This picture that I took probably 20+ years ago reminded me of something that’s been on my mind quite a bit lately …
We all probably need to spend more time offline and outdoors.
So this begs the obvious question …
Why the heck am I even trying to build a following on social media?
(and yes, Substack is social media)
Seriously?
It seems to me that if I had thousands, or tens of thousands of subscribers and got hundreds of comments on every article I wrote, I would almost feel obligated to spend hours a day glued to my phone or computer.
That is very much NOT what I want.
Also …
Here’s the irony (especially for a publication such as mine):
The more time I spend outside doing stuff, the more interesting things I will have to write about, and share pictures of.
So I guess this leads me to another question …
Can I still attract new readers if I’m not spending hours a day being “social” online?
The “gurus” would all say NO!
Even if they’re right, I’m pretty sure I’m okay with that.
It probably helps a lot that I have no illusions about trying to make money with this endeavor.
I think I really only have two reasons for writing/sharing on Todd Takes Pictures.
It’s like a public online journal that I’ll be able to look back on in the future
I’d like to make a few new genuine connections/friendships.
Obviously that second goal is going to require some level of being “social”.
Connections and friendships have to be a two-way street.
Good News …
We probably don’t need as many friends as we might think.
Research suggests that the number of close friends we need to feel that we have enough is somewhere between three and five.
That sounds obtainable.
So what would it take to consider Todd Takes Pictures “successful”?
If by this time next year, I’m consistently spending less that 60 minutes a day looking at a phone or computer screen …
But when I do log on, I have regular interactions with a dozen (or maybe a couple dozen?) people whose names I not only know, but I’m familiar with where they’re from, what they do, what they enjoy, etc.,
… and vice versa, they know they know those things about me.
I will consider this to have been a fruitful investment.
How about you?
Do you have any alternate metrics (besides income and/or subscriber count) for defining your own “success” online?
Til Next time,
This is a great observation, Todd, and much larger than just social media.
I think many of us hope (dream) of building something on Substack that will offer some financial support. It's not my desire to be on here all day and honestly I could live without it completely but in marketing, you go where your audience is.
I appreciate you bringing this up at this time of intentional change. We all need to assess what's really important in our lives.
"and yes, Substack is social media" --ha, yes! I see so many people saying how it isn't, or it "doesn't count," but it totally is!
Great to know about 3-5 close friends is the sweet spot. Definitely obtainable.
And I like how your focus is on the connections on substack. That's where I'm at, too.