This Audio Diary entry is a Thank You to all the subscribers of SelfLove Lately. There are more of you now—which is both weird and glorious. Weird, simply because that’s such a new experience for me. I’ll continue slipping in access to paid content as we go along in appreciation of you sharing this journey with me.
I haven’t provided a bio of sorts, so I’ll give you a little background on how I ended up here. Multiple people encouraged me to start a Substack years ago.
I’d been blogging on my own websites for over a decade about everything from healing psoriasis through diet to discovering I’m a highly sensitive person, writing a book, and struggling, in many ways, to love myself in the skin I’m in. I’ve done hundreds of YouTube videos, thousands of social media posts, monthly emails via a newsletter I send through my website elysehughes.com . . . I’ve given a TEDx, self-published a book and told stories in many forms that’ve inevitably evolved as I have. Back in 2017, I took down all the content I’d produced for my holistic lifestyle brand and rebirthed myself as Elyse Hughes Writer. This whole summary of todos all sounds a bit mechanical or market-y, but as a creative who’s shared intimate bits of her story for a solid chunk of adult life, exploring the best ways to reach an audience or readership is simply part of it. I’d say the writing and marketing is 50/50, but really, the repackaging of content in dynamic ways takes enough time and energy to tip those scales more realistically to 30/70, the former being the time spent writing.
One of the BIG reasons I held off on starting a Substack publication was: FAILURE. I’m no stranger to it. Even though I’ve created and shared prolifically, my followings have remained modest, and growth sluggish.
Here’s a taste of my neghead, downer thought process going in: Will this just be another hopeful endeavor ending in disappointment? How can I get excited for something that probably won’t go anywhere, just like everything that’s come before? I don’t want to learn a whole new thing. I don’t want to be green again—I’ve gotten good at my process, even though it’s not fruiting a desirable result. What if I go through all the steps of starting, and not a single person subscribes? Then what?
I didn’t know if I had the energy, desire or drive to really go for it. I didn’t know if it would be good or if anyone would subscribe. I felt 120% amateur hour and intimidated by all the new elements—email headers and footers, Notes, About Page . . . (I still haven’t drafted a welcome email by the way.)
But I’d found myself in a dead zone where I wasn’t reaching new readers. I’d stretched my legs on Medium and got nowhere. The email list through my website was shrinking—one person at a time would unsubscribe each month and each felt like a death mixed with an affront. I was resistant to investing in something new and felt absolutely not good enough. In the heart of weather-induced depression this past summer, I got together some posts and agonized over them. Edited, added. Neither felt right. I finally spewed something out and got up my first post on September 2nd 2024. I settled for resignation, knowing I wasn’t capable of feeling thrilled or optimistic. I just had to do something, and I did.
This Audio Diary is a podcast exclusively for paid subscribers of SelfLove Lately. So far, it’s been raw, off-the-cuff, spontaneous and organically evolving. I haven’t put a lot of forethought into the subject matter other than grouping them into series, the first being: SUBSTACK BEGINNINGS. It made sense to share the ups and downs of starting at a time when things felt predominantly bleak. I even got so bold as to use a few audio messages I had recorded just for myself. They’re terrible. The sound quality is a disaster, I sound like a hot mess extraordinaire—they’re cringeworthy, for sure (the ums, yeahs and likes quotient alone makes them practically unlistenable). But I knew I wanted to expand my tolerance for discomfort and practice speaking my truth, even if it was messy, unpolished, even regrettable.
The Audio Diary itself was entirely unexpected—I’d been planning on launching an Elyse Hughes Writer podcast independently, and SelfLove Lately was an idea I had for a podcast or column I’d pitch to a network or magazine down the road. Everything kind of flipped itself around, and it clicked that this name (that’d been hovering in my consciousness for years) was meant for my Substack publication and all its branches. How does that saying go—life is what happens when you’re making other plans? Well, that’s kinda what happened here.
So now that we are here, four full months into a fresh iteration of writing about my misadventures in SelfLove and trying to make it, let’s do some rundowns.
I’ve released 8 written posts complete with voiceovers
3 include Decompression Seshes (which are deep-dive audios that expound on the subject matter)
This is the 10th Audio Diary entry—gawd! I can’t even believe it.
Subscribers have grown from 1 (moi) to 33—what?!
There is not only a paid subscriber but 2 Founding Members.
I did not expect anyone to choose that option, so when I set up my Substack, I vaguely put “Monthly Zoom” as a placeholder. Much like the Audio Diary, SelfLoving Trifectas were born, which is my offering for those Founding Members. (And in this case, me getting that together was born of immediate need following the first Founding Member subscription)—these are comprehensive teachings on one relevant topic a month designed to help you put SelfLove into practice.
Based on four months and 20 posts involving writing, audio & video, here are some takeaways thus far:
It’s okay to start badly, and do it badly, and not be clear right out the gate or even at any singular point. I’m including a picture in this post of the subscriber offerings I started out with because I was basically guessing. They’ve all changed and improved—I actually need to update them.
There are people doing it better than me—better writers, better speakers, better production quality on content—all of those things. This will always be the case, so the best I can do is accept the way I do it, knowing I’ll improve in areas but I do have limitations, and that’s okay.
Vulnerability is uncomfortable but it’s what I love most about others’ writing, and my own.
As a sensitive perfectionist, I say this with ultimate tenderness and understanding: it’s better to risk typos, do or say embarrassing shit and publish, than remain in the purgatory of planning and not publish.
At this moment in time, Notes is an excellent way to chat it up with other writers (this is Substack’s social media component). Reading others’ publications is vital in this platform. It helps you improve the mechanics of your setup, but also offers a breadth of creative styles, skill levels and techniques that enhance your writing by simply reading. We live in a unique time where those of us choosing to publish online don’t have to wait for anyone’s permission. We have free reign over how we want to express ourselves. This is really really powerful, and I LOVE seeing how writers are experimenting.
A note on recommendations: I’m very selective about recommending anyone or anything, ever. When I recommend a publication, I have a reason to back it and I take the time to fill in a line of explanation in my dashboard. I’ve had the honor of other writers recommending SelfLove Lately and this has directly contributed to new subscribers. We’ve got a chance to champion other writers whose work we find meaningful and that is one BIG way Substack helps us genuinely grow our readership.
You don’t need super-duper mega-expensive equipment to record audio and video. I film videos on my phone. I don’t use an external mic (yet) or do any editing on these Audio Diaries because I want them to be raw and intimate. Similarly, I record all my voiceovers in one take—they’re far from perfect, but I prefer you hear my voice instead of the robot-generated one that would otherwise steamroll my words, missing emphasis and intended humor. I currently use the Dolby On app to record all my audio—it’s free! It’s more important to me to offer these expanded expressions of the writing so you can get to know me than wait to have the best equipment or highest production quality. I could lose a lot of time fixating on editing when I’d rather focus on writing, creating content and sharing regularly.
This wouldn’t be a well-rounded wrap-up of the SUBSTACK BEGINNINGS series without a handful of cautions.
In listening back to my Audio Diary entries, I learned hard and fast not to record when I’m tired. I sound like the wreck I am when my energy is low. It’s always a good idea to just wait until after I’ve rested or slept on it so that my mind is fresh.
Substack is a universe of options. Unless you have a team helping you, I’d be shocked if overwhelm didn’t creep in now and again—especially in the beginning.
I’ve taken the tender approach of
starting simple
making improvements over time
keeping my posting requirements low (so I can easily exceed them and gain momentum)
gleaning inspiration from other writers’ publications
Notes are fun but can become draining with over-consumption
They’re pretty quality as far as social media goes, but especially for us sensitives, too much info can bog us down. On the flip side, constant sharing (while it may be the typical advice for growth) can zap us. For me, too much output is not good for my mental health. I need decompression, free mental space—and when I give myself those things, my posts are more quality or lighthearted or balanced. I’m just not willing to sacrifice my well-being for the sake of numbers, so posting at a frequency that’s kind to my nervous system is non-negotiable.
A few ways I navigate this:
I turned off notifications (on the app on my phone) and dip in a few times a week to respond to comments.
I post when inspired.
I take longer to respond to messages because I provide thoughtful responses.
And finally, what I’m proud of:
That I started
I’m speaking more truth, more often
FUN. I tend to get real serious about stuff. So letting loose, infusing humor and lightness—these balance the weight of the deep emotional shares.
My writing. Years ago, I was a freelance content and copywriter. Even with my own blogs and emails, I wrote in a specific style that you often see in online business. Very much a problem (or pain point), then solution, then offer format. Or every post was 3 this or 7 that—feeding the SEO machine and not my heart. The person you see in my writing, now, is closer to me than most people who know me in real life will ever get to know. That has only come from a lot of writing, many breakdowns, a rise in self-awareness and a deep desire to love the person I am and continue to become. The gap between what I present and who I am has shrunk, and that feels like a true accomplishment.
Thanks for listening and, again—for your support of SelfLove Lately. Where will we go from here? I haven’t decided on the subject of the next series yet but I am taking recommendations and always love to hear from you. Because this Audio Diary entry will be a resource for other writers on the platform, feel free to share any illuminating bits about your Substack experience in the comments.
And finally, I decided on a sign-off! Ready for it? Until next time—Take care, rest well, do you and follow your happy. E OUT!
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