Category: VideoCategory: Video

I joined Russell Nohelty as a guest on his Substack Live as part of his January Joy(ful) Growth Club.

“If you gain a thousand new followers on social media, you might reach ten percent of them. Might as well get a hundred people on your email list.”

One of my favorite lines to throw around, ‘cuz it’s true!

Russell and I talked about building creative careers without relying on social media, using music, writing, comedy, and live events as examples of how audiences actually grow: slowly, locally, and through lots of repetition – because no one sees everything we post!

“I don’t do (Substack) Lives where there’s no energetic exchange beyond that hour,” said Russell, “I want something I can give back to my audience.”

The conversation covered message repetition, storytelling around your work, why most people don’t see everything you publish, and how having an audience gives you the freedom to make work that isn’t optimized for going viral but still matters.

In a Substack Live with Sarah Fay last year, I made the point that you don’t have to go live, you just need to bring life to your thing.

There are several ways to go “live” (Substack Live, Mixcloud, Mixler, your local radio station), and none of them need to include your face. Where’s the Substack Live cat-cam? Who’s making coffee? Reading night time poetry? Making ambient music? Flipping through old Computer Shopper magazines?

Watch the full video replay (or audio podcast) with Sarah Fay here.

I saw someone saying that writers need to make more video and audio because people love watching video and listening to audio.

I don’t care what “everyone” likes, but I’ll say this – in this modern age of AI where “anybody” can write a newsletter, your voice is more valuable than ever.

I’m not saying you need to start a YouTube channel or a high-production podcast, but I bet your readers would love to see you and hear you.

Again, I don’t care what TikTok or YouTube people are looking for, or what “content they like to consume.” I’m talking about the 35 people who subscribe to your newsletter.

There are many ways to do video and audio that don’t require dancing, talking into a camera, or buying a $350 microphone. You’re a creative person. Now is the time to find a creative way to share the parts of yourself that AI can’t replicate.

Make a video this weekend. You don’t need to upload it anywhere, or show it to anybody. But make a video. Watch it. Listen to your voice – YOUR VOICE. The one that OpenAI would like to train from.

Make a video so two weeks from now you can come back to it and feel something. Make another one. Someday share it with someone.

Do this because AI slop will continue to fill the internet, but your readers might find peace and calm in hearing your actual voice. The future of your work depends on the trust you build today.

On today’s Substack Live I covered a bunch of topics, from the punk rock flea market where I handed out Social Media Escape Club flyers, to our earliest internet memories — AOL, IRC, dial-up, even real-life pen pals.

We also talked through the real numbers behind social vs. email, why flyers and bulletin boards still work, and what it looks like to deepen ties with the people already in our creative orbit instead of chasing more followers.

The conversation bounced between quitting Instagram, starting local event newsletters, the value of a blog over a static website, and even the compounding power of a simple daily walk (got my 10 miles in today).

This is the live replay of my Substack Live call from March 22, 2025, where I talk through what leaving the feeds actually changes — and what it doesn’t.

In this live video I cover:
• Why “posting more” wasn’t helping my creative work
• Reclaiming attention and momentum without Instagram, TikTok, or X
• How newsletters + websites beat algorithms long-term
• What fills the void when you stop scrolling
• Audience growth that isn’t dependent on social platforms
• Community > metrics, conversations > likes
• The emotional side of stepping away (fear of disappearing, FOMO, identity)
• Rebuilding trust with your own ideas when the noise is gone
• Sustainable marketing that doesn’t burn you out
• How I think about YouTube without getting sucked into the feed mindset

If you’re tired of chasing algorithms and want to build something more sustainabl this replay might help.