The Non-Video Creator's Guide to Digital Storytelling

Hey honeys and hustlers,

Teachers always say, “Math is the easiest subject to learn because the rules don’t change.” I call bs. Math is very few people’s favorite topic, and if you don’t enjoy it, it won’t be easy for you. People engage with English, science, and the arts much more for one simple reason - they challenge them to think differently in fun ways. There are a lot of prescriptive ways to be successful, and a lot of people are screaming video is the answer to all your marketing problems, but if you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. And for all that is good, stop resenting the folks who do enjoy and excel with video. We all know you’re going to watch Netflix later!

I ran into Jen McFarland of Marit Digital who mentioned that she reads my newsletter but isn’t interested in video. So this one’s for the non-video creators.

It took me 5 years to reach 600 subscribers on YouTube. It took me 11 months to reach 600 subscribers on this newsletter. Video is hard. Video gear is expensive. Learning effective storytelling and showing up on camera isn’t for everyone. Leveraging video to get a measurable ROI can be challenging. If you have absolutely no interest in video, here are ways to incorporate storytelling into your marketing strategies I recommend:

• Podcasts.* With incredible narrative sound design. Podcast cross-promo and podcast series (topics or limited series) have a lot of potential to reach specific audiences. Podcast guesting is a great way to get in front of specific audiences without as much work on the backend. So heavy on the asterisk. I think audio podcasts are in a decisive moment, but they’re far from dead if you start one for the right reasons.

• Website design. SEO + sticky copywriting + lead magnet + easy-to-navigate and fun design = winning formula. If you’re meeting a lot of people in person, or leveraging your online reach to get people to your website, then definitely invest time into making a website that converts. I put together a list of 101 creative founders for you to check out their websites for inspiration.

• Threads. On Twitter and Threads. Long-form writing is still largely a winnable area on Twitter if your community is still hanging out there. Threads also seems to prioritize long-form text posts and photo carousels that tell a story. Threads only allows one hashtag per post, but the hashtags are specific to communities so they actually help you find your people.

• Linkedin Carousels. If graphic design, branding, and writing are your strong suits, this could be a great platform for you. Aside from videos, this is likely the next highest-prioritized content type on their ladder of engagement.

• Instagram carousels. Great for photo series and photo graphics. Be creative here! Don’t just post photos, create a journey. You have a max of 20 slides you can use now on the platform, so I would imagine they’re somewhat prioritizing this feature at the moment.

• Newsletter. If you can create an experience with incredible newsletter design, you’ll reap the rewards. People don’t treat newsletters like a destination, they treat them like an afterthought. They are not a top-of-funnel strategy, they are at the relationship level of the funnel. Stop just throwing a bunch of links in a document, and actually give people a reason to open your email. Clicking a link to buy or read another article shouldn’t be the only reason people are opening an email. That will get old quickly.

• Substack notes. It’s essentially a calmer, ad-free social media. You don’t necessarily need to have a newsletter to use the publishing features that Substack offers either. You can host your podcast, your videos, your live streams, and your short, written posts there. Podcasts and videos also are auto-transcribed, so you can easily make a long-form text post to compliment them if you want to.

Honorable Mentions

I haven’t tried any of these but have seen other creators use them to various degrees of success.

• Dribbble. They got a new CEO recently and seem to be off to the races again as a social media platform for designers. I’ve always seen Dribbble as the Behance or Vimeo strictly for designers, illustrators, and animators. I think it’ll take some time, but I think it’s good for designers to have a home on the internet again to be found and share their work.

• Pinterest. If you’re adept at making SEO-friendly titles to match mood board-worthy graphics or photo posts, this may be the platform for you. I would imagine early on that it’s a volume game that compounds over time. I think they also accept short-form vertical videos, but as you can see, I’m very far removed from this platform.

• Webinars, livestreams, and virtual events/summits. These are typically associated with product launches, but some do them just to have a way to tap into their community. Plenty of platforms have live-streaming capabilities, so pick your favorite.

• Linkedin Newsletters. I can’t really recommend these as they’re not a long-term strategy. In my opinion, they’re not a true newsletter platform because you don’t have access to your subscribers’ info or emails. BUT I have heard that the first post gets amplified pretty heavily, with diminishing returns after that. So if you’re launching something, using this for the first month might be a huge help.

In two future articles, I’ll be sharing some inspiration for carousel posts and why I don’t think audio podcasts are dead. Stay tuned for those coming at the end of this month and the beginning of April. Why not sooner? March is Women’s History Month and the 5th anniversary of the Honey & Hustle podcast, so celebratory posts are in order. 🎉

In Readworthy News

// Circle released its 2025 Community Trends Report. A few things I found interesting: Instagram seems to be the number one place for community discovery. For a platform that has tried its hardest to keep users on the platform and not click links, this is interesting. If I had to guess, people are likely clicking links in stories, not bios. I’ve never thought to calculate the value of an email subscriber relative to the value of a social media follower, and I’d be interested to see the math behind this stat: On average, respondents say one community member is worth 234 social media followers. Live virtual events seem to be a vibe check, platform consolidation seems inevitable, and IRL events are back and better than ever. I am surprised to see that merch and physical products rank so low on the monetization scale. I imagine that it’s a combination of fulfillment logistics + the preference for recurring revenue vs. a one-time payment. Creators are some of the best innovators, so I hope we see more creators making physical products and sustainable merch. What surprises you the most about this report?

// Kickstarter has tapped Taylor K. Shaw, founder of BWA Studios, as their new Head of Film Outreach. Her primary job description is to help filmmakers secure funding and build their audience. I think one of those is actually feasible given her position. March is home to the Long Story Short campaign on Kickstarter, where film crowdfund projects will receive extra attention, support, and amplification by Kickstarter. Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor announced last year that the crowdfunding platform would be making a greater investment in creators, and I think this hire, this video resource vault, the community man himself, and his notable increased presence at creator events like SXSW and Sundance are steps in that direction. I’m interested to see if Kickstarter will fundamentally change its offerings to create a more expansive suite of ways creators can solicit support from their fans.

// YouTube launches a $7.99/mo Premium-Lite subscription. With YouTube Lite, customers will be able to watch videos across verticals like gaming, fashion, beauty, cooking, news, and more, ad-free, but will be shown ads on music content and music videos. You won’t get access to downloads or background play, but for the more casual power-viewer, this could be a great option. Creators have historically gotten a percentage from Premium viewers, so this doesn’t hurt them. I’m willing to bet that YouTube is trying to make its TV viewing experience more enjoyable for an affordable cost.

// Alexis Ohanian announced that he is a part of a group looking to buy TikTok. The Reddit co-founder seems to be rekindling his love for social platforms. He recently started InnerCircle, a social media for track and field athletes to connect with their fans in a more direct and healthy way. It seems to be a great companion for the Athlos track meet he started last year to help the brand have sustainable revenue year round and to continue feeding the pipeline of women’s track and field athletes. He also reignited an old flame. In a true enemies-to-lovers arc, he is reuniting with the original CEO of Digg, a former Reddit competitor. Is 2025 the year Alexis Ohanian wins big in his investments in social media and women’s sports? I don’t see billionaires as saviors, I’m happy to see him try to be part of the solution for digital safety and amplifying women athletes.

// Netflix will be bringing on John Mulaney’s late-night show. Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney debuts on March 12th, and the show will air every Wednesday at 10PM ET. Wow, it’s almost like I SAW THIS COMING. Not to brag or anything. (Double prediction because I also said you’d be watching Netflix later anyway. I really couldn’t have been alive during the Salem Witch Trials.)