Solid advice from Manuel Moreale:

If you feel even the slightest of temptations to quit some of those stupid apps and sites, here’s my advice for you: do it. Don’t overthink it. Just delete your account, delete the apps from your phone, and start living a better life without them. And if you miss your friends, do something radical: pick up the phone you likely have in your pocket and give them a call. Or send them a text. Or go meet them in person if you can.

Read more: https://manuelmoreale.com/you-will-not-believe-what-i-just-wrote

Instead of posting 10 things on social media today, email 10 people you’ve never talked to before.

Hop on a Zoom call, swap ideas, ask questions, tell them you like their work.

What if just one of those people included your work in their next email? Or mentioned you on their podcast?

Posting into the void lets us off the hook. “Well, I tried!” we can say.

There’s tension involved in writing to 10 people directly, know that one person will most definitely read your email, and they just might respond.

I get this question a lot. The short answer: it depends, but probably yes.

(This text taken from my recent Substack Live, then cleaned and edited for readability.)

You wouldn’t buy concert tickets for a band you’ve never heard. You don’t buy a car without a test drive. So why would someone subscribe to your newsletter if they can’t see what it looks like first? Substack makes that possible. Every newsletter is live on the open web, easy to read before committing. It’s like a magazine stand for your work.

Another big factor is friction. On Substack, if someone already subscribes to other newsletters, their info is already filled in. That means all they have to do is click once to subscribe to yours. It seems small, but every bit of reduced friction matters.

Another advantage is shareability. Every post you publish on Substack has its own URL. That link can travel anywhere—text messages, group chats, Discords, blogs, other newsletters. When someone shares your work, it doesn’t just stop like it does with a closed system like Mailchimp. It keeps moving. Each post becomes its own landing page with a simple subscribe button right there.

Yes, that are limits, of course. If you need automations o tagging, Substack probably ain’t the right fit. But if your goal is to publish consistently, be seen, and make it easy for readers to subscribe, moving your list to Substack is a solid move.

Got this bit from ‘Discoverability for illustrators’ by Tasha Goddard via Robyn Hepburn:

“While emailing is more about outreach than discoverability, I have heard that art directors and art commissioners will actually use the search facility in their email app (e.g. Outlook or Gmail) as a first point of call after any in-house databases – so they might type ‘room illustration, colourful’ or ‘collage illustrator, newspaper’ etc. into the search bar to see if they have been sent any work by a relevant illustrator.”

Keep this in mind when reaching out to art directors and venues and other people you’re pitching for potential opportunities.

One third interview, two thirds group Q&A with AMELIA HRUBY, PHD – feminist writer, prolific podcaster, and founder of Softer Sounds!
📅 Thursday, September 11

🕑 2:00–3:00 PM EDT

This hour-long call is part interview, part community Q&A. 

Together we’ll talk about what it looks like to leave social media, build cozy websites (and blogs?!?), and keep making magic without relying on big platforms to spread the word.

This is for paid members only, but you can get a trial membership for just $10 and get all this:

▪️ Access to 3+ live calls every week with creative folks curious about leaving social media – community!
▪️ Personalized email feedback from me (two rounds included)
▪️ Free access to my upcoming MAKING COZY VIDEOS PIZZA PARTY (normally $50)
▪️ Stay connected between sessions in our members-only Discord.

Get your 30 day trial for just $10 here

You’ll get an email with the Zoom link right after you sign up.

On Monday’s Escape Pod Zoom call we dared to believe that we could put work into the world without bowing to the algorithm gods. That our work could stand on its own, and build a sturdy foundation for what’s ahead.

In our workshop on Wednesday we shared stories of grounding our projects in local communities, with real people, and working through procrastination. We also got talking about Patreon and “extra offerings,” and a member mentioned this:

“In the UK, people really love to visit gardens and houses, and they’re just so happy. They will pay the ticket, and they’ll wander around, and they’ll stare at things. And it’s because, you know, it’s not a house that they could own, or a garden that they could have. So, if you’re a creative person making stuff, that’s super interesting to people who don’t. Is there a way that I could just provide a window to my world? You pay your entrance fee, you come and look around a bit, and I don’t have to do anything extra—just share some of what I’m already doing.”

AI was definitely the theme of our Thursday Escape Pod Zoom call. I don’t think we really “figured out” how we’re gonna beat it, but I bet adding more of our own humanity to the work we’re making will probably help.

(more…)

Are you asking people to “subscribe for updates” to get people on your email list? Maybe promising a 10% discount?

Remember, you’re competing with Netflix, social media, family, new albums, holiday plans, and a million other things – rework your pitch.

“Say, “follow our adventures as we leave for tour in a month. Sign up so you don’t miss a single photo of our adventures. Sign up so you don’t miss out on all our crazy tour stories.”

There’s a reason media outlets ask, “got any crazy tour stories?”

It’s because stories sell.”

Max Pete and I had a nice talk about chasing tech dreams, the rise (or comeback?) of offline community, and how creatives can find balance between being seen online and actually living their lives.

Some solid quotes from Max during this talk:

“The tech dream is a nightmare… more people I talk to that are in this industry want to leave and do something else—like work at the coffee shop, work at Trader Joe’s—but don’t know how to do that or feel like they can’t.”

“As a community professional, we often put ourselves on the back burner… it leads to burnout. My next talk will be about how to take care of yourself while taking care of others.”

It’s okay to be forgotten and not know everything or everyone. You don’t need to be famous or popular or known by everyone to do good work.