... and we begin!
A new experiment in community and connection
If you know me or have worked with me for anytime, you’d know that I like to try new things. And this is a really good example of trying something new.
I’m utterly smitten with Substack. It came across my awareness when I received an email by one of my favorite writers and had to click over so I could see how to share it.
And I found Substack. And the amazing publications there by other really great writers.
So I did some research. Subscribed to quite a few publications. Followed through to some of the interesting ways it is being used.
What I loved most was that it was clean and simple. Having a discussion on a topic or a post is SO clean and simple. And because of the way it is laid out, conversations can be verbose. You take the time to really share.
The truth is though, I really don’t think of myself as a writer. I write to share my thoughts. I write to engage with my people. But I don’t write as a profession. So the marketing approach aimed at writers that Substack is using didn’t appeal to me.
It was the tool itself that was the appeal.
Such a beautifully easy way to send an email and have it be a posted blog. It could be free or paid. You could turn on comments and discussion or not.
For me this opened up a world of possibilities in terms of turning my ‘email list’ into a conversation.
It offered me this interesting hybrid of email and blog and community.
Here’s what I realized as I began to consider the possibilities:
When I was considering subscribing to someone else’s Substack newsletter I could read all previous articles. I could see if what they wrote would be interesting to me and I could see the frequency.
The option to turn on payments actually became alluring. It made me stop and really take stock of my time. It made me more discerning. And it became fun to try a few because the small fee was manageable.
The conversations I found behind $5 subscriptions were absolutely amazing. Respectful. Thoughtful. Expansive. It was clear that the owner was personally engaged.
Oddly enough, in this day of email overwhelm, each of these things are unique. They combine to create something that is mostly absent among online entrepreneurs and their businesses. True connection.
I want true connection with my people.
So I am trying this out.
You can join with the form below or if you want to read more about this you can here.
As always, hugs,
j
Judith Manriquez
Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash | Originally published on Substack