“Sometimes the best stories are the ones we don’t set out to tell”
Much has changed for Farrah Storr since the last time she joined me on the podcast. A former editor of Cosmo magazine, and editor-in-chief of Elle, Farrah now writes “Things Worth Knowing” on Substack, a tech newsletter platform that she calls “A personal media channel for the individual.”
We had a wonderful conversation about storytelling, the return of long-form content, and the pleasures of writing in community, rather than one-way broadcasting.
Farrah is also a wealth of information if you’d like to try Substack for yourself!
Things we talked about:
- The value of owning your own audience
- Building a brand for yourself around the work you’re doing
- The growing online hunger for content by real people and the forging of real connections
- We seem to be entering an era that Farrah calls, rather poetically, “the Time of the Writer”: the world has passed the period of devouring all the content on the Internet, now we are more discerning, and only want to consume content that we genuinely enjoy
- The continued return of demand for long-form content
- The return of community: the value of hearing from and engaging with your audience
- Giving your best work away from free (yes!)
- The limitations of the stories that can be told in traditional media
- And related, the limitations of creating content when you’re in competition for followers or clicks
- When you try to appeal to the masses, you bland out
Farrah’s tips for what works well on Substack:
- Niching works well. The more you niche, the more dedicated (as opposed to big) an audience you’ll get
- Publishing twice a week tends to grow a “stickier” audience
- Use social media to point people to your Substack content
- Use your “About” page to set expectations and declare a manifesto
- Claim your real name, if you can
Where to find Farrah:
- Farrah’s Substack platform, “Things Worth Knowing“
- Farrah on Instagram (for dog pictures and Substack information)
Where to find Sara:
- Sara on Substack
- Sara’s website: meandorla.co.uk
- Sara on Instagram: @me_and_orla
- Sara on Twitter: @meandorla
- One to one business coaching with Sara
- The Insta Retreat
