FROM A REDDIT POST TO 53,000 MAILBOXES

Bree Stilwell tells the story about posting an idea on a local Reddit:

The idea was for an alternative local print magazine, something a bit more sideways than the long-reigning Ann Arbor Observer. The response:

‘How about contributing to the Observer? (I’m the deputy editor.)’

I’m dm’d her, she emailed me back, I sent her links to my Substack newsletter—my only published editorial work. I pitched her several ideas, we met for ice cream. We kept talking.

Yesterday, after a weekly online pilot since August, I got to see my first monthly advice column in ink, literally hot off the presses.

The audience? 53,000 direct mail recipients.

Your body of work can be expressed outside of just posting about it and hoping for the right person to see if and sweep you off your feet.

• Instagram is not the only place for your photography to exist!
• Substack is not the only place for your writing to exist!
• Your website is not the only place for your work to exist!
• Your Bandcamp page is not the only place for your music to exist!

Meet for ice cream! Get on the phone! Set up a Zoom call!

Stop waiting for people to stumble upon your magic and REACH FOR THE STARS!