I got to chat with Matty C about his upcoming crowdfunding campaign for his live album and film project. It’s quote an endeavor, and there’s lots of risk involved, but hey – what else are we here to do?!

“You’re investing in something bigger than a physical thing. You’re investing in an idea, a concept,” which is how Matt explains this crowdfunding campaign.

That people who contribute are supporting the underlying idea and story behind the project, rather than just getting “things” in exchange for a few bucks.

We also get into Substack’s Nazi problem, which never seems to go away.

In our Thursday Escape Pod Zoom call, we talked about finding subscribers without using Substack Notes, and one of our members (Joi) spoke of using another social media platform to get what she wanted.

“I follow a lot of small businesses, and they post what’s happening on (social media). We have a local magazine that does really well here, and I found a writer/photographer who covers music. I reached out to them on social media, and they DM’d me back with their number, like, “Let’s talk about doing an article or a story.”

Joi couldn’t find the contact info for the writer on the publications website so she had to get resourceful.

Use the tools that are available to get the results you want.

Instead of just posting, “hey, I’m seeking music magazine writers to talk to about my work,” Joi used Instagram like a tool, like a phone book or a directory, and got in touch with someone who may help get the word out about the work she does.

Find out more about our weekly Escape Pod Zoom calls here.

​Join me (Seth Werkheiser) for a 90 minute interactive workshop on the endless decisions that come with running a newsletter in 2025.

​Should you import your list to Substack?
What should you put in my welcome email?
Which analytics even matter?
Should you switch platforms?
What the heck is SPF/DKIM/DMARC?!

​Instead of writing, we’re getting lost hours in CSV files and platform settings instead of actually connecting with your readers.

Wednesday, August 27 from 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

Get more info here: https://lu.ma/uqrfb65q

In today’s Mini Escape Pod Zoom call, a member was talking about leading virtual co-working sessions. They had a sales page set up with their Square Space site, and (to avoid having to upgrade their Square Space plan) they linked out to Gumroad for payments.

They had an email list of 700 people, which is a great place to start! I suggested they also reach out to some people personally, too, since not everyone reads every newsletter, and it’s good to just directly invite people to things you’re starting (I did this initially with my Escape Pod Zoom calls back in 2023).

They brought up maybe paying for some classified ads. Spots that are relatively cheap via assorted email newsletters, and usually a good “customer fit” for this sort of thing.

The only thing I cautioned was to figure out their own invite / newsletter flow first.

Figure out how to get a few people to go through their paid process first. Get a few customers into the flow first, and make sure things are moving smoothly before injecting any paid traffic into the system.

The last thing you want to do is spend money on a “leaky” sales process.

UPDATE 8/14/2025: Just wanna stress that there’s a lot of talk about funnels, and paid ads, and “driving traffic” on the internet, especially wrapped about making sales. That’s sort of what I’m talking about, but at a much slower level. We don’t need to “drive” 1,000 people to our sales pages right away. Heck, if we get 10 people to click over, that’s great. And that’s what I’m talking about here. Get 10 people to your sales page. Maybe two sign up. Hey, that’s a 20% conversion rate, and in internet terms, that’s good. Sure, you’ll learn more from 100 people to visit, but start with 10. Be content with learning on a monthly schedule, not an hourly one.

Had another chat with Angela Hollowell (Please Hustle Responsibly) all about the benefits of spending our time away from social media, content ownership, and lots more.

Angela talking about spending your time wisely:

“I could be on social media, making a big deal that I’m going to be here and doing all these things. Or I could just let the people who want to be on social media stay there, and focus instead on the relationships that matter — the ones that aren’t dependent on social media.”

(more…)

It’s “Not My Business” season again.

A year ago Olivia Rafferty declared that some things were not her business:

Things That, As A Substacker, Are Not My Business

1. How many subscribers I have? NOT MY BUSINESS
2. The current state of my header/footer? NOT MY BUSINESS
3. Whatever is happening on my welcome page? NOT MY BUSINESS
4. The growing pile of unread newsletters in my inbox? NOT MY BUSINESS
5. How many emojis I use? NOT MY BUSINESS
6. The leaderboard for Culture? NOT MY BUSINESS
7. Substack Chat? NOT MY BUSINESS
8. My Notion database for future post ideas? NOT MY BUSINESS
9. My open rate? NOT MY BUSINESS

Social media, and lately the newsletter busy-ness industrial complex, has us spinning our wheels on so many things that are not our business.

Things like open rates, deliverability, A/B testing headlines, churn, soft bounces and hard bounces, email lists spread across multiple CSV files – really, it never fucking ends, and most of us ain’t making enough to sweat all the finer details.

(more…)

Photographer Wesley Verhoeve suggests suggest we “Leave Grace Notes,” in his post ‘What a Burger Restaurant Taught Me About Creative Work.’

“Guidara’s team believed in ‘grace notes’: small gestures that surprise and delight. A remembered wine. An extra dish.”

This from the book “Unreasonable Hospitality” by Will Guidara.

“In our (photography) world: a behind-the-scenes Polaroid. A thank-you zine. A note weeks later saying thank you for the opportunity and trust.

These don’t scale. But they stick.”

I’ve say this in slightly more profane way in “Maybe you don’t need more subscribers,” but the core idea remains: things that don’t scale can resonate.

Marketing our work isn’t just about logos or brand colors, it’s about how we make people feel.

Rachel Karten speaks with the little joy coffee shop, focusing on their social media strategy, but I think the main point applies to how all of us talk about our work, despite which medium we use.

RK: What advice would you give to a local business that is trying to find success on social media?

CL: Social media is replacing television. And just like in television, there’s the shows you tune-in to watch and there’s the commercials you suffer through. Stop making commercials. Be the show.

Did you see it? “Stop making commercials. Be the show.”

One of the longest running TV shows isn’t about the contents of storage containers, it’s about the stories that weave around them.

Telling people that we have a show coming up is a commercial.

Planning, booking, the travels, the build up, talking to fans, borrowing gear, making the flyer for the show – that’s the story.

We don’t need to start making videos, we need to tell better stories.