These are all great points, Jon! As someone who's trying to ramp up talking about my work publicly more consistently, I think you're doing a really good job of this already. You might like this post, too (I love the concept of 'working with the garage door up'): https://notes.andymatuschak.org/z21cgR9K3UcQ5a7yPsj2RUim3oM2TzdBByZu
I think I’m right there with you, trying to figure this all out. I think having that email list is golden in addition to having TRUE fans of your work. I’ve heard it before, you can make a living off several hundred true fans and have a small following and earn next to nothing by having a large following but no true fans.
Yes exactly. You want the ability to reach your fans directly, which is why an email newsletter is so key and a way to also build true fans, which is why the paid subscriber feature on Substack is so key.
Love this, Jon! Stoked for the next edition. I also wonder if Andy did the same tactic today, would anyone have read it or would he have to release each chapter as a Tik Tok video? :)
A good question and that's part of what I want to delve into into further posts.
At a high level, methods of getting attention online can be divided into several categories (and the series may follow each of these categories as I continue writing):
- word of mouth from friend/trusted online person/celebrity
- participating in interest-based communities (a la Reddit, Facebook groups)
- algorithmic/organic reach of content on social media platforms
- paid advertising
Then you funnel the readers you net from these sources into your ecosystem (newsletter, your own social media accounts, etc.) and then if you can serve that audience, it becomes a renewable resource.
Can't wait - A talked a little bit about "word of mouth" in my post today. Sometimes with all the bells and whistles of the creator economy and Web3, we lose sight of the most important marketing tactic of all - Create something worth sharing! I've had to go back to the basics myself. Got lost a little bit in all the hype surrounding NFTS, etc. It's so exciting, but there's def some real FOMO/ anxiousness to it all.
Totally agree with you there. Mark Lawrence had a great post (that I need to dig up to include in my next post) about the difference between a book where every 1.1 reader recommended it and every 0.9 reader recommended it. That small difference had a huge impact on how many people were reached.
These are all great points, Jon! As someone who's trying to ramp up talking about my work publicly more consistently, I think you're doing a really good job of this already. You might like this post, too (I love the concept of 'working with the garage door up'): https://notes.andymatuschak.org/z21cgR9K3UcQ5a7yPsj2RUim3oM2TzdBByZu
Thanks Honor! And thanks for sharing that post, super interesting! I definitely want to show the process of creating my first comic.
I think I’m right there with you, trying to figure this all out. I think having that email list is golden in addition to having TRUE fans of your work. I’ve heard it before, you can make a living off several hundred true fans and have a small following and earn next to nothing by having a large following but no true fans.
Yes exactly. You want the ability to reach your fans directly, which is why an email newsletter is so key and a way to also build true fans, which is why the paid subscriber feature on Substack is so key.
Love this, Jon! Stoked for the next edition. I also wonder if Andy did the same tactic today, would anyone have read it or would he have to release each chapter as a Tik Tok video? :)
A good question and that's part of what I want to delve into into further posts.
At a high level, methods of getting attention online can be divided into several categories (and the series may follow each of these categories as I continue writing):
- word of mouth from friend/trusted online person/celebrity
- participating in interest-based communities (a la Reddit, Facebook groups)
- algorithmic/organic reach of content on social media platforms
- paid advertising
Then you funnel the readers you net from these sources into your ecosystem (newsletter, your own social media accounts, etc.) and then if you can serve that audience, it becomes a renewable resource.
Can't wait - A talked a little bit about "word of mouth" in my post today. Sometimes with all the bells and whistles of the creator economy and Web3, we lose sight of the most important marketing tactic of all - Create something worth sharing! I've had to go back to the basics myself. Got lost a little bit in all the hype surrounding NFTS, etc. It's so exciting, but there's def some real FOMO/ anxiousness to it all.
Totally agree with you there. Mark Lawrence had a great post (that I need to dig up to include in my next post) about the difference between a book where every 1.1 reader recommended it and every 0.9 reader recommended it. That small difference had a huge impact on how many people were reached.