I had the idea for this post months ago after seeing a sixth Beehiiv sponsored post on my LinkedIn feed.

Beehiiv is a Substack competitor; it’s a newsletter platform meant to help folks monetize their content. Unlike Substack, it has more automation and segmentation features. It also costs $40/mo (while Substack costs me nothing outright).

When I first started writing this post in my mind months ago, I thought I was clever. “I know what you’re doing, Beehiiv! You’re trying to convince me that I SHOULD be using your platform! I won’t fall for it!”

Months and months went by. I continued to see people I didn’t know post about Beehiiv, how anyone who wants to monetize their newsletter should be on it, how much their own newsletter has grown since being on the platform.

Over time, I started to believe the grass was greener. Maybe I should be on Beehiiv. Maybe the reason I’m not growing as much as I’d like to is because I’m on the wrong platform.

I slowly began to migrate my Substack posts over to Beehiiv, juuuust in case I decided this was the right move. But I was hesitant. I wasn’t exactly sure why, but I didn’t feel like I should make the move until I got a second opinion.

So I called upon my marketing “therapist,” Amanda Laird of Slow + Steady Studio. We talked through what was really going on and why I felt the need to switch systems.

The truth is, my business has been trying to tell me something. There’s a reason those targeted Beehiiv posts were hitting me so hard — I do want to invest more time and effort into my newsletter; but swapping software wasn’t the solution I was looking for. It felt like a productive change but in reality was just a shiny distraction, an empty promise of a quick fix.

The solutions Amanda and I discussed would require more strategy, more time, more introspection and experimentation than simply switching platforms.

Sometimes the desire to “fix” our systems isn’t actually about our systems at all…

Maybe it’s marketing — convincing you that your problem can be fixed with a ‘simple’ solution or product.

Maybe it’s anxiety — that your current systems won’t be able to meet you where you’re going, or where you would like to be.

Maybe it’s distraction — instead of focusing on working towards your goals, you’re busy building something you don’t need yet.

Maybe it’s fear — that you’ll never be able to achieve what you really want; that you don’t have the tools you need to succeed.

Maybe it’s all of the above, plus capitalism.

As we enter a time of even more uncertainty and unrest, it’s important to be mindful of what you really want and what’s actually going to get you there.

Give yourself time to pause in times of overwhelming “should.” What’s really going on here? Is this solution too good to be true? What do I really need?

I’m staying put on Substack for the time being. After being talked off the ledge by Amanda, I’ve decided to see what I can do with what I already have first.

I’d love to know, what “should” has marketing led you to buy into recently?

Peace, love and impulse control,

Andrea