Category: EventsCategory: Events

This isn’t about growth hacks or audience building, it’s about finding your people on Substack (and beyond).

Step by step instructions are for putting together Ikea furniture, not building fanbases. We’re dealing with real people, with complex lives, not shelving units. Through the tension of talking with strangers about our work, we gain understanding, and see the possibilities through the eyes of other people, and their journeys traveled to get there.

Our Escape Pod Zoom calls provide the on ramp to such conversations. Finding our way with intention, because we’re done hoping or wishing for an algorithm to magically deliver us our biggest fans, right?

Thursday, May 28 from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
Register here → https://luma.com/84g45pka

Saturday, May 30 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
Register here: https://luma.com/j33otsdz

Caroline in the Garden, a musician in Atlanta, recently wrote, “I’m disgusted with myself over my phone use,” saying “my phone usage during this ‘publicity cycle’ was getting to be upwards of 6-7 hours a day.”

They’ve since deleted the social media apps and wrote a new song.

That can happen when we don’t spend all our time on social media.

How grand could we be if we spent 6-7 hours a day on your craft? Or just three? One?

That’s not possible, right?

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If you ever want to write something a little different, but you’re worried what people might think – that they might (GASP) unsubscribe – fear not, friend. As I mentioned in this week’s Escape Pod Zoom call, when someone brought this up:

“As the artist, as the creative person… I’m the lead magnet. People signed up for me, so they’re getting me. And if people get huffy about it and unsubscribe? Bye. I don’t want to hold back. I’m not a magazine. I don’t have editors. I want to write what I want to write.”

That’s the sort of stuff we talk about on our weekly calls. If you ever have pangs of doubt, fear, or apprehension about the work you produce, please join us!

THIS WEEKEND:

• BREAK UP 💔 WITH SOCIAL MEDIA #03: How do we reach new people without social media? Sat, May 2 at 12pm EST: https://luma.com/n628yxes

NEXT WEEK:

• CO-WORK ESCAPE POD. FREE. Tue, May 5 at 12:00pm EST: https://luma.com/1y6p4ead (two hours of virtual co-working!)
• ESCAPE POD #118 W/ SPECIAL GUEST MEG LEWIS. FREE. Thu May 7th at 2:00pm EST: https://luma.com/jzdkvpp2
• BREAK UP 💔 WITH SOCIAL MEDIA #04: Why Every Artist Needs a Website with Chuck Marshall! Sat, May 9 at 12pm EST: https://luma.com/mtvucpt5

See all events here: https://luma.com/escape-pods

On Monday I took my buddy Blue to the vet, and by Wednesday he returned to the cosmos. I’m so glad that some of you witnessed him during our Zoom calls and live streams!

Quick note – I am folding our “FOCUS ESCAPE PODS” into our regular Thursday calls, which you may have noticed have had a theme in recent weeks, and are hopefully just as helpful for everyone.

:: SATURDAY ::

BREAK UP 💔 WITH SOCIAL MEDIA #02
I’m trying a regular Saturday meeting to focus on BREAKING UP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA.
Saturday, April 25 at 12PM EST
REGISTER HERE: https://luma.com/4eqvlsck

:: NEXT WEEK :: 

CO-WORK ESCAPE POD
Fix your keyboard, mend some shorts, pay your taxes (oops), draw some goats, practice your scales – together!
Tuesday, April 28 at 12PM EST
REGISTER: https://luma.com/vfukbhlk

“LET’S BUILD AND HOST YOUR OWN LINKTREE IN 90 MINUTES”
This MIGHT get cancelled, as not many people have signed up. 
Wednesday, April 29 at 12PM EST
REGISTER: CANCELLED

ESCAPE POD #117 – EMAIL, AND THEN WHAT?
​Substack’s Hamish McKenzie recently said, “Email is an important distribution channel. It should not be your only one.” WHAT??!
Thursday, April 30 at 2pm EST
REGISTER: https://luma.com/7asv89sv

:: NEXT MONTH ::

BREAK UP 💔 WITH SOCIAL MEDIA #03
How do we reach new people without social media? If you’re ready (or still deciding) to quit the major social media platforms, this question is everything. Like, it’s one thing to just delete the apps, but then what?
Saturday, April 25 at 12PM EST
REGISTER HERE: https://luma.com/n628yxes

“LET’S BUILD AND HOST YOUR OWN LINKTREE IN 90 MINUTES”
As mentioned above, this may get cancelled, so sign up if you’re interested!
Saturday, May 2 at 12PM EST
REGISTER: CANCELLED

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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