Things we talked about:
- The value of owning your own audience
- Building a brand for yourself around the work you’re doing
- The growing online hunger for content by real people and the forging of real connections
- We seem to be entering an era that Farrah calls, rather poetically, "the Time of the Writer": the world has passed the period of devouring all the content on the Internet, now we are more discerning, and only want to consume content that we genuinely enjoy
- The continued return of demand for long-form content
- The return of community: the value of hearing from and engaging with your audience
- Giving your best work away from free (yes!)
- The limitations of the stories that can be told in traditional media
- And related, the limitations of creating content when you're in competition for followers or clicks
- When you try to appeal to the masses, you bland out
Farrah's tips for what works well on Substack:
- Niching works well. The more you niche, the more dedicated (as opposed to big) an audience you'll get
- Publishing twice a week tends to grow a "stickier" audience
- Use social media to point people to your Substack content
- Use your "About" page to set expectations and declare a manifesto
- Claim your real name, if you can
Where to find Farrah:
Where to find Sara:
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