I always suggest having one social platform + one search platform... it's worked for me for a very long time... but I'm one of "those" who needs to keep the "peopling" to a minimum. 😆
I'm so glad you posted this today, because yesterday I saw that someone grew their substack following from instagram and youtube. I've tried doing instagram and tiktok and it doesn't feel good to me and I don't enjoy doing it, and my following has not grown there. Yet i love doing substack and my following is consistently growing here. My numbers have jumped in the past month that I've been on here most days, and I can see the real followers I'm getting, even if it's not quite the "numbers" that come from the tiktok and instagram algorithms. I'd rather have an invested smaller fanbase than large numbers.
Damn, this hit home. For someone who started his journey on Instagram, that shit was exhausting. Substack is much friendlier, and ironically, I’ve gotten the most success from putting my efforts into one platform. Plus, it’s got video and podcast options—just post here, lol
As we say in the restaurant, Heard! I love this post, so thanks for writing it. I’ve always been a writer because I love the art of writing. I was not made for social media but I also firmly believe it’s a really cool way to share our gifts with the world. But that’s just it…it’s YOUR gift to share. On your time, and to your depth and joy. The joy is the important ingredient in sharing your gift. ✨
This made me cry happy tears because I recognise so much of it! Everything feels so scattered everywhere and with automation and AI things have long gone when it comes to making things personal.
Content and creativity has been reduced to just data. Transactions, talks, genuine input.. it’s just content on top of already a large heap of content. It’s too demanding.
I stopped posting on Medium because the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.
I am taking back my time from Instagram by deleting the app from my phone, and checking and posting on it once a month.
I too want to give writing my books some quality time, which is why I am changing my Substack newsletter schedule and podcast schedule from weekly to bi-monthly. This is my only direct was of staying in touch with my reader and writer friends.
And I am already feeling so much lighter and happier!😁
I got a lot of followers quickly but there was not much interaction. Here seems to be the opposite. It might take a while to find your people, but it's so much easier to get to know people. Also I got really tired of all the articles on medium about medium. People there just seem to post as much as possible to get more views.
I agree with you on the interaction point - Substack seems to have a more genuine interaction going on. And on Medium, even I noticed the follows meant nothing. I also started getting followers who were following me in exchange for following them. Some even offered to be my sugar daddy. 😑
I think it depends a lot on your goals. Personally I have a mission to help people find healing and purpose through journaling. The people who most need my message are likely largely off Substack. Now that I have an understanding of Substack, my next goal is to expand to Tik Tok and then YouTube. IG is in my opinion no longer a good platform for creatives. I think it’s good to expand incrementally, within the limits of your time and energy, but truthfully you can just repurpose your same content across mutual platforms. Popular blog posts become videos, etc. I’ve been burned in the past by relying on one platform. We’re in a golden age of Substack but it probably won’t last.
That’s real smart advice. I’m also trying to build my content on my site, but the only other platform I’ll be actively putting more effort in would be just IG and Substack (mostly IG). Especially vital as a one-person show who’s just starting out and I agree that focusing on content quality takes priority over everything else.
While I believe diversification is smart (especially as a newcomer who is seeking feedback on content), I hear where you are coming from. Thanks for sharing your experience. I appreciated your final advice of picking 1-2 platforms.
Wonderful! And I’m tempted to stand up and applaud here as well.
Being paid is wonderful, and as Sarah Fay says, all of us should be paid for our work. And we ARE being paid, except it’s not always in dollars.. sometimes we are paid with email addresses, readers, restacks etc.
I’m here to find my tribe, and earn some money to subsidize by meager retirement. First part is clicking along pretty well, and I’m working on the second 🤗
There's a lot to self-reflect on and think about from your insightful post. I'm on limited platforms at present to try to grow an audience for my newer substack and was thinking maybe perhaps to spread across much more platforms as a necessity to grow my target audience, time willing. The challenge is perhaps to find the best two fits and not volume based on marketing, after digesting your piece.
This is so true! I was on all platforms, was I big? Not even close. But it did ruin my life. Its so exhausting to be everwhere!
Now I just write my newsletter and do Youtube videos. Because I enjoy them. And yes, I was hungry to reach 1k on youtube. But now. I just want to create. To just be me.
I agree. But with a caveat.
Sometimes a single platform isn't enough. It can happen for many reason: limited market, wrong platform for you, changed in the platform...
So, having a second platform may be the best choice because it expands your audience or protects you against risk.
A balanced approach can be to
1. go all-in on a platform you like
2. build your email list through it
3. keep pushing while it grows
4. try new things when you're established or things start going South.
I always suggest having one social platform + one search platform... it's worked for me for a very long time... but I'm one of "those" who needs to keep the "peopling" to a minimum. 😆
I love search platforms, too. I don't know how hard Google has become for people starting from zero
No clue either but Pinterest and YouTube are still viable growth options.
I agree. YouTube does a wonderful job of showing me new creators all the time.
What's a search platform?
A platform that's based on searching rather than "socialing," like Google, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Okayy, I understand. Thanks.
I agree with this. I don’t think it’s good to dilute your focus too much, but it’s very risky to be totally reliant on one platform.
I'm so glad you posted this today, because yesterday I saw that someone grew their substack following from instagram and youtube. I've tried doing instagram and tiktok and it doesn't feel good to me and I don't enjoy doing it, and my following has not grown there. Yet i love doing substack and my following is consistently growing here. My numbers have jumped in the past month that I've been on here most days, and I can see the real followers I'm getting, even if it's not quite the "numbers" that come from the tiktok and instagram algorithms. I'd rather have an invested smaller fanbase than large numbers.
Damn, this hit home. For someone who started his journey on Instagram, that shit was exhausting. Substack is much friendlier, and ironically, I’ve gotten the most success from putting my efforts into one platform. Plus, it’s got video and podcast options—just post here, lol
As we say in the restaurant, Heard! I love this post, so thanks for writing it. I’ve always been a writer because I love the art of writing. I was not made for social media but I also firmly believe it’s a really cool way to share our gifts with the world. But that’s just it…it’s YOUR gift to share. On your time, and to your depth and joy. The joy is the important ingredient in sharing your gift. ✨
This made me cry happy tears because I recognise so much of it! Everything feels so scattered everywhere and with automation and AI things have long gone when it comes to making things personal.
Content and creativity has been reduced to just data. Transactions, talks, genuine input.. it’s just content on top of already a large heap of content. It’s too demanding.
I QUIT! With most of it 😂😁
“Content shouldn’t be a machine that needs to be fed.”
So simple and essential. 🙏🙏
I too am so done with hamster wheel!
I stopped posting on Medium because the juice wasn't worth the squeeze.
I am taking back my time from Instagram by deleting the app from my phone, and checking and posting on it once a month.
I too want to give writing my books some quality time, which is why I am changing my Substack newsletter schedule and podcast schedule from weekly to bi-monthly. This is my only direct was of staying in touch with my reader and writer friends.
And I am already feeling so much lighter and happier!😁
I stopped posting on Medium too. Definitely not worth it for me either.
What made you take the step?
For me, it was seeing that, out of my 2.5k+ followers, hardly 100 were being informed about my posts.
I got a lot of followers quickly but there was not much interaction. Here seems to be the opposite. It might take a while to find your people, but it's so much easier to get to know people. Also I got really tired of all the articles on medium about medium. People there just seem to post as much as possible to get more views.
I agree with you on the interaction point - Substack seems to have a more genuine interaction going on. And on Medium, even I noticed the follows meant nothing. I also started getting followers who were following me in exchange for following them. Some even offered to be my sugar daddy. 😑
Oh my.
Yup 😑🤷♀️
I think it depends a lot on your goals. Personally I have a mission to help people find healing and purpose through journaling. The people who most need my message are likely largely off Substack. Now that I have an understanding of Substack, my next goal is to expand to Tik Tok and then YouTube. IG is in my opinion no longer a good platform for creatives. I think it’s good to expand incrementally, within the limits of your time and energy, but truthfully you can just repurpose your same content across mutual platforms. Popular blog posts become videos, etc. I’ve been burned in the past by relying on one platform. We’re in a golden age of Substack but it probably won’t last.
Agreed! It's not a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket.
Yes, yes, yes, bury ALL the shiny objects!
That’s real smart advice. I’m also trying to build my content on my site, but the only other platform I’ll be actively putting more effort in would be just IG and Substack (mostly IG). Especially vital as a one-person show who’s just starting out and I agree that focusing on content quality takes priority over everything else.
While I believe diversification is smart (especially as a newcomer who is seeking feedback on content), I hear where you are coming from. Thanks for sharing your experience. I appreciated your final advice of picking 1-2 platforms.
So true. I've been juggling multiple social media accounts and it's been quite draining for me. This article made me think.
Wonderful! And I’m tempted to stand up and applaud here as well.
Being paid is wonderful, and as Sarah Fay says, all of us should be paid for our work. And we ARE being paid, except it’s not always in dollars.. sometimes we are paid with email addresses, readers, restacks etc.
I’m here to find my tribe, and earn some money to subsidize by meager retirement. First part is clicking along pretty well, and I’m working on the second 🤗
Also, stop creating stuff on billion-dollar social media platforms (e.g. Twitter / Facebook / etc).
There's a lot to self-reflect on and think about from your insightful post. I'm on limited platforms at present to try to grow an audience for my newer substack and was thinking maybe perhaps to spread across much more platforms as a necessity to grow my target audience, time willing. The challenge is perhaps to find the best two fits and not volume based on marketing, after digesting your piece.
This is so true! I was on all platforms, was I big? Not even close. But it did ruin my life. Its so exhausting to be everwhere!
Now I just write my newsletter and do Youtube videos. Because I enjoy them. And yes, I was hungry to reach 1k on youtube. But now. I just want to create. To just be me.