I love your business values - slow, gentle, and profitable. That very much fits with my personality. And no lead magnet! Exactly. I've always hated it when I go to someone's website and have to exchange my email address just to get the one freebie that I'm interested in (anyone else often subscribe and then immediately unsubscribe?!) and I promised myself I wouldn't do that when I set up my own website. (Although, there's been that little voice saying "you have to" because of marketing advice I've read elsewhere, so thanks for the reassurance). I haven't been on Substack long but to me it feels much more like picking up a good magazine, while FB and IG feel like rapidly clicking through TV channels and predominantly getting the quick high stimulating commercials. Thanks for this post.
Thank you for your comment Lindsay and you're very welcome! I love your analogy of Substack versus FB and IG: I feel just the same, Substack is like this perfectly curated magazine just for me. What is working for you in terms of marketing, and how does it fit in with your business values?
I'm a new (very small, part-time) business so I haven't done much marketing yet actually. I set up a FB page a couple of years ago, and am a group expert in a local FB nature group; but in developing this new Substack newsletter, I'll probably scale back even more next year on FB, and getting my own website up. I'm also have some ideas on local networking, and will be submitting some of my writing (poems) for magazine publication in the new year. I enjoy educating people about the natural world, and sharing about companion animals, so any ways I can find to do that will indirectly be my marketing approach.
Thank you for giving some more background Lindsay! It sounds like you have some exciting plans for 2024 💪🏻 I love your focus on writing poems and the natural world.
I sure am glad I stumbled onto your site (somehow!) and consider it to be something like a message from the universe. I'm in the middle of marketing a book and the publisher is pushing me to do so much that seems to take away from the me who wrote the book. It's un-grounding and uncomfortable. So, you are a gentle breath of fresh air (sorry for the platitude here). If you like stories about strong female characters, stories that span generations, I hope you'll check out my book, Story Carrier: A Collection of Tales of the Disappeared when it is released late next month. Meanwhile, I'll be following you and may book a call to consult with you about slow marketing for human beings.
Thank you Jane for your comment and your kind words--I'm happy that my writing resonates with you and feels like a breath of fresh air. That is exactly what it's meant to be :) Your book sounds fascinating, as does your definition of story carrier: someone born into stories. The description of your book gave me chills, it sounds very moving and interesting (for anyone else reading this see here: https://www.storycarriers.com).
Your experience with the publisher sounds uncomfortable and common at the same time. I hope you can keep checking in with the you who wrote the book and am always happy to help through one or more sessions. Have a good rest of your week!
Thank you for this post, Astrid. As a weteran myself on social media, I feel tired and drained. So I decided let go of the pressure and follow the joy. I’m new here, and the only value I’d add to those listed by you is “curate”. We forgot how to curate gently our lives.
Thank you for commenting Natasha and for being here! ✨ I love your suggestion of "curate"--yes, gently curating our lives is an amazing thing to practice and indeed, as you write, something that I think many of us realise we can do. Have a lovely rest of your week!
Thank you Kate for commenting! I'm glad the post made you think: how do your values tie in with how you market yourself/your business? And yes, the tea Advent calendar continues to be great 🫖
I haven’t done much marketing for my business this year and my numbers reflect that. I’m just not into social media anymore not when it comes to marketing. I’ve used it mostly to look for local opportunities and organizations more than to promote myself. But I’m of the opinion that if you sell something you need to let people know about it somehow. So how? I wish I had an answer. Substack has been great but aside from an occasional link I haven’t promoted my work. Pinterest I just can’t get into. It’s just not for me at the moment. Any ideas?
Thank you for commenting Ana! You're right, if you sell something you do need to let people know, otherwise how will they discover you? I'd start with what feels good: you write that Substack feels good, so I'd get in the habit of sharing more links to your own work. You can do this in a really gentle way, just to let the world know that this is what you do, without having to be more salesy than you want to be. Doing a form of outreach might also work for you: for instance by pitching to podcasts, or doing collaborations with people whose audiences might be interested in you. These needn't be work-collaborations, but can be a matter of doing a mini-interview in their newsletter or blog, and offering the same opportunity to them. Hope this helps!
I love your business values - slow, gentle, and profitable. That very much fits with my personality. And no lead magnet! Exactly. I've always hated it when I go to someone's website and have to exchange my email address just to get the one freebie that I'm interested in (anyone else often subscribe and then immediately unsubscribe?!) and I promised myself I wouldn't do that when I set up my own website. (Although, there's been that little voice saying "you have to" because of marketing advice I've read elsewhere, so thanks for the reassurance). I haven't been on Substack long but to me it feels much more like picking up a good magazine, while FB and IG feel like rapidly clicking through TV channels and predominantly getting the quick high stimulating commercials. Thanks for this post.
Thank you for your comment Lindsay and you're very welcome! I love your analogy of Substack versus FB and IG: I feel just the same, Substack is like this perfectly curated magazine just for me. What is working for you in terms of marketing, and how does it fit in with your business values?
I'm a new (very small, part-time) business so I haven't done much marketing yet actually. I set up a FB page a couple of years ago, and am a group expert in a local FB nature group; but in developing this new Substack newsletter, I'll probably scale back even more next year on FB, and getting my own website up. I'm also have some ideas on local networking, and will be submitting some of my writing (poems) for magazine publication in the new year. I enjoy educating people about the natural world, and sharing about companion animals, so any ways I can find to do that will indirectly be my marketing approach.
Thank you for giving some more background Lindsay! It sounds like you have some exciting plans for 2024 💪🏻 I love your focus on writing poems and the natural world.
Thank you :)
I sure am glad I stumbled onto your site (somehow!) and consider it to be something like a message from the universe. I'm in the middle of marketing a book and the publisher is pushing me to do so much that seems to take away from the me who wrote the book. It's un-grounding and uncomfortable. So, you are a gentle breath of fresh air (sorry for the platitude here). If you like stories about strong female characters, stories that span generations, I hope you'll check out my book, Story Carrier: A Collection of Tales of the Disappeared when it is released late next month. Meanwhile, I'll be following you and may book a call to consult with you about slow marketing for human beings.
Thank you Jane for your comment and your kind words--I'm happy that my writing resonates with you and feels like a breath of fresh air. That is exactly what it's meant to be :) Your book sounds fascinating, as does your definition of story carrier: someone born into stories. The description of your book gave me chills, it sounds very moving and interesting (for anyone else reading this see here: https://www.storycarriers.com).
Your experience with the publisher sounds uncomfortable and common at the same time. I hope you can keep checking in with the you who wrote the book and am always happy to help through one or more sessions. Have a good rest of your week!
Thank you for this post, Astrid. As a weteran myself on social media, I feel tired and drained. So I decided let go of the pressure and follow the joy. I’m new here, and the only value I’d add to those listed by you is “curate”. We forgot how to curate gently our lives.
Thank you for commenting Natasha and for being here! ✨ I love your suggestion of "curate"--yes, gently curating our lives is an amazing thing to practice and indeed, as you write, something that I think many of us realise we can do. Have a lovely rest of your week!
I enjoyed reading about your values. The points you made about social media really made me think.
The whalebone theatre is a wonderful book recommendation 🤩
Also - love the tea advent calendar! I got one for my sister this year and she’s delighted.
Thank you Kate for commenting! I'm glad the post made you think: how do your values tie in with how you market yourself/your business? And yes, the tea Advent calendar continues to be great 🫖
I haven’t done much marketing for my business this year and my numbers reflect that. I’m just not into social media anymore not when it comes to marketing. I’ve used it mostly to look for local opportunities and organizations more than to promote myself. But I’m of the opinion that if you sell something you need to let people know about it somehow. So how? I wish I had an answer. Substack has been great but aside from an occasional link I haven’t promoted my work. Pinterest I just can’t get into. It’s just not for me at the moment. Any ideas?
Thank you for commenting Ana! You're right, if you sell something you do need to let people know, otherwise how will they discover you? I'd start with what feels good: you write that Substack feels good, so I'd get in the habit of sharing more links to your own work. You can do this in a really gentle way, just to let the world know that this is what you do, without having to be more salesy than you want to be. Doing a form of outreach might also work for you: for instance by pitching to podcasts, or doing collaborations with people whose audiences might be interested in you. These needn't be work-collaborations, but can be a matter of doing a mini-interview in their newsletter or blog, and offering the same opportunity to them. Hope this helps!