Hi, I’m Alex.
12 years ago, I quit my full-time job and decided to start my own business. Several mentors told me, “You need to be active on social media! It’s the best way to find clients and customers.”
I figured they were probably right. So, I set up accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Vine (remember Vine?), pretty much every platform imaginable.
I spent the next few years posting a lot—multiple times a day—trying to accumulate a big social media following. I told myself, “I have to do this. Building a social media presence is mandatory if I want to be a successful entrepreneur.”
There were certain things I really liked about social media. It’s exciting to share an idea and get an immediate reaction. It feels good to post something that makes a positive difference in people’s lives. It’s flattering when someone says, “I love this!” or they click the “like” or “heart” button. It can provide a lot of immediate gratification and validation.
However, over time, I noticed myself getting increasingly obsessed with social media. It began to feel like social media was using me—not the other way around.
I became fixated on tracking how many follows, unfollows, comments, likes, shares, and DMs were coming in daily.
I checked my phone all throughout the day, sometimes, multiple times an hour.
I reached for my phone first thing in the morning, before even getting out of bed. I checked every night in bed, before falling asleep. I even checked social media while in the bathroom.
Anything I did (sit down for a meal, visit friends, hike in nature) I felt compelled to post a photo and caption. If it’s not visible on social media, did it even really happen? It felt like nothing “counted” unless I shared it online.
I was spending (at least) 1-2 hours per day doing social media activities, which adds up to hundreds of hours per year.
Social media started to bleed into every part of my day. Over time, it felt intrusive, distracting, and harmful to my mental wellbeing. My brain felt so crowded and cluttered—too much incoming information, every single day.
There was a wake-up moment when I realized, “Social media is hurting me more than it’s helping me.”
I decided to take a short break from social media to see how it would feel. Would I feel better? Would leaving social media for a couple weeks wreck my career? Or would everything be fine? Only one way to find out. I deleted all the apps from my phone and began my no-social-media experiment.
Taking that break was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Immediately, I felt so much calmer. I noticed that I could concentrate better at work. I got way more done in less time. I took time to appreciate the world around me—the sunrise, sunset, night sky, trees, buildings, people. I spent more time looking up instead of looking down at my phone. It felt like I had shampooed my brain. I felt so clear and focused.
I decided to turn my temporary social media break into a permanent one. That was 8 years ago.
Today, I have an exciting career and business I truly love; I co-founded a book publishing company called Get It Done. As of 2022, we are two co-founders with two full-time employees, and several part-time contractors. In our very first year, Get It Done generated nearly $700,000 in revenue—which is extremely unusual for a brand-new company. I’ve also written 7 books of my own.
Aside from Get It Done, I provide writing services on a freelance basis. Companies hire me to write language for their website, newsletter, video scripts, scripts for keynote talks and presentations, and more. This is a lucrative and intellectually stimulating part of my career, too.
I don’t personally have any social media accounts.
Numerous colleagues have asked, “How do you find clients? How do you make money? How are you running a profitable business without using social media? How is this even possible? Can you teach me?” In response, I created The Marketing Without Social Media Course.
In this program, I share everything I know about how to build an excellent career (or business) without social media.
It’s a joy to offer this course once again, for the 3rd year in a row, with a curriculum that’s completely updated for 2022.
I hope you love it. My team and I certainly loved creating it for you.
Whether you ultimately choose to continue using social media or not, I’m wishing you the greatest success with your work.
This is your one and only life. Spend your time thoughtfully. Do things that make you feel powerful—not things that make you feel distracted, burdened, or exhausted.
With gratitude,
-Alex
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