Category: sethwCategory: sethw

What percentage of your Substack subscribers have a ★★ or lower activity rating? For me, it’s 65%. Maybe I’m a horrible newsletter writer and that’s why no one reads my publication?

Or maybe Substack greased the wheels to drive subscriptions and give the illusion that they’re a coveted source of enthused readers? This is straight from the social media playbook as detailed by Cory Doctorow’s concept of Enshittification:

First they lure users onto their platforms, then attract businesses who might profit from this newly formed public, and then finally squeeze both for their own profit. Tech giants lure users in with convenience and then degrade their services over time, draining profit at the cost of user experience. In the meantime our public squares have turned somewhere between the mall and a dumpster fire, that is unfit to deal with the problems of our times.

I was looking for a free place to start a newsletter back in 2021. The Recommendations feature rolled out in early 2022. I got lots of subscribers from that! Then Substack Notes came in April of 2023 – like Twitter, but “nicer!”

The subscriptions flowed like water, like a fire hose!

Until it didn’t. I used to get 25+ new sign ups a day, but as you can see above (that 65% of my email audience if dreadfully unengaged), what did that really get me?

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One third interview / two thirds Q&A Zoom call with special guest Peabody-winning producer, journalist, and cat rap pioneer Sean Cannon. This coming Thursday, August 21 from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT.

I’m starting to do these monthly with my members (and already have next month’s guest lined up)!

Not a member? Grab a 30 day trial membership to the Social Media Escape Club for just $10.

• ​You’ll get to hang out on this call and take part in the Q&A
• Free pass to my workshop on Aug 27th
• ​Access to our weekly Zoom hangouts (3 per week)
• ​Member-only resources, our private podcast replay feed, and more

Stop posting and invite three of your biggest fans to connect.

Resist “getting out the word” to everybody, and reach out to three key contacts.

The element of “this might not work” brings clarity by way of tension, while waiting for an algorithmic break reduces your work to a scratch-off lottery ticket.

I got to chat with Matty C about his upcoming crowdfunding campaign for his live album and film project. It’s quote an endeavor, and there’s lots of risk involved, but hey – what else are we here to do?!

“You’re investing in something bigger than a physical thing. You’re investing in an idea, a concept,” which is how Matt explains this crowdfunding campaign.

That people who contribute are supporting the underlying idea and story behind the project, rather than just getting “things” in exchange for a few bucks.

We also get into Substack’s Nazi problem, which never seems to go away.

In our Thursday Escape Pod Zoom call, we talked about finding subscribers without using Substack Notes, and one of our members (Joi) spoke of using another social media platform to get what she wanted.

“I follow a lot of small businesses, and they post what’s happening on (social media). We have a local magazine that does really well here, and I found a writer/photographer who covers music. I reached out to them on social media, and they DM’d me back with their number, like, “Let’s talk about doing an article or a story.”

Joi couldn’t find the contact info for the writer on the publications website so she had to get resourceful.

Use the tools that are available to get the results you want.

Instead of just posting, “hey, I’m seeking music magazine writers to talk to about my work,” Joi used Instagram like a tool, like a phone book or a directory, and got in touch with someone who may help get the word out about the work she does.

Find out more about our weekly Escape Pod Zoom calls here.