Why you need to join Substack with Farrah Storr

07/04/22 • 45 min

1 Listener

Hashtag Authentic - for creatives, dreamers & business owners online

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:

Farrah's Substack platform, "Things Worth Knowing"
Farrah on Instagram (for dog pictures and Substack information)

Where to find Sara:

Sara on Substack
Sara’s website: meandorla.co.uk
Sara on Instagram: @me_and_orla
Sara on Twitter: @meandorla
One to one business coaching with Sara
The Insta Retreat

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

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:

Farrah's Substack platform, "Things Worth Knowing"
Farrah on Instagram (for dog pictures and Substack information)

Where to find Sara:

Sara on Substack
Sara’s website: meandorla.co.uk
Sara on Instagram: @me_and_orla
Sara on Twitter: @meandorla
One to one business coaching with Sara
The Insta Retreat

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

Previous Episode

Why niching on Instagram is (generally) bad advice

1 Recommendations

Where to find Sara:

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

Next Episode

When Social Video meets Journalism , with Sophia Smith Galer

4 Recommendations

Things We Talk About In This Episode:

The importance that established news organisations find ways to use social media if they want to engage a young audience
TikTok has redefined the experience of social media, with short video content, and Instagram Reels and Youtube Shorts have followed suit
How Sophia found an audience on TikTok (and later on Instagram Reels) by talking to camera about her media stories
The way we can gain insights into what makes a successful social media post by being a user of the platform
The importance of constant engagement on social media, both creating and consuming content
Acknowledging the fear and vulnerability that can come with being authentic and genuine online
Sophia’s tips for successful TikTok/Reel content: action or engaging content in every second, and lead with your most powerful image/shot/quote)
Comparing the strengths and drawbacks of the different platforms, especially Reels and TikTok
When creating Reels content or TikTok content, share that content on both platforms so you’ll meet both audiences
When it comes to sharing your opinions online, having a sense of purpose goes a long way towards building your confidence
How Sophia has been promoting her book: reposting user content from her book launch on Instagram, a big thread on Twitter, traditional media appearances, and weekly TikTok videos (interspersed with other content so she doesn’t “spam” her audience)
The challenges of Internet (and especially social media) censorship with any content relating to sex or sexual health