On a separate note - I wanted to thank everyone who has been leaving comments on our recent posts. I really appreciate everyone that's trying to open conversations that way. I think hearing each other's opinions definitely helps us feel less isolated.
I think part of the reason Meidas has gained so much traction is that they have quite a few contributors, but also they state their mission with every post. They aim to be the alternative to Fox News and other right-wing media and everyone knows that and expects that from them. I think if you define your mission very specifically and make sure your niche has a lot of demand you will start to grow faster. But I don't think you can do it alone. The people who have done it on just the power of their name were already famous: Krugman, Reich, Rather, Acosta, etc.
That makes perfect sense. I've been struggling to decide how to use these platforms. I am a one person operation & I feel stretched a bit thin, trying to post here, YouTube, Threads, 2 profiles on Instagram, Facebook & Tik Tok. I think I'll have to drop one or two of those & spend more time on here going forward
I hate to sound all business-y, but I really think it would help to know what your unique selling proposition (USP) is. Once you have that and your brand defined, everything should become easier. (Sorry if I'm making incorrect assumptions!!)
Oh no, I appreciate the feedback. This has been a little haphazard of an operation. So it's a fair critique. For the longest time, it's been hard for me to define what all of this is supposed to be, so I can imagine that's also evident from an outside perspective. I think sometimes I'm just bewildered by others in this space that seem to do the bare minimum & yet seem to have a lot more success. It just made me wonder what I was missing.
Again, I don't want to be presumptuous or overstep, so please ignore me if you don't like what I'm saying. I deal with this kind of situation a lot, especially with regard to writers. Like other professionals, a writer should be known for something so that readers (or customers, or followers, or whoever) know what to expect from them. This is (ouch--sorry) their brand. How they build that brand depends on their goals and the needs of their audience. So I would ask you:
1. What are your goals and objectives?
2. What do you want to be known for?
3. What do you want your audience to take away from your materials?
4. What's your message?
Looking at some other Substackers, I would venture some guesses:
Jim Acosta: political interviews and straightforward political commentary from a democratic point of view (that's "democratic" with a small D) by a nationally known journalist
Robert Reich: progressive political and economic news and commentary with calls to action from a seasoned government employee and educator
Joyce Vance: legal analysis of political developments from a progressive former US. attorney and educator
Qasim Rashid: progressive political commentary and calls to action with an emphasis on minorities from a human rights attorney
Jay Kuo: in-depth political analysis from a progressive point of view by a former attorney.
I may have oversimplified or misstated some of these missions, for which I apologize, but my intent is to describe what readers and viewers expect from these Substackers. They all also reveal a fair amount about themselves personally, which humanizes and "brands" them. So from Joyce Vance I expect chicken pictures. From Robert Reich I expect anecdotes about his political and personal experiences. From Jay Kuo I expect pictures of his kids and news about the musicals he's involved with. Etc.
I don't know if this helps--I hope so. If not, please just ignore. I'll keep following you whichever way you go though. 😀
I find them to be annoying as hell, with their constant pleas for paid subscriptions and some of the sensationalist posting they do (click bait). I'd rather spend my subscriber monies on the little guys.
I find them pretty annoying too, but obviously they're successful. I'm not suggesting that Desmond become annoying--not at all. It is weird, though, that some of the most successful people in the world are incredibly abrasive.
MTN doesn’t send multiple emails daily. They post tons of videos, but I opt out of notification even though I watch almost daily.
It’s hard to balance the reality of algorithms’ biases (which incentivizes many behaviors by content creators that are somewhat antithetical to the spirit and ethics of journalism) with the need to distribute info widely and with integrity.
I would imagine that one, maybe two emails daily is adequate. It helps when the emails are not a repeat of a posted video, but rather serve as a chance to communicate more intimately w/ the audience, or perhaps a summary of the day’s news, or some other theme to keep things consistent.
I started noticing that less than 25% of the people who were reading the emails, were watching the video attached to the email. So that was the reason behind adding the transcription to the post. But I do appreciate the note about personalizing the post more. I'll definitely try to add more of my thoughts, outside of the contents of the video itself
So it’s ok what ICE is doing to our neighbors citizens and non-citizens alike? Shredding due process? Shredding the constitution of illegal search and seizure?
If your aim is to ride that middle line, go for it. I have a soul, the first part of Christianity is Love. ICE represents hate.
I just canceled Linked in. I rejoined Hulu then immediately canceled it. I canceled peacock. I haven’t used Spotify for years since they advertised support for fracking. You tube will get a note. I’m stuck there. I’ve never used pandora. Thanks for letting us know about these companies shame!
On a separate note - I wanted to thank everyone who has been leaving comments on our recent posts. I really appreciate everyone that's trying to open conversations that way. I think hearing each other's opinions definitely helps us feel less isolated.
I am. Cancelled my Huff Post as soon as I saw ad there. Also emailed them to let them know why I cancelled.
🔥
I think part of the reason Meidas has gained so much traction is that they have quite a few contributors, but also they state their mission with every post. They aim to be the alternative to Fox News and other right-wing media and everyone knows that and expects that from them. I think if you define your mission very specifically and make sure your niche has a lot of demand you will start to grow faster. But I don't think you can do it alone. The people who have done it on just the power of their name were already famous: Krugman, Reich, Rather, Acosta, etc.
That makes perfect sense. I've been struggling to decide how to use these platforms. I am a one person operation & I feel stretched a bit thin, trying to post here, YouTube, Threads, 2 profiles on Instagram, Facebook & Tik Tok. I think I'll have to drop one or two of those & spend more time on here going forward
I hate to sound all business-y, but I really think it would help to know what your unique selling proposition (USP) is. Once you have that and your brand defined, everything should become easier. (Sorry if I'm making incorrect assumptions!!)
Oh no, I appreciate the feedback. This has been a little haphazard of an operation. So it's a fair critique. For the longest time, it's been hard for me to define what all of this is supposed to be, so I can imagine that's also evident from an outside perspective. I think sometimes I'm just bewildered by others in this space that seem to do the bare minimum & yet seem to have a lot more success. It just made me wonder what I was missing.
Again, I don't want to be presumptuous or overstep, so please ignore me if you don't like what I'm saying. I deal with this kind of situation a lot, especially with regard to writers. Like other professionals, a writer should be known for something so that readers (or customers, or followers, or whoever) know what to expect from them. This is (ouch--sorry) their brand. How they build that brand depends on their goals and the needs of their audience. So I would ask you:
1. What are your goals and objectives?
2. What do you want to be known for?
3. What do you want your audience to take away from your materials?
4. What's your message?
Looking at some other Substackers, I would venture some guesses:
Jim Acosta: political interviews and straightforward political commentary from a democratic point of view (that's "democratic" with a small D) by a nationally known journalist
Robert Reich: progressive political and economic news and commentary with calls to action from a seasoned government employee and educator
Joyce Vance: legal analysis of political developments from a progressive former US. attorney and educator
Qasim Rashid: progressive political commentary and calls to action with an emphasis on minorities from a human rights attorney
Jay Kuo: in-depth political analysis from a progressive point of view by a former attorney.
I may have oversimplified or misstated some of these missions, for which I apologize, but my intent is to describe what readers and viewers expect from these Substackers. They all also reveal a fair amount about themselves personally, which humanizes and "brands" them. So from Joyce Vance I expect chicken pictures. From Robert Reich I expect anecdotes about his political and personal experiences. From Jay Kuo I expect pictures of his kids and news about the musicals he's involved with. Etc.
I don't know if this helps--I hope so. If not, please just ignore. I'll keep following you whichever way you go though. 😀
I find them to be annoying as hell, with their constant pleas for paid subscriptions and some of the sensationalist posting they do (click bait). I'd rather spend my subscriber monies on the little guys.
I find them pretty annoying too, but obviously they're successful. I'm not suggesting that Desmond become annoying--not at all. It is weird, though, that some of the most successful people in the world are incredibly abrasive.
Yes. Boycott all that you can. … our family is trying. I must say, it’s not easy but we’re doing what we can.
It's getting harder and harder to find ethical places to put our money
Use your credit unions. Keep searching ethical businesses local do exist!
HELL YES!!!
Haven't seen a person say no yet
Yes
It's passed time for Spotify in my opinion. Terrible company all around
Dropout will be safe forever
.....
I canceled my Spotify. I've been trying to find a replacement after 11 years of history 😮💨
These corporations do not make it easy on us to find alternatives
MTN doesn’t send multiple emails daily. They post tons of videos, but I opt out of notification even though I watch almost daily.
It’s hard to balance the reality of algorithms’ biases (which incentivizes many behaviors by content creators that are somewhat antithetical to the spirit and ethics of journalism) with the need to distribute info widely and with integrity.
I would imagine that one, maybe two emails daily is adequate. It helps when the emails are not a repeat of a posted video, but rather serve as a chance to communicate more intimately w/ the audience, or perhaps a summary of the day’s news, or some other theme to keep things consistent.
That’s my 2 cents!
I started noticing that less than 25% of the people who were reading the emails, were watching the video attached to the email. So that was the reason behind adding the transcription to the post. But I do appreciate the note about personalizing the post more. I'll definitely try to add more of my thoughts, outside of the contents of the video itself
The least we can do, hey fuck em like target
I’m doing that since this shit began. I will not spend money at a business that accepts ad revenue from the goddamn trump cabal.
This is an unbelievably stupid question.
So it’s ok what ICE is doing to our neighbors citizens and non-citizens alike? Shredding due process? Shredding the constitution of illegal search and seizure?
If your aim is to ride that middle line, go for it. I have a soul, the first part of Christianity is Love. ICE represents hate.
Unless they follow every ad with an anti-ad, I say yes. Boycott. Let’s go.
I just canceled Linked in. I rejoined Hulu then immediately canceled it. I canceled peacock. I haven’t used Spotify for years since they advertised support for fracking. You tube will get a note. I’m stuck there. I’ve never used pandora. Thanks for letting us know about these companies shame!
I am! I’m also boycotting every complicit company - and, have been for months. There are alternatives!
we should boycott everything except necessities from local mom and pops. with no dam end date.