WE'LL THRIVE WITHOUT SOCIAL MEDIA
We did it before, and we're going to do it again
Hi, I’m Seth Werkheiser and if you’re reading this you’re probably not interested in making dance videos for TikTok. Instead, your mildly curious about using an email newsletter to reach your fans. It’s sustainable, scalable, and won’t feel awkward, I swear.
Rick Rubin had quite a media tour a few months back, but it’s a quote from this 2014 interview that stuck with me:
“Everything was trying to make something cool to play for our friends that they would like.”
When you change this to “make something cool to post on social media,” you’re in trouble.
There’s a chance it might take off. But most likely most of your fans won’t even see it.
Social media algorithms are designed to limit your reach.
That’s why you should have an email list that your fans can subscribe to.
You can call email lists old fashioned, but so are vinyl records, and everyone who buys them online gets a receipt and shipping info delivered direct to their email inbox.
Send an email to your fans more than once a month. It’ll be okay, your fans signed up because they wanted to hear from you.
Instead of posting a funny meme on social media, message it to a friend.
Call a buddy and tell them you’re sending them something to check out.
Set up a Zoom call with your creative community and make art together (like my friend Robin does, every other Friday with her Creative Drop-In).
Make cool stuff, and show it to your friends without social media.
I’m planning a Social Media Escape Plan Planning Party, and you’re invited. It’ll be a multi-day Zoom class with other creative people just like you, shaking your fist at social media, and just trying to reach your fans. If this sounds cool, pre-register today.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Here’s some things I wrote in recent years about this subject:
If you’re posting on social media multiple times per week for just 5-10% of your fans to see, you should probably “repurpose your social media posts” and put them into a weekly email newsletter.
Weekly? YES.
I bet your fans would love to hear from you every week (which is why they followed you on socials, came to your show, and bought the record).
From ‘CASSETTES & EMAIL MARKETING WILL OUTLIVE EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM’
Imagine just sending an email once a week directly to your fans, and seeing those emails actually help you sell things.
Then think about how much time you could spend on your art, your music, your design studio if you didn’t have to feed the social media algorithm for hours every day.
From ‘UNHOOK FROM SOCIAL MEDIA’
The same magic and delight you put into your socials is the same magic and delight you can put into your emails to your fans, your customers, your audience.
And it’s why they follow you on social media in the first place.
Just copy, paste, add a little text and context, and hit send.
From ‘SHOW UP ACROSS MULTIPLE CHANNELS’
I’m Seth Werkheiser and its just 60 days until Halloween.
All of the ideas and inspiration in this newsletter are free for everyone. If you can afford it, become a paid subscriber to support the Social Media Escape Plan mission.
Buy me a coffee via Ko-Fi, Venmo (@Seth-Werkheiser), Cash App ($ethwerkheiser), or PayPal - it’s Pumpkin Spice Latte season.
Support an artist and buy me an album from my Bandcamp Wishlist
Send questions and kind regards here: seth@closemondays.com