This is a recording of a Substack Live I did on Sunday, July 6, 2025, edited down a bit. This is mostly based off a piece from Pixel Envy called “Pressure on Substack.”

“(Substack) is still another platform hosted elsewhere. It simplifies the process for writers, podcasters, video creators, and others to publish their work for money. But their stuff is still made available at the mercy of software they do not control…”

I talk about my buddy Tom who is my “WordPress guy.” He runs I Heart Blank, so get in touch with him if you need WordPress installed with reliable hosting, and maybe some set up help. He’s solid.

Got talking about why I switched to Fastmail. Mostly because it let’s me host multiple domains easily for email, and hardly ever messes up Spam filtering. There’s also no “promotions tab,” either, so you manage your email like an adult! Sign up here (affiliate link) for a free trial and if you sign up you’ll save 10% off your first year.

Oh, and here’s the link to migrate from Gmail to Fastmail.

Also, are things “slowing down” on Substack? Maybe!?

But that’s a trap we don’t want to fall into, because then what? Are we going to expect another platform to help us “grow our audience?” We have to get away from thinking that these platforms hold the answer – they don’t! The power is with the people, our communities, our meet ups, our zines, our Zoom calls. Expecting these centralized kingdoms of power to save us is a lost cause.

I talk about how Jes Raymond got people to a show in a town she never played before, and grew her email list by 35 people that night!