Estimated read time: 4 mins

Have you noticed the surge of creators joining Substack recently? 

It feels to me like a response to the vapid echo chambers of social media. 

Like the online equivalent to a cool back alley café where all the deep thinkers go after hours to listen to soft jazz and sip expensive coffee and get all philosophical. Which is kinda my scene TBH. 

Substack has *most* of the benefits of a self-hosted newsletter, with the added ones of built-in discoverability. 

The notes feature makes the feed feel more like what Facebook felt like circa 2012. 

And while there are drawbacks like not being able to effectively segment your subscribers, right now it feels like the pros outweigh the cons. 

Or at least like it’s worth diversifying your audience building if you’re an email-first long-form content creator. 

I was inspired by my friend Phil who shared this a few months back: 

So after much deliberation, I started a Substack! 

Subscribe here if you’re interested in my ramblings around reinvention →

What you’ll learn in this article:

🍵💲Is it time to take back your attention? (+ grow with more intention?) 

🍵💲My silly little TikTok tax

🍵💲Why I’m becoming more and more platform agnostic (excluding email, the GOAT)

The tea: platform agnostic, practice evangelist

There’s this phenomenon in the online business world that I first noticed while teaching quizzes far and wide. 

It was people’s obsession with platform and tech and choosing the “right” ones.

It always confounded me because in my mind that is literally the easiest part of the whole shabang. 

What’s not easy? 

Having something important to say. 

A clear POV that you can confidently express. 

Being interesting. 

Establishing a track record of great results. 

Effectively communicating and positioning your ideas to stand out. 

Being consistent even when the initial surges of excitement and dopamine wear off. 

Tech is comparatively easy. Platform is secondary to all of the above. These things are walking sticks on the path to success. They make it a little easier but they’re no substitute for taking the steps that move you forward. 

I found myself getting caught up in the tech/platform scapegoat with my Substack decision. 

Silliness! Who cares? No platform is perfect. And more importantly, none of the hard stuff gets easier or more refined without putting in the reps. 

I’m trying to bake them into my life so they feel like less of a big deal. 

Not having subscribers or a following is LIBERATING. 

I can just have fun on Substack and exercise my creativity without pressure. 

Same with TikTok, which I’m now making myself pay a tax to use. The tax being I need to make a video no matter how silly if I’m going to scroll. 

We as online entrepreneurs have an especially confusing relationship with social media. It’s both the key and the handcuffs. 

Starting a Substack and investing more time there feels like a subtle move to take my attention back and grow with more intention. 

Likewise for my silly little TikTok tax. 

How about you? Are you drowning in distractions these days or do you have it on lock? Hit reply and let me know.

Sip on this…  

🧋Thoughts? 

🧋 Thoughtful article on how social media shortens your life. Good fodder if you’re thinking of taking a break.

What’d you think of this issue of Spill the Tea?

• 📬 Loved it — more Substack rambles and platform ponderings, please!
• 💡 Interesting, though I’m still figuring out where I wanna show up online.
• 🙄 Meh. Felt like a rehashed feed scroll, not my fave cuppa this week.