I run what I call a social media lite brand. I’m purposely not leaning on traditional social media as the #1 way to grow my brand. Instead, I’m focusing on being visible using other more organic and analog approaches to marketing. In fact, at this point I’m only actively using Threads and Substack (which is a beast of a different color) What exactly am I doing to build my list with marketing on social media being last on my list? In today’s podcast episode I’m sharing why I think list building without social media is a must have skill and why creators who focus on off-platform marketing will have the healthiest online brands in 2026.
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Listen to the Episode
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Creators Getting Paid
I ask online entrepreneurs (mostly Black and Brown) how they’re making money and building sustainable online brands so you don’t have to. The goal? To help digital content creators to build financially sustainable brands. Become a part of the community today. Go to https://creatorsgettingpaid.com/newsletter to begin your learning journey.
Show Notes
Before I get into sharing strategies for list building, I want to bring up some of the headwinds that may impact creators and other entrepreneurs’ use of social media.
- Increasing social media fatigue-I noticed several years ago that I just wasn’t enjoying social media as much as I used to. While I’ve made some amazing connections, learned about interesting perspectives and discovered amazing creatives…I just couldn’t shake the feeling that social media, as we experience it now, takes a toll on your energy and your time. There’s just other stuff I could be doing that are more enjoyable with people in “real life” When I’m not on social media I don’t miss it. I don’t miss TikTok, X or Facebook even though I still have an active profile.
- Loss of trust-I think that there are a growing number of users who are frustrated with how the algorithms choose what content to share on user feeds, wondering what the companies are doing with the data they’re collecting and the feeling that their content may be shadow-banned or not shared on the feed for whatever reason. If a creator’s content is unlikely to be shown on the feeds-why would they use that platform?
- Bots, AI and Rage Bait-The broader issue of who’s really interacting with your content? I’m not trying to waste time arguing with machine generated content that’s trying to rage bait me. Or, people who’ve monetized their brands through rage bating and anger. A great example is the business behind hating on Meghan Sussex (nee Markle) You don’t have to like her to recognize the business behind the scenes of generating hate focused content about her.
I think it has become increasingly clear that social media platforms are suppressing content and also discouraging users from being directed off the platform. So, if you’re trying to use social media to grow off the platform-being mindful of
What to Do Instead
I think that we’ve all forgotten that social media is still an extremely young tool. We’ve also forgotten that marketing businesses, initiatives, etc. without social media has been happening for thousands of years. There’s nothing new about this, many of us have just stopped using this skill. I totally understand why, the idea of getting in front of thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions of people is so enticing. I want to ask you a question-are all of your followers translating into sales? Does the income you’re earning match the effort that you’ve put into growing your social media followers? The one metric I would consider to for measuring success would be email list conversions from social.
- Focus on building your list-Now, more than ever having a robust email list that you actively communicate with is non-negotiable. If McDonalds, a 50+ year old company, that most people all over the world are familiar with is list building (on its website and via their app) why aren’t you? If legacy bricks and mortar businesses are actively growing their lists-that’s the signal to all of us that we should also be prioritizing list building as well.
- Design unique shareable projects-What I love about marketing off social media is how creative you can be with your approach. Creative entrepreneurs can have fun and just try things out. A couple of my favorite projects include the following:
- Anything that Wisdom Kane does-he’s a fashion content creator
- The Comic Shop-A comedy developed and produced by Cheyenne Ewulu and distributed on YouTube
- Focus on building connections-Without other creative entrepreneurs giving me tips, sharing my work with their audience and just being wonderful friends-I would not be where I’m at today. I’ve met some incredibly kind, giving and generous people. In-person connections include doing something as simple as meeting for coffee, hosting monthly meetups or being a part of a mastermind. You can also host online meetups too.
- Guesting on Podcasts-A week before I recorded this episode I was a guest on City Cast Denver talking about one of my favorite topics-Denver Coffee Shops. It was a great time and I love getting in front of other audience through podcasting.
- Produce projects for an organization-I’m the host and producer of a podcast for a local non-profit carshare here in the Denver Metro Area (I’m also on the Board) Last year I also worked on a project for a non-profit that served Black and Brown farmers.
- Publish a Zine-I love that these are coming back. What’s a Zine? An independently produced magazine typically published in small batches.
- Wear branded apparel-Especially when attending an event.
- Use an LED backpack to share your work-I met a guy wearing one at an event that I attended last week.
- Create and distribute a unique tool-I’ve shared a couple of examples
- Grants for Creators designed by Danielle Desir Corbett. She curates grant opportunities for creatives.
- Anna DeShawn, founder of The Qube, produced a project where she put podcast audio on vinyl
- Jen Ruiz’s Jet Plane Crew on Substack-She curates writing opportunities for travel writers and content creators.
- Make stickers-There’s whole states with people who carry water bottles daily who would love to put a new sticker onto their water bottles.
- Host a Unique Experience-One of the fastest growing events in Denver is a Secret Coffee Rave. Yes. A rave that happens at coffee shops typically from 10am -2 pm. Guess what they do? They have interested attendees sign up to find out the location. Typically, there a several djs and other fun treats/experiences during the rave.
- Create, distribute or send postcards-You could even just put a QR code on the card and have it connect to audio or video advertising your project.
I have other ideas but this episode is long enough. Start integrating an off social media marketing strategy so that you’re already prepared and actively promoting your work if something happens impacting your ability to use your favorite social media platform.
