WORKSHOP

Join me (Seth Werkheiser) for a 90 minute interactive workshop on the endless decisions that come with running a newsletter in 2025.

​Should you import your list to Substack?
What should you put in my welcome email?
Which analytics even matter?
Should you switch platforms?
What the heck is SPF/DKIM/DMARC?!

​Instead of writing, we’re getting lost hours in CSV files and platform settings instead of actually connecting with your readers.

Wednesday, August 27 from 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EDT
More info here: https://lu.ma/uqrfb65q

BLOGGING IS A TRADE

I’m not even sure what part to quote from Alex Danco, but we can start with this:

Winning, for bloggers, means writing the reference take on a good topic. My favourite example of this is how Byrne Hobart broke out with his piece on the 30-year mortgage. It’s kind of surprising that this kind of post had such influence – it’s wonky, it’s not written for a general audience whatsoever. But it turns out that people think and talk about their mortgages a lot, and like to feel competent when they do. Reading that piece equips them with a kind of legitimacy to speak on the topic.

This under the header of Blogging is a trade, which I love seeing in the year 2025.

There is power in blogging, in writing, in text.

Everyone can put text on a screen in 2025, but not everyone can write. And if you can write, you’ve got options. From a blog post, to an email, to a text message – so much of it comes from the years blogging, of publishing on the web.

“This is the great secret of writing in public: the writer and primary audience both put in effort (to pack and unpack the idea); and they jointly reap the rewards, which is the legitimacy earned when the idea gets subsequently retold verbally to the wider secondary audience.”

Sadly, in the year 2025, some stupid ideas have won, but the good ideas spread, so it’s time for a lot of us to spread some more ideas. Not thoughts. Not hot takes. But ideas, ways to get out of messes, to move forward, to build a world we want to live in.

A GOOD TIRED

I’ve been on a lot of Zoom calls this week with my Escape Pod offering via Social Media Escape Club.

I remember being exhausted from scrolling through multiple social media channels everyday. Twitter. Instagram. LinkedIn. Back to Twitter. Over and over, throughout the day.

I would spend hours every day posting, replying, sharing, DMing, ping ping ping. All day long.

Now I spend hours every week with people who are engaged, filled with the energy of making good work.

SLASH PAGES

Oooh, a wonderful resource of SLASH PAGES:

“Slash pages are common pages you can add to your website, usually with a standard, root-level slug like /now/about, or /uses. They tend to describe the individual behind the site and are distinguishing characteristics of the IndieWeb.”

Thanks Mikey Seay.

CHOOSING THE WORK WE WANT TO DO

More record label clients would be great for my bank account, but I also know what it’d do for my sanity. Most industries have systems, but some just never manage to to get out of their own way.

Like Seth Godin says, “Choose your customers, choose your future.”

I attended his Freelancers Workshop many years ago. The biggest takeaway – get better clients.

“It’s possible, but alas, unlikely, that better clients will simply appear. That outsiders will realize how hard you’re working and will show up. Alas, while it may seem unfair, it turns out that you don’t get better clients simply by working hard. It’s much more productive to take the steps necessary to attract them and keep them instead.”

It’s true for clients, it’s true for fans, it true for customers.

CHEAP SHIRTS

Like most people, I’ve got a lot of shirts. Many fit better than others. Different cuts. Different weights.

I’ve since been checking out the tags of the shirts I like and ordering blanks from Blank Shirts.

I just ordered three shirts that cost me less than $15 (before shipping). I bought five last year (including a long sleeve) and with shipping it wasn’t even $50.

I still love my logo “graphic tees,” and the companies and bands that I support with my purchase. But sometimes I want to go outside without making any statement, or repping any brand.

THE WORK BUILDS A FOUNDATION

This week I ​spoke​ with Angela Hollowell (Please Hustle Responsibly). She spent six months making a film.

“I’m getting a lot more recognition as a writer, producer, and film director… way more than I did in four years of writing every day on social media.”

In the present, hard work gives no clear indicator that it’s a good use of time.

Posting on socials feels like work, and if something gets just two likes, post again in an hour. It’s work, after all!

But which gets you the gig three years from now, or prepares you for a bigger challenge down the road?

Which builds a foundation?