Change is the only constant...
Hello friends! I bet you’re wondering 1) why this is coming from a new website, and 2) what’s taken me so long to publish again?!
The short answer is that I've decided to leave Substack… but I'm not done with 1% Better!
First, this choice is a practical one. The unfortunate truth is that Substack is not SEO-friendly, and I didn't know that until recently. That means whatever I publish there (for the most part) only lives there. As a writer, that's not great. It means that people can only find my work directly through the Substack platform. There are some tweaks I can make, but this Ghost platform is well-known for its SEO-friendly capabilities.
Second, if I'm being honest, I've spread myself too thin. I started writing online back in 2007 on my Blogspot page, and since then, the social media world has exploded. It has made me feel like I need to be everywhere all at once, constantly curating each social media page and each website to specific brand guidelines, and keeping up with the ever-changing algorithm evolutions. It's a lot. And Substack is no different. It's got its own algorithm, and participating in posting daily Notes is now all but a requirement in order to get visibility.
Third, while there are a lot of people still writing their own content on Substack, there is a fast-growing amount of AI-generated content as well. To each their own, but it's disheartening to see. Especially when Notes (which, again, are necessary to get new readers since the site isn't SEO-friendly) are also AI-generated and reward provocation over authentic, human voices.
Original content is no longer being rewarded in the Substack space; at least not when it comes to the goals I have for my writing.
So, what happens next?
As far as you’re concerned, nothing! I’ve ported over all members’ emails, and the site is populated with the same content that was on Substack, so you can go back and see old posts if you’d like.
As for the paid posts, I had 1 paid subscriber (special shoutout to you!), and you'll still receive a free ebook of “Fake It ‘Til You Make It” when it comes out in May. I'll email you directly when that happens. In an effort not to over-extend myself (which is a chronic weakness of mine), I’m going to go back to twice-monthly newsletters. Over time, I’ll work on getting ahead and getting back to weekly, but since my book publishing has ramped up in recent years, it’s made keeping up with weekly dispatches a little difficult.
Thanks to everyone who has encouraged me on this journey and who continues to support me. You really help me keep going when life gets busy and when I neglect to remember the pure joy that writing brings me. I owe you all a humongous debt of gratitude.
We'll be in touch soon…
Natalie
