Did you know that on social media only 1-3% of your followers are actually seeing your posts?
PHEW! 😥
Many are struggling, so it's no wonder many creators are quitting social media right now.
Algorithms have turned the follower into a ghost town. Creators are sick and tired of wasting their valuable time.
And where do they go? They get on the newsletter platform Substack.
Tom Kuegler quit YouTube, Facebook, Medium and LinkedIn
This week’s podcast guest is
who ditched hundreds of thousands of followers on YouTube (160K), Medium (63K), Facebook (500K), and LinkedIn (20K) to chase real connections on Substack - instead of feeling pushed to create content he hated just to gain more followers, views, and likes.Tom is no longer chasing 100K a year with just followers and feeding the algorithms. Now his goal is to hit that mark with subscribers instead.
It’s an honor having Tom on the show because I’ve been a fan since my first day on Medium in December 2020. Together with writing rockstar
he was the one I saw in my feed 👋🏻all 👋🏻the 👋🏻time.Fast forward to today, Tom built one of Medium’s biggest publications called The Post Grad Survival Guide (PGSG) with 44K followers.
In 2023, he left Medium with 63K followers because he no longer wanted to write for a platform that didn't value him the way he wanted.
He went to a platform that cared. Substack.
I just feel like I'm kind of so sick of what I see on social media half the time, and I feel like Substack is that next evolution in social media where to a more real type of content.
Substack is the next evolution
Tom started blogging in 2016! He's built up a large following on multiple platforms, and from the outside looking in, you'd say he's successful.
But he didn't feel successful. He thought it would never be enough. He would never be enough.
Eight years later, I love seeing this thirty-something grown man who has lived so many lives, traveled the world, paid off his student loans and learned so many valuable lessons.
Now he's even ready to go back to the US with his wife. What I love most is that his relationship with his family has grown stronger and that he has reconnected with his father through his newsletter
.For the veteran content creator who has published videos, short posts, long posts, online courses, live webinars, recorded webinars and everything in between, Substack is a place where people are more real.
Want unexpected and real answers from a former social media rockstar?
Similar to Tom who wanted to be vlogger Casey Neistat, I bet many want to be Tom Kuegler. Traveling the world, embracing freedom, writing every day and growing a massive following.
In our interview, Tom gives an honest behind-the-scenes look at a very successful online rockstar who struggled to make money, wanted to support his wife, hated the stories he pumped out for the algorithms, lost the connection to himself and is now reconnecting to the real Tom Kuegler.
100K/Year Without Social Media is a raw and honest interview with unexpected answers, insights and future plans.
If you say: Let me listen to the interview!
You can listen to it as Substack podcast and/or watch our interview on YouTube:
Table of Contents
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:02 Tom Kuegler's Attempt to become a Medium Bost Nommer
00:06:31 Advice that Tom would Give to Medium
00:10:36 Would Tom Ever Come Back to Medium
00:12:33 Advantages of Substack having No Algorithm
00:16:19 How Much Time Tom Spends Writing
00:19:37 How Tom Plans to Reach $100k a Year
00:24:00 How Much Money Tom Spent on Marketing his Courses
00:28:53 Tom’s Journey to Making a Living from Writing
00:32:04 How Tom Gained 20,000 Followers on LinkedIn
00:37:07 What is a LinkedIn Sprint and Why Tom Started them
00:44:19 Explaining the Flywheel between LinkedIn, YouTube and Medium
00:47:12 What Else Tom is Planning for 2024
00:49:26 When Tom Started his Email List and Its Current Size
00:52:48 Tom’s Experience Living in Mexico City
00:58:13 What Tom Loves about America
01:00:37 How People can Connect with Tom Kuegler
🥳You don’t have to be 100% ready to take the first step and build an email list 🥳
Don’t waste your time.
Sometimes, the only thing standing between you and your dreams is that first small move. Let’s do this together!
Inside my “Substack School Course” I’ll help you start and grow your email list, write non-sucky emails, get your first paid subscribers and connect with other like-minded writers.
🎙️Join Kristina’s Exclusive Podcast Launch Club
My podcast is hot & new. This is my second episode.
Do you want to join my podcast launch club? You’ll get discounts on future bootcamps, challenges and exclusive webinars. We’ll meet and discuss the pod together to make it better. You can win prizes!
If you say:
“Kristina, I want to join your Podcast Launch Club!”
Let me know in the comments. I’ll then invite you to join my exclusive group.
I want to make my pod better.
❤️🔥Your feedback is just a spark but it’s enough to keep me, a part-time writer, going.❤️🔥
I hope this eye-opening interview inspires you.
Dare to be YOU!
P.S. Liked it? Please share, like, and let me know what you think about my new show 💗 Your feedback is important and can spark many ideas. Thanks sooooo much!
P.S.S. Tom Kuegler belongs to the category “I knew him when”. Make sure to subscribe to Tom’s publication
. It’s a wealth of wisdom from a thirty-something writer and creator who has done it all.
I completely relate to Tom's experience. Chasing likes and followers do nothing for you. At the end of the day, you want real connection that matter. Great interview, Kristina! ❤
I hope to try this out
This was a good interview. I recommend it highly.
Hi Denis, thanks so much for this wonderful feedback. I always try to let my interviewees shine as much as possible. Glad you enjoyed it. In a few weeks it will also be available on Spotify and Apple and I'd love if you could write a review then as they are spoooo important.
Soon I'll share more about my Substack journey since many wanted me to share more about my journey again. Then we'll have Michael Simmons and many more.
As a member you also get access to a live webinar with Tom and all the other people I interview :)
Hugs,
Kristina
I will do this Kristina. My pleasure. Keep the videos coming.
Amazing to see great writers leaving social media for substack, but, I have a quick question here, why would subscribers keep paying 💰 monthly money to their favorite individual newsletters when they can opt to pay just one subscription to A platform, eg, Medium, and be ablevto read 📚 multiple writers' newsletters and publications limitlessly? I am so vonfused on this point. 😞 Could some one really enlighten me on this point please? 😊 Thanks a lot in advance 🙏
Hi Meere, the iddea of a newsletter is that people pay with their wallets.
Let's take Tom. People loved him on Medium. he tells he's now on Substack so people could support him here and read his exclusive writing here and pay for it.
So many people don't want to read the whole newspaper, they come to it to read ONE person. That's the idea.
We then collaborate together so that writers like you SEE Tom here and subcriber or even become a paid members.
So on Medium you sign up for the MASSES, it's a content mill.
Here on Substack you sign up to get stories in your inbox and really connect to ONE person or a handful of people.
Does this help?
For more, I'd love to invite you to my membership experience. It's just 9 bucks per month and you can AMA and connect with other (new) writers.
Hope this helps,
Kristina
yes, this concept applies to writers like you and Tom who have reached a height on Medium and Substack etc., but, what about newbies who are unknown in all platforms 🤔
You have a point Meera. Not many people will subscribe for five dollars per month to relatively unknown writers however much they like their writing. It soon adds up when you sub to a handful of newsletters and readers have to be very selective with who they choose to support. Over time though your consistency will be rewarded with more and more paid subs and you won't be so much of an unknown voice.
Loved this, it's so great learning a bit more about Tom's background and his journey!
I'm writing some more about him blocking me °° as he spilled the beans on this.
I saw you joined the course from Sarah. Can't wait to hear how you like it. I bet it can make your writing even better. If I were you I would start writing a book. Blog a book, so to say, Sophie. Your stories are so inspiring. Happy that you're part of our community and thanks for answering so many questions while I was traveling. Thanks!
lol looking forward to reading the story of how and why he blocked you.
Writing a book is definitely a dream for me - finding the time is another thing though!
I have been following Tom since the time I started my YouTube channel. This was almost 3 years ago
Have a great respect 🫡 for him.
Will check out the video for sure. 👍
Thanks for sharing Kristina. I have come a long way on my channel. Incase anyone wants to check it out:
https://youtube.com/@anshulkummar?si=AnvGGLcw_smM7Xz9
Wow, thanks for following me for so long Anshul. :)
Anytime Tom!
Great to hear you're a big fan. Me too 👍
I know about your channel and it's amazing how far you've come, Anshul.
Quick question. Do you know a thumbnail designer? Still look for someone and this drives me 😧
It needs to be a thumbnail designer who can speak English, thinks strategically and if I tell him what my interview is about don't want me to do all the work, meaning creating a thumbnail example, doing the copy etc
Unfortunately not, Kristina. I create my own thumbnails using Canva. I can do a pilot for you and give you a few options. Let's connect sometime.
Well worth the listen! Great interaction from you both, Kristina & Tom. I keep coming back and listening to different portions. 💥
Kristina, you are one of the best interviewer / podcaster! 🎯
And Tom, I'm also lucky to have found you 💯
Oh wow, Donna. What a wonderful compliment. I definetly don't feel like the best podcaster ^^ haha but I try to improve my work.
Would you like to join my Podcast Launch Club, Donna? I'll add you inside our community
Yes, please! The perfect time.
- I had a successful podcast, Big Girl Poker Chat
- I've been on more than 50 as a guest after my book published
- I was the host of a monthly interview for Women Poker Association
I have plans to launch MindShift On Demand podcast, and even have an intro and outro recorded by a professional voice over.
Super, added you inside our membership.
Big girl poker chat? ♦️ ♠️
Tell me more!
Thanks for adding me. I'll figure out how to get around. I love what I've discovered so far!
Glad you asked, Kristina, in the poker industry, I'm know as the Big Girl of Poker at 6'5"... If you think in metrics, 1 meter 97 (I think that's how that's written... Or maybe 1.97 meters)
Hello Kristina - I would like to join your Podcast Launch Club - I replied to your email.
Added you, Jeanette! Thanks for the email with intro and outro.
I can relate to this struggle. My YouTube seems to never grow & while the metrics show engagement growing on my Instagram my follower count is falling??? I don't understand why there are folks with one post and they have hundreds of thousands of followers!?!
Could you share the link to your channel? Would love to check it out. Did you know that only 3% of YouTuber have 1000 subscribers. It's true. Similar to 1% of podcasters pumping out more than 21 episodes.
I can relate to this struggle. My YouTube seems to never grow & while the metrics show engagement growing on my Instagram my follower count is falling??? I don't understand why there are folks with one post and they have hundreds of thousands of followers!?!
Could you share the link to your channel? Would love to check it out. Did you know that only 3% of YouTuber have 1000 subscribers. It's true. Similar to 1% of podcasters pumping out more than 21 episodes.
I can relate to this struggle. My YouTube seems to never grow & while the metrics show engagement growing on my Instagram my follower count is falling??? I don't understand why there are folks with one post and they have hundreds of thousands of followers!?!
Could you share the link to your channel? Would love to check it out. Did you know that only 3% of YouTuber have 1000 subscribers. It's true. Similar to 1% of podcasters pumping out more than 21 episodes.
I can relate to this struggle. My YouTube seems to never grow & while the metrics show engagement growing on my Instagram my follower count is falling??? I don't understand why there are folks with one post and they have hundreds of thousands of followers!?!
Could you share the link to your channel? Would love to check it out. Did you know that only 3% of YouTuber have 1000 subscribers. It's true. Similar to 1% of podcasters pumping out more than 21 episodes.
Absolutely. I wasn't aware of those stats! Thank you. https://youtu.be/WsVbEVxu-FQ?si=vEGjtCF7JRTTt_f9
https://youtu.be/WsVbEVxu-FQ?si=vEGjtCF7JRTTt_f9
It showed up in my email and Stack notifications
super, thanks! Then I can go to bed :) MANY THANKS!!
Great idea.
Hi Christopher, think so too ^^ I'm a fan of building a following and gaining subscribers. Tom tried multiple platforms and was pretty successful there but still didn't feel good about it. He's a genius and a smart boy. If you listen to the episode you'll learn A LOT about the real Tom. Can't wait to learn more about this Tom.
Did you get an email from me with this story?
My dashbaord doesn't show that it was sent to my subscribers.... I have to go to be d now hopefully everything went well... it's past midnight here and then often things don't went well anymore... if you're sleep-deprived ^^