Category: MarketingCategory: Marketing

“Creativity is not something to hustle or to use.

Creativity is something to tend to, like you tend to a garden, and it in turn uses you in ways you couldn’t imagine.”

This from “This Is Drastically Changing My Creativity,” a post by Blake Roberts.

I’ve told two people this week (via my Email Guidance offering) to not set up a website. To not set up a webstore. To not start a newsletter.

These two people were still very much in the “figuring it out phase,” to which I stressed that maybe you don’t need to figure it out in public.

Not everyone wants to document the journey. It’s okay to go off and do your thing for a few months, or a few years.

Because what if you fully tend to your creative garden, without the distraction of sending a newsletter, posting on socials, or the dreaded “figuring out” your website?

I believe that if we immerse ourselves in the art, the practice, the work, that in a years time (or whatever feels right) you’ll already know what the newsletter is about.

And you’ll know exactly what sort of website you need.

One of the biggest things I push is to backup your work on your own site, which means if you write on Substack, your work should be duplicated on your own site, which led to this question:

Q. Hi, I read something yesterday about search engines getting confused if you have the same article in two places. I’ve been copying my substack pieces across to an old blog but now am wondering… what do you think?

A. SEO advice is avoid duplicate content, as it upsets the algorithm. But I don’t work for the algorithm, I work for me, and serve my readers / subscribers first. If it means less random traffic from search engines im fine with that. My hope is that work is good enough that some of readers might tell a friend about it, which I find much more valuable.

I see this line come up quite often: “I came to Substack to find readers.”

Setting up shop on Substack to “find readers” can be a trap. I joined Substack in 2021 simply to start an email list, and inadvertently found an audience. I was going to write and send newsletters regardless, but I’m grateful for the audiance I was able to build (just over 6.300 subscribers as I write this).

But… there’s a whole world of readers out there!

There are people doing podcasts, running YouTube channels, hosting live events – all these people are their own “platforms,” and doing work with them (interviews, workshops, collaborative projects) can bring in not just new readers, but engaged readers.

Something you said in an interview resonated. Maybe an off the cuff remark offered a new perspective for someone, or the story behind your work struck a nerve.

We need to stop trying to find readers, like they’re hiding in a dark forest or under a table. We need to be doing work so good that people notice and want to come along with the ride.

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.

Hosting your own Zoom calls!

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.

Posted this on Substack Notes recently:

“Most of your readers are probably reading via email, not the Substack app. Which means FOCUS ON YOUR SUBSCRIBERS!

Substack Notes is nice and all, but it’s a lottery ticket, and your email list is already a pile of gold.”

The image below shows the top traffic sources for a recent newsletter.

Just 6% from the Substack app, which tells me that most of my readers don’t have the app installed, probably.

So all the time I spend on Notes, or Chat, or noodling around with Substack Live is not seen by most of my subscribers.

Now, I will say that messing around with Substack Live is in fact valuable because I’m able to download the video afterwards, and share that with my email list.

But overall it’s standard social media – most everyone misses everything you post.