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Hi Reader!
Earlier this year a recipe creator I follow posted a link to get her weekly meal plan in my inbox each week for stupid cheap, so I snagged it.
I was directed to this app called Substack, which confused me.
Why wasn’t she using her own blog? What is this app? Is this a recipe site?
I may be cool, but I blissfully live under a rock and am not an early adopter to new things (unless of course they are new things I create, then I’m all balls in).
For a few weeks I read and followed along.
But then things got weird.
I started getting newsletters from people I never signed up for. This went on for weeks and I was perplexed.
Did I sign up for this with my burner email and not remember? Who were these people? Did I have amnesia?
Upon further inspection I discovered one common threadL
They were all on Substack.
I still didn’t know WTF Substack was.
Was it like Blotspot? (remember that?! Tthat’s where I had my first blog… HeatherLongLegs 🤣)
Was it social media, but in like, long form?
Was it like the linktree version of blogging for people who don’t want to host their own site 🫣
But more importantly WHY was I getting people’s emails from it?!
Also, I got notifications that people started subscribing to MY substack.
I didn’t know I HAD a Substack.
I went to unsubscribe from the unwelcomed newsletters in my inbox, but there wasn’t an unsubscribe option… it was one of those “manage my preferences” things that you get from companies you have accounts with. Which confused me because again, I didn’t realize I had an account 😅
Right about here is where I started feeling my age. When I was in my twenties I remember rolling my eyes at “old” people who struggled with tech...
But alas, here we are.
I couldn't figure out how to remove myself from these other newsletters (or maybe I was too lazy to click around and figure it out, I don’t really remember).
The idea occurred to me that I could just cut it all off at its knees by unsubscribing entirely from this mysterious Substack…
But that meant I wouldn't get the recipe emails that I actually wanted and paid for in the first place!
So I did… nothing.
And now I just have more emails to bulk delete each morning during my long pee.
(That was TMI, but I think at this point in life, 97.4% of people are reading their emails or checking social or playing candy crush on the can. And if this conversation were on social, someone would chime in and say how gross I am, or how bad that is for our pelvic floors, and to that I say, “Let us beeee Patricia! We’ve got to take the quiet moments when we can get them!)
But I digress.
Let’s get back to the point here.
So much has changed about our behavior for consuming entertainment and educational content over the last 10 years, heck even the last 1-2.
I used to listen to podcasts a ton, but now I’m very selective.
I no longer read long newsletters, except from those I *really* want to hear from, because I truly value their point of view.
I rarely watch / read business content on social, for me it’s now 95% entertainment (my current fav is the compilations of people falling on ice or getting jump scared 😅)
Many of us have changed the way to consume content, and are now questioning the best way to create content.
Some are making the pivot to LinkedIn from Instagram.
Others are going all in on video.
Some are finding their footing on Substack.
Or creating free communities on Skool.
Many are doubling down on their own blogs or podcasts.
Through all of this, I keep hearing this phrase:
What’s the BEST way to get visible / create content / market in 2026?
And here’s what I need you to know:
The “BEST WAY” is bullshit and will limit your growth.
Believing that there is a “best way” to do anything becomes an excuse to not take action.
It leaves you obsessively weighing the pros and cons, asking for feedback / opinions and planning. You become so focused on getting it “right”, that you miss the plot:
Just because it’s worked for others, doesn't mean it will work for you.
Something only works when you work it.
Meaning - you have to put in the reps. You have to find your footing, your style, your flow,
So might I encourage you to ask a different question?
Instead of finding “the best” platform or way to market yourself in 2026, ask:
What do I ENJOY doing?
What can I commit to putting in the reps?
For me, that’s not social media or writing long content.
It’s SPEAKING.
I love recording podcasts.
I love being interviewed on other people’s podcasts.
I love emceeing and facilitating live events (both my own and other peoples)
I love teaching workshops and coaching inside my programs and in others.
Point being, I know what I LOVE.
And bonus, I’ve become good at it.
So my focus for 2026 is 1) becoming even better and 2) tapping into my Speak For Growth™ method to connect it to the results I’m after.
My question for you is this:
When it comes to sharing your expertise, if you had a full day to do so (and you didn’t get paid), how would you choose to share it?
Would you write a book? Articles? Would you create visuals or video? Would you want to be interviewed about it? Teach? Speak? Coach?
What sounds FUN to you?
Whatever it is, let THAT into your plan. Double down on not just being good at it, but becoming exceptional. And find ways to connect it to your outcomes.
And hey, if it does involve anything related to speaking, I'm thinking about running one last live training between now and the end of the year to help you connect the dots between speaking and tangible outcomes in your business... would you be interested? Hit reply and let me know.
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Heather Sager | Speaker. Mentor. Educator.
Helping business owners speak, teach, and lead—better.
🎤 Founder, The Signature Era™
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PS: jury is still out on Substack. What's your take?
PPS: Speaking of me loving speaking, I’m excited to get the podcast back into production soon, and decided to go back to my roots with the Heather Sager Show. Keep an ear out for it soon.
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