I’m not utilizing the tools at my fingertips to their fullest potential. So I’m tweaking the formula just a bit.
As I alluded to in a recent social post, I’ve made a decision to change the way I publish my work. While I love the overall usefulness of Substack and it’s potential as a hefty blogging platform, I’ve decided to use it mainly as a newsletter moving forward. Here’s why:
Since posting on Substack essentially means hitting everyone’s inbox each time, I felt that if I posted too often I’d wind up annoying my subscribers. So I restricted myself to posting just twice a week. However, that trapped me in a box that didn’t allow for the flexibility I need to be creative. I just work better with less constraints. And yes I know I don’t have to send every post to subscribers, but I have a website where I publish that way already.
I thought back to the way I used to do it years ago. I’d publish as much as I saw fit each week on my website. I’d then send out a newsletter recapping what I had posted. For what it’s worth, I was able to build a sizable readership that way back in the day. As I struggle to rebuild a readership lost to years of running a cafe instead of writing, I’ve come to realize that maybe those old ways are the best for me.
So, starting this weekend, I’ll be writing and posting at my own pace here on my website. Then once a week (likely on Thursdays) I’ll send a recap to my Substack subscribers. Since I don’t ever plan on creating any type of paywall to read my content (although I may offer premiums at some point), this seems like a better use of the tools at hand.
I hope you’ll continue to read my posts and share them with friends. I’m looking forward to this new direction. Well . . . old direction I suppose. Then again, everything old — at some point — is new again.
Cheers!
Stephen
