It's my birthday so you have to open this

Hi chat! Today is my birthday and I have some news.

If you haven’t noticed, things have been a bit quiet over here on the Conversation Starters Substack. And I’ll just jump out and say it: after careful consideration, I’m going to be reducing my time spent here.

Why you ask? Well it’s simply that I am not seeing the ROI that I feel is necessary to continue pumping out a daily newsletter on the platform.

It feels hard to say that out loud because this is a platform I genuinely love working on and it also feels like a slight fail. But after being on here for nearly a year, trialing this new daily approach for 90 days and silencing the content for a couple weeks – with no one asking where the newsletter is – I think I have my answer.

It’s not that I don’t have a community on here — I have been on the Bestsellers List and Rising numerous times over the course of the past year. Though what I’ve now come to understand is that doesn’t always translate to people converting to paid subscribers or even opening the newsletter. And with the amount of effort it takes to pump out current events content every single day — I need to be honest with myself and consider if this is still the best use of my time.

So even though I have loved getting to write again, starting off this Substack and subsequently “failing” at it, has me realizing a few things in this world on content creation and media:

1. Sometimes where you want to be isn’t the best place for you to be. The content space is hard and I am someone who loves to be everywhere. So I was so excited to test out this platform when it really started buzzing. I love Substack – I cannot stress that enough. I love the After School’s, Hung Up’s, Feed Me’s of the Substack world and I wanted to be a part of that culture. But at this point in time, it’s just not in my future and I need to look at where my energy can be best put to use.

2. Which brings me to my next point: Listening to your audience is key. A couple weeks ago, I asked my followers across platforms what they wanted to me to Start, Stop and Continue – there was not one mention of the newsletter. I actually had a number of people ask me to essentially do what I was already doing on Substack on different platforms. Feedback like that can’t be denied. And it’s not because there isn’t a place for Substack content in the world, it’s just not where my audience is living right now. And meeting my people where they are is so important to me as I continue to build.

3. And although I’m building Conversation Starters with intention and insights — just because something isn’t working professionally, doesn’t mean we can’t find joy in it personally. As I said, I love consuming content on Substack. I find it fun and inspiring to spend my time here. And because of that I know that even though I’m releasing myself from the pressures of a Monday through Friday output, I am excited to consider the ways in which I can continue to show up on here, maybe less frequently but without worry of data-driven impact and simply for fun. And perhaps in releasing myself from that pressure, I’ll discover what clicks for us all over here. Or I’ll just have fun doing it vs. feeling like I’m failing.

I love the joy writing brings me these days, so I refuse excuse myself from it entirely. And I feel strongly on today, my birthday, of all days, that not everything I do content-wise has to be entirely for the bottom line. That’s not the life I’m creating, nor is it the one I want for myself as I enter this next chapter.

So that’s my update, for better or worse. I appreciate those who have come here, subscribed, read and stayed. I will be back in some capacity each and every month though I wanted to add some transparency as to why you haven’t heard from me and will be seeing less of me on here on a weekly basis.

Thank you forever chat! I appreciate all my Subbies and I am looking forward to wherever we’re off to for the next era.

And for this millennial today, the rest is still unwritten…