Once upon a time, the power of a strong social media following could make a career. It still can, of course, but to a much, much lesser extent. I won't bore you with a recycled narrative of the shitty algorithm effect, although relevant in this case. Suffice to say, a follow count is only worth a fraction of what is portrayed—especially today. This is down to visibility in feed (or lack thereof), attention diversity, content delivery type, output frequency, and the need to constantly adapt to platform trends.
When once a following of 10,000 could turn your life around with organic reach, today a following of 100,000 barely even makes a dent in the pursuit of success. Obviously you can take this with a pinch of salt, as subject matters vary widely—commercialism vs. the arts vs. social and societal endeavours. But there are dark arts you can master if you're armed with the right knowledge, time, money, and commitment—such as engagement hacking, ad spending, and algo manipulation. Problem is, most people don't have that armoury or budget to experiment because social media is considered a supplementary ingredient to their work. So if social followers and gatekeeper platforms are unreliable, what’s the alternative? The answer lies in building something more direct—where your audience isn't at the mercy of ever-changing platform rules.
The humble email. The most underrated, yet most reliable way to reach an audience—through the direct, unfiltered power of a newsletter. No interference, no restrictions, no risk of vanishing from their feed. Sure, there's always a chance of landing in a junk folder—but if someone subscribed intentionally, you're already miles ahead of fighting for visibility in a cluttered feed.
An email list grows slowly, but it's built to last. Unlike social platforms, where a tweak in the algorithm can wipe out years of effort, your email list is yours. Even if you switch newsletter providers, you can take your entire audience with you—no loss, no setback. And I'd take one engaged email subscriber over 100 passive social followers any day.
I know this isn't some revolutionary take—it's just a gentle reminder that your value isn't measured by follower counts or social media engagement. Platforms come and go, algos shift overnight, and attention is more fragmented than ever. But what remains consistent? Email. And there's a lot to love about it.
It's focused, distraction-free, and completely yours to shape however you want. Whether it's a single plain-text paragraph or a visually rich marketing campaign, you have full editorial control.
And if email isn't your thing? Newsletters can also be followed via RSS, making them even more accessible to those who prefer an open-web, no-inbox approach.
If you're curious to see this in action, I'm experimenting with my new project FFF®. I don't even know what it's going to include yet, but you can nevertheless subscribe here: buttondown.com/fff