A podcaster left social media and nothing changed

Less time on socials means doing more of what you love doing

Bryan Patton of As The Story Grows runs a successful podcast and deleted his social media accounts. Listen to why he did it:

[TRANSCRIPTION] It wasn't benefiting me at all to share on social media. There wasn't clickback, stuff was getting buried. Sometimes you could go weeks without anybody liking your stuff. I put all my work into like social media and it's like, I could just spend my time being creative and doing the work and putting it out there. Killing social media didn't affect downloads. It didn't affect listenership. It had zero effect. It was no gain. It was no loss.

Bryan now has more time to work on his podcast - he’s doing 2-3 episodes per week now. That means 2-3 more times per week, a band or label or fan could post about the interview on their social media accounts, and someone could discover his podcast for the first time.

This was a small part of the conversation from last week’s Zoom chat with other Social Media Escape Club subscribers. Come hang with other creative folks this Wednesday, November 15th at 12pm ET.

LESS TIME ON SOCIALS, MORE TIME FOR ACTION

I joined Twitter in 2006. I was one of the first 3,000 people to sign up for it. But I deleted my Twitter account this year, and now I have time to start hosting weekly Zoom calls with subscribers, which leads to better newsletter posts like this (I hope).

There are only so many hours in a day, so I use them in a way that gives me joy.

Via LinkedIn

Here’s a few things you can do instead of spending hours a day doom-scrolling, or posting to socials for the “likes:”

Email/reply / DM a fan - delight a fan, give them a reason to talk about you with their friends

Work on your art - imagine 10+ extra hours a week honing your craft

Email key people - there are people out there who could help your project flourish (or replenish your soul) - find a mentor, a coach, or someone who’s been down this road already

IF YOU WANT A MAP, VISIT A GAS STATION

There’s no clear-cut way to get off social media and keep promoting your project, but there’s a direction you can travel.

I’d say you're on that path if you’re reading Social Media Escape Club.

You can follow people like Cody Cook-Parrott who quit Instagram:

“I have had to completely unhook from the algorithm because I have never had lower social media engagement. I have 80K+ followers and often get 300 likes on a post.”

Listen to the Off The Grid Podcast, which is “for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing all their clients.”

Reach out to Bryan and ask him how he left social media, or email me (my email address is at the bottom of this post).

Read the last four months of the Social Media Escape Club archives - paid subscribers can access the entire archive going back to 2021.

Businesses were built before social media. Bands released vital albums before hashtags. Art and photography existed before Instagram.

It’s scary stepping away from social media, I know. But it doesn’t have to be black and white - you don’t need to delete your social media accounts to be part of this club.

We’re all just trying to figure it out.

Come hang with other creative folks this Wednesday, November 15th at 12pm ET for a free, 30-minute Zoom call. Space is limited, so sign up today.

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I’m Seth Werkheiser, and I want you to join the Social Media Escape Club.

If this work resonates with you, you can become a paid subscriber (price going up in 2024) and get access to my entire archive of posts (going back to 2021).

Or, buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi, Venmo (@Seth-Werkheiser), Cash App ($ethwerkheiser), or PayPal.

Email: seth@closemondays.com