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.

We work to impress algorithms in hopes they’ll share our stuff, when we should be working to impress our readers so they’ll share it with other humans.

And Dr. Julie Kellogg reminds us; “AND, we must ask people to share our work.”

Even Seth Godin asked readers to share his original ‘Unleashing the Ideavirus‘ PDF back in the year 2000.

Stuff we covered from a recent Office Hour Substack Live:

• The “boring stuff” that actually moves your career, like emailing people, following up, doing the unsexy work that compounds.

• Stop worshipping social platforms. Algorithmic reach is terrible, 90% of your audience doesn’t see your posts, email beats everything. RSS is even better.

• Audience-building for musicians. Embed your music, play live, collect emails in person, nurture your actual fans, don’t drive traffic to Spotify or YouTube.

• Let people pay you in multiple ways. Use Patreon, Ko-fi, PayPal, Stripe links; don’t make anyone jump through hoops to support you.

• Local, in-person proof builds trust — photos of real events, showing up in the world, and letting that strengthen the online side of your work.

I wrote that maybe you don’t need more subscribers in early 2024:

“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).”

I re-sent this post to my email subscribers a year later (here), and someone replied that they were going to start reaching out to some people directly. A week later, they left this update:

“To report back ten days of scheduled reaching out to people every single day. I might have a job? Also new contacts and fun things to look forward to? What?!”

We’re always seeking new, getting more, growing, expanding, but there are so many people in our creative orbit, and most of them don’t even know about your latest work, your new project, or the big offering that you rolled out last week.

Following up is a strategy. You’re not trying to cast a large net, you’re focusing on who’s already in your world.

I spoke with Steph Benedetto of The Awakened Business today, about focusing your precious time on things that actually work.

Taking an hour to make a video to post on Instagram that 95% of your audience will never see might not be the best use of your time.

• Replying to some emails might take just a few minutes and net you bigger results
• Getting in touch with people who do the things you’re seeking to do
• Sending notes to people you admire might open some doors.

Posting on social media is easy and quick and gets you off the hook – “hey, I did something today!”

But sending one email to somebody is hard, because the person might not write back, or they might let you down.

One is a lottery ticket, but the other has better odds. You don’t need 10,000 likes, you just need a few good people in your creative orbit to change your life.

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.

An email showed up with a photograph of a moose, sent to me and three other smart, talented, whimsical folks. The subject line was “moose mail.”

It’s been a month of occasional life updates, venting, supporting. The whole time we’re like, “what is this?”

Maybe community doesn’t need to be on a platform, or require another login and password. Maybe community can show up in our inbox. Maybe it can’t scale to 8 people or 12 or 100, and that’s okay.

What if scale wasn’t just measured in numbers or reach, but rather depth, trust, and good vibes?

How does community gather without a platform, without a feed, without notifications? I think we know already know the answer, but the Unholy Trinity has done a good job of making us forget.

Maria Popova started Brain Pickings “in 2006 as an email to seven friends.”

The left sidebar is titled “donating = loving,” and goes on to say “If you find any joy, solace, and inspiration here, please consider a donation.”

No tiers, no levels, no free tote bag, no bonus content.

In a recent Zoom call, Shelley told a story about going to the book store, and a kind stranger giving her quarters to buy the kids some books, to which she initially refused. She eventually took the coins, and her daughter told her afterwards, “don’t ever refuse prosperity.”

If we don’t give our readers a chance to donate, we are literally refusing prosperity.

Set up a Buy Me a Coffee account, and Ko-Fi, and a Patreon – why not? Lots of people use different services. To get the ball rolling, let people give you money in a way that’s comfortable for them.

Remind them of their options, send them links on occasion, subtle reminders.

There are people who want to support the work you do in its present form, without extra content or behind the scenes material.

If you enjoy my work, you can buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi, PayPal, Cash App, and Venmo. You can also become a Social Media Escape Club Member here, and buy my HUNTERTHEN music here.