How one simple change got me out of the writing void...

In the first year of writing, I drafted, edited, and hit “publish”.

I got two likes in three weeks on most of them. Others didn’t even get that. By the second year, I was starting to see a little bit of traction, but it wasn’t enough.

I kept asking myself:

Despite all that, I kept going.

Then one day, I decided to try something different.

I tried acting like I do on the weekly lunches with my coworkers…

I started commenting meaningfully.

On Twitter (before Elon brought in the sink), I began sharing my thoughts, my sense of humor, and my life experiences on other people’s tweets rather than the monosyllabic and trite cheerleader ones you see everywhere. Turns out people behave pretty much the same on the internet as they do in person (at least those who use their real name, right?)

That was when things started to shift, and I actually attracted 1000 (real) followers after 18 months there. I built friendships and hopped on dozens of calls.

I was introduced to Medium. I began writing long-form articles.

I used the same approach there: comment, relate, write.

I attracted over 1200 followers there and about 30 subscribers in about a year.

Now I’ve added Substack into the mix after torching my X account and reducing my publishing rate on Medium. I see it as the best of both worlds (with its own clunkiness)

…and it works nicely.

I don’t worry so much about external metrics now. Not because I hope to go viral (that hasn’t happened…yet), but because I enjoy showing up as my goofy, dad-joking self.

Here’s what I’ve realized after exploring and growing on three platforms:

• You don’t need thousands of followers, that’s just your ego screaming at you.

• You don’t need permission to share your truth, that’s your parents lecturing you.

• You don’t even need likes or reposts or retweets, that’s you wishing for validation.

You just need to start building your digital presence and making connections with those who resonate with your message.

Like all great things in life, connecting and growing a community takes TIME.

But stick with it, and you’ll leave something behind that “echoes in eternity”, “makes a dent in the universe”, or “stands the test of time”.

Any and all of those reasons work (they’re the ones that I like to use).

Next time, I’ll talk about the biggest BS excuse: “I don’t have time.”

We’ll crack that one open like an egg on my kid’s forehead (Tik Tok challenge, anyone?)

…because it’s not always about time (but it does matter).

If that were it, I wouldn’t be doing this.

P. S. These are much shorter and lack the usual depth and substance that I like to put in my work. I’ll get back into the more meaty ones after this email series is completed.

Let me know what you think of these so far!