Alrighty. Let the Blogging Commence.

Why I'm finally getting around to starting this Substack blog...and what you can expect moving forward.

Coach Jennie contemplating life at The Museum of Ice Cream in Los Angeles. 📸: Meredyth Mustafa-Julock

This blog is TikTok’s fault. Kind of.

When TikTok became a thing, I was a slow on the uptake. It sounded to me like a sillier SnapChat, which is another social media toy I could never get excited about. So when I first heard about TikTok, I ignored the buzz and neglected to claim the @CoachJennie handle...and someone else had the audacity to swipe it. Sadly, I will forever have to be @therealcoachjennie on that silly platform.

So, when I learned that Substack was a thing about a year ago, I sprang into action to claim my name. I had no idea if I would ever do anything with a blogging platform, but I sure as heck wasn’t going to let someone else claim my business identity on this one. So there.

Sometimes my pettiness pays off.

Today, I’m starting a new blog here on Substack using this space I’ve had parked for over a year. And I’m returning to blogging after many, many years away for a few reasons:

The Business Reason

As I recently shared in my annual prediction chapter in Ross Brand’s 100 Livestreaming and Digital Media Predictions, Volume III…

Social media has been available to the masses for more than 15 years now, and it’s about time we all put down our phones. 

Sure, the big players keep coming up with new features and options and algorithms (and CEOs, oof). Clearly Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and all their cousins are not going away anytime soon, and yet another new social media tool likely arrived on the scene in the time it took you to read this sentence. 

But regardless of their upgrades, social media platforms are no longer the sure thing they used to be for finding an audience and growing a thought leadership business like mine. And in today’s turbulent economy, business owners must be prepared to pivot or fold. 

So, I predict that 2023 will be the year when a massive wave of internet marketers turn away from social media and go back to basics, focusing on tools that rely less on ever-changing algorithms and trends and more on content depth and value. Blogging is making a big comeback these days with innovative tools - like Substack and Medium - leading the revival. 

Growing your own algorithm-free blog and email list has never been more important. I, for one, am eager to ride this wave as far away from the social media monster as possible.

I know I’m not the only one who is utterly exhausted by the social media monster, or the Smonster as my colleague Brandy Agerbeck calls it. Once upon a time, I was the first to jump to the defense of these platforms. After all, they have given me access and opportunity to reach the majority of the remarkable humans I’ve worked with over the last 16 years. But lately, I feel like I’m just hollering into echo chambers that expect me to constantly shape-shift to their current style and format of the moment.

I’m over it.

The Personal Reason

Moving away from my reliance on social media is really only a small part of the story.

What I want to move towards is what inspiring this action.

I want to become a writer.

Now, if you know me and my work, you may know that I’m already an author. Yup. Once upon a time, I put myself through 13 torturous months of writing, editing, producing, and self-publishing an actual, factual book. It’s pretty freaking good, too. I’m actually pretty proud of it.

And as you saw above when I boldly quoted myself, I contribute some of my writing to other books from time to time. In fact, I have contributed to six collaborative books that are available on Amazon right now.

But I still do not feel like a writer.

For years, I’ve played the hokey-pokey with my writing, dipping my toes in and out of the game.

A writer writes.

Consistently.

And gets better and better at it with time and tenacity. No matter what.

I want to be that kind of writer. And I’ve decided to, well, make it happen.

The Real Reason

I have a lot to say.

I have a lot to say about becoming more productive.

I have a lot to say about becoming more focused.

I have a lot to say about becoming more decisive.

I have a lot to say about becoming more confident.

And I know that there are thousands of people with impatient ambition out there who are keen to learn from me, so they can stop squandering their potential and finally get on with the business of changing the world.

I know this is a bold assertion, but I’ve got proof from my 16 years in as a life and business coach that this is true. And I can reach far more people if I just keep writing.

Consistently.

And I trust that with time and tenacity, I will become a better writer.

I’m going to write about all of those things here, honing my craft and helping others simultaneously. And I hope you’ll come along for the ride.