on your social media channels. It’ll make their day, and maybe it’ll appease the algorithmic gods.