Why niching on Instagram is (generally) bad advice

05/04/22 • 28 min

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Where to find Sara:

Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe

Where to find Sara:

Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe

Things We Talk About In This Episode:

The many ways for a book to “be successful” that don’t involve writing a New York Times bestseller (who knew?!)
Lockdown lessons, and learning to live with uncertainty
The surprising weight and reliance that we put on the future, without realising we’re doing it
The “ladder of hierarchies” through which we try (and mostly fail) to feel better about ourselves
Learning to enjoy the process of making something, more than the reception it receives
Drinking the Kool-Aid of never-ending work, productivity, and demonising rest (and this pearl of wisdom: even machines burn out!)
And the related delusion we buy into, “I’ve put enough into the world that now I feel worthy”
Shame in its many forms, and diet culture
Using self-worth as an alternative motivator to shame
How to drop the shame (the first step is to start noticing it)
Curiosity is the bridge that can take us from shame to self-love
And the freedom and curiosity that comes when we finally drop the shame

Radically Content is available from 12 April 2022, and can be ordered (or pre-ordered if you’re reading this before 12 April) here
Jamie’s website
Jamie’s online course on self-trust, “Live with Intention”

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Where to find Sara:

Get full access to Entre Nous at meandorla.substack.com/subscribe

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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: