Kel Rakowski made a zine with her readers.

“I wanted to build something with the readers of Work Unseen. Not just talk at them.”

And then 45 people submitted work to be included.

This is how you dig deeper with the people who subscribe to your work, by offering side-quests and see who shows up. 

GOOD SUPPORT: “Community isn’t about content access or exclusive perks. It’s about shared accountability to a higher standard of work and life. It’s a commitment to significance through support.”

GOOD GROUP: “She and other students talked all the time about craving a break from their phones, which pulsed all day long with distractions. They debated giving them up, but doing so seemed inconvenient and isolating. Maybe the solution was to try it together.” (via Kottke)

GOOD ADVICE: “Go get an RSS reader app, stop being spoon-fed slop by algorithmic platforms, and start consuming content at your own pace.”

◾ ESCAPE POD #102 W/ ERIN SHETRON
Special guest Erin Shetron; creative advisor, editor, and “newsletter whisperer.” She writes the Frequent Criers Club newsletter, and she’ll be joining us to share her process, and dig into the gentle and genuinely helpful way she works with clients.
Thursday, Jan 15 from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST
REGISTER: https://luma.com/y2c0a3sm

◾ MINI ESCAPE POD Q&A #27
Small group Q&A with other like-minded folks. Limited to just three guests!
Friday, Jan 16 from 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM EST
REGISTER: MEMBERS ONLY (start your 30 day trial here)

(more…)

“There’s no reason indie musicians can’t use the same strategies the mainstream does—only with more authenticity, more intention, and way less bullshit,” said CARRÉ in “you don’t need a record deal, you need a community.”

Then I saw “US town forms human chain to move 9,100 books one-by-one” (via Kottke). The book shop owner even said it took just under two hours; “much shorter than hiring a moving company to box and unbox the thousands of titles.” 

How do we build community and help each other along the way? How do we build our work and our mission together?

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 got a newsletter awhile back from a talented musician, and they casually mentioned they’ve got new music available, but if you want to hear it you need to reply to the email.

In one our Escape Pod Zoom calls someone mentioned how they leave “easter eggs” in their newsletters, usually a phrase that someone needs to include when they reply.

Parker Gates sent me this link (it’s an Instagram link, sorry!) about artist Jon Bellion and how he sent his fans to websites without linking to them (they had to type them into a browser from a screen shot), used message boards, and sent out music via WeTransfer.

Don’t just wonder who your biggest fans are – send them on adventures and see who makes it back alive.

Before seeking more (subscribers, audience, fans), seek flow. This is something I bring up a lot through my Email Guidance offering.

Is your website set up in a way that pulls people in? Or is it a bunch of links to third party platforms that seek only to monetize and collect data from your fans?

Does your sales page include comforting and informative videos about what you offer? Or do you only post those sorts of videos on Instagram for just 3% of your followers to see?

Does your store have more than one item (this one from Laura Kidd 💌 Penfriend) in stock?

We want to expand and grow our audience, but stepping back and making subtle changes to our current operations might be a better place to start.

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.