Category: sethwCategory: sethw

Bradley Spitzer got me thinking about doughnuts.

The two of us have been on wild paths over the last 25+ years, and we seem to always be making things like websites and/or random projects.

He mentioned a documentary on Netflix about psychologist Phil Stutz, about how someone can plan all you want for opening a doughnut shop.

“They could spend all their time researching—figuring out the business model, how many glazed versus chocolate sprinkle donuts to make, all of that. And that’s valuable! But the real learning begins the first 15 minutes that shop is open. That’s when it gets real.”

When we get the ideas out of our head and into the world, they become tangible. They breathe the air of the real world and become alive.

We learn if the song we wrote resonates.
If the photos we took made a friend gasp.
If our essay gets picked for publication.

When I launched the Noisecreep metal blog for AOL Music back in 2008, I made a big editorial calendar of regular features that’d be published on certain days of the week.

But once we published on our first post – when our thing was out there in the real world – record labels, publicists, and other industry folk saw what we just launched (AOL Music was the #1 music site on the internet in 2008), and suddenly my inbox was filling up with pitches. I was getting phone calls.

The energy shifted when the thing became real.

I later found this quote from Stutz, “the world of doughnut eaters will give us the information we need” (from his book ‘Lessons for Living: What Only Adversity Can Teach You’).

Make the work you want to make, then look for the flicker of a green light, a signal to keep moving. The people you’re trying to reach will let you know if it resonates. If it’s “working.”

I’m not saying to let the masses guide our creative output, but if we’re looking to make an impact, or maybe just pay the rent, it helps if people actually care enough to share it, buy it, and/or talk about it.

Mario’s been shipping The Morning Shakeout every Tuesday for almost a decade, and the through-line is simple: doing the work every week is the “trick. It’s not hacks, not social reach, not “growth systems.”

We talked about how having your own website isn’t optional if you want staying power, how platforms come and go but archives and backlinks keep paying dividends, and why consistency beats trying to manufacture viral hits.

Mario’s approach is boring in the best way: show up, write, publish, repeat, and do it long enough that people can’t ignore you, and long enough that you actually figure out what you’re here to say.

I sat down with Tim Bailey to talk about his “31 pieces in 31 days” experiment, and how making things regularly helps you notice patterns in your thinking instead of waiting for one “big” idea that never comes.

We also got into the tension between wanting an audience but doing it with grace, as in sharing what feels true right now, keep your sanity, and ignoring the algorithm.

So much of our conversation came back to making work you can live with, and letting the rest take the time it needs.

A lot of us are like a local shop with a non-descript name, no clear offering in the window, and nothing that sets us apart from anybody else.

If you don’t put a sign in your window that says COFFEE in big bright lights, people won’t randomly walk in and order coffee.

Instead, we’re hoping to attract as many people as possible, thinking we’ll win over a few fans by way of luck and self-selection.

We’ll link to a pre-order or a Patreon once, but we don’t wanna seem too pushy, so we won’t mention again for another few weeks.

It’s a lot easier when we send clear signals about what we’re looking to do and who we are. We then attract the right people, pulling them into our creative orbit.

So it’s not about going “viral” and crossing our fingers for more subscribers, it’s about getting the right subscribers on our list.

You don’t need a million followers, you need like 200 hardcore fans to make a difference. Then once you get those subscribers, deliver your best work to them on a consistent basis.

Those are the people familiar enough with your work who will understand that yes, you might post about our upcoming book a few times. To your fans it’s not annoying, it’s part of the way things work in 2025.

If they don’t like it, they can unsubscribe. Later.

For example, if you’re been reading this newsletter for awhile, you know I enjoy helping people get away from social media platforms, build an email list, resurrect their website, and build a community along the way to help each other accomplish this work.

• I send two newsletters a week.
• Paid subscribers can join my weekly Zoom calls.
• I offer Email Guidance if you’re seeking personalized help.
• Those are my photos at the top of every post.
• I make soundscapes for interplanetary commuting.

When you know what you’re doing, and who you’re for, it’s easier to find the other weirdos and freaks who get what you’re doing and want to come along on your adventure.

You don’t need a map or a manifesto for this, you just need a compass.

• There’s musicians that don’t play bars or link to Spotify.
• Authors who make block prints.
• Artists who only sell their work via their email list.
• Photographers that make videos about building fences.
• Teachers with French He-Man posters in the background.

The art of “being authentic” online isn’t just “sharing bad stuff, too” but building boundaries and sending the right signals for curious onlookers to recognize from afar.

It’s okay to not be for everybody, because you don’t actually need everybody to make a living, or get the word out.

A bunch of people who love your work could be enough, but those people might need to be reminded on occasion about the work you’re truly trying to make.

Had a great time talking with Claire Venus via Substack Live. We covered a lot in this hour long chat! Substack’s platform features and distractions:

We talk about the increasing features on Substack, like Notes and video, which creates an “attention economy,” which is often times what we’re trying to avoid!

The value of an Email List: Direct access to your audience is so important, and very much worth the time and energy.

Monetization and payments: The challenge in asking for payment, and exploring options like “Buy Me a Coffee” buttons instead of paid subscriptions.

Connecting beyond vanity metrics: We talked about building genuine connections with readers and other writers through personal outreach, and small gatherings, and how that can be more valuable than viral hits or ranking on arbitrary leaderboards.

Tenacity in reaching readers: Not all subscribers see every post or email, so it’s necessary to employ “creative bothering” (thanks Cody Cook-Parrott) and talk about your offering more than once to make sure your message reaches your audience.