Category: WebsitesCategory: Websites

I’ve been saying we should be get back to blogging and updating our websites for awhile now. Here’s some feedback from a recent Email Guidance client who added a blog to their site:

“Literally within one week (of adding the blog) this led to an invitation to give a talk (you know the old-fashioned way, you introduce yourself to someone cool, they look you up, find your website and boom).”

If someone needs an account to see your work, it’s not really public, so make sure your best work is available for everyone to see on the world wide web.

From a Substack Live I did on Sunday, Nov 30th. Welcome to a very serious intellectual exercise, where I open postcards on the internet.

Okay, yes… it’s a live “unboxing,” but really it’s a peek into how Noah Kalina treats his Patreon supporters, and why his whole setup is basically a masterclass in how to make the internet work for you instead of draining your soul.

We use Noah’s approach as a launchpad to talk about other questions from creative people, like selling online with Gumroad or Big Cartel. And then we get into how a beginner can spin up a clean, one-page CV site with Carrd or Notion.

From the ‘Butch Is Not A Dirty Word’ Kickstarter:

“Our entire library lives scattered across platforms we don’t control — where every algorithm tweak and policy shift edges us closer to erasure.

If our Instagram disappeared tomorrow, ten years of work and community memory would vanish with it.”

We can’t trust the tech-bro platforms. This is why we must build our own websites and platforms that we control, outside of the greedy claws (and watchful eyes) of the Unholy Trinity.

“We’re divesting from Big Tech and building our own independent digital archive — a permanent home for a decade of history, built by us and belonging to us.”

Social media can act as an outpost, a billboard, but don’t let it become your home. I like to say that we meet our fellow freaks and weirdos at the food court at the mall, but then we grab dinner and head back to our bedrooms and back porches, to our own spaces free of corporate influence and control.

Instead of “just launching” a new product or offering, see if people care first.

See how Mel Mitchell-Jackson does this to gauge interest on upcoming classes; they set up a section called Future Classes, which full descriptions and an email sign up for interested folks.

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).