In this Creative on Purpose conversation, Circle member Seth Werkheiser from Social Media Escape Club leads a candid discussion about audience growth, Substack, email lists, and why chasing followers is usually the wrong game.
Instead of treating social media as the center of your business, Seth makes the case for building trust through email, Substack, conversations, collaborations, and consistent presence with the people already paying attention. The episode challenges creators, coaches, writers, and solopreneurs to stop obsessing over reach and start focusing on resonance.
The conversation also explores better calls to action, the difference between casual followers and committed subscribers, the limits of YouTube and social media as growth engines, and why small, trusted audiences often create better business outcomes than large distracted ones.
7 Essential Takeaways
1. A subscriber is worth far more than a follower
Followers are casual. Subscribers have raised their hand. Social platforms are built for scrolling, distraction, and passive attention, while email and Substack create a more direct relationship. The goal isn’t to drag every follower into your world. It’s to invite the right people into a deeper connection.
2. Big social media numbers can be misleading
A large follower count doesn’t mean people are seeing, reading, trusting, or acting on your work. Seth points out that even if you gain a thousand followers, only a small fraction may ever see your next post. A smaller email list of people who actually open, read, and respond is often more valuable than a giant audience you can’t reliably reach.
3. Substack followers are closer to becoming subscribers
A Substack follower has already entered an ecosystem where subscribing is natural. That makes them different from someone on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook, where the platform actively discourages people from leaving. Substack followers may not all become subscribers, but they are often much closer to the next step.
4. Better CTAs are really better invitations
“Click here,” “new article,” or “watch this” usually isn’t enough. Seth encourages creators to share the actual substance: a quote, story, excerpt, behind-the-scenes detail, or reason the work matters. The strongest calls to action don’t feel like tactics. They feel like invitations into something meaningful.
5. Repurpose what already works
You don’t need a brand-new idea every week. Old social posts, article excerpts, reader comments, workshop clips, and quotable moments inside your own writing can all become fresh entry points. Most people didn’t see the original version anyway, and even those who did may benefit from seeing it again with new context.
6. Relationships beat algorithms
Replies, thoughtful comments, DMs, collaborations, guest conversations, live calls, and sharing other people’s work can build trust in ways algorithmic posting rarely does. The conversation returns again and again to the value of being useful, generous, and visible inside a real creative orbit instead of trying to growth-hack strangers.
7. Do your best work for the people already paying attention
The biggest strategic shift is to stop spending most of your energy chasing people elsewhere and start delighting the people already in your world. Scott makes the point plainly: every minute spent trying to game YouTube, Facebook, or Substack growth may be time taken away from becoming the best in the world at the work only you can do.
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