Yesterday I talked with one of my Subscribers, Mitch Bass for 2 hours and 17 minutes. It was a delightful conversation and he gave me a lot of support for what I am doing here on Substack.
It was fun talking to another Mitch. It is not a common name. In my life, I’ve only met two other men named Mitch and Mr. Bass is one of them!
We started to have an authentic dialogue about why I world is the way it is.
It hit us both like a ton of bricks:
The whole world of artificial intelligence may do the heavy lifting for you but it is not real and does not have the creative part of being a human.
I’ve been a songwriter since I was 14 years of age.
For fun, I used an a.i. program to write this track:
The reason I wanted to share this with you is this: I never use a.i. writing programs to place content here at “Living My Life in Wifi.”
Yes, it was fun to use an a.i. program to create a track. It blew my mind I will admit. What will I do with an a.i. music program in the future? I will do nothing. The truth is I’ll never use an a.i. music program again. It was fun to give it a shot but what was created by simply ripping off hundreds if not thousands of other tracks that are uploaded to these a.i. programs like Udio to be “re-created” as something new.
Something else you need to know. Since I don’t charge for Living My Life in Wifi, nope, never turned on the paid feature, you will find videos posted at the top sometimes. No, these are not my videos and each time I place one here, I always provide a “link,” give credit to the original channel and suggest you subscribe.
Substack has been a wonderful “notepad” for me sharing ideas, playing out creative strategies in my head but written down here in real time as a post.
The other day I read the most interesting post but can find the link now, LOL. It was from a Substack writer who decided to “get his brain back.”
What is that? The man has used so much a.i. that he can no longer think creatively for himself because for months and months he has let a.i. do 100% of his thinking.
Now retired, I can only share my insights and experience with you. My last real time project literally ended on March 11, 2020, when it was Donald Trump, not Joe Biden who shut down the country.
A couple of final comments that may be of help.
First, there seems to have been an Algorithm change here at Substack. I am my own guinea pig, LOL. I am at 4,935 Subscribers. Each day I get more and more and yet the highest I get is 4,981 which showed me as having 4,900 Subscribers but now the meter seems stuck, you know, it doesn’t want my profile to say 5K on it. Maybe I have had to much to think or being paranoid, but I’m getting notes from many “Substackers” here going through the same thing.
Second, while Substack contended that it is a “money machine” for many writers and you can make a “living here,” for the majority, I don’t see it here and since over 70% of America is living “paycheck to paycheck,” you may have to consider another platform like
Third, while I have 4,935 Subscribers and over 6,679 Followers, I am reading of other successes here on this platform, so maybe I may be missing something.
This is what another Substack writer placed on Reddit and I share it here to help you build your own Substack.
My Substack newsletter just hit 28,000 subscribers. 9 rules I wish I knew when I started in 2023:
Positioning is key. Build your newsletter like a product and create a specific positioning so your audience knows what to expect.
Create skimmable newsletters. People scan before reading. Use titles, bullet points, images, and quotes. Make them want to read after they open.
Answer "what is the unique selling point of your newsletter?". Mine was definitely incorporating a lot of infographics to facilitate the reading experience.
Offer a 'welcome gift' (I prefer this term over 'lead magnet'). Promote the welcome gift to get new subscribers and deliver it in the first email.
Add your story in some editions of your newsletters. I like to introduce a topic through a personal anecdote.
Pro tip: build a standalone business model for your newsletter. Define costs (time/expenses) and revenue (sponsorships, product revenue).
Work on your titles and thumbnails to trigger curiosity and increase open rates. It's more than copywriting and design, it's about concept creation.
Install a repurposing system. Repurpose best social media posts into newsletters. And break down your newsletter into posts for distribution.
Insert banners and CTAs to promote your service or product. Use your newsletter to launch offers through dedicated editions.
Post Notes
This is the channel where I got the video up top:
https://www.youtube.com/@EmbracingTheDark/videos
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