But Can You Build a Business Without Social Media?
You have days where you want to throw your phone in the ocean (but of course you wouldn't because, littering. ♻️)
In your dream scenario, you delete your go-to social media app, pop your favorite *NSYNC CD into your walkman, and live out your 90s-kid summer:
smashing bricks on Mario Bros, catching Carson on TRL, riding your bike to your friends house to see if they could play, and eating so much cherry water ice it looks like you got a lipstick tattoo. (🍨 tell me you're from Philly without telling me...)
That combo of a cafe-coffee shop-plant place-book store full of cats, cozy music, and a jingling door bell you've been dreaming about? Dreamy.
No more fighting for your content to be seen by people who have asked to see it.
No more having to figure out whether hashtags still work, or whether they're actually killing your post.
No more spending hours on content, for it to only be seen by your Aunt Susan and get a single comment of "proud of you!" from your mom.
OK, maybe I'm the only one who feels this way... but even if you haven't gone full "remember what life was like when social media didn't exist? I wonder what would happen if I deleted it..." mode --
You have your moments.
Like the other day when you sat down to check something "real quick" and spent the next 90-minutes learning how private chefs spend their days cooking for the Hamptons elite.
You had planned to take a long walk and call a friend, but now you're rushing to get dinner on the table.
When your partner asks you to pass the sea salt, you get all snippy and wonder, "why am I so edgy?"
Ah, social media. It'll do that to you.
Be honest, Reader -- are you on social media because you feel like you have to for your business?
Until recently, I would've told you, "if you want to build an online business, yes, you have to be on social media... like a lot."
But I've started to wonder whether that's actually true.
Can you actually build an online business either without social media, or at least without heavily relying on it?
Here's the deal:
You have to market your business somewhere.
It doesn't have to be on social media.
If you're on social and want to get off of it (or rely on it less), you need to build a platform elsewhere, ideally before you exit.
Whether that's a podcast, YouTube, Substack, etc...
You need an audience to sell to.
Looking back, I made the mistake of building my audience (and primary lead driver) on Instagram.
I started my podcast, On Your Terms®️, in 2021, but only recently admitted to myself and others how much I want to grow it, and how frustrating it's been to grow.
Instagram still "works" for my business, but it doesn't work as well as it used to for me, Sam, the human.
Maybe it's the heaviness of what's going on in the world and at home.
Each time I open the app, I get hit with one video showing horrific starvation, civil unrest, or a climate change-fueled weather disaster, immediately followed by someone's Amazon haul full of Lululemon align dupes.
"What the heck are we doing here?" I think.
And don't even get me started on what AI's doing to an already saturated, loud, highly-curated platform...
I want to write my own content, use my own voice, and be original -- I don't want robots giving me generic output that sounds like everyone else.
I got into this business for a reason: I love what I do, and I'm a creative person.
But when I'm social I wonder, "is this still a place for me?"
Me and social media: I think we're headed in different directions in life.
But how do I still run and grow my business without relying on it so much?
I knew I likely wasn't alone in this, so I asked Amelia Hruby, host of the Off the Grid podcast, to come on my podcast to talk about whether it's possible to build a business without social media and without losing all your clients.
We talked about whether it's really possible, the mistakes people make when leaving social media, and how to properly prepare because leaving social media won't solve all of your (business) problems.
🎧 LISTEN HERE→ How to Leave Social Media Without Losing Your Clients
I'm so curious whether today's email spoke to you, Reader. Hit "reply" and let me know -- I read and reply to you always!
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🎙️ Listen to my Podcast [free] Buried under freebies, 6-figure promises, and viral content tips — but not feeling any real momentum in your biz? On Your Terms®️ cuts through the noise and gives you real strategies that actually move the biz needle.
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🔗 Links You'll Love
🌸 SEPT 4th OREGON BUSINESS EVENT
My friend, Ellen Yin's live business soirée, Bloom Together, is 75% sold out!!
Ticket sales close on August 14th, and the price increases every Thursday until then (unless we sell out early — currently only 50 seats remain out of 200).
GET YOUR TICKET→
P.S. Need a refresher on who's speaking at Bloom Together?