What's gonna happen if there isn't any more Facebook or Instagram? And I was like, uh,

hello, this is a wake-up call. We cannot be dependent on social platforms that do not belong

to us.

When I first started my business in 2007, people told me to build my email list, but I

didn't really understand why. So I simply put a sign up for my newsletter button on my

vlog. I would occasionally send newsletters about what I was up to, but I wasn't sending

them with an intention or I definitely was not sending them with a strategy. It wasn't

until 2016 that I really started to seriously build my email list. And I'm gonna tell you,

I bummed, I waited so long. I quickly realized my largest form of communication and my greatest

way to build trust was by regularly popping into people's inboxes. And the best part is

that a newsletter does not rely on gaining followers on somebody else's platform. Like,

hey, Mark Zuckerberg, I can't always depend on that guy. You know what I'm saying? So here's

some real talk. You can grow your business without social media. Now, I know that it sounds

crazy coming from me because I'm a huge proponent and an advocate of social media. And I still

am. But what I probably haven't mentioned so much so publicly is that I am a massive believer

in using my website to showcase my brand, to build a strong email list, and to use it as

a division of my blog as well. Now, these are platforms that belong entirely to my business.

I think it's really important to make sure that I'm not dependent on platforms that do not belong

to my business. So platforms that help me market my business, but I'm not dependent on our

Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn. These platforms are meant to drive traffic

to my platforms. I don't want to solely rely on social media. That's why I am here to diversify

your approach with the best advice that I can give. On March 13, 2019, Facebook and Instagram broke.

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