Ten Reasons Why I Want You Here In My Community

It's not all about the paywall but joining as a paid subscriber will really help me try to grow part of this space as a private midlife members club ❤️

There I’ve said it 👆🏻 Up there in the title. I’m talking about money and being paid. It’s a subject people can’t or won’t talk about. Especially creative people. I don’t have a problem talking about money. We all need it after all, don’t we?

There’s a lot I want to do here on Substack.

I am still figuring it all out. It’s a process. But their are some things I’m clear on and have wanted right from the very start of being here.

Lets go ….

I had my first paid subscriber join me last week and I was beyond overjoyed - ‘thankyou Elisabet 🙏🏻’ The buzz that gave me and the impetus I needed to just start on my dream.

I love writing. It’s where a lot of my creativity lives.

Curating my thoughts and insights on something and typing them out or writing them down.

I love it ❤️

In fact, I’ve loved writing ever since I was a kid. I remember a teacher at secondary school who just happened to be a nun {no idea why that matters ha!} saying I should make it my career. We all used to think how young she seemed to be a nun. She had a very kind face. She was kind. She was called Sister Marie Thérèse.

How come I never listened to her?

I think even then I knew people would think it wasn’t a proper job. Just one you kept as hobby. And that’s what I’ve done. Exactly that. Kept it as hobby my whole life.

When I landed on Substack last year I came with zero subscribers.

I hadn’t been very good at collecting subscribers over on my last blog. At one point I had about 10,000 page views a month and I still didn’t ask any of my readers to subscribe. I eventually did but it was too late as everyone was sticking to Instagram and TikTok like glue and people thought blogs were dead.

Blogs weren’t dead but it suited the narrative to keep people on social platforms and not needing or wanting to click external links to read blogs.

I’ll never tire of looking at my subscriber growth graph.

I also really love community.

It’s what I love most about what the internet does best.

Making like minded friends.

I once built a Facebook group of nearly 2,000 women of all ages for a marketing campaign I created over the course of a couple of weeks. I really enjoyed doing that.

Writing and community … my two passions ❤️

So that’s what I’ve come to Substack to try and do again but this time everything in one place. That way I can hopefully keep my eye on the ball.

But why am I asking you to think about becoming a Best Before End Date paid subscriber?

I have ten reasons I’d like to share with you:

• Reason 1 - I want to create a community of women just like me more than anything else at this stage in my life. Manifestation incoming 🙏🏻

• Reason 2 - this all takes time and a lot of effort to do. That’s on me you might say and fair enough but I know I’d pay to be part of something like this. I have to trust the process.

• Reason 3 - we’ve become accustomed to consuming free content on the internet. Does that mean it’s right or fair? I teach digital sustainability and a lot of that involves an enormous amount of decluttering our digital spaces. It’s a bit like fast fashion and the impact that has on the planet only worse because nearly all of it has been free so we end up completely devaluing it. We need to find a balance.

• Reason 4 - I don’t want to bung my space up here with affiliate links. I know that’s how some Substackers who’ve come from Instagram are bootstrapping here. I’m not saying it’s wrong it’s just not for me. I’ve rather keep this space free of all that. I’m not here to sell a bunch of stuff to you every time I write something to make it work for me.

• Reason 5 - there is so much I wish I’d known about the middle of life before I reached it. I hope we can share stories here so that younger women and us midlifers can be better informed.

• Reason 6 - there is so much I want to know and learn about later life to help myself and others on the same path as me right now.

• Reason 7 - I want to create a safe space where we can gather together and chat privately. A place that’s not governed by algorithms or bots.

• Reason 8 - I don’t want the whole of the internet to be able to snoop and pry on us.

• Reason 9 - You’re not really paying to read my words. That’s secondary. You’re really paying to become part of a community here with me.

• Reason 10 - Saying it again! I want to create a community of women just like me more than anything else. Manifestation incoming 🙏🏻

As a side note I have a massive dollop of imposter syndrome right now.

I’m surrounded here on Substack by journalists, ex glossy magazine editors, authors, coaches many with massive numbers. But, if I don’t start somewhere then I’ll never know if I can grow a community of like minded women here, will I?

My numbers here are tiny right now but I’m never getting into that Insta rat race again. It’s depressing. I’d rather have smaller numbers of women I can actually talk to like it used to be in the DMs. Only this is wayyyyyy better here.

Here goes then .. I’m all in.

I’ve set myself a target .. once I reach 10 paid subscribers I’m going to open up the private members chat.

I’m one down, nine to go ☺️

Better an oops than a ‘what if’

Think of the conversations we could have.

Are you in?

P.S. There will still be a great mix of free content - don’t worry - I’m not going all Paywall on you 😍