I've been wrestling with this question recently. Do I write what others want to hear or what I want to write about? So far it seems if you ask five different people you'll get five different answers. I'm still curious what your answer to that question has been, maybe you answered it with this post. Maybe it's the wrong question.
I say write what you want to write about because that will sustain itself and you'll attract the people that you want to interact with.
But if you want the largest audience possible for monetization or other reasons, than writing what others want to hear will be the fastest way to do that.
Yes, I try to avoid the algo as much as possible by funneling everything through an RSS reader. I select who I want to see and then I can filter which content I actually want to read carefully.
I'm using Follow vs. Subscribe for that on Substack. It's been at least a decade since I used an RSS reader, but they are a simple and useful piece of tech. 🙌
Following is a lighter activity than subscribing. When you follow someone, they'll show up in your Substack Home when they post a Note, restack, publish, or like something, but they won't get into your inbox. You can follow someone, and when you resonate with their content over time, you can subscribe to them. That's how I'm using it.
I've been wrestling with this question recently. Do I write what others want to hear or what I want to write about? So far it seems if you ask five different people you'll get five different answers. I'm still curious what your answer to that question has been, maybe you answered it with this post. Maybe it's the wrong question.
I say write what you want to write about because that will sustain itself and you'll attract the people that you want to interact with.
But if you want the largest audience possible for monetization or other reasons, than writing what others want to hear will be the fastest way to do that.
And then there's the 😈 algorithm that tells us what things we should have opinions about, how we should dance or write to maximize reach.
One of the benefits of Substack and blogging is that you don't need permission to write as you want, and you can still get in front of people.
Yes, I try to avoid the algo as much as possible by funneling everything through an RSS reader. I select who I want to see and then I can filter which content I actually want to read carefully.
I'm using Follow vs. Subscribe for that on Substack. It's been at least a decade since I used an RSS reader, but they are a simple and useful piece of tech. 🙌
how does follow work? Is that for posts and subscribe is for newsletters?
Following is a lighter activity than subscribing. When you follow someone, they'll show up in your Substack Home when they post a Note, restack, publish, or like something, but they won't get into your inbox. You can follow someone, and when you resonate with their content over time, you can subscribe to them. That's how I'm using it.
Great post, Chris. I guess one of the reasons I was hooked by writing a newsletter is the freedom to follow my own taste...
Yes! That's my main motivation for the Launchpad. So people can explore this.
"Use the difficult" clip was great.
Another spin on taking personal responsibility.