How I Network Without Selling My Soul

Hit up those DMs

Over the months, I’ve often whined to Alex about my lack of Substack growth. “Hhmph!” I pout. “I’ve published fifty posts now, but it seems like people just aren’t subscribing. Everything is terrible!”

Sometimes Alex starts copying my pouty face and teases me about my angst, but other times, he instead tries to help me solve the problem. “It seems that most people grow by getting their Substacks recommended by other people. Why don’t you just network more?”

pain……

I know networking is important, especially in the creative fields. I’ve gotten 70+ subscribers simply from people recommending my Substack. But historically, whenever someone suggested I try networking, I would start withering on the spot. It’s like watching Beyonce or people on America’s Got Talent dance, and then being told to replicate their moves immediately. I know what they’re doing is cool, but it’s a mysterious dance that I have no idea how to do.

How does some confident guy who plays on the college football team talk to some investment banker at a career fair and walk out with an internship? How do these hotshot Twitter people know each other and actually seem to enjoy joking around together?

In the past few months, however, I’ve gotten a lot better at networking. I managed to grab coffee with someone whose work and business sense I really admire, write a post about a popular tweeter that got read widely, and worked with Jason Levin on a collaborative post about underthinking.

While serendipity played a rule, and I still struggle with sending cold DMs or reaching out to people, networking has started to feel a little less mysterious. In fact, it’s started to feel actually fun and genuine, and I’d love for others to have fun with it as well. I’ve shared my learnings below.