Happy Monday, everyone! Here’s what’s coming up in Mastermind For Food Writers and The Food Writers Business Lab.
The Future of Search, Substack, and Getting Found
A post on Google’s blog has me thinking this week about some things I wanted to share with you all. First of all, I know a lot of you are here on Substack because you wanted to get away from SEO and the game of getting found online. I get it. It’s one of the things that drew me to this platform as well.
But, also, Substack IS online. It’s not a separate thing. It’s one part of the web and even though many of us came here to be able to do the work we love without having to worry about how that work is going to be found, we are still spending a lot of time trying to get our work in front of new subscribers, aren’t we?
Friends, I would love nothing more than to happily follow my inspiration to do the work I genuinely love and never give another thought to marketing and promotion. Before I started writing and publishing recipes online, I was a freelance marketing consultant. When I started my first recipe site, I thought I was starting something new. I thought I was moving away from marketing.
I had fanciful ideas about spending my days in full creative mode, baking and writing, and writing and baking. It didn’t take me long to realize that marketing and promotion are the very foundation of the career I wanted to build. Without them, there was no audience for all that baking and writing.
And without an audience, I had a hobby not a career.
I have been fortunate enough to have built a solid, substantial income from all that baking and writing. But I was only able to do so because I was willing to put a hell of a lot of work into the foundation.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve watched the foundation I worked so hard to build begin to shift. There are cracks. Huge ones. The ground no longer feels solid. Everything feels incredibly uncertain and much of the playbook I built a business on is no longer relevant. I understand the need to be flexible and pivot when pivoting is called for. But the changes are coming so fast and the future is so fuzzy that it’s difficult to know what I’m pivoting towards.
This is the context in which I read this post from Google about AI Overviews and AI Search. I make the bulk of my living from advertising on my recipe websites and AI Overviews are killing me. But something jumped out at me as I read this.
The future of search may be dependent on us asking the questions for which we want to be the answer.
Let me say that a different way: We need to write the questions for which our work is the answer.
I mean that literally. And, yes, this applies to Substack as well. Substack is online. It’s a part of search. It’s in the ecosystem. It may even be central to the future of the entire ecosystem.
The future of Google Search and the future of Substack are inextricably linked whether we like it or not.
Search is no longer only about humans searching the web. Search is now also about humans asking AI to search the web for us. Put another way, search is changing from a process in which humans look through lists of websites to one in which AI does that work for us.
How does AI know that the websites will answer the questions we are asking?
AI gets all of its opinions from us. I think we really need to let that sink in. When we ask it to find answers for us, it is sorting through a gigantic pile of options and then picking what it thinks we want. But, where does it get the criteria for how it makes the decisions about what we want? From us. It gets everything from us.
I think this is so important for us as writers and creators to understand because as AI continues to take over search, and I don’t just mean on Google, I am also talking about Substack, we have some influence and control over training it on not just the answers but the questions. The way we describe our work, the questions we define and answer, and the connections we make between ideas matters more than ever.
The thing that is front of mind for me right now is this: What are the questions for which I want my work to be the answer? And am I stating those questions explicitly?
The future of search may depend on how well we train the robots to recognize that we (ourselves and our websites) are the answer to questions we have already defined.
This is what I want to talk about in the November Mastermind Meeting. If that sounds like a discussion you’d like to be a part of, register here.
And, if you need no further convincing that a deeper understanding of search is essential to building a creative career, this class will help you design the blueprint and give you the nuts and bolts you need to get started.
At a glance:
Coffee Break Chat with Kimberly Nichols: Substack LIVE, Thursday, October 29 at 3:00pm Eastern
SEO for Food Writers, Part 2, The Working Session: Thursday, November 5, 12:00pm Eastern
November Mastermind Meeting: Wednesday, November 11 at 11:00am Eastern
Business Strategy Meeting: Wednesday, November 18 at 3pm Eastern
November Meeting Information
This month, the main topic will be defining the questions for which your work is the answer.
What are the questions for which you want your work to be the answer? And, are you stating the questions explicitly?
We'll explore how to identify the questions we want our work to answer, how to communicate those answers more clearly, and what this might mean for helping new readers discover our work.
This is what we’ll be talking about in the November Mastermind Meeting. If that sounds like a discussion you’d like to be a part of, here’s where to register.
Wednesday, November 11: 11:00am, New York (Eastern Standard Time)
Meeting hosted by Rebecca Blackwell
After you register for the meeting, you will receive an email that will allow you to add the meeting to your calendar in your time zone.
Business Strategy Meeting
In addition to the mastermind meeting, paid subscribers are invited to attend the monthly Business Strategy Meeting. The November meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 18 at 3pm EST. Find out more and register here.
For those of you who like to plan ahead, the December meeting will be on Wednesday, December 9, at 11:00am EST. Register Here.
Recording from the October Mastermind Meeting
Thank you to everyone who was able to attend this month’s meeting and contribute to the conversation. Special thanks to Rachel Ciordas, Kate McDermott, and Betty Williams for sharing their experience with how they are using Substack LIVE to expand their reach and create more engagement.
If you missed it, here’s where you’ll find the recording:
Book Proposal Hot Seat with Kelsey Shipman
In the middle of a conversation with Kelsey Erin Shipman last Monday, she asked if I’d be willing to talk over Substack LIVE about a book proposal I’m working on. Kelsey is the master of book proposals, so I would never in a million years turn down a chance to get her advice and feedback. I knew I’d get a lot out of our conversation and I was not disappointed. My hope is that you’ll get some gems out of it as well.
Are you working on your own cookbook proposal?
At the end of this conversation, Kelsey issued an open ended invitation for others to take their turn on the hot seat. Would you like a free consultation with Kelsey over Substack LIVE? Send her a DM to let her know!
Also, check out this class Kelsey taught for The Food Writers Business Lab: DIY Cookbook Proposals
The Food Writers Business Lab
The Food Writers Business Lab is an online community for food writers who want practical, affordable guidance for growing their businesses, expanding their audience, and building sustainable careers.
Here you’ll find classes and workshops taught by experienced food writers who understand the unique challenges and opportunities of this industry. It’s education for food writers taught by food writers.
There are four on-demand classes available now in the Class Library.
Coming soon: workshops on organizational tools and strategies, cookbook self-publishing, creating income through cooking classes, and using video to reach new readers.
Coffee Break Chats!
Coffee Breaks are 30-ish minute chats over Substack LIVE with the paid members of this community. It’s a chance to learn more about them and their work and talk about some of the real challenges and opportunities of being a food writer today.
Last week I got to talk with Stephanie Hansen and Shell Plant. Stephanie reminded me that the only thing standing in the way of doing what I want is me. And Shell talked about how baking and writing are her lifeblood, and how she’s created a career that is centered on both. This is inspiring because isn’t that what we all want?
Here’s where you’ll find all of the recordings and see who I’m talking with next!
Remember that the Mastermind for Food Writers chat is a great place to ask questions, get feedback, share ideas, and connect with other food writers on Substack.
Have a wonderful week!
The goal of Mastermind for Food Writers and The Food Writers Business Lab isn’t simply to gather more information. It’s to build a better business alongside people who genuinely want to see each other succeed.
Questions?
Send a direct message to Rebecca Blackwell, or leave a comment on this post.