I really like how you said the process is a filter. To me it's a slow refinement, not only in finding my people, but clarifying and distilling my own voice. As I change, my words change, the subscribers change....it's both a process flowing naturally in expansion and a constriction, or narrowing, of entering into an exchange with the right people at the right time. ... sort of like a breath.
Thank you for this. I think you are exactly correct, writing does help us to refine and clarify our thinking, which in turn brings about positive change.
This makes a lot of sense to me! I only started on here this year, and was delighted to find that people are out there who are willing to read what I write... until the first unsubscribed email landed, and I was devastated... what did I do? How have I offended/bored them? Perhaps I should change my style? Then...
... I remembered that I am here to enjoy connecting with people, and practice/develop my writing skills, so why is this unsubscriber such a big deal? And... I haven't monetised (and currently have no immediate intention to) my Substack, so it doesn't negatively impact my income. Then I simply calmed down and just accepted that people change their minds, and that's ok 🙂
My Substack (not The Keystone here) is monetized, and while it certainly doesn't make nearly enough money for anyone to live on, it does bring in an amount that is significant to my life. I would find it more difficult without the income from Substack.
But, I've taken what I believe to be a rather odd approach to monetization. You don't have to pay to get all of the stuff I write. I just make payment an option for those who want to support my writing and see it continue. I call it the 'free love hippy method' and it is based on how the Guardian newspaper monetizes. You can read about how I do it on Substack here:
Because of that, I do have a paid subscriber threshold number that I strive to maintain. But even so, paid subscribers do tend to come and go. And that's OK, it's all part of filtering, and I think all part of the seasons of people's lives.
All that said, I too remember my very first unsubscribe. It was a person I know, someone I think of as a friend and supporter. I wondered like heck what I could have done to make him unsubscribe.
But, then he shot me an email, and explained why he'd done so. He explained that every day he'd get an email from me through Substack, and sometimes he didn't have the time to read it that day. And then he'd feel bad all day, because he felt that he was ignoring me by not reading the latest email from my Substack. So he unsubscribed in order to stop feeling as if he was failing me by not reading everything I sent.
That sort of put it all into a much different perspective for me, and is probably what led me to pretty much ignoring raw subscriber numbers from the start here.
I love the idea of the ‘free love hippy method’… I saw something similar the other day from Stacy at Subject to Change, and thought it a damn fine idea! Thanks for the stuff you provide, and as a pensioner on a meagre pension, I really appreciate good writers like you making your thoughts accessible to those of us who can’t afford to pay for subscriptions 🙏🏽
My decision was based on retirement, and the realisation over the years that turning something that I love into a job kills any enjoyment, as it becomes a commercial transaction with deadlines, which is how I’ve lived much of my life (like most people, I guess 🤔)… non-monetisation has worked for me because I love to write, but know that if I don’t produce something, that’s ok… 🙂 From time to time I think I should look into the ‘Buy me a coffee’ phenomenon because Tarot decks don’t grow on trees (just out of them 😁) and it would be nice to have a few more… but I haven’t got my head around it yet… need to work out which app is best, and easy to use from Spain…
Funnily enough, I had an online friend unsub today, and our conversation here influenced my lack of anxiety about it very positively (thank you! 🙏🏽). I understand the email thing, though, and found that having a full inbox everyday to go through just felt like work, so I now just pick what lands in my feed and hope to get through as much of that as I can… I know this means I will miss things, but I just can’t keep up, sadly…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and approach, Cameron, much appreciated as it’s also helping me to review my own approach 🙏🏽🙂
Thank you for your kind words. Recently I've been thinking of extending this 'Free Love Hippy Method' to my Tarot readings as well. Doing readings on a 'pay what you want/pay if you want' system. For much the same reasons discussed here.
I only do a few client readings these days but do exactly that, with the caveat that €1 is the starting point, because I see a reading as an energy exchange, and feel that establishes it nicely. No-one has gone for the €1 option, people generally offer me something near a going rate, but if they did, I'd be good with that, too 🙂
Thanks for this. I like the One Euro starting point idea. I've been thinking about our exchange here the last couple of days, so this evening I penned a whole bunch of random thoughts and turned them into my next post. It's scheduled to go out in a couple of hours.
I don't have any of this stuff figured out in my mind, not really anyway, but I think that maybe by writing about it my thoughts will be able to clarify. Certainly your exchanging with me here has been a great help towards that, so Thank You!
I have to admit, I’m a bit addicted to your writing at the moment! Yet again, I’ve never seen the Two of Cups explained in quite the way you’ve put it. It really struck a chord — the Two of Cups actually happened to me.
I often feel like I’m walking on glass with certain people. What you wrote made me realise that I do tend to people-please, because I don’t want to upset them. And then today, someone said just one sentence to me and I felt so weak-minded.
That ties in with the other card you were discussing, six of pentacles; that people are only as strong as you allow them to be. It makes me wonder: what card would counteract that energy, to help balance it out? or can we kick them out of the deck lol
Thank you very much! I'm really enjoy knowing that you find value here!
I too tend to be a people-pleaser, and I find that the words of others can cut me quite deeply. I never let that show, but it can certainly impact my sleep and stays in my thoughts for a really long time.
But, I guess, in keeping with this post, I have done a really good job through the decades of curating my friends. I tend to only surround myself with people who are uplifting to me, and I try to be uplifting to others as well.
But yeah, ultimately, people who make us feel small can cause us quite a bit of emotional pain.
When I started my Substack in 2022, I sent an invite to 22 people I know who I thought might be interested. Most of them subscribed and are still with me. Since then my number has rising to something in the mid 90s. This makes me happy.
But I also realize that "views" do not necessarily mean "reads". Sometimes I wonder how many people actually read what I write. But I try not to think about it too much. If you gotta say something, saying it is the important part.
Honestly, the coolest thing in the world to me is when I run into someone 'in the wild' who says that they have read something of mine. This happens from time to time with my other, much larger Substack, but it has happened a couple of times recently with this much smaller Tarot one. It's really quite wonderful to discover that some of what I write does indeed have an impact.
As for getting my initial subscribers, most all of mine followed me over from Facebook I believe. That used to be much more effective than it is now.
I really like how you said the process is a filter. To me it's a slow refinement, not only in finding my people, but clarifying and distilling my own voice. As I change, my words change, the subscribers change....it's both a process flowing naturally in expansion and a constriction, or narrowing, of entering into an exchange with the right people at the right time. ... sort of like a breath.
Thank you for this. I think you are exactly correct, writing does help us to refine and clarify our thinking, which in turn brings about positive change.
This makes a lot of sense to me! I only started on here this year, and was delighted to find that people are out there who are willing to read what I write... until the first unsubscribed email landed, and I was devastated... what did I do? How have I offended/bored them? Perhaps I should change my style? Then...
... I remembered that I am here to enjoy connecting with people, and practice/develop my writing skills, so why is this unsubscriber such a big deal? And... I haven't monetised (and currently have no immediate intention to) my Substack, so it doesn't negatively impact my income. Then I simply calmed down and just accepted that people change their minds, and that's ok 🙂
Still disappointed though when it happens 😄
My Substack (not The Keystone here) is monetized, and while it certainly doesn't make nearly enough money for anyone to live on, it does bring in an amount that is significant to my life. I would find it more difficult without the income from Substack.
But, I've taken what I believe to be a rather odd approach to monetization. You don't have to pay to get all of the stuff I write. I just make payment an option for those who want to support my writing and see it continue. I call it the 'free love hippy method' and it is based on how the Guardian newspaper monetizes. You can read about how I do it on Substack here:
https://cmbailey.substack.com/p/just-call-me-the-free-love-hippy
Because of that, I do have a paid subscriber threshold number that I strive to maintain. But even so, paid subscribers do tend to come and go. And that's OK, it's all part of filtering, and I think all part of the seasons of people's lives.
All that said, I too remember my very first unsubscribe. It was a person I know, someone I think of as a friend and supporter. I wondered like heck what I could have done to make him unsubscribe.
But, then he shot me an email, and explained why he'd done so. He explained that every day he'd get an email from me through Substack, and sometimes he didn't have the time to read it that day. And then he'd feel bad all day, because he felt that he was ignoring me by not reading the latest email from my Substack. So he unsubscribed in order to stop feeling as if he was failing me by not reading everything I sent.
That sort of put it all into a much different perspective for me, and is probably what led me to pretty much ignoring raw subscriber numbers from the start here.
I love the idea of the ‘free love hippy method’… I saw something similar the other day from Stacy at Subject to Change, and thought it a damn fine idea! Thanks for the stuff you provide, and as a pensioner on a meagre pension, I really appreciate good writers like you making your thoughts accessible to those of us who can’t afford to pay for subscriptions 🙏🏽
My decision was based on retirement, and the realisation over the years that turning something that I love into a job kills any enjoyment, as it becomes a commercial transaction with deadlines, which is how I’ve lived much of my life (like most people, I guess 🤔)… non-monetisation has worked for me because I love to write, but know that if I don’t produce something, that’s ok… 🙂 From time to time I think I should look into the ‘Buy me a coffee’ phenomenon because Tarot decks don’t grow on trees (just out of them 😁) and it would be nice to have a few more… but I haven’t got my head around it yet… need to work out which app is best, and easy to use from Spain…
Funnily enough, I had an online friend unsub today, and our conversation here influenced my lack of anxiety about it very positively (thank you! 🙏🏽). I understand the email thing, though, and found that having a full inbox everyday to go through just felt like work, so I now just pick what lands in my feed and hope to get through as much of that as I can… I know this means I will miss things, but I just can’t keep up, sadly…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and approach, Cameron, much appreciated as it’s also helping me to review my own approach 🙏🏽🙂
Thank you for your kind words. Recently I've been thinking of extending this 'Free Love Hippy Method' to my Tarot readings as well. Doing readings on a 'pay what you want/pay if you want' system. For much the same reasons discussed here.
I only do a few client readings these days but do exactly that, with the caveat that €1 is the starting point, because I see a reading as an energy exchange, and feel that establishes it nicely. No-one has gone for the €1 option, people generally offer me something near a going rate, but if they did, I'd be good with that, too 🙂
Thanks for this. I like the One Euro starting point idea. I've been thinking about our exchange here the last couple of days, so this evening I penned a whole bunch of random thoughts and turned them into my next post. It's scheduled to go out in a couple of hours.
I don't have any of this stuff figured out in my mind, not really anyway, but I think that maybe by writing about it my thoughts will be able to clarify. Certainly your exchanging with me here has been a great help towards that, so Thank You!
Thanks Cameron, I feel the same way, too… I know I need to look at what I am doing, and this has got me thinking as well 🤔
I have to admit, I’m a bit addicted to your writing at the moment! Yet again, I’ve never seen the Two of Cups explained in quite the way you’ve put it. It really struck a chord — the Two of Cups actually happened to me.
I often feel like I’m walking on glass with certain people. What you wrote made me realise that I do tend to people-please, because I don’t want to upset them. And then today, someone said just one sentence to me and I felt so weak-minded.
That ties in with the other card you were discussing, six of pentacles; that people are only as strong as you allow them to be. It makes me wonder: what card would counteract that energy, to help balance it out? or can we kick them out of the deck lol
Thank you very much! I'm really enjoy knowing that you find value here!
I too tend to be a people-pleaser, and I find that the words of others can cut me quite deeply. I never let that show, but it can certainly impact my sleep and stays in my thoughts for a really long time.
But, I guess, in keeping with this post, I have done a really good job through the decades of curating my friends. I tend to only surround myself with people who are uplifting to me, and I try to be uplifting to others as well.
But yeah, ultimately, people who make us feel small can cause us quite a bit of emotional pain.
When I started my Substack in 2022, I sent an invite to 22 people I know who I thought might be interested. Most of them subscribed and are still with me. Since then my number has rising to something in the mid 90s. This makes me happy.
But I also realize that "views" do not necessarily mean "reads". Sometimes I wonder how many people actually read what I write. But I try not to think about it too much. If you gotta say something, saying it is the important part.
Honestly, the coolest thing in the world to me is when I run into someone 'in the wild' who says that they have read something of mine. This happens from time to time with my other, much larger Substack, but it has happened a couple of times recently with this much smaller Tarot one. It's really quite wonderful to discover that some of what I write does indeed have an impact.
As for getting my initial subscribers, most all of mine followed me over from Facebook I believe. That used to be much more effective than it is now.