I’ve been on Instagram now for four or five years and the platform has changed massively over that time. We have an algorithm, our engagement and reach is a lot less than it used to be and there is the introduction of adverts into our feed.
Yet - despite all of that I still think Instagram is a great place to be as a writer or an author.
Instagram has encouraged me to call myself a writer, it has driven me to ‘up my writing game’, it has created opportunities, given me confidence to try new things (like YouTube and Patreon) and introduced me to a wonderfully supportive community.
So despite sometimes feeling incredibly frustrated by the app there are still many advantages. In the following video I talk more about the way I use it to push myself as a writer and to grow an engaged community.
Want some specific help with your Instagram? Then take a look at my Instagram Audit service.
Like this? You might also enjoy How I Use INSTAGRAM STORIES as a Writer.
Over the weekend I sent out a newsletter which opened with a short anecdote about my YouTube channel. The subject of the newsletter wasn’t actually about YouTube at all but I received an email back from one of my lovely subscribers asking what had happened with my YouTube journey. She said: It feels almost like we followed you on your journey then when you arrived at the Emerald City, you left us outside the gates.
I completely agreed. I’d stopped talking about YouTube once I reached monetisation. I’d shared a lot of what I was going through including my analytics and how close I was getting on my Instagram Stories - but then just didn’t carry that narrative on.
My YouTube journey has dominated my life for a year. I was thinking about it a lot; anxious that I would not reach the relevant requirements and then, when I did, I was worried about being rejected and monetisation would not be allowed for my channel.
So I thought I’d explore why I stopped talking about my YouTube channel in this blog post, as well as looking at my YouTube journey so far.