THERE ARE TOO MANY NEWSLETTERS

Are (email newsletters) a temporary solution? An early bird gets the worm type scenario?

If I subscribed to an email list for every band that I would want to see on tour / buy a record from, then I would be getting TOO MANY NEWSLETTERS.

It’s a full time job to keep up with all the new songs, videos, and tour announcements from bands everyday. I ran Noisecreep for a few years, I know.

There was too much in 2009, there’s too much today. It’s impossible to keep up.

You also got newsletters from TV streaming services, clothing stores, Spotify, and Bandcamp when a band uploads a patch or sticker.

But you still announce your upcoming tour, even when Guns N’ Roses announces a bigger tour.

You still announce your tour, even though Furnace Fest just announced their line-up and everyone will be talking about it today.

When we post something on IG, send a press release, or upload to a DPS or YouTube, it’s lost in the shuffle the second it’s live.

So write a good subject line for your next email, use a good photo, and send it out.

And though I can’t promise anything, I can promise this; your first newsletter is gonna suck.

Garbage.

Just like the first song you ever wrote, the first show you ever played, the first tour you ever booked.

But the second one is slightly better, and the 10th one is okay, and by the 100th you’re a fucking pro.

So start today, while you can still reach some of your fans on social media, and tell them to sign up for your email list.

Our minds are twisted because we’re all “social media pros,” all because we’ve been on these platforms like Twitter since 2009. That’s 14 years (I’m one of the first 3000 people to sign up back in 2006).

But when Twitter goes away (and someday it will), kiss all those followers goodbye. They’re gone.

And if you’d been running an email newsletter for 14 years, and “only” signed up 1,000 people a year, you’d be able to reach 14,000 people the day Twitter goes offline.

I started my “Social Media Escape Plan” with this newsletter back in 2021.

I write about the nerdiest, most niche thing ever, but today I’ve got over 300 subscribers. If Twitter disappears tomorrow, I can still reach those 300 wonderful readers.

Social media is sexy, absolutely, but email is the long game.