DON’T OUTSOURCE FINDING YOUR PEOPLE TO AN ALGORITHM

Finding your people can happen anywhere. On Monday’s very spontaneous Substack Live, people were chatting with each another, learning what they do, and subscribing to each other.

Somehow in the chaos of a live chat room, people connected. Some people found their people.

So please don’t leave that to the machines, desperately pleading “oh algorithm, please deliver me my audience!”

You’ve got taste and style. You can find people in the chat, in the comments, in line at the coffee shop. See what your favorite authors like on Substack Notes. Who are the 11 people Austin Kleon subscribes to? Have you looked up some of the artists that people mention on your favorite podcasts?

Here’s some of the things I attempted to answer during the Live:

• Should I make my Substack free and build community somewhere else?
• Was there a time you felt you were writing into a void?
• How often do you do lives, and why do them?
• How do you feel about Substack Notes?
• How do I find my people without sounding like a coach, and what do I talk about besides “come to this”?
• What’s Metal Bandcamp Gift Club?
• Should I be on YouTube?