My Big, Bold Prediction After Q1 of 2024
Drumroll, please…
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My predictions aren’t always bang-on.
Every year, I try to predict what my accountant will say my tax return should be. Every year, I get it wrong. Often very wrong.
(Taxes are hard)
But I’m going out on a limb this year.
I’m going to make a big, bold prediction that pertains to solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, and anything else with “preneur” at the end.
Here goes…
(Drumroll)
You won’t need social media to grow your newsletter by the end of 2024.
(Drops mic)
Why, you ask?
Because long-form content will gradually start to dominate the internet over the coming months.
Or at least, more than it already is.
And by long-form, I don’t mean longer posts on social media. I mean:
Articles
Blog posts
YouTube videos
Podcasts
Downloadables
The times, they are a-changin’
The influence and reach of “traditional” social media platforms seems to be declining faster than ever.
I’ve read dozens of instances of people closing their accounts in recent months, particularly on Instagram and Twitter, because of dwindling impact.
And according to Insider Intelligence: “Waning media engagement marks a shift in the way consumers are responding to their social and economic environments — and a small departure from the idea that they are more plugged in than ever.”
My own platform-building strategy will involve social media less than ever this year. I didn’t think that would be the case at the start of 2023, but I’m rolling with the tide on this one.
I believe growing your email list within a platform will increasingly become more effective than trying to draw subscribers to it from social media (unless your following is enormous).
For instance, it’s a heck of a lot easier to pick up email subscribers within Substack than trying to grow a list on another provider using social media plugs. That’s definitely been the case for me, anyway.
Is the struggle worth it?
Nurturing newsletter growth using an algorithm-controlled source like Twitter or Instagram is difficult, and becoming more difficult by the day.
It’s something I’ll keep working on throughout the rest of 2024, but only up to a point.
Long-term, I’d far rather pick up genuinely-engaged email subscribers off the back of my long-form content, especially when creating that content helps pay some of my bills, and it’s so much fun to put together.
How does this sit with you? Do you have a strategy for growing your newsletter in what remains of 2024?
How to Succeed by Helping Others Succeed First
I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently.
We live in a culture encouraging us to put ourselves first at every turn.
“How to do better than 99% of other people”
“This is how you win the rat race”
You know what I’m talking about. It’s everywhere, especially on social media.
You’d be forgiven for thinking we’re in a weird, passive-aggressive version of The Hunger Games.
But honestly, I don’t believe in it. I don’t believe it’s the way.
The road to success isn’t paved with the crumpled bodies of those who failed ahead of us, whose corpses we’re to use as stepping stones to our ultimate goal.
(Bit dark, sorry)
The path to personal achievement is one we share with others in our sphere. We’re not meant to walk it alone.
A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say.
I think — I know, really — that the best way to succeed in life is by helping others. And not in a Godfather-style sense where you only do it with the expectation of receiving something in return.
“Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.” — Don Vito Corleone
I believe the best way to succeed in whatever it is you’re doing — writing, business-building, solopreneuring — is to put others before yourself, just because.
Give others the helping hand you wish someone had given you.
Share their social media posts
Read their articles
Offer free help or guidance
Leave encouraging feedback
Subscribe to their newsletter
Go the extra mile when it’s not strictly necessary to do so
Kindness and generosity are often-overlooked traits in today’s society. We’re taught that only the cold-hearted and ruthless survive.
But guess what? When you are kind and generous, people notice. They pay attention to what you’re saying. And crucially, they’ll remember you when the time comes to follow, subscribe, or check out your offer.
Again, that’s not why you do it. But it’s often a byproduct of choosing to be that way when you don’t have to.
Here’s a simple challenge for today: do something for a stranger in your online sphere without expecting anything in return, even if it’s just a little thing like sharing their content or leaving a response that might brighten their day.
Pay it forward. Put others before yourself
Succeed by helping others succeed first.
“A rising tide lifts all boats, as they say.” - love this! I agree with everything in this article, thank you for articulating it so well : )
I’m totally with you, David. Helping others should be your priority, and will in turn come back around to you in time. I think the fall of some social media has come because of endless scrolling of influencers and reels that dominate feeds. It seems to have changed a lot in the last few years to cater towards getting the most views and less about genuine content