It’s very refreshing and oddly comforting to hear this. I’m new to Substack and, while I’m not expecting instant growth, I am coming to realise that self-promotion is a huge part of the work.
The advice to spam is against the grain of self-promotion but it makes much more sense than the alternative of holding a little sign up occasionally hoping people stumble into it. Thanks for a great article!
I have some thoughts. 1) YES, be the spammiest spammer, that ever spammed. And if you feel uncomfortable with that, then develop the skill of making your marketing as valuable as the actual post 2) there are plenty of people who wish they had as many followers as you. 179 people is not no one. If you had 179 people in your house you’d probably have a panic attack. Appreciate the numbers like they are beating hearts. 3) I recently saw a post on IG about how we don’t have to market, we GET to market. Many of the late greats created their thing and had a vastly smaller circle to circulate it. Think about it, you have access to more ears than Dostoevsky did. So it is a privilege to be able to spam and gush about our work 4) the more you publish, the more opportunities you are creating for peeps to find you. Don’t give up.
Okay that’s been my soap box. Thank you Igor for writing on this very important topic and allowing me the space to air out my thoughts. Looking forward to part III 👍
It’s very refreshing and oddly comforting to hear this. I’m new to Substack and, while I’m not expecting instant growth, I am coming to realise that self-promotion is a huge part of the work.
True! Plus disciplined work. Thanks for your comment, Natalie!
The advice to spam is against the grain of self-promotion but it makes much more sense than the alternative of holding a little sign up occasionally hoping people stumble into it. Thanks for a great article!
I like your analogy of a little sign! :) So true and thanks!
I'll get some eggs to go along with all that spam
Maybe these? https://lindyrecipe.com/snack/kenji-scrambled-eggs/
Such raw honesty! Can't wait for part 3 😀
Actually you are featuring in it, you just do not know yet. Isn't that something? :)
Whaaaaat! That is super exciting Igor. Keenly looking forward to it 👀
I have some thoughts. 1) YES, be the spammiest spammer, that ever spammed. And if you feel uncomfortable with that, then develop the skill of making your marketing as valuable as the actual post 2) there are plenty of people who wish they had as many followers as you. 179 people is not no one. If you had 179 people in your house you’d probably have a panic attack. Appreciate the numbers like they are beating hearts. 3) I recently saw a post on IG about how we don’t have to market, we GET to market. Many of the late greats created their thing and had a vastly smaller circle to circulate it. Think about it, you have access to more ears than Dostoevsky did. So it is a privilege to be able to spam and gush about our work 4) the more you publish, the more opportunities you are creating for peeps to find you. Don’t give up.
Okay that’s been my soap box. Thank you Igor for writing on this very important topic and allowing me the space to air out my thoughts. Looking forward to part III 👍
Thank you for your kind words, Alex. Part III is already published: https://eightyfour.substack.com/p/why-even-bother
Recently I had a bit of a break, but I am definitely not giving up, although I have a bit different focus currently after my move to Berlin.
Spamming is really interesting: at the beginning I felt a bit shy, but then you just get used to it, haha :)
Congratulations on your recent move! Thank you for providing the link to part III. I will check it out! 💝