Reaching a higher level might require letting go of the things you can't control

Overcast. High 81F. Winds light and variable.

I should find more views like this and watch fewer Adam Mosseri videos:

That’s the head of Instagram, explaining why they’re not adding links to post. My friend

Dino Corvino

is right; who cares?

Instagram and Meta are big corporations doing whatever they want to increase shareholder value. Your local ISP, Netflix and every other service we use (including Substack) will do the same.

My answer? Control what I can control.

I saw too many emails from LinkedIn and scrolled through too many “ways to save the music industry” mega posts than I can put up with.

So, I deleted LinkedIn.

I deleted Twitter last summer.

I deleted Instagram on the first day of 2024.

They’re no longer an option. To make things work, I need to operate within those parameters.

Sometimes, I feel like I need to be up to date with everything happening on social media—the algorithm changes, the new policies, the latest blunders.

But none of that helps you write a better newsletter or figure out how to get new subscribers, so here are some ideas I’ve been batting around this week.

1. Be yourself, be consistent, and you’ll find your people. You don’t need to become better or more marketable - you need to be exactly who you are so that people on the same operational frequency can find you. Like

   Mehret Biruk
   wrote, “when you put on a mask, you attract the wrong kind of people because they are attracted to the mask and not the you behind the mask.”

2. Do it how you want. You don’t need to start a podcast. You don’t need to make videos. You don’t need to sign up for the hot new app. Like

   David Speed
   wrote recently in ‘I’m Saying BYE to 100K Instagram Followers,’ “are we going to keep compromising ourselves to cater for an ever-decreasing attention span?”

3. Go back to what worked. Okay, social media aside, what else worked? Nic Peterson asks, “can you do it again, remove the parts you didn’t like and double down on the parts you did?” Get away from always having to do the hot new thing, and refine your previous efforts (h/t to

   Scott Perry
   ).

4. Get with people. You can do this virtually or like

   Jaime Derringer
   (who founded Design Milk) says, “find an offline way to engage with your community through events, conferences, local meetups, and other non-social media engagements.” This moves beyond what we’ve been doing for so long - shouting our message on social media in hope that someone might hear it. It’s time to get more intentional.

5. Slow down. Step away from the online machine and watch what happens. Life goes on. We’re all busy, going about our lives. Post a dozen times a day on social media. Send an email three times a week. Make videos. Start a podcast. What does your art, your business, and your life look like if you slow it all down?

All of the above goes beyond open rates, ideal sending times, and promotions folders shenanigans.

This is about connection in its most basic form.

An email to an art gallery or booking agent, a phone call with an old co-worker, a video call with disgruntled creative folks looking for ways to exist without social media.

All things that the big corps can’t interfere with.

I wrote earlier this year, “Maybe centralized kingdoms of power and influence aren’t the answer.” Stop playing games you don’t want to play, befriend people doing the work you admire, and ascend to a whole new level beyond the social media rat race.

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I’m Seth Werkheiser, and I love talking with folks about operating in a world without social media.