Category: CommunityCategory: Community

Forget algorithms, there’s a whole world of possibility right in front of you via people’s Substack profile (here’s mine).

ONE: Click on that subscribers link, and you can see who subscribes to their publicaiton, their followers, and who they follow (note: sometimes this is hidden per user).

TWO: Click that Likes & Replies link, and you’ll see everything they liked and replied to.

THREE: Finally, click Reads and find out what they’re reading.

This isn’t just on Substack of course… if I remember correctly you can see who people are following and liking on Twitter, or LinkedIn.

This is like a very public digital “thanks list” on the internet, like we used to read in CD and cassette booklets when we were younger.A band would thank a series of bands, publications, people, and then you would seek them out – it was divine, like a recommendation from the bigger sibling you never had, maybe.

This is just a fun and easy way to discover – FOR YOURSELF – some interesting people. Make use of your good taste, trust your gut, and find your people.

I’m no sales expert, but I’ve watched enough YouTube videos to know about “scripts.” Literally planned out lines of dialogue to making the sale in person or on the phone. Teams will even review calls from during the week, just to make adjustments and get better.

With most things, there are extremes.

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Great insight from Carly Valancy and her work with author Laura Rubin.

Sometimes you’re too close to the thing to see the opportunities that are right under your nose. Halfway through this experiment, Laura realized her best friend didn’t event know what her book was about. You cannot expect someone to help you if you don’t let them in.

Sometimes the first step isn’t reaching out to strangers. It’s just sharing with the people who already love you and giving them the chance to help.

We often think we’re communicating our ideas and offers clearly, but there’s a possibility that those in our immediate network might not fully understand what you’re trying to get across. We take it for granted that they get it, when they might not. And if that’s the case, how might it resonate with total strangers?

From Cecilie Maria Nielsen, one of our two special guests from last week’s Escape Pod video call.

“One thing I think is true for all of us — and it doesn’t have to be a choir, it’s any kind of group version of your art form of choice — what does that look like if you do it together with a group? Is there a way you can facilitate it?”

Social media has it’s own way of isolating us; the allure of the lone-creator going viral is very real. But maybe the journey is better with others?

What could our creative endeavors look like if we did them together?

Nikki Lerner, one of our two special guests from a recent Escape Pod video call:

“If we’re honest, as creatives, sometimes we got a closet with a door, full of things that we never moved on. And we never moved on them, not because we had discernment, but because we couldn’t move from self to service.

And now it’s all stuck in the closet behind the door. You know it’s there, right? And somebody’s like, anybody got a rice maker? And you’re like, nope, I don’t got nothing. But you got six rice makers in the closet. You know what I’m saying? Because you’re hoarding it. Let’s not hoard our gifts.”

Imagine if moving from self to service opened up a whole new world for others, and not just your own work?

I attended one of Nikki’s choir performances, and the room was filled with friends and family of those singing. Nikki moved from self to service by organizing this event, and by doing so helped others to not hoard their gifts.