What if the people receiving your emails forwarded it to friends? What if they copied the text from it and posted it on social media? What if your words traveled from the inbox into Facebook group chats and meeting rooms?
When was the last time you sent a newsletter that got 10 replies?
If none of those things happened — not even close— maybe getting more subscribers isn’t the answer.
From social media to Substack Notes, people post in the void. No comments, likes, or engagement of any kind.
Hey, sometimes things don’t work!
Your “questions to everyone” or “open invites” have good intentions, but after a dozen or so attempts, it’s time to reassess your strategy.
Stop asking “everyone” and start actually asking people.
➡️ Reply to someone else’s post. Go into the comments section of another post, or another Tweet, and reply there. Be the person that people love seeing in the comments section by being insightful, gracious, and / or funny.
➡️ Email someone directly in your network. If you’re hoping those people even see your original post and take the time to reply is a long shot. Instead, reach out and ask them. Say you’re looking for their insight for an upcoming post.
➡️ Invite someone before inviting everyone. If you’re just getting started in hosting video hangouts, live sessions, or workshops, consider inviting a few people you know directly. See if you can get three people to commit before announcing to “everyone.”
➡️ Go beyond “just sharing” and make it a big deal. Make a whole post about it. Go deeper than typing “THIS,” and explain why this piece resonated. Don’t just “curate your feed,” rolling the dice hoping that 10% of your audience might see it. Take the time to write about something (or make a video or an audio snippet), and share it directly with your audience in an upcoming newsletter (where 99% of your subscribers will see it in their inbox).
“Yeah, but Seth, I just want to post my thing and go do other things,” you might say.
Well, you see the results that “just posting” gets you.
Also, how can talking to your fans, audience, and readers be a waste of time?
Setting a timer for 15 minutes and communicating with real people five days a week will probably get you more results than the hour you spend making one Reel for 153 “people” to see (and which will never be seen again after 12 hours).
Does it scale? Fuck scale, do the work.
The strategy of “just posting” ain’t working, and it’s not going to get any easier to reach your fans in that way as we roll into the second half of 2024.
If you’re already posting images on Instagram, you’re sitting on newsletter material whether you realize it or not. Reusing those images in email isn’t cheating or lazy, t’s just practical, and like I say, most people never see your social media posts anyway.
My buddy Bill sent me this email from Tapehead City that did this perfectly: the same cassette photos from Instagram, dropped straight into an email, with no fuss or overthinking.
The small additions matter, too. Don’t just copy and paste. Add a sentence, a bit of context, an extra detail. The feed gets the quick bits; the newsletter gets the extended version. Same work, more mileage, and a better payoff for the people who actually signed up. This is how email quietly becomes the main event instead of an afterthought.
If you want people from Instagram to subscribe to your Substack, understand that you are competing with an app built by a company with over 60,000 employees.
The motivation of Meta employees is to keep you scrolling, engaged, and plugged into their ecosystem of products – Instagram, Facebook, DMs and messages.
Your fans on social media are navigating an unending fast-food drive-thru experience, sitting comfortably in their vehicle, all while algorithms serve them as much content as they want through their digital window.
That’s what you’re up against, so trust me when I say the following ain’t gonna cut it:
“I’m writing on Substack now. Click the link in bio to sign up.”
“I’m starting a newsletter. Sign up to get updates.”
“Hey, social media sucks. Sign up for our email list.”
Like the Merovingian says in The Matrix Reloaded, “this is not a reason, this is not a why.”
I help creative people quit social media, promote their work in sustainable ways, and rethink how a website and newsletter can work together. Find out more here. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Trying to figure out your email strategy, grow without social media, maybe not sure what to send to people? I’ve got Email Guidance spots open, and here’s how it works and how to book.
Prefer a focused conversation instead? Book a 1:1 call and we’ll dig into your work together.
