Off The Grid: Leaving Social Media

💸 It’s Not Too Late to Do Your Taxes — Neurodivergent Bookkeeping with Aneisha Velazquez

Softer Sounds — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0500

We heard you might be stressed about the IRS… so we’re arriving with extra support before US taxes are due on April 15th!

Today I’m joined by Aneisha Velazquez of Yellow Sky Business Services, who’s here to talk about finances for microbusinesses, including:

What bookkeeping really is (& what it’s not)
The financial systems solopreneurs need to have in place
Tips for neurodivergent business owners struggling with bookkeeping
Why we love Profit First (and Amelia recommends her fave bank Novo)
Aneisha's top two bookkeeping tips for beginners
A pep talk for tax season & not being afraid of the IRS

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails
📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!

COMING UP:
✨ RSVP for the FREE 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit, happening April 17 & 24 on Zoom
✏️ Get on the waitlist for COME TO CLASS, a spring workshop on how to teach & sell online with confidence & care

COMMUNITY SPONSORS:
🌞 Craving a planner that's about permission not perfection? Check out Nine to Kind Planners today. Get 50% off digital planners with code OFFTHEGRID50 & 25% off analog products with code OFFTHEGRID25. Learn more & claim your discount at: https://www.ninetokind.com/pages/offthegrid

♾️ Well, That Didn’t Go As Planned… — A New Series with Nic Antoinette

Softer Sounds — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0500

Nic Antoinette is back! And we’re finally beginning the monthly series we promised you back in January.

For April, it's a long-form chat with plenty of laughter and maybe a few tears along the way. So settle in, subscribe to Nic’s newsletter, and press play to hear us talk about:

How we coped when Q1 didn’t go as planned
Financial plans in the turmoil of 2026
How to talk about grief in public
The most divisive Instagram post Amelia ever made
What’s bringing us joy
The upcoming 2026 Astro & Biz Planning Summit
& lots more!

🤖 What AI Actually Costs: Transmuting Shame Into Erotic Self-Respect — with Ayana Zaire Cotton

Softer Sounds — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 03:00:00 -0500

If we stop trying to get ahead online, what becomes possible?

Today Ayana Zaire Cotton of Seeda School returns to the podcast to explore why she quit using ChatGPT and other AI tools.

She helps us slowwww down, unpack shame, and align our desire with our capacity — a process and methodology she created and calls Erotic Engineering.

Tune in to reconnect with your values, reclaim self-respect, and step off the path of certainty with us.

I also highly recommend reading Ayana’s essay — and learning more about The Powerhouse Portal at: https://www.seedaschool.com/ph

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
👉 Join our conversation about AI in the Clubhouse

🔒 An Unexpected AI Conversation (About Chess) — with my spouse JJ Lang

Softer Sounds — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0500

Today I’m doing something I said I’d never do… inviting my partner on the podcast!

In this Clubhouse-exclusive episode, my spouse JJ Lang joins me for an unexpected conversation about AI.

JJ is a high-level chess player and works for US Chess. They’re here to talk about how algorithms and AI engines have been a big part of the chess world for decades — and also why JJ doesn’t use Generative AI or LLMs in their work today.

I wanted to share this conversation, because:

It’s fun to give you a cute behind-the-scenes in to my personal life!
It’s good to talk to someone being told to use AI at their job alongside our conversations centering self-employment.
The origin of contemporary AI (at least at Deep Mind) was building chess engines. So JJ can help us understand algorithms vs AI and what computers are actually “doing” when they answer a question.

This is a nerdy, sweet conversation, and I hope you enjoy it. To hear the whole thing, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

When you do, you'll get access to over 40 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show.

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

🤖 3 Reasons You Feel So Conflicted About AI

Softer Sounds — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0500

Let's get into all our feels about AI. 🌀

In this episode, I share some of the messages I've gotten from people who are using AI but feeling bad about it.

And I talk through three reasons I think many of us (especially listeners of this show) feel so much tension about these technologies.

Tune in for a lot of empathy and even more clarity. Then join our community conversation about AI in the Clubhouse!

MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

Find all the episodes in our AI series here
The Tension of Platforms & Why I Haven’t Left Substack (Yet)
Cut Off the Spigot: ChatGPT Alternatives
What is Moral Injury? (from the Moral Injury Project)
AI is African Intelligence: The Workers Who Train AI Are Fighting Back (from 404 Media)
The Emotional Labor Behind AI Intimacy
AI has an environmental problem (from the UN)
AI Doesn’t Reduce Work— It Intensifies It (from HBR)
If you want to learn about ethical approaches to AI, I recommend:
- Shae Omonijo's work — Find her on Substack or listen to Critical Thinking in the Age of AI (on Apple & Spotify)
- & Aggressively Human Podcast with Jessica Lackey and Meg Casebolt

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
👉 Join our conversation about AI in the Clubhouse

🤖 Why AI isn’t an Oracle — with Casey Zabala

Softer Sounds — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0500

When ChatGPT launched in 2022, I noticed a few spiritual practitioners talking about its ‘oracular consciousness’ and I wondered… is that a thing??

Today I’m joined by Casey Zabala of Modern Witches to talk about how AI is reshaping mystical practices in real time — and why that’s harming our intuition and agency.

Tune in to hear us discuss:

How Casey & I have used AI in the past
The embedded inequity and colonial power dynamics of chatbots
The astrology of 2026 and how it’s very AI-coded
Why using AI might be ruining your intuition
Considering where your body and the earth exist in relationship to AI
Holding space for the connective potential of these technologies
What an oracle actually is

And if you want to join the conversation... come chat with us on Substack! I've opened a community thread for paid subscribers. For only $5, it's a welcoming space to share your thoughts, feelings, experiences, and questions about AI with other considerate creatives. I'll also be chiming in to cheer and answer questions.

👉 Join our community conversation about AI in the Clubhouse! https://offthegridclubhouse.substack.com/p/want-to-talk-about-ai

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails
📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!

🤖 How to Write a Thoughtful AI Policy

Softer Sounds — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0500

Let’s be more transparent about how we are and aren’t using AI in our work!

In this episode, I walk you through key considerations and a simple process for writing a thoughtful AI policy for your creative business.

You’ll also hear how I crafted the Interweb AI policy, as well as why I was really inspired by Mel Mitchell-Jackson’s AI policy in that process.

Press play, then click right here for more notes and resources!

🤖 AI Sobriety — with Mel Mitchell-Jackson

Softer Sounds — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0500

How are we feeling about AI these days, friends?

Ambivalent? Over it? Hopefully curious? 🧐

Today on the show, we’re kicking off a 3-week AI series, where we’ll explore the good, bad and ugly of LLMs.

Our first guest is Mel Mitchell-Jackson — who returns to the show to share their practice of AI Sobriety.

We get into why AI is a labor issue, how it’s impacting our creativity, and why we’re hopeful that locally-hosted small language models might save the day.

We also talk about addiction, accessibility, and why I’m practicing GPT-sobriety this year.

⚡️ How to Change the Trajectory of Your Work/Money/Life — with Akua Nyame-Mensah

Softer Sounds — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0500

If you’ve had a tough 2026 so far, this episode is for you.

Today, I’m sharing a nuanced and practical chat with Akua Nyame-Mensah about how we can move from a reactive to a reflective mindset and shift our trajectory in the process.

Tune in to hear Akua’s advice for changing the narrative of your business — without repressing or ignoring what’s happening in the world (or your body or your bank account).

I also share some examples of how I reshaped my relationship to money through storytelling and ritual.

You can hear the whole conversation in the Clubhouse right here. Thanks to Akua for joining me on the show!

LINKS & RESOURCES:

👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails

🏒 The Practice of Attention — Healing Social Media Addiction with Cody Cook-Parrott

Softer Sounds — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0500

This week, Cody Cook-Parrott returns to the show to share their new book, The Practice of Attention!

We go deep into creative attention, social media addiction, and why we can’t stop checking our email. Tune in as we discuss:

Why creative attention is different than distraction or focus
How tending to your attention helps you finish projects
Experimenting with tech breaks, the Wisephone, and the Brick
Which apps grab us: Pinterest vs Youtube
Ways to cultivate hobbies, movement regimens & research practices
How stepping back from social media empowers us to resist political violence

LINKS & RESOURCES:

👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails
📔 If you like this episode, make sure you get a copy of Cody's book! (affiliate link)

✌️ Unpacking Insecurity, FOMO & How Social Media Harms Our Mental Health & Relationships — with Natalie Lue

Softer Sounds — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Let’s talk about how bad social media really is for our mental health and relationships. 🫠

In this honest and vulnerable conversation, Natalie Lue of Baggage Reclaim helps us dig into:

Growing up without the internet
Realizing social media is a toxic, codependent relationship
How your subconscious “goes shopping for flaws and failures” while you scroll
The problems with hate-following
How to quit stalking ourselves, our friends, our exes, and total strangers online
Why we shop more when we’re active on Instagram or TikTok
Reclaiming your sense of self away from social media
Why it’s not your fault if you can’t cope with using the apps

This one goes out to anyone struggling with the harms of social media. Listen to the full episode on Baggage Reclaim here.

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails
📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!

💭 Prestige or Freedom: The Delusion of “Living Your Dream” — with Mel Mitchell-Jackson

Softer Sounds — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 04:00:00 -0600

I met Mel Mitchell-Jackson in the best way: through a newsletter ad, a ‘wanna chat?’ email, and many texts and virtual coffees since.

Today, they’re here to talk about their path from art school to working at Apple HQ to leaving that behind for creative self-employment.

Tune in to hear us explore:

How to cultivate creative community
The realities of what it takes to “make it” in art school & beyond
Chronic illness, Long COVID & find a pace you can sustain
3 common traps of over-giving in online business
Ways to center anti-capitalist values & praxis in your work
The pros & cons of building an audience through Youtube
& much more!

LINKS & RESOURCES:

👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails

📣 Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid

🔒 A Pep Talk for Believing in Your Business & Your Art

Softer Sounds — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 05:00:00 -0600

A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a new business friend and peer that sent me into a total tailspin.

The TLDR; is that they said something relatively innocuous about my podcast & membership model…

And it had me questioning everything about I know about success in online business.

In this Clubhouse-exclusive episode, I share more of that story and the pep talk I’ve been giving myself since. To hear the whole thing, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

** This episode was recorded & scheduled before the US joined Israel in bombing Iran over the weekend. At Off the Grid, we believe in food not bombs. We support the Iran people and protestors pursuing freedom in the face of extreme violence. But we don’t believe in the US pattern of interventionism through warfare. Nor in a President who posts assassination updates on a social media platform he owns. For our US listeners, please join us in calling your representatives to stop these unauthorized military strikes. **

❤️‍🩹 Fractured Attention & Financial Scarcity — Quitting Instagram with Jenni Gritters

Softer Sounds — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Jenni Gritters recently hosted me for a Your Attention is Sacred book club, and I’m excited to share our conversation with you!

Tune in as we discuss:

Understanding the goals of the algorithms
Addiction as a lens to make sense of social media
Jenni’s decision to delete her Instagram account
The parallels between fractured attention and financial scarcity
Reckoning with combative platforms
How to protect your well-being if you’re still on social media

⭐️ & RSVP FOR MY BOOK READING IN SAN FRANCISCO ON MARCH 12TH! ⭐️

BOOKS MENTIONED (affiliate links):

LINKS & RESOURCES:

👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails

🐚 Burnout as a Cycle Under Capitalism — with Cyrée Jarelle Johnson

Softer Sounds — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Today I’m joined by Cyrée Jarelle Johnson for a deep and thoughtful conversation about spiritual practice, small business, and social media.

Together we weave through:

How Cyrée crafted his career as a diviner, poet, herbalist + card reader
Healing burnout when living with chronic illness and neurodivergence
Why Instagram has no elders — and all communities are incomplete without elders
Discernment vs extreme skepticism — and how to navigate the internet’s slop era
How to blend online & IRL business models — including different ways to run a shop
The realities of experiencing transphobic and hateful comments on social media
Herbal and ecological support for tending to burnout ❤️‍🩹

LINKS & RESOURCES:

👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails

📣 Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid

💿 My Privacy-Focused, Algorithm-Lite Tech Stack

Softer Sounds — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0600

I’ve spent the past 5 years trying to navigate the internet without handing my data (& life) over to surveillance capitalism.

In today’s episode, I’m sharing my current tech stack — the browsers, search engines, email providers, and other tools that I use to share my wrk online without Google, Facebook, or AI overlords.

As you listen, please know this effort is a work in progress and always evolving! You can learn my entire process by taking my class OPT OUT: 5 Steps to Break Up with Big Tech Today.

My current privacy-focused tech stack

Kagi search + Orion browser
Proton Mail (affiliate link) + Zoho Mail
Signal

Find everything else mentioned here: offthegrid.fun/shownotes/privacy-focused-tech-stack

🔒 3 Sticky Situations: A Rapid-Fire Feedback Clinic

Softer Sounds — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Real talk: I can be kind of avoidant when it comes to feedback.

I don’t love giving it. I prefer not receiving it.

But sometimes that lands me in sticky interpersonal situations.

…Maybe you can relate?

If yes, you’re going to love this Clubhouse episode, because I’m sharing a follow-up to my conversation with Morgan Evans — where we go through three real-life (and real-biz) examples of how to navigate tough conversations.

Tune in to this preview as we talk through:

How to offer feedback when a service provider isn’t getting the assignment 🚩
Ways to handle emails that feel like misguided attacks 🙅‍♀️
Why we should start all collaborations by defining the terms and responsibility 👩‍💼
& How self-reflection can help us shortcut the feedback process 💰

To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

📄 Feedback that Doesn’t Feel Bad — with Morgan Evans

Softer Sounds — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 04:35:00 -0600

Welcome to our most personal episode yet!

Today I’m joined by Morgan Evans from Business Casual to talk about the seemingly-simple but often-fraught topic of: feedback.

We share a lot of personal experiences and business examples as we get into:

What feedback really is
Why reviews and random emails aren’t feedback
How to give & receive feedback that doesn’t feel like 💩
Ways to create business systems that invite feedback
How to resolve conflict with clients/customers/team members
Why feedback is actually a social justice tool
Positive feedback and how to integrate it

🔒 Self-Publishing Off the Amazon Path

Softer Sounds — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 06:00:00 -0600

Last month, I was thrilled to join Karolina Wudniak of Paperwing Studio in the Indie Book Lab!

We talked about how I approached self-publishing without relying on Amazon — including the platforms I used, the (costly) mistakes I made, and how much money I’ve brought in from my book so far (revenue AND profit).

I also answered lots of attendee questions:

Why did you decide to avoid Amazon? & How much could you really?
What size audience would you recommend having before going Amazon-less?
Is it realistic to make sales without Amazon’s reach? How do you handle discoverability?
What does fulfillment look like without a big platform?
What about international sales?
Is this only viable for nonfiction or niche audiences? What about debut authors?
How much more work is it, realistically?
And finally… why is your paperback actually on Amazon anyway?

It was a great conversation, and I’m excited to share the recording — exclusively with paid subscribers in the Clubhouse :)

Tune in here for a preview, and to hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

➿ The Tension of Platforms & Why I Haven’t Left Substack (Yet)

Softer Sounds — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0600

If you're stressed about using Spotify, Substack, Google, Instagram, or any other platforms... this episode is for you!

Today I'm talking about how to choose platforms & tech tools without selling your soul — and why I'm still on Substack even though I kinda hate it. 🫠

Tune in to hear me break down:

Tools vs Platforms
Questions to ask before you choose a new tool
What to do about the bad politics of platforms
Why there's no purity on the internet
Four strategies for rethinking your choices
Tech stack harm reduction
The big decision I made about Substack

🕯️Centering Your Values & Staying off Social Media — with Harry Doull of Keap Candles

Softer Sounds — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Harry Doull grew up living in a small family hotel in the French countryside. Then he worked for the UN and Google, before leaving tech behind to co-found his candle company, Keap.

This week, he’s on the podcast to share why he left tech for candlemaking, and how he’s grown Keap without social media or Amazon — while still garnering plenty of customers, partners, and awards, including landing on Wirecutter’s best candles list.

This one’s for all the product-makers out there and anyone who believes business without social media can’t scale. They can! We’re proving it! Buy a candle & join us!

ALSO — If you want to try a Keap candle, use the code OFFTHEGRID for 15% off your first purchase. My faves are: Timur Moon, Wood Cabin, Wild Figs & the brand new Grapefruit + Yuzu (affiliate links)

And if you want to partner with Keap, check out their Mindful Creators program.

RESOURCES + LINKS
🕯️If you want to try a Keap candle, my faves are: Timur Moon, Wood Cabin & the brand new Grapefruit + Yuzu (affiliate links)
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails
📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!

🔒 How Do I Stay Visible Without Social Media?

Softer Sounds — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Today I’m bringing you something really special—

A mini-coaching session and marketing conversation about how to stay visible without social media.

It comes from a wonderful conversation I had with Jenni Gritters’ community last month, where someone asked me:

"I just started a business and everyone I’ve talked to has said: ‘oh so you have to make an Instagram.’ My rebellious self is completely against it, but obviously it’s a very slow build without social media. Do you think it’s possible? How would you go about it?"

I get this question a lot, and I wanted to speak to it here! So tune in to this episode preview to learn exactly how I’d grow this business without social media, including what I think comes before you ever begin working on visibility.

To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

When you do, you'll get access to over 30 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show.

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

🧗🏻‍♀️ Getting Off the Online Business Growth Escalator [BEST OF]

Softer Sounds — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Today, I'm bringing together everything I know about growing an online business to explore why sometimes we feel like our businesses just won't work... and then other times they grow wayyyy beyond our capacity.

Tune in to this Best Of episode to hear more about:

Realizing you're on the Wrong Path & how to get off it
The Online Business Growth Escalator
What to do when your escalator is broken
How to chart your own path for business growth
Questions to get clear on where you want to go

📉 Business Degrowth — Slowing Down & Noticing Patterns with Nic Antoinette

Softer Sounds — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 04:00:00 -0600

This week, Nic Antoinette returns to share what really happens when you take a year off your business… and why degrowth is their plan for 2026.

Join us for a 90-minute biz friend chat where we explore:

The original idea for Nic’s Gap Year
How stepping back from work changes your identity
What slowing down really requires of us
When making less money can be a goal (not a failure)
Finding enoughness without succumbing to underearning
How we’re right-sizing our work in 2026
& more!

🔒 How Much $$ I've Really Made in 5 Years of Self-Employment

Softer Sounds — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 07:00:00 -0600

This is an episode preview. The full audio & video episode are available for for Clubhouse Members. Join today for $5.

My least favorite thing about starting a business was the overwhelming fear and uncertainty I felt around making money.

In the early days, I was drowning in narratives of how most businesses fail, and I’d probably never earn enough to feel supported or successful.

But over time… My business started working. More money started flowing. And I built confidence in my ability to steward wealth.

Now — I’ve been working full-time in my business for almost five years. It feels wild to report that I’ve made over $550,000 in revenue during that time. And I’ve taken home enough of that to support my family and purchase a home.

Is that an income claim? HELL NO. I’m not saying ‘look at what I did; here’s a quick way you can do it too.’

But I am arriving here (proverbial powerpoint in hand) to open up my books and show you how my business has actually made money over the past five years.

Because one thing that would’ve made starting a business less scary was seeing how other people actually made it work financially. Not with imaginary hypotheticals or overinflated promises. But with actual numbers.

So in this episode preview, I'm talking to you about money! And in the full episode (with video), I share five years of my actual numbers.

If you’re a money nerd (and a nosey nelly) like me, tune in to hear:

Why I think financial transparency is important — but only when done with context and care! 🫨
How much I made in my first year of self-employment 💸
Why it took me a while to reach six-figures 🤑
Revenue vs profit vs take-home pay — this matters so much!!! ☝️
The gap between business well-being & personal well-being ⛓️‍💥
How I survived a 50% drop in Softer Sounds revenue in 2025… 😬
What happened that made me go all-in on Off the Grid 🤳

To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

When you do, you'll get access to over 30 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show.

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show and hear about my finances! You can find this specific episode here :)

✊ 50 Ways Your Business Can Fight Fascism

Softer Sounds — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0600

With the state of the world, it’s easy to believe that creative work is a waste of time.

But I believe our businesses, art, and lives can be powerful forces for change. Not just by default, but through simple-yet-radical practices.

To help us orient toward personal power and collective freedom, I shared a free class and compiled this list of 50 ways your creative work can be a force for liberation (and fight fascism in the process).

Remember: Your work matters. Your art matters. And it can change the world — if you make it.

Tune in to hear this list (or read it right here). Then make your own!

💎 How I Built This: 5 Years of Softer Sounds & Off the Grid

Softer Sounds — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Welcome to season nine of Off the Grid!
We’re kicking this one off by talking about why I’m kinda closing my business…
Or more accurately: how pruning one tree helps another grow.

Tune in to hear all about:

Abolishing ICE & Standing with Minnesota
What I did before I started Softer Sounds
My step-by-step transition from side hustle to small business
The one strategy that brought in 6 months of $$$
Why I started this podcast… and then almost quit making it
The 3 keys to Off the Grid’s success
How I’m turning this tiny indie show into my full-time job in 2026

LINKS & RESOURCES:

💠 Free Class: How Our Businesses Create Change

✊ Stand with Minnesota

📲 5calls.org (use the app, it’s great!)

💕 Join us in the Off the Grid Clubhouse

💫 Get the free Leaving Social Media Toolkit

📔 Buy my book: Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media

🫂 Also big hugs to my biz friends Taylor Elyse Morrison & Nic Antoinette
📣 Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid

🔒 Your 2026 Biz Astro Forecast — with Miana Melendez

Softer Sounds — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0600

In this episode preview, I’m joined by Miana Melendez to talk about the major astrological transits of 2026 and how they might shape our year in creative business.

Miana is a Certified Astrologer, Certified Life Coach and Brand Strategist who helps ambitious leaders, divine disruptors and soul led entrepreneurs step into their next evolution of identity, leadership and vocal expression.

Tune in to hear us chat about:

Why presence is the word of the year
How Neptune and Saturn in Aries might shape our vision
The powerful potential of Uranus in Gemini
Why Chiron in Taurus and Jupiter in Leo will give this year a lift
& lots more!

✨ A Quick Permission Slip to Release Your Expectations

Softer Sounds — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 05:00:00 -0600

Join me for a deep breath, an invitation to release expectations, and an update on what's happening in the Clubhouse before Off the Grid returns on January 28th.

And if you want more Off the Grid right now... --> Join the Clubhouse ASAP!

Three exclusive episode are going live in the next week:
🌈 3 ways I'm reclaiming my attention, creativity & workday
🧐 WTF are the celebrity entrepreneurs doing? w/Amanda Laird
💫 Your 2026 biz astro forecast w/Miana Melendez

These episodes are EXCLUSIVELY for Clubhouse subscribers, who help me keep this podcast going by chipping in $5 to support the show. Join today!

P.S. If you (like me) are feeling unsure of how to process and resist the atrocities in the US right now, I’ve been returning to this video on opposing fascism in daily life for guidance.

🔒 3 Ways I’m Reclaiming My Attention, Creativity & Workday in 2026

Softer Sounds — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0600

At some point last year, I realized I was on my phone… a lot…

And I was kind of working all the time….

And while I was promoting my book all about attention…

I wasn’t doing the best job of tending to my attention myself!

So in 2026, I’m reclaiming my attention, creativity, and workday. Not through grand proclamations or whole-life-overhauls. But through a few small shifts that I trust will help me reconnect with my body, recenter my mind, and reorient toward my deeper vision for Life.

Tune in to this free episode preview — where I talk about why I’m:

Deleting all work and distraction apps off my phone — including email! 📲
Tracking my work hours again (even though I kind of hate it) ⏱️
Giving up my Notion dashboard 😬
Returning to a paper planner & art journal 📓
& more!

To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

🍒 What’s Next? 2026 Marketing Trends with Amanda Laird

Softer Sounds — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Today we're putting the cherry on top of your 2026 marketing toolkit with a long-form episode on trends!

To do that, I'm joined by growth marketing strategist Amanda Laird to chat about five things we’re forecasting for the year ahead, including:

New ways of building trust 👷
Why we’re bringing big YOLO energy to our marketing ☝️
How online business is going analog 📻
Why Patreon might be the platform to watch 👀
If done-for-you services are making a comeback 🤝
And how courses might fare in 2026 🤔

Tune in for a gently-guided look into the murky crystal ball of online biz. Then head to offthegrid.fun/2026 for this whole series!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails
📣 I wanna promote your work! Learn more about advertising with Off the Grid.

📍 The Power of Local Events & Low-Key Networking in 2026 — with Arianna Smith

Softer Sounds — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0600

You don’t have to be an extrovert to host events. (I promise.)

In today’s episode, I’m talking to licensed therapist and intuitive copywriter Arianna Smith about the event series she’s been hosting since 2023 and how in-person networking has changed her business for the better.

If you’re thinking about how to be less online and more IRL in 2026, this episode is for you! Tune in to learn all about:

Why Arianna decided to host in-person events & how she found her first venues
Different approaches to RSVPs & free vs paid events
Why relationships are the only timeless marketing “strategy”
How to tend to yourself while hosting events
Different types of events to host depending on your personality
What to do if nobody shows up

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails
📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!
🎶 Listen to Social Media by SurferBOY

📬 3 Rules for Email Marketing + Newsletters in 2026

Softer Sounds — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0600

What are we doing with email this year? And how are we adapting to all the inbox changes?

In this episode, Amelia shares her top 3 rules for email marketing and newsletters in 2026.

This isn’t another overview of the basics. It’s part-hot-take and part-informed-opinion on things like:

Why welcome sequences matter
Reasons to let people opt-out of sales cycles
The best way to use a waitlist
An argument for breaking up with the weekly newsletter
& more!

Tune in for a free email education, then listen to these episodes for more:

📧 Email Marketing Made Easier, Better & More Fun — with Holly Wielkoszewski

📮 All Things Email Marketing with Allea Grummert of Duett

📥 Email Mistakes We Need to Stop Making — with Dawn Richardson from Flodesk

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
🎶 Listen to Social Media by SurferBOY

😎 Want to learn my waitlist strategy? Join the Clubhouse for this exclusive episode: 🔬 Waitlist Experiments: What I’ve Learned from 8 Mini-Launches

🔎 Searching the New Web: SEO, AI & Blogs in 2026 with Meg Casebolt

Softer Sounds — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Search has always driven web traffic… but what is SEO in the era of AI? And how will that impact our creative businesses in 2026?

Today I’m joined by SEO expert, podcaster and romance novelist (!) Meg Casebolt, who’s here to help us understand the current landscape of search and how AI is remapping the web.

Tune in to learn:

What's shifting in the world of SEO — including AIO, GEO, AEO & LLMEO
How these changes might just liberate us from Google…
Why you never need to use keyword tools again!
Tips for optimizing your digital presence in 2026 — whether you’re just starting out or have a lot online already
How to think about search if you’re not interested in using AI
Why Meg is returning to blogging in 2026

This conversation made me stop stressing about AI and quit worrying if anyone will ever find my website again. Tune in, read Meg’s blog, and enjoy! 🙏

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist for courses + community
💓 Join the Clubhouse for more episodes + emails
📔 Buy Amelia's book at yourattentionissacred.com!
🎶 Listen to Social Media by SurferBOY

🪩 Your 2026 Creative Marketing Toolkit!

Softer Sounds — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 04:00:00 -0600

Happy New Year & welcome to a brand new season of Off the Grid!

Today we're kicking off this year-in-biz with our annual creative marketing toolkit — five episodes in five days to set you up for success in 2026!

Press play to hear all about it, and tune in this week to learn:

Our top 3 marketing strategies for 2026
Need-to-know advice on SEO, AI & blogging in this era of the internet
My rules for email marketing + newsletters right now
How to network better + host fun events (even if you're an introvert)
& What trends will grab extra attention in the year ahead!

You'll hear from amazing guests like Meg Casebolt, Arianna Smith, and Amanda Laird. It's basically a mini-of-the-moment-marketing-masterclass all for free on the pod feed this week! So please subscribe and share it with a friend xo

🔒 What Happened? 2025 Marketing Trend Recap — with Amanda Laird

Softer Sounds — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 04:00:00 -0600

Back on January 8th, Amanda Laird and I recorded an episode about the four marketing trends she was forecasting for the year ahead.

Now that it’s December, we’re revisiting those trends to talk about what actually happened!

Tune in as we recap what happened in the world of creative small business, specifically around: AI, social media, Substack, and IRL events.

This is a free preview of our conversation. To hear the whole thing, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

🫂 How to Hold it All — Self-Employment in Hard Times with Shivani Mehta Bhatia

Softer Sounds — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 04:00:00 -0600

This week, we end season seven of Off the Grid with an honest conversation about self-employment amidst polycrisis.

I’m joined by the inimitable Shivani Mehta Bhatia — who returns to the show to help us weave our experiences of grief, witnessing, conflict, rest, deep sorrow, and profound joy.

It’s been a long year, and we quite literally laugh and cry as we reflect on how 2025 has clarified our commitments — including how we’ve (imperfectly) kept working through it all.

Tune in, then if you want to process together: join me for a free end-of-year journalling session on December 9th. We'll gather, look back at 2025, and do our best to hold it all collectively. 🫂

LINKS TO GO DEEPER:
explore Shivani's work

the nine rules of generative conflict: a manifesto

how do we hold it all?

Is Leaving Social Media a Privilege?

Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Ecosystem Framework

Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag
🕯️ Free Journalling Session w/Amelia on 12/9

💖 A Tiny Pep Talk for Black Friday Feelings (& Holiday Sales Season)

Softer Sounds — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 04:00:00 -0600

Fifteen minutes to center us in radical generosity + energetic sovereignty before the biggest shopping + selling days of the year.

Tune in for a tiny pep talk, and to hear more about the Off the Grid Small Biz Gift Guide!

& If you want to shop Off the Grid deals through the weekend:
📖 Your Attention is Sacred ebooks are $10 + paperbacks are $20!
🎙️ Your Podcast is a Portal is only $99!

Wishing you the coziest weekend. xoxo, Amelia

🧩 Decolonize Your Systems & Yourself — Neurodivergence & Notion with Podge Thomas [BEST OF]

Softer Sounds — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0600

Today we visit the Off the Grid archives and Podge Thomas returns for a reflective conversation about why being self-employed invites (and requires) decolonizing how we learn, how we communicate, how we operate, and how we relate to others.

Podge has recently created a FREE email course on Metacognitive Learning Design. I want you to get the course, check out her Decolonized Learning Glossary, and then tune in to the episode.

Together we explore:

The coercive effects of traditional education ⛓️‍💥
Why Amelia did School like Ken did Beach 🏖️
How to de-condition & decolonize our businesses 🧲
The importance of situating self-knowledge amidst community values 🎗️
Why Notion is a liberatory tool 👾
Task management for non-linear thinkers 😵‍💫
& so much more!

🚰 Where You Labor is Where You Should Rest — with Jordan Maney

Softer Sounds — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0600

If you’re tired of being tired, this episode is for you.

Today I’m joined by Jordan Maney, the Radical Joy Coach™ and creator of the RestLab. Through her facilitation and coaching, she helps people who give a damn (including you, dear listener!) learn the radical practice of rest.

In this conversation, we get into:

Why we can’t talk about rest without talking about work
The self-fulfilling prophesy of “invisible labor”
How to rest when you really love what you do
Why creative work requires creative rest
Rest equity as a guiding principle
Rejecting “calm supremacy”
Why a sabbatical probably isn’t the antidote for burnout…

Tune in then, join Jordan in RestLab 101 for support slowing down and sustaining your creative work, your community advocacy, and your rest.

🛍️ Attention Economics, Impulse Spending & Social Media — with Rachel Duncan

Softer Sounds — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0600

Listen to this episode before you begin holiday shopping or selling!

Today I’m sharing a conversation I had with Rachel Duncan for the Money Healing Club Podcast where we go deeeeeep into how social media impacts our spending habits and finances.

We talk about budgets, boundaries, and screentime. Then we explore why restriction isn’t necessarily the answer to addiction — and why rebellion and pleasure may be better antidotes for feeling too online.

We also explore the core concepts of my book, including: what’s wrong with the attention economy, the negative impacts of extractive algorithms, and my 5 principles for gardening your attention.

➡ 💸 Tune in, then join Rachel in the Money Healing Club for more support! You can use the code OFFTHEGRID for 10% off your MHC membership. We highly recommend it! (affiliate link)

🖤 How to Stop (Doom) Scrolling

Softer Sounds — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 05:00:00 -0600

Let’s get into it with phone addiction and doomscrolling. 😵‍💫

In this episode, I’ll teach you two practices for raising your awareness around how you use your phone.

Then I’ll offer two interventions for interrupting feel-bad habits and learning to scroll more mindfully.

As our theme song says… I know that you really want to put your phone away (hey!).

So let’s do that together today!

🌙 Calling in Your Business Spirit — A Community Tarot Reading from Cecily Sailer

Softer Sounds — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Let's get mystical, shall we? 🧿

In honor of Halloween, today I'm resharing a community tarot reading that Cecily Sailer of Typewriter Tarot recorded for us last fall.

Cecily (she/her) is a creativity coach, writer and tarot reader. She runs a business called Typewriter Tarot, which is a sanctuary and learning community for creative mystics. She's also the author of Tarot for Creative Spirits.

Tune in for a moment of spiritual connection and clarity. And don't forget! 🔔 This is your last call to buy Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media and get a ticket to the Off the Grid retreat next week. Learn more + join us at yourattentionissacred.com

🍁 Reclaiming Your Magic Online & Offline — with Casey Zabala of Modern Witches

Softer Sounds — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Happy Halloween/Samhein week, friends 🌙

Today, I’m joined by one of my favorite witches, Casey Zabala of Modern Witches and Wanderers Tarot.

Casey and I have a rich conversation tracing her spiritual path and how it became her career. We explore community, magic, and the power of self-publishing, as well as why Casey left social media earlier this year.

We also get into the nitty gritty details of bringing both a tarot deck and a community anthology to life — exploring the highs and lows of collaborative creativity and manifestation.

🔒 Waitlist Experiments: What I’ve Learned from 8 Mini-Launches

Softer Sounds — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 04:00:00 -0500

Big launches have been all the rage this year. But I’ve been working very quietly behind the scenes, growing my membership with small launches to a private waitlist.

How’s it gone? Pretty great, actually! I’ve invited in 6-18 new members every 4-6 weeks all year long. That’s over 70 new people! Bringing in over $10,000 in revenue! And my nervous system has stayed regulated the entire time.

So, as I do… I’m here to tell you exactly how I’ve done it. 🤓

In this episode, I share how my waitlist works, and the 5 lessons I’ve learned from opening the doors to the Interweb 8 times this year.

Then I walk you through the 5-email sequence I’ve honed through my waitlist experiments and offer thoughts on starting a waitlist strategy of your own.

This episode is basically 9 months of hard-won wisdom offered to you in less than 40 minutes!

But you'll only get a brief preview here. To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

🌚 Business as Initiation & the Power of Deep Alignment — with grace allerdice

Softer Sounds — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Today we embrace the Dark Moon and step into our businesses to remember: “alignment is a dance.”

To do that, I welcome grace allerdice back to the podcast for the fifth time. She’s a priestess, a podcaster, and one of my personal friends and guides.

In this episode, she shares how her self-employment journey has also been a spiritual initiation and the many ways deep alignment has guided her into the portal of Now. We also explore our solar/lunar marketing styles and offer an example of what close biz friendship really sounds like.

Tune in for an inner tune-up. Then RSVP for grace’s event, and purchase a book bundle to join us both at the Off the Grid Retreat on November 5th.

👁️‍🗨️ A New Vision for Off the Grid

Softer Sounds — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Here's the thing: Off the Grid isn't just a marketing podcast. 🥸

It's a rallying cry to break free from the attention economy and reclaim your agency.

It's also a vision of the internet where we create, connect, and make money online without extractive algorithms.

In this bonus episode, I'm sharing the new vision for Off the Grid! And inviting you to co-create it with me at our upcoming retreat.

Listen in. Read the vision. Buy a book bundle. Let's get free. 🩵

📮 Email Mistakes We Need to Stop Making — with Dawn Richardson from Flodesk

Softer Sounds — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Today we’re going right to the heart of email marketing and answering your burning questions!

To do that, I’m joined by Dawn Richardson, Product Education Manager at Flodesk and owner of Tech Savvy Creative.

Dawn is here to explain how your emails end up in spam, strategies to get better open rates, and why you should stop sending reengagement campaigns immediately.

She’s got the stats from millions of emails sent through Flodesk, so you can stop guessing what works and use the strategies that are effective in 2025 (rather than repeating things that haven’t worked since 2015).

Tune in and you’ll learn:

Exactly how email deliverability works and why it matters (even for tiny lists!)
Why you need to be sending your emails from a custom domain (not gmail)
How to warm up your domain if you’re sending your first email in a long time (or ever)
How to clean your list without wrecking your stats
The outdated email practice messing with Amelia’s open rates 👀
Plus answers to more questions from Interweb members with businesses like yours!

Full disclosure: Off the Grid is a Flodesk partner! So if it feels like the right tool for you, we’d love to share our affiliate link so you get 50% off your first year. We also recommend signing up before November 29th when their unlimited emails and checkout plans end.

💯 100 Ways to Share Your Work & Life Off Social Media

Softer Sounds — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Let's get visionary! 🪅 🪅 🪅

Today I'm revisiting and reimagining my list of 100 Ways to Share Your Work/Life Without Social Media — in celebration of my book launch!

If you've been feeling unsure, uninspired, or unsatisfied lately, this episode is for you. Tune in for a quick dose of clarity and expansion. 🩵

🦗 Quit Launching to Crickets — Simple Strategies for Stronger Sales with Nicole Cloutier

Softer Sounds — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Today we welcome copywriter Nicole Cloutier back to the podcast (yay!) to help us avoid the most dreaded small biz experience: putting something new into the world and hearing … nothing … in return.

We talk through launch basics then go deep into the strategies that have helped grow our sales — even in this challenging year.

Join us as we stare into the void together and discuss:

What a launch really is (hint: it’s pretty simple)
Why it’s so important to pre-launch and “warm up” your audience
Nicole’s 3-part pre-launch framework (with timeline!)
Behind-the-scenes stats like Amelia’s email open rates 👀
The only 2 CTAs you need for your launch
Waitlist strategies & the one email that you never want to skip
Why your launches don’t have to be perfect
The importance of great subject lines

📨 👉💰 If you want to improve your emails and launches, click here to get the Great Subject Line Experiment!

RESOURCES + LINKS

👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit

🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community

🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

📔 Buy a copy of Amelia's new book — Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media

🌈 Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media — Book Launch!

Softer Sounds — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 05:00:00 -0500

My book is here! Learn more & buy your copy at offthegrid.fun/attention 🥳 🥳 🥳

In today's episode, I tell you all about the book AND the virtual retreat I'm hosting this fall.

Then I share an amazing conversation I had with Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer for her podcast Imagination State. It's all about how extractive algorithms wreck our creativity + community — and ways to make that stop.

Tune in, then please ORDER THE BOOK!

🙅‍♀️ Why I’m Not Putting My Book on Amazon

Softer Sounds — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

The most radical choice I’ve made in self-publishing is not putting my book on Amazon.

Tune in to this episode to learn:

Why I made this decision
What it means for my book
How I’m going to find readers anyway
& Exactly how many books I’m hoping to sell

Then join me in my journey of self-publishing without giving Jeff Bezos more money… by getting a copy of the book at yourattentionissacred.com!

Mentioned in the episode:

Postcards from: Carolyn Yoo, Debora Figueiredo, Kening Zhu & Chelsie Tamms
Fifty Feminist Mantras
IngramSpark & Lulu
How to Resist Amazon and Why by Danny Caine

UPDATE: I’ve amended the start of this episode to share the unfortunate news that — if you distribute your book through IngramSpark, IT WILL ALWAYS be available on Amazon.

This was not clear before my publication date, but after many support tickets to IngramSpark they’ve clarified that “our distribution program is ‘All or nothing’ which that we are unable to leave out any of our distribution partners.”

I was able to stop the ebook and audiobook from going to Amazon, but the paperback version is now unavoidably there. Please buy it elsewhere!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
📔 Buy a copy of Amelia's new book — Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media

💥 Why I Turned Down a Book Deal

Softer Sounds — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to Book Week! In this behind-the-scenes episode (from the Clubhouse!), I tell you all about:

The story of my first book (& why I had to rewrite that story to move forward)
Why I decided to write this book (instead of just making more podcast episodes)
My process for writing the 15,000 word manuscript in ONE WEEK (a wild choice)
How I ended up getting a book offer from my last publisher…
And the exact sentence that made me turn that offer down 🙃

Tune in, then get a copy of the book at yourattentionissacred.com!

📔 Demystifying Publishing: From Idea to Manuscript to Book in Your Hands — with Bailey Lang

Softer Sounds — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Bailey Lang is a book coach, editor, and ghostwriter who helps business owners, creatives, and academics tell stories that matter.

In this episode, Bailey and I pull back the curtain on the book-writing process. I share the messy middle and behind-the-scenes challenges of bringing my own book to life, while Bailey offers grounded guidance on what to do (and what not to do) if you’re dreaming of writing one yourself.

If you’ve ever thought “maybe I have a book in me” — this one’s for you.

Tune in, then get a copy of Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media. Its on sale now!

🫶 Moving Past Perfectionism & Procrastination — Parts Work for Creative People with Tracy Candido

Softer Sounds — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Tracy Candido is a creative coach and the host of Hidden Parts, a podcast about the inner voices that shape how we live, work, and lead.

Today she joins me on the podcast to help me unpack how my inner perfectionist, procrastinator, and hyper-achiever showed up in the book writing process.

To do that, she teaches us a lot about Parts Work. Tune in to learn:

What Parts Work is (and how it’s different than Internal Family Systems)
How to identify protector parts
Tracy’s 3-step methodology for quieting mental chatter
How Parts Work can heal overachiever patterns & visibility wounds

✏️ Deleting Instagram, Practicing Attention & the Magic of Self-Publishing — with Cody Cook-Parrott

Softer Sounds — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

This summer, Cody Cook-Parrott deleted their Instagram account. In doing so, they “lost” 80,000 followers and gained so. much. more.

In this conversation, we dig into why Cody decided to delete IG, how their creative attention has shifted since, and what it really looks like to build a business (and publish a book) off the grid.

Tune in to this episode to hear us explore:

Why Cody deleted their account instead of deactivating
What it means to archive your work online
The realities of giving up social capital
Sacred witnessing and ways to cultivate the feeling of being seen
How Cody is approaching their next book launch without social media
Why we love self-publishing & the fate of Amelia’s first zine project

🌟 If you love this chat, listen to Cody’s podcast Common Shapes! (The party Amelia & Cody hosted has passed.)

🏁 The State of Substack & How to Fall Back in Love with the Internet — with Seth Werkheiser

Softer Sounds — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Seth Werkheiser was one of the first 3000 people on Twitter. Now he runs Social Media Escape Club and helps people get off X, Facebook, Instagram, and more.

In this conversation, we chart how we’ve each spent 20+ years online — beginning with AOL, Tumblr, and Twitter all the way through Instagram, TikTok, and the current state of Substack.

This one goes out to everyone feeling lost online and looking for the magic of the early internet era again. Join us for this journey through:

Amelia’s cringe-inducing 2013 Tumblr blog & Twitter handle 😬
Seth’s path from AOL Music to heavy metal email marketer 🤘
The risks & rewards of bridging online connections into offline relationships 🥰
Why Seth moved his paid subscribers off Substack & lessons he learned in the transfer process 🌶️
The perils of the paywall 🚩

If you love this conversation, join me and Seth for a LIVE Q&A on September 11th! Only $10 if you sign up right here.

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

💫 How to (Self) Publish a Book Without Social Media

Softer Sounds — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back! Season 7 of Off the Grid officially kicks off next week. 🥳

This season we'll be digging into all things (self)-publishing without social media. I'm talking to writers, coaches, witches, and more about the magic of bringing our ideas to life and selling them in the marketplace. 😬

To get you in the mood, I'm sharing a preview of what's to come this fall and a juicy excerpt of a conversation I had on the Writing Your Resilience podcast earlier this year.

Tune in and make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss an episode! More soon. xoxo, Amelia

🌈 Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media — Exclusive Book Preview!

Softer Sounds — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0500

It's finally here, my friends... your first preview of my book!

In this episode, I fill you in on exactly why Your Attention is Sacred Except on Social Media.

Then in a you-heard-it-here-first moment, I play you the beginning of the audiobook! And I implore you to get a copy at yourattentionissacred.com.

Thank you so much for tuning in to season six of Off the Grid. We'll be on break for the rest of August, but if you join the Clubhouse, you'll get our free summer reset series that starts next week!

xoxo, Amelia

🙌 21 Tiny Pep Talks for You & Your Creative Business

Softer Sounds — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to part one of our season six finale!

Today I’m joined by TWENTY past guests sharing tiny pep talks recorded just for you.

Tune in for encouragement on everything from surviving Capitalism to fixing your sales page to overcoming overwhelm and getting exactly what you want.

You’ll hear from:
[6:30] Blaize Hall of Weeping Willow Wellness

[12:00] Michelle Pellizzon-Lipsitz of Holisticism

[14:55] Sarah Arantza Amador of Hawthorne Mountain Tarot

[18:20] Arielle Estoria

[19:35] Mattia Maurée of AuDHD Flourishing

[21:30] Michelle Warner of Sequence Over Strategy

[23:55] Amanda Laird of Slow and Steady & Personal Biz

[26:15] Chelsie Tamms of Lettering Works

[27:30] Elise Granata of GROUP HUG

[30:45] Shivani Mehta Bhatia

[33:30] Maria Bowler

[37:10] grace allerdice of home—body

[39:50] Megan Leatherman of A Wild New Work

[43:40] Maggie Gentry of Rest Day Creative

[46:40] Natalie Ross

[49:30] Natalie Miller of Mind Witchery

[52:45] Rachel Duncan of the Money Healing Club

[55:50] Nicole Cloutier of Copy Poetics

[60:15] Yarrow Magdalena of Pink Well Studio

[63:10] Chelsea Riffe

RESOURCES + LINKS
🌸 Join the Clubhouse for FREE episodes in August
👋 Download the Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the waitlist for the Interweb

🪞 Clear Channels, Secret Marketing & Making More Money Sans Socials — with Sarah Gottesdiener

Softer Sounds — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Here’s my truth— I am absolutely, positively obsessed with this episode.

Today on the pod, I’m joined by the one-and-only Sarah Faith Gottesdiener.

She’s popping over from Moonbeaming to pull back the curtain on how the Moon Studio has made more money than ever this year — with a secret marketing strategy and a super minimal social media presence.

Hear us get smart on:

Inside/outside marketing strategies
Keeping your best work a secret
Business models that are DOA
Why we love our client communities
How to cultivate a clear channel for your marketing
& Working with the best people

Tune in, then sign up for Sarah’s class Clear Channels! Registration closes in August.

RESOURCES + LINKS
🌸 Join the Clubhouse for a FREE late-summer reset
👋 Download the Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Get on the Interweb waitlist

🔒 My Antidote for Feeling Like a Failure

Softer Sounds — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 04:00:00 -0500

Lately I’ve found myself stuck in an outdated story around success, failure, and where I think I “should” be by now.

This seems to happen every summer when sales/downloads/open-rates dip right as my creative energy surges. And while I can notice that pattern… it doesn’t make the feelings go away.

So to support myself through it, last week I re-listened to my episode on Success Being a Cycle and put up my feelers for some creative wisdom on how to orient yourself when everything seems to go dark.

And I found inspiration from a few unlikely places!

So in this Clubhouse-exclusive minisode, I weave together:

I hope this episode can serve as the pep talk you/me might need to pause, reorient, and keep working toward our dreams.

To hear the whole thing, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

🤳 Put Down Your Phone & Abandon Your Brand — with Casey Johnston

Softer Sounds — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Casey Johnston is a weight-lifting memoirist and former editor at Vice, Ars Technica & the New York Times’ Wirecutter.

She’s been reporting on social media and smart phones for over a decade, and in that time, she built her career on Twitter then left it behind in favorite of a paid newsletter and a phone with fewer than ten apps on it.

In this conversation, we dig into the the major shifts that Casey’s witnessed in digital media since 2010, as well as how she created a “DIY Dumb Phone” to help her kick her phone addiction last year.

Specifically, we explore:

How Twitter helped Casey start her writing career
Why Casey launched a newsletter & how it’s become her primary income stream
Virality, memes & how they push us to always be online
The difference between a Beat, a Brand, and a Business
The successes & failures of journalists on Substack
Casey’s “DIY Dumb Phone” method
How algorithms convince us we have problems
Why Casey quit being a defender of social media

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

📘 A more joyful business is within reach. Get your copy of Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business by Jenny Blake today at itsfreetime.com/book (sponsored)

🔒 Why I DIY'd My Book Design & My Low-Key Launch Plans

Softer Sounds — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 04:00:00 -0500

When I self-published my first book in 2018, I thought the process was quite simple. But this go-round I hit a few roadblocks… and there were months where I worried that this book might never hit your proverbial (or literal) shelves.

In this episode, I pick up where I left you back in March — having decided to self-publish my book and needing to finish the manuscript. Then I take you all the way through the design process and up to my current launch strategy.

Tune in to this free preview to learn:

Why I paid a book designer… then DIY’d it anyway
How I prevailed through IngramSpark’s Book Building software
Refusing to work with Amazon in the process
And how Lexi Merritt helped me figure out my launch strategy!

To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

🚸 “How Do I Grow Without Social Media??” — Live Coaching with Melissa Wong

Softer Sounds — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to an episode unlike any other!

Today I'm joined by Melissa Wong of Coherence Studio for a live advising session where I help her work through the age-old question: "how do I really grow my business without social media?"

Then she turns the mic around on me to dig into how Off the Grid has actually grown — and what you can learn from that process.

Tune in as we get super honest and explore:

Two ways we build legacy in our businesses
How popularity wounds surface in our marketing
Looking to other business owners as models for our work
How Off the Grid has changed as its grown
Why your intuition is necessary for business survival
What relationship marketing strategies are working in 2025
Why Melissa wants to be on social media & if she’s going to leave IG

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

📘 A more joyful business is within reach. Get your copy of Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business by Jenny Blake today at itsfreetime.com/book (sponsored)

🌻 3 Ways I’m Gently Reinventing My Work Right Now

Softer Sounds — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Paradigm Shift Summer! 😎

This month on the podcast, we're rooting into radical change with ease, softness, and poolside vibes.

Today I'm taking you behind-the-scenes of my business and sharing 3 ways I'm releasing 2025-so-far and gently redesigning my work/life this summer.

I'll guide you through the deep shifts and practical actions I have planned — all with the goal of having a more simple, specific, and spiritual business by the fall.

Tune in to get inspired, and then join me for OPT OUT to do your own reinventing this summer!

😊 How Your Business Can (& Can’t) Make You Happy — $300k+ Launches with Sam Vander Wielen

Softer Sounds — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500

I’m not a fan of the #girlboss. But I am a fan of women who build wildly successful businesses. And I especially appreciate when they offer eyes-open advice about what it really took to get there.

Today on the show, I’m joined by Sam Vander Wielen, a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur who’s built a multi-seven-figure online business through consistently $100k+ funnels and launches.

While income claims like that typically make me roll my eyes… Sam is such an smart, honest, and candid business owner that I just had to ask her a million questions about how her business really works.

So if you’ve ever wanted a values-aligned look into a seven-figure business, you’ll definitely want to tune in. We talk about:

The relationship between trauma and high-achievement
How social media helped Sam grow her business
Clarifying the stages of awareness in your marketing
Clearing fear around the legal aspects of small business
How Sam handles hate mail and mean messages
The realities of Sam’s $300k+ launches
Why you need a copy of Sam’s new book

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

🏦 How Freelance Work Can Solve Your Problems — with Sarah Jutras

Softer Sounds — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500

I started my self-employment journey by freelancing… but somehow I’ve never talked about it on the pod!

So today I’m joined by Sarah Jutras of Huzzah Studio and Freelance for Life to dive into how to build a freelance career and/or land a few gigs to make ends meet.

Together we unpack a few common Qs, including:

What is freelancing? 🤺
Who is freelancing good for? 💼
How can I land my first freelance gig? 😎
And is it really possible to turn freelancing into a sustainable career? 🧐

I also ask Sarah my burning question: “Is freelancing only lucrative if you work in tech?” And she has a great answer. Tune in to hear it!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

🛠️ How to Create Biz Systems (for Neurodivergent Entrepreneurs) — with brigitte

Softer Sounds — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500

When my business becomes overwhelming, I turn my focus to my systems.

Why? Because systems are the how of everything I do in my work and life. I have a system for doing my laundry, a system for checking my inbox, and a system for making this podcast.

And even when I have no system for doing something… that’s still a no-system system!

Designing my systems with myself in mind has made my life so much better. And I really want that for you too!

So this week on the podcast, I’m joined by brigitte, a neurodivergent systems witch who’s here to help us all get through our work day with more ease.

Tune in to learn:

What systems are & who needs them
How to design systems that serve us instead of the status quo
Examples of systems from brigitte & Amelia’s businesses
How we can embed our values in our systems
Brigitte’s 7-step process for creating your own systems!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

⚡️ Build a profitable, in-demand business in a way that feels energetically sustainable. Get this FREE masterclass from Human Design & Business Coach Bryn Brown: The Secrets to Soulful Success (sponsored)

👩‍💻 How to Reinvent Yourself (& Your Website) — with Anita Cheung

Softer Sounds — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500

2025 has been a year of pivots, restarts, and beginning again. So this week on the pod, we’re talking about reinventing yourself and your website!

To do that, I’m joined by yoga-teacher-turned-meditation-studio-owner-turned-designer Anita Cheung AKA Neets!

Anita has pivoted business topics, models and personal brands many times over the past decade, and she’s here to share the lessons she’s learned, as well as to offer practical advice for adapting our virtual presence as we evolve.

Tune in to hear about:

Anita’s biggest lessons learned from starting over multiple times
Ways to embrace change and up-level your failure tolerance
How to reinvent yourself when you want to…
…VS How to pivot when it’s forced on you by hard times
Whether or not you should brand yourself as your name
& a HUGE permission slip to abandon your niche

Then in the second half of the episode, Anita teaches us her Top 10 Tips to Elevate Your Brand & Website. It’s a branding & web masterclass you won’t want to miss, just for Off the Grid listeners!

↪️ Knowing When to Pivot — The Realities of Food-Based Retail with Molly Clark of Taking Stock Foods

Softer Sounds — Wed, 28 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to Off the Grid CPG edition! 🍜

Today on the show, I’m joined by Molly Clark of Taking Stock Foods to talk about farmers’ markets, food retail, and the realities of consumer product goods businesses.

Molly is the co-founder and CEO of Taking Stock Foods, a functional beverage company based in St. Paul, MN. She is dedicated to being a leader in the conscious food movement, supporting and uplifting other founders in the maker space through intentional vulnerability and authentic connection.

Tune in to our conversation to learn:

Molly’s lessons from selling at farmers’ markets
The realities of getting shelf space in major retailers like Whole Foods
How to cultivate a sustainable cofounder relationship
Pros & cons of selling products through Amazon
More about COGs, MOQs, UGC and all the retail acronyms
& How Taking Stock Foods is changing their product line & pivoting away from IRL retail in 2025!

This episode is full of wisdom for anyone in the food and/or retail spaces. And it’s also a great listen for those of us in other industries who love to learn from values-aligned peers!

💓 Biz friend links from Molly: Kate LaBrosse, Lip Esteem, SJC Body Love, Mazaah, Heti

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

🌀 Navigating the Messy Middle — Small Business in Slow Times with Jen Carrington

Softer Sounds — Fri, 23 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Popping in with a behind-the-scenes bonus episode — where Jen Carrington and I pull back the curtain on everything that's been messy, feel-bad, and chaotic in our businesses this year!

We talk about exactly how much our revenue is down, the problems we've diagnosed with our marketing and messaging, and what we're focusing on to stay in business through 2025 and beyond.

Tune in to feel seen, heard, and (hopefully) less alone. 💓

If you enjoy the episode, make sure to grab Jen's free Design Your Part-Time Business Model toolkit. Then get the recording of my class where we explored How to Run Your Creative Business in Slow Times!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
🌀 Purchase the recording — How to Run Your Creative Business During a Recession (or any slow time)

🗣️ The Relationships that Change Everything — Creatively Unleashing with Lauren LoGrasso

Softer Sounds — Wed, 21 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

We talk about community all the time on this show. But what does it actually look like when relationships change the trajectory of your creative career?

In this episode, I’m joined by Lauren LoGrasso to unpack all the relationships that led her to her current roles as an award-winning podcaster, producer of We Can Do Hard Things, and VP of Programming and Development at Audacy.

Those relationships range from a random guy in Indiana to the agent who dumped her when she moved to LA to her “radio Jesus” who opened the door to everything Lauren is doing today.

Tune in as we map how a creative career is built in real-time. You’ll hear all about:

How Lauren landed an internship on the Ellen show & the slump that followed her early success
Why it’s important to learn all the angles of your job
How Lauren nurtures & unleashes her creativity
Amelia’s dance between being practical & being delusional
Why we have to stop rebranding disappointment as failure
Two ways to reclaim your voice from “creative monsters”

And stay tuned to the end where Lauren guides us through a self-love + inner child healing practice!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

💔 How to Break Up with Google, Amazon & Spotify

Softer Sounds — Wed, 14 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

I broke up with Amazon and Google when I left social media in 2021, and this year I decided it was also time to quit using Spotify.

Why? Well because my values are not aligned with enriching billionaires like Jeff Bezos, letting Google track my behavior everywhere, or supporting Spotify in paying artists pennies.

So in this episode, I share a bit more about my decision-making and how I’ve managed to stop using the services and tools that these companies create.

To be clear — I’m not making a case for why you “should” quit any of these platforms. But if this is a shift you WANT to make, I am offering a few suggestions.

Tune in to hear:

The 3 mindset shifts that make it possible to leave Google, Amazon & Spotify
My 5-step process for breaking up with these companies & their services
All the tools I used to replace Google
The ways I still use Amazon even though I canceled Prime years ago
How quitting Spotify changed my music-listening (more on that here)

For a quick summary & links to my fave tools, check out the blog post I wrote when I first made this decision: http://www.ameliahruby.com/blog/getting-off-google-facebook-amazon

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

🌀 Sign up for OPT OUT — 90 minutes of simple mindset shifts, step-by-step processes, and curated lists of alternate tools that will help you redesign your tech stack for a softer, surveillance-free life and business.

🌻 Can We Still Thrive Online? — Digital Wellness & Ethical Marketing with Amelia Knott

Softer Sounds — Wed, 07 May 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Today on the show, I’m joined by art psychotherapist Amelia Knott to explore and untangle the intersections of mental health, social media, creativity, and small business.

We specifically take on the concepts of “digital wellness” and “ethical marketing.” And we have a nuanced conversation about how we really feel online and what it means to market with care (and without coercion).

Join us as we get into:

The problem with “wellness” & the possibility of cultivating well-being online
How to do an attention audit & figure out how you really feel about social media
Our thoughts on the major cultural shifts around social media this year
Ethical marketing frameworks from a mental health practitioner perspective
Practical tips to make your marketing language more trauma-informed

And if you enjoy this episode, make sure you get a copy of Amelia’s book, The Art of Thriving Online!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

✊ Make the Movement Irresistible — Quiet Quitting Social Media with Edgar Fabián Frías

Softer Sounds — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Edgar Fabián Frías is an artist, therapist, educator, curator, witch and so much more.

Today, they join me on the podcast to talk about the decision they made to quiet quit Instagram at the start of 2025.

Together, we explore:

The works of art that changed our lives & nonlinear psychic collaboration
Being impersonated on Instagram & how that can impact your business
What happens when Meta starts suspending queer artists
How Edgar blended career paths & built new channels away from social media (including their podcast Your Art is a Spell!)
Feeling safer after stepping back from so much public sharing
Why the era of social media is dying

Tune in for an inspiring conversation in the spirit of Toni Cade Bambara, who teaches us that — “As a culture worker who belongs to an oppressed people, my job is to make revolution irresistible.”

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
👯 Edgar’s artist shout-outs: Asher Hartman, Reina Prado of Healing Queen & Good Mexican Girl, Jeff Hinshaw

📢 Amplifying Attention for Under-Recognized Voices (Including Yourself!) — with Cher Hale

Softer Sounds — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Cher Hale is one of my favorite people on the internet, and her newsletter Doing It For the Attention has taught me SO MUCH about getting my work in front of new people in a way that aligns with my body AND my business.

In this conversation, we dive deep into the roots of attention and all the ways we can build community around our work — including how to amplify attention for ourselves and others.

Tune in to hear Cher’s wisdom and advice on:

How to be comfortable asking for attention
Ways to get more attention for your business
Divesting, directing & demanding attention as liberatory tactics for building new worlds
20 Ways to Amplify Attention for Under-Recognized Voices
Fun ideas for shouting-out and h/t-ing your friends
Childcare trades & a new way to mastermind that I learned from Becky Mollenkamp

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

🙅‍♂️ How to Stop Feeling Stuck on Social Media — with Deanna deBara

Softer Sounds — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Come on down for the 100th episode of Off the Grid!!! 🎉

To celebrate this milestone, we're returning to our roots with a fresh conversation about how to leave social media (if you so choose).

Today Deanna deBara from Season of Stuck podcast joins me to explore:

🫣 why we get stuck on social media
🥸 how to stop doomscrolling & feeling trapped on the apps
🤠 & ways to decide what YOUR next best step is online or offline

If you're feeling stuck in any aspect of your business, marketing or life, this episode is for you! Thanks for tuning in and celebrating 100 episodes with us. 💛

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

💏 You CAN Make Friends Without Social Media — with Caitlin Metz & Rebekah Taussig

Softer Sounds — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0500

OMG CROSSOVER EPISODE! 🫶

Today on the show, I'm celebrating our 99th episode (and my four-years-off-social-media anniversary!) by sharing a conversation I had with Rebekah Taussig and Caitlin Metz for their podcast Scratch That.

We get into things I've NEVER talked about publicly before, including:

How my three-year-old self picked my present-day career path
The four-minute version of my leaving-social-media story
What Instagram has meant to Rebekah as a space to share her life & disability advocacy
How social media supports introverts like Caitlin with relationship-building & belonging
Ways to express your (queer) identity without social media
The value of breaking out of our echo chambers & building local community
How to stop using social media to numb out 🙃

Tune in for an amazing, multi-faceted conversation, and if you're one of our parents listening, make sure you go subscribe to Scratch That: Parenting & ReParenting Off Script on Apple and Spotify for more incredible episodes!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

💭 Radical Imagination in Hard Times — with Sarah Arantza Amador

Softer Sounds — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 05:00:00 -0500

How do we imagine new possibilities when it feels like our well has gone dry?

This week I'm joined by author, tarotist, and Jungian creativity coach Sarah Arantza Amador of Hawthorn Mountain Tarot.

Together we explore:

The lineage of radical imagination
How to move through creative blocks in your business
Ways to (re)connect with imagination even when the world is on fire
Why collaboration might be the answer to everything
How to bend toward change + embrace new ways of working
Refusing to treat ourselves like spreadsheets

Let's un-slogify our lives together, friends! Tune in for a thoughtful conversation full of practical tips that will help you reinvigorate your creative business.

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

🫠 Do you ever feel stuck, like you’re caught in a loop of self-doubt and not sure how to move forward with your ideas? Get the FREE Creative Confidence Toolkit from Pascale of Dear Creative Mind today. (sponsored)

🫂 Escaping the Social Media Trance — Community + Agency with Elise Granata

Softer Sounds — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0500

ESCAPE THE TRANCE ⁕ REMEMBER YOUR AGENCY ⁕ BUILD COMMUNITY

Today on the pod we have a very special guest — Elise Granata of GROUP HUG!

Elise is here to chat with me about how social media erodes our agency + community building efforts — even if these platforms started as supportive relational hubs.

Join us as we wind through our teen years on Tumblr, how we dissociate on the apps, what inspires us to get offline, the dangers of optimized communities, adjusting our aesthetic expectations, "sweatshirt-level friends," and how to start your community practice.

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails

🖌️ Copywriting, Pain Point Marketing & 3 Easy Ways to Improve Your Sales Pages — with Nicole Cloutier

Softer Sounds — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0500

What if selling didn't have to feel sleazy? And the words on your website could cast a magical spell for your ideal clients/customers instead?

Today, I'm joined by copywriter and podcaster Nicole Cloutier to talk about how to be more specific in our messaging and simple tips to write better sales pages.

Tune in to hear about:

Nicole's journey from poetry MFA to copywriter
Pain point marketing + if it's (un)ethical?
How asking "so what?" can turn boring writing into compelling copy
Ways that better messaging can improve your product sales (not just services!)
The value of embracing "pleasure point marketing"
How to write your first sales page (ever!)
3 ways to improve your existing sales pages so you can (hopefully) make more $$$

And make sure to grab Nicole's FREE sales page bundle, exclusively for Off the Grid listeners!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
💌 Learn more about purchasing ad space + sponsoring the show

🌊 What Really Happens When You Leave Social Media — with Leah Kern

Softer Sounds — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0500

Leaving social media isn’t always the most profitable decision… but maybe it taps into something even more lucrative?

In this episode, I’m joined by Leah Kern, an anti-diet dietitian who left social media a year ago and has experienced ups and downs in her business since.

For the first half of our conversation, we explore Leah’s path onto and off of social media, including how she used to get clients on Instagram and how she finds clients now.

Then in the second half of our chat, we discuss how intuitive eating actually led us both deeper into our values and why breaking up with diet culture was an important step toward breaking up with the apps altogether.

Tune in to hear a new perspective on what it's really like to leave social media with your business. And if you love this episode, be sure to tune in to Amelia on Leah's podcast Shoulders Down as well!

🧿 Visibility & the Joy/Grief of an Online Life — with Lisa Olivera

Softer Sounds — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 05:00:00 -0600

Today I’m joined by writer, therapist, and creative Lisa Olivera to talk about how her work and life have shifted as her Instagram platform's grown to over 400,000 followers.

Together, we dive into:

Two reasons Lisa joined Instagram + how it felt as her account grew
The allure of online business + what we’re “supposed to do” when we have a big platform
Unpacking the rise of the “instagram therapist” + the content-ification of therapy
Why Lisa started her Substack newsletter + how it’s supported her work
Social media addiction + the compulsion to post/like/share/scroll
Facing the big hole that’s there when social media’s not there
How to make the choice to stay on social media (or not)

⏱️ Making Time: Creativity over Productivity — with Maria Bowler

Softer Sounds — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600

How do we stay creative — when there’s so much to do and so much at stake?

Today I’m joined by writer, coach, and retreat leader Maria Bowler for a practical and philosophical conversation about:

The difference between productivity & creativity
Why we don’t want to focus on “being efficient” or “maximizing ROI”
How to actually be present (without feeling like you’re just being told to “be present”)
The pain of alienation & how it permeates our daily lives
Distinguishing between creative friction & oppressive friction
Why creating more isn’t about doing less
How to stretch time, lose track of it, and be with yourself beyond the clock
What Maria thinks about social media this year

If you love this conversation, make sure to get yourself a copy of Maria’s book, Making Time! Off the Grid listeners get a special discount and free shipping at this link. (sponsored)

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
💌 Learn more about purchasing ad space + sponsoring the show

🌀 The Reality of Being an Artist-Influencer in 2025 — with Arielle Estoria

Softer Sounds — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 05:00:00 -0600

It’s 2025 and everyone’s sick of social media… so what do we do now?

Today we’re kicking off season six with a conversation with poet, author, actor, and model Arielle Estoria. Over the past decade, Arielle has cultivated a multi-faceted creative career while growing her Instagram following to over 100K people.

In this vulnerable conversation, we explore:

Arielle’s work as an artist & how social media turned her into an influencer
What happened for Arielle when supporting Black creators was no longer “popular”
The impact of social media trends on our identity + creative practice
The boundaries Arielle's creating to stay focused on her art in 2025
Plus! Arielle asks me if I miss anything about Instagram… and we chat about my newfound Youtube addiction 😬

🔒 The Tyranny of the Niche

Softer Sounds — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 04:00:00 -0600

This is a free preview of a paid episode — where I answer a few questions that have been coming my way a lot lately, including:

🤔 Should I niche down?
🧐 Does my business need a signature offer?
🙃 Will I be more successful if I just do one thing?

I have … a lot of feelings … about the advice that every business needs a super specific niche. So if you’ve ever felt like you were doing “too much” or “people just don’t get it” or “maybe I need to scrap all this and commit to one thing,” then please join me as I reflect on:

The rise and fall of the “10k Signature Offer”
What it means to “niche down” & why this advice is so widespread
Why creative people NEED multiplicity & how to embrace it in your business
Examples of how to blend many interests & offerings into one online presence
How to create a business that’s “a meal of all sides” instead of just one main course

To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

🪦 Grieving Social Media — How to Process Your Feelings About TikTok, Meta & Everything Else [BEST OF]

Softer Sounds — Sun, 19 Jan 2025 10:00:37 -0600

TikTok's been banned (for a minute). Meta's removed fact-checking (for good?). 2025 has already been a big year in social media news, and if you're having some big feelings about it, this episode is for you.

Today we’re grieving social media together, so we can remember what we loved, recognize what we miss, and prepare ourselves to step into what’s next.

So whether you were abruptly kicked off TikTok or you've been inching away from social media for a while, tune in to this Best Of episode (with a new of-the-moment intro!) to hear more about:

What the TikTok ban means for small business
Why we need to make space to grieve our favorite social media apps
A 3-step practice for connecting with your feelings about social media
Grieving vs Mourning & Embodying the process

RESOURCES + LINKS
🔗 Get all the links mentioned in this episode here
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
💌 Try Flodesk for easy email marketing, forms + e-commerce & use this link for 50% off your first year (affiliate link)

🍒 What's Next? 2025 Marketing Trends with Amanda Laird

Softer Sounds — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600

Let's put the cherry on top of your 2025 marketing toolkit with a long-form episode on 2025 Marketing Trends!

To do that, I'm joined by communications strategist Amanda Laird to chat about four things she's forecasting for the year ahead, including:

AI operations & optimization — plus the need to disclose how we're using AI in our work 🤖
Big shifts in the social media landscape — including the fall of X, the rise of Bluesky, "free speech" on Facebook & more 🪨
Substack's slow & steady descent from newsletter service to social media platform... 🫠
& The return to IRL events — plus more intimacy in our online spaces 🫂

Tune in for a gently-guided look into the murky crystal ball of online biz in 2025. Then join us in the Clubhouse for our members-only biz forecast episodes throughout the year!

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
💌 Try Flodesk for easy email marketing, forms + e-commerce & use this link for 50% off your first year (affiliate link)

💞 Relationship Marketing 101 with Michelle Warner [BEST OF]

Softer Sounds — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600

Today we're revealing the third tool in your 2025 marketing toolkit, and I'm resharing our BEST OF episode where Michelle Warner teaches us all about relationship marketing!

With an MBA from one of the world’s top business schools and 15+ years experience growing small businesses, Michelle designs tiny companies that are built to last. She’s also the creator of Networking That Pays, the introvert-friendly connection system that brings in reliable leads, consistent referrals and meaningful connections for your business — in just 5 minutes a day.

Together, Michelle and I talk about:

What relationship marketing is
The difference between relationship marketing & traffic marketing
How a network can support your business
Who needs to be in your network (& who doesn’t)
How to “borrow an audience” & why it’s so effective
The one type of content you need to have for relationship marketing to work

MORE FROM MICHELLE

⏱️ Get Michelle’s free workshop 5 Minutes A Day to a Network That Pays
🎧 Listen to Michelle's podcast Sequence Over Strategy

🎙️ Podcast Guesting for Business Growth with Taylor Elyse Morrison

Softer Sounds — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600

At long last, we’ve got an episode exploring all things podcast guesting! And to do that I’m joined by return guest, portfolio career expert, and founder of Inner Workout, Taylor Elyse Morrison.

Together we get into:

What podcast guesting is (and what it isn’t)
How to know if you should start a podcast or focus on podcast guesting
A pep talk for boosting your confidence on the mic
3 things to do before you focus on podcast guesting
Examples of how to develop pitch topics for a few different types of businesses + creators

And if you’re ready to put all this into action, please let me recommend Taylor’s new course, Grow Your Brand by Podcast Guesting! I’m a guest expert on one of the sections, and you can use the code OFFTHEGRID FOR $50 off if you sign up by the end of January.

MORE FROM TAYLOR

👀 Read Taylor’s blog posts on how podcast guesting fits into your marketing strategy + how to make the most of being a podcast guest

📈 Use the code OFFTHEGRID for $50 off Grow Your Brand By Podcast Guesting (code expires 1/31/25)

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Download the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
💌 Try Flodesk for easy email marketing, forms + e-commerce & use this link for 50% off your first year (affiliate link)

📮 All Things Email Marketing with Allea Grummert of Duett

Softer Sounds — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600

Welcome to our 2025 Marketing Toolkit! Today on the pod, we’re talking all things email marketing with Allea Grummert of Duett.

Tune in to learn:

5 reasons email might be the best marketing channel for your business
What a welcome sequence is + why it’s different than a nurture sequence
How to find the right email platform for you
Why email segments + tags help you be your best, most multi-passionate self
How Allea solves Amelia’s biggest email problem in 2 minutes
Intermediate + advanced email strategies like link triggers, nested sequences and automated sales funnels

Whether you're an email beginner just starting your list or a seasoned pro hoping to bump up those click rates, this episode has supportive, implementable advice for you! I hope you'll tune in and share it with a friend xo

MORE FROM ALLEA
📩 Get all the email goods from Allea + Duett right here
🎧 Listen to Allea's podcast Happy Subscribers

🪩 Your 2025 Marketing Toolkit!

Softer Sounds — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 05:00:00 -0600

Happy New Year & welcome to season five of Off the Grid!

Today we're kicking off this year-in-biz with a fun new format — five episodes in five days!

Press play to hear all about it, and tune in this week to learn:

Our top 3 marketing strategies for 2025
Need-to-know advice for email marketing beginners & pros
How to be a better guest on better podcasts
Why relationships always matter
& What trends will grab extra attention in the year ahead!

You'll hear from amazing guests like Allea Grummert, Taylor Elyse Morrison, Michelle Warner, and Amanda Laird. It's basically a mini-of-the-moment-marketing-masterclass all for free on the pod feed this week! So please subscribe and share it with a friend xo

RESOURCES + LINKS
👋 Get the FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🌐 Join the Interweb for courses + community
🌸 Peep the Clubhouse for bonus episodes + emails
💌 Try Flodesk for easy email marketing, forms + e-commerce & use this link for 50% off your first year (affiliate link)

🫶 How to Feel Seen Off Social Media [BEST OF]

Softer Sounds — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600

In this BEST OF episode, we dive deep what it means to feel seen and how social media is messing with our sense of self-worth and community connection.

Tune in to hear me break down:

What it means to "feel seen" online & offline
Why visibility ≠ connection (or $ales)
Ways to find connection in your work & life without being on the apps

And if you're thinking of stepping back from social media, go ahead & download our FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit today! 🩵

👋 The 5 Stages of Life After Social Media [BEST OF]

Softer Sounds — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 05:00:00 -0600

Today we’re diving into the emotional depths of what happens after you break up with social media. Because it turns out that logging off the apps is only the first step...

Tune in to this BEST OF episode to hear more about:

The stages of grieving that come before the stages of leaving
Everything that comes up after you leave social media AKA burn out, creation, return to human pace, loving it + relationship renewal
The magic that can happen when the space currently filled with social media is free again
My personal experience of loneliness setting in two years after leaving social media

Know someone who’s thinking of getting off social media? Share this episode with them! 👋 And if you're thinking of leaving yourself, make sure to download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit!

✌️ Why I Left Instagram & a 5-Step Plan So You Can Too [BEST OF]

Softer Sounds — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 08:00:00 -0600

Welcome new friends from We Can Do Hard Things! In this BEST OF episode, I'm sharing the story of why I spent a decade investing my time, money & energy into Instagram...and how I eventually decided to leave all social media in April 2021.

Tune in to hear about—

Why I spent ten years investing in social media
How Instagram makes us anxiously-attached & codependent
My #1 rule for leaving social media
& where to get your 5-step plan for exiting any social platform

I'll be sharing two more BEST OF episodes this week to help us reflect on our relationship to social media as the year draws to a close. If you enjoy them, please download our FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit today! 🩵

And if you're looking for our Flodesk link, here you go! 💌

🪦 Permission to Change — Why Endings Are Messy with Amy Kuretsky

Softer Sounds — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600

Welcome to the season four finale of Off the Grid! Today I'm joined by acupuncturist, herbalist, breathwork facilitator, + clinic co-owner Amy Kuretsky to talk about everything creative small business.

In this conversation, Amy walks us through how she built a successful brick and mortar business AND a successful online business over the past decade. Then she explains what led her to wind down + close her online business a little over a year ago — including how endings can be messy, no matter how much permission you give yourself to change.

So the first 55 minutes is a deep dive into Amy's business journey and the many, many lessons she's learned. Then in the last 40 minutes, Amy offers us her best advice for brick and mortar businesses, including how to grow your space, lead a team, and market to IRL communities.

You absolutely do not want to miss this episode, and at 95 minutes it's a nice snack to chew on while the show goes on break until January. 🩵 See you in 2025, friends! xo, Amelia

🪩 Explore our resources + offerings:

Thinking of leaving social media? Download our FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit 👋
Want more Off the Grid episodes + emails? Join us in the Clubhouse on Substack 🤸
Ready to build a successful, sustainable business without relying on social? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership full of courses + community support 🌈
Want to share your work with hundreds of amazing artists and small business owners? Place an ad on Off the Grid next season! 🧲

🔒 Is TikTok Wrecking Taste?

Softer Sounds — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 04:00:00 -0600

This is a free preview of a paid episode — where I am joined by Taylor Elyse Morrison to talk about what it means that Tiktok is publishing print books now — and why we both got the ick upon reading the announcement.

Together we unpack:

The craftsmanship of creating a book + why it’s a community effort
How fast Tiktok curates taste + colonizes our attention
The dangers of data-optimizing art
Books vs movies vs music in the age of algorithms
The power of taking back our attention

To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

📌 How to Quit Social Media in 5 Steps or Less

Softer Sounds — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600

If Instagram, Tiktok, Facebook or X are giving you the ick... please let me offer this 5-step plan for leaving social media — without impacting your income!

Tune in to learn all five steps in under ten minutes. Then grab our FREE Leaving Social Media Toolkit to make your plan for what comes next in your work, biz + life.

XOXO, Amelia

🧩 Decolonize Your Systems & Yourself — Neurodivergence & Notion with Podge Thomas

Softer Sounds — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600

"These were very colonized institutions that I feel brainwashed me. And they brainwash a lot of people. So now as a business owner, creative & Notion consultant, what I get to do is decolonize my business and help my clients look at their own businesses through a decolonization lens."

Today I’m joined by Podge Thomas for a reflective conversation about why being self-employed invites (and requires) decolonizing how we learn, how we communicate, how we operate, and how we relate to others.

Podge is a queer, POC, neurodivergent Notion consultant. Her clients are progressive and radical self-identifying women and non-binary business leaders. When she’s not Notion-izing, she is renovating her 1780’s home in New England with her partner.

Together we explore:

The coercive effects of traditional education ⛓️‍💥
Why Amelia did School like Ken did Beach 🏖️
How to de-condition & decolonize our businesses 🧲
The importance of situating self-knowledge amidst community values 🎗️
Why Notion is a liberatory tool 👾
Task management for non-linear thinkers 😵‍💫
& so much more!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us on Substack for members-only episodes + secret, curated emails. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

💠 Let Me Be Crystal Clear...

Softer Sounds — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600

Dropping in off-schedule with a reflection/reminder/rallying-cry that we have power as small business owners, and we can stand against everything Trump is + represents — especially if we do it together.

Tune in for gentle provocations and a special invitation to join me at a free event Wednesday, November 20 @ 12pm CT.

I hope to see you there. 🩵

🎢 What To Do When Nothing’s Working — with Jenny Blake

Softer Sounds — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 05:00:00 -0600

I’ve admired Jenny Blake’s work from afar for years.

First for her seemingly endless success with book deals, big-name podcast guests, and six-figure corporate contracts.

And now for her incredibly honest accounting of how her business dissolved during the pandemic and hasn’t rebounded since.

So in today’s episode, Jenny joins us to share the highs and lows of her 13 years of self-employment. And together we go deep into all the practical, intuitive, and creative things she’s tried to keep her business going… even though nothing’s really working (except maybe Substack).

This conversation is a must-listen for anyone who has struggled or is struggling in business. ❤️‍🩹 Big hugs to all of us!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us on Substack for members-only episodes + secret, curated emails. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

🪄 3 Magical Rituals to Transform Your Business — with Brigitte, Cecily Sailor & Ash Canty

Softer Sounds — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Happy Halloween, business witches! 🧙

While I typically keep things pretty practical here at Off the Grid, this week I wanted to lean into the mystical, magical and alchemical aspects of creative business.

To do that, I invited three brilliant practitioners to each share a unique and powerful biz magic ritual with us!

✨ Brigitte starts us off with some practical magic as she shares her opening + closing rituals for each workday and workweek. [9:00]

✨ Then Cecily Sailer offers a tarot spread and community reading for connecting with our business spirits. [17:00]

✨ And finally, Ash Canty gifts us a meditative practice that serves anyone asking — “what do I do when everything goes quiet? or when things feel slow? or when I put something out there and nothing happens in response to it?” [31:45]

I hope you’ll press play then keep reading to learn more about our magical contributors and find all the links to their work! 🪄

Contributors:

Brigitte (she/her) is a systems and self-care witch who builds intentional systems for neurodivergent creatives who want to feel proud, successful, and get shit done. She makes Notion templates and custom workspaces that are a launchpad to helping you cross the finish line on your projects and goals.
Cecily Sailer (she/her) is a creativity coach, writer and tarot reader. She runs a business called Typewriter Tarot, which is a sanctuary and learning community for creative mystics.
Ash Canty (he/him) is an Afro-Indigenous, queer, trans-masculine, psychic medium, mentor, and death guide. Ash is also the co-creator of his business, The Sovereign Spirit Medium, and all the millions of umbrellas that are underneath that, that he manages and runs and also lets go of all the time.

Additional Resources & Links:

From Brigitte: notion daily dashboard template, custom notion workspace consult, website, youtube
From Cecily: typewriter tarot website, fifth spirit tarot deck, podcast
From Ash: the sovereign spirit medium website, substack, portland grief house

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us on Substack for members-only episodes + secret, curated emails. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

🧿 How to Cultivate Creative Resilience — with Pascale Coté

Softer Sounds — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Often when business isn’t going well, we think that we can fix it with a new marketing strategy or growth tactic.

We look to new courses, fancy platforms, or expensive mentors to “save” us … but in my experience, what we actually need in these times is to tend to our inner reserves in deeper and more nuanced ways.

So today I’m joined by Pascale Coté of Dear Creative Mind to teach us how to cultivate creative resilience in our artistic, marketing and business practices.

If you’ve ever had an unexpected pivot, a disappointing launch, or a period of deep burnout in your business, this episode is for you. Tune in to learn about:

What creative resilience is
How to expand your window of tolerance in business
Common creative blocks to work with — like perfectionism, procrastination, self-sabotage & more
How social media causes creative blocks
Ways to redefine success & measure it differently
Navigating positive & negative feedback
The importance of pacing ourselves & our expectations
Additional resources from Pascale ♡

📲 Wish you could leave social media, but not quite ready yet? You need to read ➡ The Art of Thriving Online: Creative Exercises to Help You Stay Grounded and Feel Joy in the World of Social Media by Amelia Knott. Out now with Sounds True. (sponsored)

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us on Substack for members-only episodes + secret, curated emails. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

🔑 Social Media Boundaries & Success on Substack — with Dacy Gillespie

Softer Sounds — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500

This one goes out to all our listeners who are still trying to make it work on social media!

Today I’m joined by Dacy Gillespie, a weight inclusive, anti-diet personal stylist who has grown her business online over the past decade and is now navigating a major shift from Instagram to Substack.

Together, we talk about:

The high-stress worlds of music, teaching, arts admin & academia
Why Dacy started working in fashion — even though she felt like a total outsider
The role that Instagram plays in Dacy’s business
How Dacy has right-sized her business for her capacity
Ways to navigate the highs & lows of a fluctuating client load
Why Dacy started her Substack newsletter & how it’s grown to over 10,000 subscribers
How to market your work when you hate the feeling of selling yourself
“is it possible to be an ethical influencer?”

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us on Substack for members-only episodes + secret, curated emails. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

🤖 Getting Out of Your Algorithm — with Kate Smalley

Softer Sounds — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500

This week on the show we're getting into it with everyone’s least favorite internet friend — THE ALGORITHM 🙈

To do that I'm joined by Kate Smalley, a small business advisor, educator, and facilitator, who recently wrote a great piece about getting out of your algorithm that had me thinking more about what algorithms actually do and how we can work with them rather than against them.

Today Kate's here to help me explore:

What an algorithm even is
How algorithms function on social media
Why it feels like "The Algorithm" is working against us
Collaborating with algorithms for expanded possibilities
How it feels to be stuck in your algorithm & ways to get unstuck
Our fave non-algorithmically-mediated spaces

Mentioned in the episode: Algorithms by Panos Louridas, The Social Dilemma, Are.na, Sublime, Readwise

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us on Substack for members-only episodes + secret, curated emails. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

🔒 That Time I Almost Became a Youtuber...

Softer Sounds — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 16:00:00 -0500

This is a free preview of a paid episode — where I share a behind-the-scenes recap of how I decided to start a new podcast…

Including how much time I spent almost becoming a Youtuber...
Then almost launching a Substack...
Then almost abandoning my idea altogether…

Before I remembered that it all started with a simple idea for a public sharing practice.

Tune in to come along for the ride and consider how easy it is take on a platform’s goals — instead of following our own desires.

And to hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

When you do, you'll get access to over 30 bonus episodes (and counting), curated tech + creative business newsletters, and more. Plus your own private podcast feed, comments threads, and behind-the-scenes updates on the show.

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

🔮 How to Build an Intuitive Business — with Michelle Pellizzon Lipsitz of Holisticism

Softer Sounds — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Happy October! This week we're kicking off Spooky Season with one of my favorite business witches — Michelle Pellizzon-Lipsitz of Holisticism!

Michelle has taught me so much about online business, magical meaning-making systems, and spiritual practices. She's one of my favorite people to pay attention to on the internet, and I invited her on the show so I could ask her every question I've ever had about how she runs her company.

In this episode, we get real-real about:

How Michelle started Holisticism with a BFA in dance
Evolving from newsletter to booking platform to online courses & community
The 4 Pillars of Intuitive Business
The realities of Radical Generosity
Why some ideas aren't meant to be businesses
Exactly how Michelle markets her paid membership, The North Node
Why Holisticism moved their newsletter + podcast to Substack
The magic of the low-cost class as lead magnet
How Michelle has grown (& shrunk) her team over the past 5 years
Planning a self-employed maternity leave
The meeting creep & how to correct it
Navigating chronic illness & family emergencies as a business owner
How Michelle organizes her offerings
Running multiple businesses at once
& so much more!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us on Substack for members-only episodes + secret, curated emails. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

🌈 Self-Employment is a Spectrum

Softer Sounds — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Today on the pod, I'm breaking down binary thinking and talking about why self-employment is a spectrum.

Because your only options aren't 'have a full-time job' or 'have a full-time business'. In fact, there are about a million other ways you can support yourself!

So if you've ever felt like an imposter or a failure or just been confused about how to tell people what you do, tune in for a special pep talk exploring:

The many, many forms self-employment can take
Why black-and-white thinking about work is never supportive
How to expand your sense of how you can make money
One of my regrets from my first year in business
& way more — all in less than 30 minutes!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us on Substack for members-only episodes + secret, curated emails. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

👩‍🌾 “The Plants Made Me Do It” — Leaving Instagram with Liz Migliorelli of Sister Spinster

Softer Sounds — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500

“I don’t want to perform my job. I want to be rooted in my work.”

Liz Migliorelli is an herbalist, educator and storyteller who has crafted an herbal product line under the name Sister Spinster for over a decade.

In this episode, Liz joins me to talk about how her business flourished on Instagram — growing to over 30k followers! — and the ways that growth impacted her life, eventually leading her to walk away from social media entirely. (Spoiler: the plants made her do it)

Together, we talk about:

The benefits of being in the right place at the right time
How Liz shifts her business model between products & classes
What our approach to marketing has in common with herbalism
The clarifying gifts of nettle
Why we need to get out of our online echo chambers
Creating clear, kind systems that support your work as you grow
How Liz prepared her business/self to make less money this year

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us on Substack for members-only episodes + secret, curated emails. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

🌾 Sacred Labor, Small Business & Anti-Capitalism — with Megan Leatherman

Softer Sounds — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500

If you love your work but wish you never had to work, today’s episode is for you!

This week I’m incredibly excited to be joined by anticapitalist teacher, writer, vocational guide, and naturalist: Megan Leatherman of A Wild New Work.

In this conversation, we begin by defining capitalism and anti-capitalism alongside Silvia Federici’s book Caliban and the Witch. Then we talk about why our labor is sacred, how to navigate the despair that comes with living under late-stage capitalism, and why slowing down is an important deconstruction of the status quo.

Here’s a preview of the rich wisdom Megan shares:

✨ No other organism works for someone else to get the money or currency they need to then go buy the food or shelter that they need. It’s really absurd. And it’s become more than an economic system. Now it’s a culture and a set of beliefs.

✨ Working in an anti-capitalist way, to me, means living in accordance to the rhythms of my body and the seasons, recognizing that there are times in the cycle of the year when things are really busy and a lot of growth is happening and that gets mirrored in my work, but then there are also times that require a quieter, slower approach. And those all build off one another for a healthy, sustainable life.

✨ You know what you need. You are a human animal in a body who has rhythms and cycles, and you can trust those. They’re not usually convenient to capitalism, because they’re not as productive as a machine. But you can trust them.

And if you love our conversation, be sure to check out Megan's next class, Composting Capitalism!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🔒 How I Manage Having 3 Brands & 4 Podcasts...

Softer Sounds — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500

This is a free preview of a paid episode — where I talk about how I connect the many projects I work on, and the brand containers I use to organize my creative energy.

Tune in to hear about:

The relationships between my personal brand, Softer Sounds, and Off the Grid
Reflections on parasocial relationships
& How I keep my private life private even when I’m sharing a ton online

To hear the whole episode, join the Clubhouse at offthegrid.fun/clubhouse

Please join the Clubhouse to support the show! And find this specific episode here :)

👀 How to Be Seen Off Social Media — Visibility & Bias with N. Chloé Nwangwu

Softer Sounds — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to season four of Off the Grid! Today I’m joined by everybody’s favorite brand scientist, N. Chloé Nwangwu of NobiWorks.

Chloé is here to talk about what brands are, why they matter, and how we can craft one that breaks past visibility biases.

This conversation is also an extension of our season three finale where I explored how to feel seen off social media. Because in this episode, Chloé explains how to actually be seen off social media — including why so many of us are underrecognized (not underrepresented!) and how to craft a circle of recognition that makes sure we’re actually seen and heard.

Here are just a few of the amazing things Chloé says in this conversation:

✨ All social media is interested in doing is farming and selling attention. It’s not interested in the process of visibility — which is gaining, maintaining, and translating attention.

✨ You are not social media’s client. You are their product.

✨ For some of us, it’s like we have an invisibility cloak on. So no matter what right moves we are making or how avidly we are participating in social media or the other tactics and strategies presented to us — we’re still doing that from underneath an invisibility cloak.

✨ You have to be the obvious choice before you make yourself an opportunity magnet. You don’t just want to be visible. You want to be noticed. You want to be remembered. And then you want people to be influenced by that memory to act. There’s a whole process.

I hope you enjoy this episode! And if you do, please send it to a friend, so they can enjoy the rest of season four, too!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. Doors close September 15.

✌️ Why Leaving Social Media is Going Mainstream

Softer Sounds — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 04:00:00 -0500

Welcome welcome welcome back to Off the Grid! Amelia, here. I’m popping into your pod feed today to let you know that we’re kicking off season four of the show next week. 🎉

Starting September 4th, I’ll be sharing a new interview every Wednesday through the end of November, featuring amazing guests like: N. Chloé Nwangwu, Liz Migliorelli of Sister Spinster, Megan Leatherman, Podge Thomas, Kate Smalley, Michelle Pellizzon, Jenny Blake, Amy Kuretsky, and more!

In this preview episode, I tell you more about what’s to come in season four, including two themes we’ll be exploring —

🎢 Why leaving social media is going mainstream... and how to avoid the grifters glomming onto that

🍁 How online business is changing in hard times... and ways to feel less alone in this moment

And stick around to the end to learn about some big updates for the Interweb, our annual membership that’s getting a glow-up before we close the doors to new members on September 15th. Plus! The next ten folks who join using the code LUCKYTEN can get their first year at our founding member rate of only $99.

🤔 WTF is happening on LinkedIn?? (& Why I Quit the Platform After 14 Years)

Softer Sounds — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:00:00 -0500

This one goes out to my all my Top Voices™️ out there. Today we’re talking about LinkedIn!

Tune in to hear me unpack:

A timeline of LinkedIn’s evolution
The difference between Social Networking & Social Media
The phenomena of LinkedIn Cringe™️
How LinkedIn has changed thought leadership at large
Why I decided to (finally) leave LinkedIn

And ICYMI — this episode has been pulled out from behind the paywall of Off the Grid Clubhouse! 🤸 Join today for weekly episodes like this + secret emails all summer long. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

👀 How to Feel Seen Off Social Media

Softer Sounds — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0500

This week we wrap season three with some #deepthoughts on what it means to feel seen and how social media is messing with our sense of self-worth and community connection.

Tune in as I break down why visibility ≠ connection (or $ales), and I share many ways that we can find connection in our work and our lives without being on all the apps.

And if you're sad that the show is going away for two months, join us in the Clubhouse for private weekly episodes + secret emails all summer long! ☀️

🤸 THE CLUBHOUSE IS OPEN! Join us for weekly episodes + secret emails all summer long. Only $5/mo or $50/year.

🤸 Join the Clubhouse & our Summer of Substack!

Softer Sounds — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Hey friends, I'm popping into your pod feed on a Monday to share that... THE OFF THE GRID CLUBHOUSE IS NOW OPEN! 🤸

Head to offthegridclubhouse.substack.com for weekly episodes, secret emails + community comment threads all summer long.

Only $5/mo or $50/year. Join us today!

♻️ Success is a Cycle (& Sometimes That Sucks)

Softer Sounds — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Hey there, biz bestie. If you (like me) have never discovered a milestone or a metric that makes you a Success™️….today’s episode is for you!

Tune in to hear:

Why I hate SMART goals
How to FEEL successful
When to embrace fluctuation + failure
What alignment’s got to do with it
The exact definition of success that guides my work + life
& How to write your own definition (then send it to me!)

And if you enjoy this episode, join me in the Off the Grid Clubhouse! Doors officially open on Monday, and it’s already vibrant community of folks embracing the cycle of success. We’d love to have you. 🫶

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌹 The Deep Integration of Art, Business & Friendship — with Kening Zhu

Softer Sounds — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0500

This week I’m joined by Kening Zhu, an artist, web designer, and dear friend who I’ve known for over 15 years.

Together, we have a deep and thoughtful conversation about money, energy, human design, creative practice, and the magical nature of the world wide web.

This episode is for anyone craving connection, expansion, and deeper meaning in their creative work and daily life. Spend 75 poetic minutes with us as we explore:

Kening’s journey as an artist-entrepreneur
Dissolving the binary of art vs money
Human design & business success as a Projector
The internet as a creative practice
Building a beautiful world with your website
Allowing yourself to want more
& Re-conceiving the personal brand

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🫠 When Leaving Social Media Doesn't Solve Your Problems — with Cody Cook-Parrott

Softer Sounds — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Today I’m joined by Cody Cook-Parrott, a writer, artist, dancer, and teacher who’s here to share how they grew their Instagram account to over 80k followers while navigating big feelings, multiple book deals & many social media breaks in the process.

In this conversation, Cody and I meet deep in the both/and of when being ON social media feels bad and being OFF social media feels bad. Tune in to hear about:

How Cody grew their creative business with the help of IG
What it’s really like to quit Instagram as a public person
The relationship between social media & activism
Online presence VS offline “peace”
How Cody made more money while off Instagram
Cody’s shift from Instagram to Substack

If you enjoy the episode, make sure to grab Cody's new Weaving In Our Values Toolkit and sign up for The Shape of Our Offerings, which starts on June 8th!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

✨ June Biz Forecast — Slowing Down, Sliding Scales & Sponsor Love

Softer Sounds — Fri, 31 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to our #summertime June Biz Forecast episode! This is a pod-feed-exclusive where I check in at the start of the month to share a few fun marketing trends, this month's biz-care to-dos, a preview of upcoming episodes, and more!

This month, you’ll hear:

the many ways we’re slowing down for summer 🐢
how I’m implementing a sliding scale in my business ⚖️
different ways to redistribute our wealth ♻️
& how I'm clearing out my expenses this season 😬

Plus! Listen to the end for news about our season three sponsors and ways we can collab in season four.

Get in touch with Amelia:

💌 Email hi@softersounds.studio

☎️ Leave a voice message at speakpipe.com/offthegrid

Link love 💕 Off the Grid Clubhouse | The Sliding Scale: A Tool of Economic Justice by Alexis Cunningfolk | Your Podcast Is A Portal | DIY Podcast Marketing & Monetization | Off the Grid Ad Opportunities

😅 Social Media for the Anxiously Attached — with Becca Piastrelli

Softer Sounds — Wed, 29 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Finally! An episode for all the social-media-ambivalent among us.

Today I’m resharing a conversation I had with Becca Piastrelli for her podcast Belonging — where we go DEEP into how social media makes us feel, including unpacking why I left Instagram AND why Becca has stayed on the platform.

Tune in to hear about:

My journey with social media, including how it felt to invest thousands of hours & $$$ on the apps
Anxious attachment & my decision to leave Instagram
The creative inspiration AND loneliness I felt after I left
Why we find community on social media
How our personal & emotional wellbeing are connected to our online presence.
Misinformation, toxic algorithms, and capitalism

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌾 Grow Through Generosity & Collaboration — with Chelsie Tamms of Lettering Works

Softer Sounds — Wed, 22 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500

It’s radical generosity week here at Off the Grid!

Today on the pod, I welcome Chelsie Tamms of Lettering Works for a conversation about how our businesses become more profitable through creative collaborations.

This one is packed with self-employed wisdom, so pop in your airpods and tune in to learn:

How Chelsie uses passion projects to pitch (and book!) her dream clients
The clarity + generosity of Lettering Works’ Artist Trade Program
Chelsie's FREE branding challenge
How we structure trades so they’re mutually beneficial
The benefits of fully committing to your collaborations
Why you should focus on the right thing instead of the urgent thing
& How to create your own “job perks” when you’re self-employed

If you enjoy this episode, be sure to check out the Lettering Works x Off the Grid sticker collab!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🪺 (Re)Building Your Business Around Your Capacity — with Jen Carrington

Softer Sounds — Wed, 15 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500

What happens when the work you love is no longer sustainable for the realities of your life?

Today on the pod, Jen Carrington takes us behind-the-scenes in her business to discuss how she’s radically changed her offerings to support her life as a mom with a chronic illness.

Tune in to learn:

Why Jen’s business is 80% asynchronous
Specific logistics on how asynchronous delivery works
How to stop facilitating your own burnout
The realities of fluctuating revenue & income
Jen’s best marketing methods & how she “puts her lights on” to sell

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

☠️ Are Lead Magnets Dead?

Softer Sounds — Wed, 08 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500

This week we’re diving into the world of email marketing and asking — has the era of the lead magnet come to an end?

Tune in to learn:

What a lead magnet is
Why you might want to create one ... or not
Two business models that really don’t need a lead magnet
Whether or not I’m a fan of lead magnets in 2024

Then we want to hear what you think about lead magnets! Love 'em? Hate 'em? Let us know!

💌 Email hi@softersounds.studio

☎️ Leave a voice message at speakpipe.com/offthegrid

And finally … cue NSYNC voice 👩‍🎤 … use the code ITSGONNABEMAY to take $10 off your Interweb membership this month.

Mentioned in the episode: NSYNC, Investopedia, Email as a Love Language with grace allerdice, Email Marketing with Holly Wielkoszewski, To Substack or Not to Substack?, Tarzan Kay, Amanda Laird, Pretty Decent

✨ May Biz Forecast — Daily Practice, Asynchronous Everything & Avoiding the Summer Slump

Softer Sounds — Fri, 03 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to our #It'sGonnaBeMay monthly forecast episode! This is a pod-feed-exclusive where I check in on the first Friday of each month to share a few fun marketing trends, this month's biz-care to-dos, a preview of upcoming episodes, and more!

This month, you’ll hear:

what happens when we focus on gathering 100 hell yes people (instead of growing a giant audience) 💯
why I'm super into daily marketing practices right now 🗓️
& how I'm preparing my business for an inevitable summer slump 😬

Plus! Listen to the end for the first-ever public mention of what I'll be launching for Off the Grid this summer.

Tune in, then get in touch to share your Qs for next month…

💌 Email hi@softersounds.studio

☎️ Leave a voice message at speakpipe.com/offthegrid

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🏦 Heal Your Relationship with Money — Rates & Revenue with Rachel Duncan

Softer Sounds — Wed, 01 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500

If you like magical money conversations, this episode is for you!

Today I’m joined by Rachel Duncan, a certified Financial Therapist and Art Psychotherapist who runs a company called the Money Healing Club.

Together we talk about the psychological, emotional, practical, and magical aspects of healing your relationship with money.

Tune in to hear us explore:

Where money meets creativity
What financial therapy is
Neurodivergence & addiction in relationship to money
The psycho-emotional aspects of setting rates
What to do when you hit a revenue plateau

And stick around to the end where Rachel guides us through a visualization for remapping our relationship to money! 🐨

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

❤️‍🩹 What is a Trauma-Informed Business? — with Jess Jackson

Softer Sounds — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500

If you want to feel more supported and supportive in your client work, this episode is for you.

Today I’m joined by Jess Jackson of Soft Path Healing to talk about trauma, trauma-informed care, and trauma-informed business.

Together, we explore how to make our business practices more trauma-informed AND we talk about how to approach social media marketing with nervous system regulation in mind.

Tune in then click here to learn more about Jess’ upcoming course, Trauma Informed Foundations, which begins on May 17.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🪐 How to Trust Yourself — Cosmic Business & Money Karma with Paula Crossfield

Softer Sounds — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Have you ever heard the phrase “intuitive business” or “spiritual business” and thought to yourself … “ok but what does that actually mean?!”

This happens to me all the time, so today on the podcast, I’m joined by vedic astrologer and business strategist Paula Crossfield to talk about her cosmic business framework.

In the first half of our conversation, Paula shares practical ways we can cultivate our intuition in our businesses. And then in the second half of the episode we talk about how doing that can help us make more money!

The cosmic business paradigm shift
Paula’s 3-part process for connecting with your intuition
How social media wrecks our self-trust
Money karma & how to heal your relationship with money

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

👁️‍🗨️ Creative Business as a World-Building Practice — with Ayana Zaire Cotton

Softer Sounds — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500

“We don’t have to give up the wild, “non-marketable” parts of our practice in order to sustain them.”

This week, I am thrilled to be joined by anti-disciplinary artist, writer, and facilitator for the worldbuilders, Ayana Zaire Cotton of Seeda School.

In this spiralic conversation, Ayana guides us in how to tap into our zone of desire and design creative offers for new worlds in the now.

Tune in to hear about:

World-building as a Black feminist practice
Why “niching down” is a colonial technology (& how we can refuse to do it)
The moments when discipline melts into devotion
How to find the places where your curiosity rivals your fear

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

✨ April Biz Forecast — Shiny Sales Copy, Private Pods & my Q1 $$$ Update

Softer Sounds — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to our third monthly forecast episode! This is a pod-feed-exclusive where I check in on the first Friday of each month to share a few fun marketing trends, this month's biz-care to-dos, a preview of upcoming episodes, and more!

This month, you’ll hear:

why I'm super into private podcasts right now 🙉
the springtime joys of email debt forgiveness 📧
& exactly how much money I made in Q1 2024 😬

Plus! Listen to the end so you can let me know if you're the guest I'm searching for...

Tune in, then get in touch to share your Qs for next month…

💌 Email hi@softersounds.studio

☎️ Leave a voice message at speakpipe.com/offthegrid

💞 Link love 💞 — The Planets & Your Business Private Podcast | BS-Free Business Podcast & Staying Solo Private Podcast | Make a Private Podcast with Softer Sounds | The New Age Playbook For Spellbinding, Can't-Stop-Reading Copy from Holisticism | Celebrate Email Debt Forgiveness Day on 4/30

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🔥 Launch Without Social Media — Listener Hot Seat!

Softer Sounds — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Let’s launch YOUR offerings without social media! 🚀

This week on the pod, we hear from six listeners who are launching new things this spring and wanted my support figuring out how to do it without social media.

Tune in to hear how I would launch:

A 60-minute workshop on cannabis & intuitive eating
A membership for women releasing perfectionism
A twice-monthly writing power hour
A course about desire & pleasure
A new business about nonviolent communication
A first paid offer for an astrology business
A seasonal 1:1 coaching program

And if you enjoy this episode, join me in The Interweb where we’re hosting a members-only hot seat call on May 14th. ❤️‍🔥

🔥 Listener Hot Seat Links: Leah’s Cannabis & Intuitive Eating Workshop, Mathilde’s website, Bailey’s website, Sarah Diedrick’s website, Creativity Coaching with Sarah of Hawthorne Mountain Tarot

🚀 How to Launch Your Next Big Thing Without Social Media

Softer Sounds — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to our most-ever-requested episode! 🚀

This week, I'm teaching you my three-step process for launching your next big (or small, or just-the-right-sized) thing without social media.

Tune in to learn how to create a clear container for your work, clear communication about your offering or product, and clear outreach to your community ... all without social media.

We also cover how leaving social media helped me finally enjoy the launch process and two reasons I think I get this question so often.

Press play for a free 25-minute workshop on launching sans social, then join me in The Interweb for an hour-long class on this topic, including a comprehensive workbook and a live community call next month!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌱 Embracing Seasonal Transitions & Shifts in Your Business — with Yarrow Magdalena

Softer Sounds — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500

Happy spring, biz friends! In honor of the equinox, today I'm joined by Yarrow Magdalena for a conversation about embracing seasonality and intentional shifts in our businesses.

Tune in to hear about:

How we embed & embody seasonality in our businesses
Ways to transition from winter to spring in our work & lives
Yarrow’s journey leaving social media
What it feels like to unabashedly work toward your desires

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🧲 Ready to share your work with hundreds of amazing artists and small business owners? Place an ad on Off the Grid this season! Find more info + rates here

🤷‍♀️ How Much is Enough? — Money & Social Media Part Two with Nic Antoinette

Softer Sounds — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500

This week on the pod, Nic Antoinette is back to update us on how her business has changed since she left social media and took a $30k pay-cut last year.

We talk about embracing change, letting relationships evolve, and how we’re calculating our enough numbers right now.

Tune in to hear about:

What Nic misses (& doesn’t miss) about social media
The evolution of our parasocial relationships
What we do when revenue shifts from “more than enough” to “just enough” or “less than enough”
Amelia & Nic’s current “enough numbers”

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🧲 Ready to share your work with hundreds of amazing artists and small business owners? Place an ad on Off the Grid this season! Find more info + rates here

🔊 Escaping the Attention Economy — Resonance Over Reach with Jay Acunzo

Softer Sounds — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0600

Consider this: What if marketing isn’t actually about getting in front of people? 🥸

Today on the podcast, I’m joined by Jay Acunzo, a writer, speaker and award-winning storyteller, who invites us to consider that marketing is all about making people care.

Tune in to learn:

Why resonance matters more than reach
How to meet people where they’re at & shift their perspective
What to do when your work doesn’t get the audience you feel it deserves

And then join The Interweb before March 21st, so you can come to our Spring Social and meet other folks asking these same questions!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media.

👩‍🎨 Get the support you need to create the brand your business deserves. Learn more about Lettering Works branding services today. (sponsored)

✨ March Biz Forecast — Launch Season, Newsletter Ads & Maybe Everything is Free Now?

Softer Sounds — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 04:00:00 -0600

Welcome to our second monthly forecast episode! This is an experiment I'm trying exclusively on the pod feed where I check in on the first Friday of each month to share a few fun marketing trends, this month's biz-care to-dos, and listener Q&A!

This month, you’ll hear:

why I'm super into newsletter ads right now
how to plan your spring sales calendar
my process for deciding what’s free and what’s paid in my business ecosystem

Plus! Some great listener comments about cultivating visibility and community off social media.

Tune in, then get in touch to share your Qs for next month…

💌 Email hi@softersounds.studio

☎️ Leave a voice message at speakpipe.com/offthegrid

💞 Link love 💞 — Newsletter ads with ilovecreatives, Ann Friedman, Podcasting by the Moon, PodNews & Paved | Jessica Lackey’s List of Business Books by Women & Non-Binary Writers | Edison Research report on Black podcast listenership | Off the Grid episode 58 with Samara Bay | Everything Is Free by Gillian Welch | Kim Barman | Off the Grid episode 56 with Kristen Drozdowski

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🦋 How to Show Up As Your Full Self in Business & Life — with Samara Bay

Softer Sounds — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0600

If you’ve ever struggled with showing up as your full self or being seen in your business, this episode is for you.

Today on the podcast, I’m joined by award-winning vocal coach and author, Samara Bay. Samara has coached everyone from Hollywood celebrities to US Congresswomen to high school girls. And her book Permission to Speak has been a guiding text for my business and life.

In this potent conversation, she teaches us her tried-and-true methods for showing up and speaking out. We also unpack the personal and political challenges that make showing up so challenging.

Tune in to learn:

How to bring your full self to your work/life/biz
Samara’s 4-step process for preparing to speak
What it means to be deliberately vulnerable
Why self-promotion isn’t actually about you

🔪 Ready to stop doomscrolling Netflix & stalking your friends on Goodreads? Subscribe to Feminist Thriller Club to find your next obsession now. (sponsored)

🌀 24 Ways to Make More Sales in 2024

Softer Sounds — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0600

If you want to make more sales in 2024, this episode is for you! Today we’re improving our sales skills, so we can make better investments, bigger decisions, and more $$$ in 2024 and beyond.

Tune in as we explore:

Why we need new sales archetypes
4 ways to prepare your business (& yourself) for more sales
20 refreshing ideas for helping more people decide to purchase from you
3 things to consider before you offer a discount or raise your rates

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌈 Want the 24 in 2024 Dashboard? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media.

📩 Write emails for your list that feel good in your gut & still make sales. Get Nicole Cloutier's FREE GUIDE for Off the Grid listeners. (sponsored)

🙃 Is Leaving Social Media a Privilege? — with Shivani Mehta Bhatia

Softer Sounds — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0600

📯 Bonus episode time! 📯 Today I’m joined by health equity expert and my biz friend Shivani Mehta Bhatia to unpack a question that’s been popping up on the pod lately…

Is leaving social media a privilege?

Tune in to hear how we’re unraveling this question through our conceptions of power, privilege, and social capital.

At the end, we also talk about the call to witness and how we’re thinking about social media in relationship to our personal, political and business values.

✨ Mentioned in the episode ✨ — Shivani Mehta Bhatia | The Purpose of Power by Alicia Garza | Bear Hebert | How To Do “Just Enough” Marketing — with Amanda Laird

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🌈 Finding Creative Freedom & Success Beyond Social Media — with Kristen Drozdowski of Worthwhile Paper

Softer Sounds — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0600

This episode goes out to all my creative babes out there, because today I’m joined by one of my favorite visual artists and print goods purveyors, Kristen Drozdowski of Worthwhile Paper.

In this heartfelt conversation, Kristen shares how she started her business, her highest and lowest points as an artist and boss, and why she’s decided to leave Instagram after amassing over 50,000 followers there in the past decade.

We also discuss what it means to step off the online business growth escalator and grow horizontally rather than scaling vertically. Tune in to stoke the flames of your creative liberation and believe in your business again.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

✨ Ready to share your work with hundreds of amazing artists and small business owners? Place an ad on Off the Grid this season! Find more info + rates here

🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🪴 24 Ways to Nurture Your Biz Community in 2024

Softer Sounds — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0600

If you want to build better business relationships in 2024, today’s episode is for you!

This week we’re continuing our ‘24 in 2024’ series, where I’m walking you through 24 ideas for every stage of the customer journey.

Last time we discussed audience growth, so today we’re building trust and nurturing our communities.

Tune in as we explore:

Why community matters for your business
How to decide who you want to build community with
24 fun ways to deepen relationships that will support your business

📩 Write emails for your list that feel good in your gut & still make sales. Get Nicole Cloutier's FREE GUIDE for Off the Grid listeners. (sponsored)

✨ February Biz Forecast — Fun Trends, Biz-Care Recs & Taking Social Media Breaks like Celebrities

Softer Sounds — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0600

Welcome to our first monthly forecast episode! This is a new ~~experiment~~ I'm trying exclusively on the pod feed where I check in on the first Friday of each month to share a few fun marketing trends, this month's biz-care to-dos, and hopefully some listener Q&A!

Tune in to hear why I'm super into worldbuilding, Selena Gomez & tax prep right now. And click through all the links below for a browser full of fun!

Get in touch with Amelia:

💌 Email hi@softersounds.studio

☎️ Leave a voice message at speakpipe.com/offthegrid

💕 Link love 💕 — Kening Zhu’s website | Seeda School website, newsletter & podcast | Selena Gomez’s social media breaks | Cody Cook-Parrott’s newsletter | Marmoset’s post about donating money in Gaza

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🏷️ How To Do “Just Enough” Marketing — with Amanda Laird

Softer Sounds — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0600

If you dread marketing your work or wish doing it felt way easier, then today’s episode is for you!

This week on the podcast, I’m joined by Amanda Laird, the founder and principal strategist of Slow & Steady Studio.

Amanda’s one of my favorite people to talk to about marketing, and her “just enough” method has taught me how to do less, sell more, and find delight in my marketing process.

We cover all that in the first half of the episode, and then in the second half we dive into two juicy questions — How do I do “just enough” social media marketing? And is leaving social media a privilege?

Tune in to learn:

Why marketing feels so hard
How to know if you’re doing too much or too little marketing
The four parts of the “just enough” marketing method
How to delight your customers & clients

✌️ Get the Leaving Social Media 5-Day Email Challenge! It’s free until January 31st & exclusively available for Interweb members after that.

✨ Ready to share your work with hundreds of amazing artists and small business owners? Place an ad on Off the Grid this season! Find more info + rates here

👁️ 24 Ways to Boost Your Visibility in 2024

Softer Sounds — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0600

If you want to get your work in front of more people, today’s episode is for you!

This week we’re kicking off our ‘24 in 2024’ series, where I’m going to walk you through 24 creative marketing ideas for every stage of the customer journey. We’re starting at the very beginning when the customer first hears about you. So this week is all about boosting visibility and audience growth!

Tune in as we explore:

What it means to boost your visibility 👀
When you want to grow your audience (& when you don’t) 📊
4 ways to prepare yourself for more visibility 🪞
20 refreshing ideas for getting your work (& yourself) in front of new people 👯‍♀️

✌️ Get the Leaving Social Media 5-Day Email Challenge! It’s free until January 31st and exclusively available for Interweb members after that ✌️

✨ Ready to share your work with hundreds of amazing artists and small business owners? Place an ad on Off the Grid this season! Find more info + rates here

🌈 Want the 24 in 2024 Dashboard? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media.

💰 Overcoming Underearning — How Much Money I Made Last Year & What I’m Doing Differently This Year

Softer Sounds — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0600

Welcome to Season 3 of Off the Grid! We’re kicking off 2024 by talking about everyone’s favorite topic — money money money! 💸🤑💰

In this episode, I share my money story and unpack how I’ve overcome underearning over the past decade. Then I open my books to tell you exactly how much money Softer Sounds made last year, and I share three things I’m doing differently in my business in 2024.

Tune in for a big dose of financial transparency without any icky income claim marketing. Let's practice talking about money together!

✌️ Get the Leaving Social Media 5-Day Email Challenge! It’s free until January 31st and exclusively available for Interweb members after that ✌️

✨ Ready to share your work with hundreds of amazing artists and small business owners? Place an ad on Off the Grid this season! Find more info + rates here

🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media.

💫 Is This the Year You Leave Social Media? [Free 5-Day Challenge]

Softer Sounds — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 05:00:00 -0600

Happy New Year, friends! Amelia here, dropping into your pod feed with three exciting announcements:

#1 — Season 3 of Off the Grid is launching next week! 🥳 Surprise! I’m coming back from break early and will be posting awesome weekly episodes through the end of June.

#2 — If you’re thinking 2024 might be the year you finally leave social media… I made you a 5-day challenge to plan your hiatus or exit! It’s free for everyone through the end of the month. (this challenge is no longer available for free)

#3 — Speaking of leaving social media … tune in to this bonus mini-sode for help feeling into if now’s the time for you to delete the apps. Lend me 15 minutes, and I’ll offer you a dozen reasons you might want to log off for a while or for good.

I’ll be back next week to officially kick off our third season. See ya then!

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

Mentioned in the episode—

Essays about leaving social media from Nic Antoinette, Marlee Grace, Emma Gannon and others
Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier

🥸 Am I a Business Owner or an Artist? (or a Secret Third Thing)

Softer Sounds — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0600

Welcome to the season two finale of Off the Grid!

In this episode, I’m unpacking the difference between business and art … and arguing that maybe it’s actually all about being of service?!

Tune in as I weave together Unreasonable Hospitality, The Bear, the Online Business Growth Escalator & a Spell for Releasing Your Shoulds — to inspire you to keep finding your way forward in your practice & to make some money in the meantime.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🧗🏻‍♀️ Getting Off the Online Business Growth Escalator

Softer Sounds — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Lately I've been feeling like mayyyybe I want to burn down my whole business...

But I know that's not really true! I've just been growing in the wrong direction and at the wrong pace.

So today on the pod, I'm bringing together everything I know about Online Business with my own business growth journey to explore why sometimes we feel like our businesses just won't work... and then other times they grow wayyyy beyond our capacity.

Tune in to hear more about:

Realizing you're on the Wrong Path & how to get off it
The Online Business Growth Escalator
What to do when your escalator is broken
How to chart your own path for business growth
Questions to get clear on where you want to go

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🪦 Grieving Social Media — How to Process Your Feelings About IG/Facebook/Twitter/TikTok

Softer Sounds — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Why does leaving social media feel so impossible? I think one reason is because of how joy and grief intermingle on these platforms.

So this week we’re grieving social media together, so we can remember what we loved, recognize what we miss, and prepare ourselves to step into what’s next.

Tune in to hear more about:

What happened to social connection on social media
Why we need to make space to grieve IG/Facebook/Twitter
A 3-step practice for connecting with your feelings about social media
Grieving vs Mourning & Embodying the process

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🏄‍♀️ Here's Exactly How I Launch a New Offering [BONUS]

Softer Sounds — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500

I just launched the next big thing for Off the Grid, so let me tell you exactly how I did it! 👀

Tune in to learn about The Interweb, our new annual membership for creatives, artists & small business owners who want to build a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media.

Then stay tuned as I reverse-engineer my process! So you can learn how to launch your own Next Big Thing with your talents, your capacity, your passions, and your community in mind.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🤷‍♀️ How Much Is Enough? — Leaving Instagram & Right-Sizing Your Work with Nic Antoinette

Softer Sounds — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500

How do we actually tend to our wellbeing & burn-out when we’re self-employed? And what happens to our businesses when we step back to heal?

Today I’m joined by a writer, podcaster, self-employed creator & community gatherer that I’ve long admired — Nic Antoinette.

This year Nic has gone through a period of shutting down almost all of the longest-running parts of her business in order to tend to her mental health and well-being.

In the process, she’s been in a period of deep inquiry about what it means to run a tiny business, when to let our beloved creations end, and how to feel like we have enough in our work and our lives.

She also left Instagram! Tune in to our conversation for—

A permission slip to step back from your business
Ways to navigate periods of contraction in your work
Why & how Nic left Instagram
“How much money is enough?”
Support making hard decisions

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

💸 How to Make $$$ with Your Friends — with Taylor Elyse Morrison

Softer Sounds — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Everything’s better with friends, babe! Including making money in your busine$$.

Today I’m joined by my dear friend & biz cofounder Taylor Elyse Morrison to talk about the highs, the lows & the finances of working with your friends.

Taylor and I have been friends & collaborators for more than five years, partnering on everything from live workshops to brand partnerships to cofounding the Lifestyle Business League.

Tune in to our conversation to hear about—

Different ways to collaborate with friends
Potential partnership pitfalls & how to avoid them
Our 2 Cs for successful collabs — Communication & Contracts
The difference between pitching a partnership & working with a friend
How to make new biz friends & deepen those relationships

💕 Want to make more biz friends? Join us in the Lifestyle Business League, a support network for creatives & entrepreneurs who want to grow their way.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🧠 Creative Work Practices for AuDHD Artists & Entrepreneurs —with Mattia Maurée

Softer Sounds — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0500

This one goes out to all our neurodivergent biz babes out there.

Today I’m joined by coach & composer Mattia Maurée to talk about running a business & navigating social media in a way that supports your unique brain & lived experience.

Tune in to our conversation to hear about—

Common ADHD, Autistic & AuDHD struggles with work
How to quit overworking as a coping strategy
Embracing a cyclical relationship to social media
The importance of play for our brains
How podcasting serves Mattia’s business
Mattia's method for connecting with the online communities you’re craving

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌿 Embodying Liberation from the Social Media Matrix — with Lauren Ash of Black Girl in Om

Softer Sounds — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0500

What's it like to walk away from 50k Instagram followers & a full roster of paid partnerships? Let’s find out.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Lauren Ash, an artist, wellness practitioner + community gatherer who shut down her socials & pressed pause on brand partnerships almost a year ago.

Tune in to our conversation to hear about—

Lauren’s journey starting Black Girl in Om & how she grew to 50k followers on IG
The spontaneous moment when she deactivated her account
What being an “influencer” meant to her & why she never embraced the term
How her work has changed since leaving Instagram & taking a break from paid partnerships
Her vision for embodying liberation from the social media matrix for Black women & women of color

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🙃 Are Blogs in Again? — 7 Ways Social Media Just Can't Compete with Kasia Manolas

Softer Sounds — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Blogs are back, baby! And maybe they’re great for business again?

Today I’m joined by Kasia Manolas, writer of Girl in the Dark Room & Good Fortune, and owner of Narrative, a content marketing agency serving values-aligned companies.

Together we revisit my 10 Things I Hate About Content Marketing episode to consider why blogs might be a form of content marketing we don’t have to hate. And Kasia shares why for many small businesses blogs > social.

Tune in to learn how—

Blogs drive traffic to our website for the long-term
Writing long-form can support nervous system regulation
Blogs support more email subscribers & sales
The educational nature of blogs allows for more privacy
Blog allow us to release consistency & embrace our unique rhythms

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🏚️ 3 Cracks in Your Business Foundation — How to Align Your Model & Your Marketing with Jessica Lackey

Softer Sounds — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 17:00:00 -0500

Let me tell you something I learned from my business coach... the only “secret” of business growth is building stronger foundations.

It's been a really transformative lesson for me, so today I’ve invited Jessica Lackey (my coach) to the pod to explore why so many small business owners feel like they're working all the time... and still not achieving success.

Tune in to learn—

How to align your marketing methods with your business model
Why you have to align your positioning & your pricing with your community's needs
Which steps of the marketing process you're likely skipping & how to start doing them with ease

And if you start to realize that your business model, your marketing and your audience aren't so aligned... check out Deeper Foundations, Jessica's affordable six-month program for service-based business owners who want to reach reliable revenue through a sustainable business foundation and strategy.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

📧 Email Marketing Made Easier, Better & More Fun — with Holly Wielkoszewski

Softer Sounds — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500

This week we’re talking all things email and answering that pesky marketing question — should I send a weekly newsletter???

To do that I’m talking to Holly Wielkoszewski, a writer, a yoga teacher, and the founder of Daypack Digital.

Together, we get into why we love email, how often we send emails, our hot takes on nurture sequences, and so much more!

Tune in to learn about—

how to select the right email platform for you
how to write a stellar welcome email
when you need a nurture sequence (& when you don’t)
the stats that matter & the ones that don’t
how to get more people on your list
& ways to cultivate the dreaded c-word … consistency

Whether you’re an email pro or you’re just starting your list, this episode has some wisdom for you! Listen and get inspired to spruce up your digital communiques for fall.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

🌊 Channel the Flow — Money, Energy & Team Work with grace allerdice

Softer Sounds — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to our late summer interview series! For the next six weeks on the pod, I'm talking to my fave small business owners, artists & influencers about their fave creative business tools & practices.

This week we're welcoming my dear friend & collaborator grace allerdice back to the show for a watery convo about how to:

channel the flow of money through our businesses
create offerings that suit our unique energetic rhythms
& cultivate interdependence with our clients and collaborators

Join us for a friendly chat between two business BFFs, then click here to learn more about our course Living Systems.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

❤️‍🩹 Healing FOMO, Newsletters vs Email Marketing & My Take on Paid Ads [Listener Q&A]

Softer Sounds — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500

It's time to A your Qs, dear listeners! In this episode, I'm answering your questions about all things leaving social media.

Tune in to hear my thoughts on—

The emotional side of leaving social media AKA turning your FOMO into JOMO
The difference between email newsletters & email marketing — including which one matters more for your biz
& Whether newsletter ads are the right strategy for your biz — plus how to find places to advertise

Then keep your ears open for a sneak preview of what's coming up next for Off the Grid! ✌️

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🪤 3 Traps of an Insta-Bae Business & How to Avoid Them

Softer Sounds — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 05:00:00 -0500

This episode goes out to anyone who’s ever found yourself sucked into a marketing funnel, watching yet another free webinar, desperately trying to unsubscribe from the dozen follow-up emails, and finally getting free just to find your head spinning from everything you “should” be doing to grow your business.

I’ve started thinking of this as the “insta-bae business phenomenon” AKA the way online biz influencers sell quick fixes, ten-step solutions, and easy results with pretty promises and even prettier graphics.

So in today’s episode, I’m unpacking what I think an “insta-bae business” is and the three insta-bae business traps I see too many small business owners fall prey to.

Join me to learn how to…

Stop believing you need a certain number of followers to sell things 💯
Quit measuring your success by vanity metrics 📈
Start pricing based on your value NOT your follower count 💲

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🔮 A Spell for Releasing Your Shoulds Around Social Media (& Everything Else) — with Natalie Miller

Softer Sounds — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 06:00:00 -0500

There are so many things to do when you run a small business. And even more things you “should” do according to marketing “experts,” online business influencers, and the voices that arrive when you need to make a big decision.

In this episode, I’m joined by Natalie Miller to talk about the “shoulds” that so many of us face in our lives and our businesses. And we offer practices for taking your “shoulds” seriously, so you can cultivate the magic you need to finally release them.

Join us for a soulful conversation where we explore—

The "should" that inspired this podcast
Practices for discovering & examining your shoulds
Why “best practices” might be bullshit
How pausing & slowing down can help you discover who you are & what you desire
Betting on yourself to build self-trust

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

💌 Looking for a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use our affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription

😶‍🌫️ Social Media is Not Neutral — aka the Threads episode

Softer Sounds — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 05:00:00 -0500

While I was off on summer break a big thing happened in the social media world — Meta launched Threads! And everybody had some feelings about it.

So in this episode, I’m sharing my answer to the question, “Should you be on Threads?” And I’m reminding us that while we don’t need to judge who is or isn’t on an app, our choices can reflect our values in meaningful and powerful ways.

Tune in for a gently-no-nonsense pep talk in our signature Off the Grid style.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

🌀 Putting Your Phone Down & Letting It All Out — with Katie Dalebout [BONUS]

Softer Sounds — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 06:00:00 -0500

Hey friends! Amelia here.

Last week, I was on one of my very favorite podcasts, Let It Out with Katie Dalebout! Katie and I talked all about my journey with social media, why I've decided to leave Instagram, and why I think that might be an easy choice for us to make as business owners and a hard choice for us to make as people who want to maintain relationships in the year 2023.

I'm excited to give you a little preview of that conversation here on the feed. If you love it, click here to listen to the whole conversation on Let It Out pod!

🗺️ How to Map Your Business Ecosystem

Softer Sounds — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Do you ever wish your creative path felt clearer? Your work felt more intentional? Your business felt more integrated?

This week on the pod, I'm teaching you my favorite activity for finding biz clarity — AKA my 3-step process for mapping your business ecosystem. Tune in to learn—

how to clear your fears around doing business differently 😎
what I consider the three fundamental parts of any sustainable business 🧶
how to map your business ecosystem 🗺️
when & why you might want to use this process 🤗

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🎶 Let's Go Off The Grid [BONUS]

Softer Sounds — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 06:00:00 -0500

Happy Monday Funday, friends. I'm hopping into your pod feed today to share two exciting announcements—

#1 Off the Grid has a new theme song!! It's cool. It's catchy. It's by the amazing Melissa Kaitlyn Carter. You're gonna love it. 🎶

#2 The Refresh is officially happening again in August, and registration is now open!

🌈 The Refresh already passed, but don't worry because now you can join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🌴 Planning a DIY Business Retreat — with Maggie Gentry

Softer Sounds — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500

When was the last time you took intentional time away from your business to work on it, rather than in it? Recently? Not so recently? Either way, it might be time to plan a solo business retreat!

In this episode, I’m joined by Maggie Gentry, a thought partner to coaches & creative entrepreneurs looking to intentionally scale with a focus on marketing operations.

She's shares her four-step process for planning a solo business retreat. We also chat about—

How to get comfortable with uncertainty in our businesses
Why we ignore advice about "niching down" or "having one hero offer"
What led Maggie to plan her first solo business retreat
Retreat ideas for folks who don't have much time/money/capacity

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription

💫 Align Your Marketing & Your Human Design — with Arianna Maag

Softer Sounds — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500

At long last… it’s our episode on the best marketing practices for your Human Design!

Today I’m joined by Arianna Maag, a Human Design coach who works with individuals who are ready to stop questioning themselves and live in alignment with who they are and have always been.

This one’s a super generous, free workshop in personalizing your marketing practices. So pull up your Human Design chart, locate your type, then tune in to this episode to learn—

How to grow your audience, nurture your community & sell your offerings based on your HD type
The best marketing strategies & practices for each HD type
The difference between “waiting to respond” & “waiting for the invitation” for Generators & Projectors
How a defined or undefined throat center impacts your marketing strengths

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription

♻️ Pivoting Your Business Away From Social Media — with Natalie Ross of Earth Speak

Softer Sounds — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Today on the podcast, I’m talking to Natalie Ross about what to do you do when you’ve built a successful business on Instagram … but it turns out that social media is wrecking your life.

Natalie is the cofounder of Earth Speak, a podcast and membership collective she co-created to bring intuition into everyday life. She grew Earth Speak to over six figures in annual revenue, 37,000 Instagram followers, and millions of podcast downloads… then decided to step back from social media and pivot the business.

Together we talk about stepping off the social media hamster wheel, how healing her trauma required changing her business, and why we need to rewire the survival instincts that make it feel so scary to connect authentically and vulnerably with others.

Tune in to hear more about—

How Natalie’s healing journey was reflected in her business
Shifting your perspective on marketing to support your strengths & desires
How being in business can bring out threat responses that lead us to hide behind social media instead of actively selling our offerings
The importance of learning to regulate your nervous system

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription

💍 Pulling a Beyoncé & Following No One — Social Media Experiments with Melissa Word

Softer Sounds — Wed, 31 May 2023 05:00:00 -0500

What would happen if you unfollowed everyone on Instagram? And what feelings come up when you think about it?

In this episode, I have a fun and insightful conversation about doing just that with Melissa Word.

Melissa is an artist, dancer, writer, and somatic facilitator. Together, we talk about how social media experiments have affected her digital and creative habits.

Tune in to hear more about:

How unfollowing everyone created an intentional Instagram experience for Melissa
How much codependency and people-pleasing is tangled up in who we choose to follow or not
Protecting & respecting your attention

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

🛍 Can Retail Leave Social Media? — Advice for Product-Makers & Shop-Owners with Janine Mulone

Softer Sounds — Wed, 24 May 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Hold on to your bucket hats, my friends. Because today we’re talking all things social media, retail and product-based business with Janine Mulone!

Janine is an indie retail advisor, the founder of Feel Good Retail, and the host of Retail For The Rest Of Us.

Tune in to hear us discuss how social media has rapidly shifted for retailers and why chasing the algorithm might be the worst sales strategy in your playbook. We also get into—

Whether or not social media currently provides meaningful traffic
Where social media for retail can actually shine (and where it definitely doesn’t)
Janine’s favorite non-social media marketing methods
Knowing your numbers

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

🤝 You Need a Network, Not an Audience — Relationship Marketing with Michelle Warner

Softer Sounds — Wed, 17 May 2023 06:00:00 -0500

Today I’m welcoming business designer and networking expert Michelle Warner to the podcast to teach us all about relationship marketing!

Together, Michelle and I talk about—

What relationship marketing is
The difference between relationship marketing & traffic marketing
Who needs to be in your network (& who doesn’t)
How to “borrow an audience” & why it’s so effective
The one type of content you need to have

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription

🍉 How To Plan a Summer Sabbatical in 5 Simple Steps [2023 edition]

Softer Sounds — Wed, 10 May 2023 06:00:00 -0500

Let’s give you that break you deserve, babe! In this episode, I share why I’ve decided to take a 3-week break from my business this summer. Then I walk you through my 5-step process for planning your own summer sabbatical.

Tune in to hear more about:

What is a sabbatical? 🌴
Why might you want to take one? ☁️
Your 5-step plan for taking a sabbatical! ✋

If you’re craving rest, release or peace, this episode is for you! And rest assured, it’s not too late to take a sabbatical THIS summer. This episode is a whole workshop in less than 60 minutes. So just tune in, follow the 5-step plan & you’ll be on break before you know it.

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

🧐 To Substack or Not to Substack?

Softer Sounds — Wed, 03 May 2023 06:00:00 -0500

Welcome back to season two of Off the Grid! This week I’ve got a thot take (that's a thoughtful hot take) of an episode for all our newsletter writers out there.

By popular request, I’m exploring the rise of Substack. And I’m asking whether this newsletter/podcast/threads/notes platform is good for small businesses or bad for them.

I’m also helping you answer the question, Is Substack right for me? Tune in to hear more about:

The pros of Substack
The promises Substack makes to its creators
Whether or not Substack is social media
How Substack might be harming small businesses more than helping them

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

🙅‍♀️ Saying Yes to the No — Creativity, Constraints & Content with grace allerdice

Softer Sounds — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Hey hey babes — this week we're welcoming my friend & collaborator, grace allerdice, back to the pod for a conversation at the intersection of creative practice and self-employment.

Grace and I have a chat about what's been happening in our businesses lately, then discuss what it means to be a creator-led business, how constraints help our creativity flourish, and why we want to make less content, not more.

Join us for a friendly chat between two business BFFs, then click here to get on the mailing list for Living Systems. 🌬

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

❤️‍🩹 Misinformation Hurts All of Us — Unpacking Social Media & Wellness Culture with Christy Harrison

Softer Sounds — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 06:00:00 -0500

Today I’m welcoming Christy Harrison MPH, RD, CEDS to the pod to talk about how social media platforms have lead to mass misinformation being spread online — and why that’s harmful to all of us, whether we think we fall prey to it or not.

Together, we talk about the parallels between wellness culture and social media culture, how misinformation spreads online, and the way that social media weakens our inner authority.

We also get into our personal and business relationships to social media, and have a candid chat about why Christy’s still on Instagram.

Tune in to hear more about:

The aspirational nature of wellness & social media
Why false information spreads faster & farther than the truth online
How to values personal stories and scientific evidence simultaneously
The value of solitude in reconnecting to ourselves
Why Christy’s still on social media

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

🤖 SEO Basics, Web Analytics & the AI of It All — with Emily Gertenbach

Softer Sounds — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 06:00:00 -0500

Welcome back, babes! Today I am excited to have our first guest of the season, SEO expert Emily Gertenbach.

Together, we talk about Search Engine Optimization — what it is, how it works, and how you can make it work for your business in a mindful way. We also get into what it means that search engines are implementing more AI. And we have a candid chat about data privacy online.

Tune in to hear more about:

SEO for beginners & pros
Emily’s 3-step process for optimizing your site
Demystifying keywords & getting your site to rank
Why Emily stopped using Google Analytics
AI’s potential impact on the future of SEO (spoiler: no need to be scared)

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

💸 How This Podcast Makes Money Without A Big Audience

Softer Sounds — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 05:00:00 -0500

I’m a firm believer in transparency around the way my business (and this podcast) makes money.

So in today’s episode, I’m opening up the books to give you the cold, hard / warm, soft facts of how much money I’ve made from this show and exactly how I’ve made it.

If you've ever wanted a peek behind the scenes of Off the Grid strategy, you'll definitely want to tune in & hear:

How I’ve grown the Off the Grid audience
Real dollar amounts & download stats for the pod
Which offerings make the most money and why
The big failure of a VIP Day I launched last spring
Tips for how you can apply these lessons to your own business and/or podcast

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today

🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

💔 Why I Broke Up With Pinterest

Softer Sounds — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 06:00:00 -0500

Sometimes, we learn through trial and error, babes.

Last season I was optimistic about what Pinterest could do for my small business. So I invested a little time, a lot of effort, and a few thousand dollars into pins on the platform.

But after giving it a go… I have some new thoughts.

Tune in for my freshest take on the effectiveness of Pinterest as a small business marketing strategy, including:

The data from my personal experience with paid Pinterest ads
How Pinterest is morphing into a social media platform
The price leap oversight in my strategy
The importance of keeping an experimental mindset

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

☠️ 10 Things I Hate About Content Marketing

Softer Sounds — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0500

This week we’re taking on everybody’s favorite marketing strategy and we’re not holding back!

If you’re an online business owner, you’re probably familiar with content marketing. It’s everywhere, and we get it…sometimes it’s effective. But also…is it really?

In this episode, I unpack ten reasons content marketing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and I share lots of ideas for what you can do instead.

Tune in to hear more about:

What content marketing is & why people love it
How content marketing takes over our time & devalues our work
Why we need to step back from over-giving & learn how to sell our offerings
Common issues with social media, lead magnets & SEO

👋 Thinking of leaving social media? You don't have to go it alone! Download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit today.

👋 The 5 Stages of Leaving Social Media

Softer Sounds — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 05:00:00 -0500

Welcome to season two of Off the Grid! To kick things off, this week we’re diving into the emotional depths of breaking ties with social media. Turns out, it’s a process.

Tune in to hear more about:

The stages of grieving that come before the stages of leaving
Our 5 stages of leaving: burn out, content creation, return to human pace, loving it + relationship renewal
The magic that can happen when the space currently filled with social media is free again
My personal experience of loneliness setting in two years after leaving social media

Know someone who’s thinking of taking the leap? Share this episode with them! 👋 And if you're thinking of leaving yourself, make sure to download our free Leaving Social Media Toolkit!

🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🏔 Releasing #Productivity & Making Your Work More Seasonal — with grace allerdice

Softer Sounds — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 06:00:00 -0600

How can we release ourselves from the outer forces, inner voices, and productivity gurus driving us toward more-more-more?

And when we do choose another path, how do we set up our work so that we actually bring our dreams to life — without getting lost in ambiguity, confusion or overwhelm?

In this episode, I’m joined by grace allerdice, my friend, mentor + co-teacher of our upcoming course Living Systems. Together we discuss how we live + work in alignment with our internal rhythms, energetic capacities + ever-changing seasons.

We dive deep into:

Creating systems where we can’t help but flourish
The difference between productivity culture (boo) + regenerative systems (yay)
How to identify + resolve friction points in your work
The foundational, resilient, clarifying power of the Earth element
Why we love Projects + how Projects help us bring our purpose to life

This episode is for anyone who wants to do life, work + business your way, and needs support figuring out what your way really is. 🌱

Links & resources—

Want to get on the mailing list for Living Systems? Sign up for messages here
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🙏 Your Next Client Isn’t In Your DMs — Coaching Success without Social Media with D’Ana Joi

Softer Sounds — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 05:00:00 -0500

What does leaving social media look like when you’re used to using it for collaboration & business growth? And is it really possible for coaches and service providers to find new clients offline?

In this episode, I’m joined by D’Ana Joi, a coach for multi-passionate creatives. Together we discuss our journeys leaving Instagram and embracing more aligned ways of creating community and growing our businesses.

We dive deep into:

The fears that come up when you think about leaving social media
All the ways your creative energy returns once you get offline
How Joi finds coaching clients without social media — and exactly how many she’s booked since she left IG with the help of Off the Grid!
The joy of creating organic community in your daily life & work

This episode is great if you’re considering leaving social media, but aren’t sure that the benefits will outweigh the drawbacks. Tune in for a big ole permission slip to do business your way. 🎟

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🧞‍♀️ Social-media-free Launches, Human Design to Get Offline & Control vs Collaboration [Listener Q&A pt 2]

Softer Sounds — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 06:00:00 -0500

The season one finale is here! In this episode, Amelia answers more of your questions about leaving social media & wraps up the first season of Off the Grid.

Tune in to hear her respond to Qs like—

What are your daily log-on & log-off procedures?
Does your Human Design impact your relationship with social media?
How can I get support when I like to have control?
How do you launch a business without social media?

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🃏 Need help stopping the scroll? Use the code OFFTHEGRID for 10% off the Instead deck from Inner Workout
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

👻 Un-Ghosting Your Followers, Getting Rid of FOMO & the “Right Time” to Leave Social Media [Listener Q&A pt 1]

Softer Sounds — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 06:00:00 -0500

The moment has finally arrived! In this two-part episode, Amelia answers your questions about leaving social media.

Tune in to hear her respond to Qs like—

How do you deal with the FOMO of being off socials?
What do I do if I ghosted my social media followers?
Are things like Pinterest and LinkedIn social media?
Are there points where it makes sense for a business to leave social media?

Get your Qs answered then check back next week for part two! ✌️

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
📖 Looking for your next read? Check out our curated list of books to help you reimagine your relationship with technology
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🛼 Let’s Get Transparent Again — Our New Top 10 Marketing Practices at Softer Sounds

Softer Sounds — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0500

We’re back behind-the-scenes, babe! In this episode, Amelia revisits Softer Sounds’ top ten marketing practices to update us on what’s going great & what’s not working anymore.

Tune in to hear about—

The difference between marketing and sales
Shifting your marketing focus from growth to nurturing
How direct sales, SEO, online communities, lead magnets, free workshops, paid ads & podcasts are working for Softer Sounds
Why we quit Pinterest ads (…for now)

Then, please share this episode with a friend! And let us know what marketing channels & strategies are working (or not working) for you lately.

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🕸 Unpacking the Social Dilemma — Alignment & Algorithms with Vickie Curtis

Softer Sounds — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0500

We all know social media makes us feel bad sometimes…but is something more problematic happening on these platforms? 🌪

In this episode, Vickie Curtis, writer of The Social Dilemma, joins Amelia to talk about how social media algorithms cloud the truth and misdirect our attention, with devastating effects for our global communities.

Together, they discuss—

What the attention economy is and how it impacts our lives 🧠
Why Vickie wrote The Social Dilemma & how it changed her social media habits 👩‍💻
How algorithms & advertising impact our decision-making and global politics 🌪
PLUS Vickie’s recommendations and resources

This episode is a must-listen for anyone thinking about the bigger picture consequences of our social media use. Tune in for a whole lot of smarts & some gentle social critique. And don’t forget to download the Leaving Social Media Toolkit to start doing business differently!

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🛁 Self-care for Staying on Social Media — with Taylor Elyse Morrison

Softer Sounds — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 06:00:00 -0500

We’re all about leaving social media, but we know that’s not the right choice for everyone! 😬

So in this episode, Taylor Elyse Morrison of Inner Workout joins Amelia to talk about how she approaches social media mindfully, why she developed the Instead deck for scrolling less, and how she takes care of herself and her business while posting & engaging on social media.

Together, they discuss—

Taylor’s social media journey & what her Instagram experience feels like ❤️‍🩹
How Taylor differentiates between her personal Instagram presence & her business Instagram presence 🙏
Why Taylor created the Instead deck & how you can use it to support your well-being 🌷
PLUS Taylors advice for hiring social media support 👯‍♀️

This episode is great for anyone who wants to stay on social media and feel better at the same time. Tune in for lots of inspiration to take care and scroll less.

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🃏 Need help stopping the scroll? Use the code OFFTHEGRID for 10% off the Instead deck from Inner Workout
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🙈 Quick note — Amelia encountered some audio gremlins while recording this episode, but we hope you’ll listen anyway! And rest assured that professional podcasters have audio issues, too.

꩜ How it FEELS to Leave Social Media — Embodiment + Nervous System Regulation with Elle Bower Johnston

Softer Sounds — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 06:00:00 -0500

How can we handle the feelings that arise when we’re on social media? And what happens to our bodies when we log off temporarily or for good? 🤯

In this episode, Elle Bower Johnston joins Amelia to talk about how social media impacts our nervous systems and our lives. Together, they discuss—

How our bodies felt when we were on social media & how they told us to leave 📣
Nervous system 101 💓
How to handle the panic and the peace that comes when you leave social media 😅
PLUS Elle’s advice for healers, yoga teachers, energy practitioners & online business owners who want to market their work in new ways 🔮

This episode is great for anyone grappling with anxiety, stress, panic, dread or other bad vibes on or about social media. Tune in for the nervous system support you need to scroll less.

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🍉 How to Plan a Summer Sabbatical in 5 Simple Steps

Softer Sounds — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 06:00:00 -0500

Let’s give you that break you deserve, babe! In this episode, Amelia shares her 5-step process for planning a summer sabbatical.

Listen in as she invites you to consider—

What is a sabbatical? 🌴
Why might you want to take one? ☁️
Your 5-step plan for taking a sabbatical! ✋

If you’re craving rest, release or peace, this episode is for you! And rest assured, it’s not too late to take a sabbatical THIS summer.

This episode is a whole workshop in less than 60 minutes. So just tune in, follow the 5-step plan & you’ll be on break before you know it.

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🛠 Business Systems Can Solve Your Problems — with Patty Ryan Lee of The Fiery Well

Softer Sounds — Wed, 25 May 2022 06:00:00 -0500

Have you ever felt confused, overwhelmed, or lost in business? A system might be the answer to all your problems! 🤯 In this episode, Patty Ryan Lee of The Fiery Well joins Amelia to talk about business systems, SOPs & the good kind of audits.

Together, they discuss—

What business systems are & why they make your life way easier 😎
How to create your first SOP (aka Standard Operating Procedure or, as we like to think of it, Streamlined Opportunity for Play) 🌈
How to audit your existing systems & an introduction to the A.U.D.I.T. process ✅
PLUS our advice for making your systems more magical AND our fave tech tools for supporting your systems 🔮

This episode is great for new-to-business babes who want to build with intention AND long-time business owners who want more ease in their day-to-day. Tune in then click through to the episode webpage for links to all the great tools we mention!

Links & resources—

👋 Want to leave social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Looking for a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use our affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🤝 Need a better way to automate communication with leads & clients? Use our affiliate link to get 20% off your first month or year of Dubsado
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

📌 How Pinterest Can Grow Your Business + a Paid Ads Primer — with Brooke Basso

Softer Sounds — Wed, 18 May 2022 06:00:00 -0500

Searching for a marketing channel for easy, long-term business growth? In this episode, Brooke Basso of Embody Socials joins Amelia to talk about how Pinterest connects you with your ideal clients, boosts the longevity of your content, and drives traffic toward your offerings. 😎

Together, they discuss—

Pinterest as a growth tool & what types of businesses thrive on the platform
How to get started on Pinterest & best practices for successful pins
Ads & how to make the most of your budget — with advice directly from Pinterest!
PLUS they finally answer the age old question: Is Pinterest social media?

This episode is FULL of actionable advice. If you’re considering getting your biz on Pinterest, wishing your pins would perform better, or wondering how to start running ads, you definitely want to tune in!

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

Update— Brooke has closed her business and unfortunately the Pinterest Starter Kit is no longer available. Check out an updated perspective on Pinterest in our more recent episode, Why I Broke Up with Pinterest 💔

🎙 How Your Podcast Can Bring You Clients & Make You Money — with Chelsea Riffe

Softer Sounds — Wed, 11 May 2022 06:00:00 -0500

Wondering how your podcast can be a creative outlet and bring you new clients? In this episode, Chelsea Riffe of In My Non-Expert Opinion joins Amelia to talk about how her podcast integrates storytelling and sales.

Together, they discuss—

Why Chelsea launched In My Non-Expert Opinion 🎙
How her podcast helps her sell courses & coaching 👩🏼‍🏫
When she uses social media for her business (& when she doesn’t) 🤳

Tune in for an open & honest convo between two business owners podcasting their way to success. Then catch Amelia on Chelsea’s podcast for more stories, advice & hot-takes about leaving social media.

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🎧 3 Ways Podcasting Can Radically Change Your Marketing

Softer Sounds — Wed, 04 May 2022 06:00:00 -0500

Let’s make our marketing slower and more sustainable! In this episode, Amelia breaks down her 3 fave things about podcasting for small businesses, exploring how—

Podcasting is embodied 🧘‍♀️
Podcasting helps us slow down 🐌
Podcasting invites us to get support 💞

She also explains why podcasting is her favorite sustainable marketing strategy and shares some precious gems of wisdom from her clients at Softer Sounds.

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🎙 Ready to start a podcast? Download our free podcast launch checklist + workshop
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🛼 Let’s Get tTransparent — Our Top 10 Marketing Practices at Softer Sounds

Softer Sounds — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 06:00:00 -0500

Want a peek behind-the-scenes at Softer Sounds? In this episode, Amelia opens up our metaphorical doors and walks you through 10 ways we grow our audience & market our business.

Here's what we get into—

Using the tools in the Leaving Social Media Toolkit
Pitching & direct sales via email
Creating SEO-optimized blog posts
Joining cool online communities
Growing your email list with free, lead magnets
Using Pinterest to drive traffic to your business
Offering free workshops
Placing paid ads in newsletters
Guesting on podcasts
Launching your own podcast

Tune in to learn how we use each of these at Softer Sounds, and to get lots of inspiration & actionable advice for marketing off social media.

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

⚡️ Cultivating Energetic Sovereignty & Email as a Love Language — with grace allerdice

Softer Sounds — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Join us in welcoming our first guest! grace allerdice is an artist, consulting astrologer, writer, podcaster + energetic practitioner.

In this episode, we discuss why she left Instagram and how exiting social media impacted her business (spoiler: less than you’d expect!). We also dive into—

how we center relationships in our marketing 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩
why email is mary grace’s love language 💌
what energetic sovereignty means to us 🔋
& how to cultivate more of it in your business & life ⚡️

Tune in for a soulful business convo & plenty of actionable advice. Then send a voice message to let us know how we can support you in upcoming episodes!

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🌸 Gentle Productivity, Radical Generosity & the Necessary, Nice & Ideal Framework

Softer Sounds — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 06:00:00 -0500

We’ve been talking about leaving social media so we can feel better in our businesses…but what if we’re so burned-out that doing business feels impossible?

In this episode, Amelia unpacks how we can fill our own cups and build businesses based on radical generosity. She also shares—

a super helpful & easy-to-use framework for planning your projects & weekly schedule around your energy levels
a breakdown of necessary, nice & ideal tasks in product & service-based businesses
how to let go of perfectionism and set yourself up for success in your business

Tune in for a giant permission slip to do less slower, so that you can be radically generous and expansively successful without burning out.

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🃏 Need help stopping the scroll? Use the code OFFTHEGRID for 10% off the Instead deck from Inner Workout
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🌈 How to Create a Fun, Feel-Good Marketing Plan to Grow Your Business

Softer Sounds — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 06:00:00 -0500

Bummer news, babes. When you leave social media, you still have to market your business… But we promise it doesn’t have to be a drag!

In this episode Amelia shares—

How to create a fun, feel-good marketing plan
Why you want to embrace creative marketing experiments
The 3 questions you should ask yourself before you start any marketing task/plan/project

If you love a plan, this episode is for you! And if you don’t...we’ve got advice on how to make planning more fun for yourself. Grab your Leaving Social Media Toolkit, and tune in for a fun, feel-good time!

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

💯 100 Ways to Share Your Work Off Social Media

Softer Sounds — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 06:00:00 -0500

So what exactly do you do once you leave social media? In this episode, Amelia shares her popular list of 100 Ways To Share Your Work Off Social Media.

With a little gentle guidance and a whole of big ideas, she invites you to become your own marketing visionary and imagine a new business away from from the Instagram/Facebook/Tiktok grind.

Grab your Leaving Social Media Toolkit, and tune in to get inspired!

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🃏 Need help stopping the scroll? Use the code OFFTHEGRID for 10% off the Instead deck from Inner Workout
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

✌️ How I Left Instagram & a 5-step Plan So You Can Too

Softer Sounds — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 14:05:04 -0600

Let’s talk about leaving Instagram! In this episode, Amelia shares how getting a book deal made her invest time, money & energy in Instagram...and why that made her exit the platform altogether a year later.

Tune in to hear about—

How Instagram makes us anxiously-attached & codependent
Amelia’s #1 rule for leaving social media
& where to get your 5-step plan for exiting any social platform

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
💌 Want a gorgeous email service provider with easy segmentation options? Use my affiliate link to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🐲 4 Myths & a Truth About Social Media for Small Businesses

Softer Sounds — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 09:07:34 -0600

Do you ever wonder how we started doing business on social media to begin with?

On this episode, Amelia breaks down four myths about social media marketing for small business owners — deconstructing the idea that this free & easy marketing channel is ever actually free or easy.

She also explores:

how social media instills scarcity mindset in our marketing
how The Algorithm can ruin our self-confidence and our confidence in our businesses
and the core question of this podcast — What would your business be like if you were no longer on social media?

Links & resources—

👋 Ready to get your business off social media? Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit
🃏 Need help stopping the scroll? Use the code OFFTHEGRID for 10% off the Instead deck from Inner Workout
🌈 Want support building a successful, sustainable business without relying on social media? Join The Interweb — our affordable, annual membership for creatives, artists & business owners, who want to share their work & make money without social media. ✨

🆕 Introducing— Off the Grid!

Softer Sounds — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 14:22:00 -0600

Off the Grid is a podcast for small business owners who want to leave social media without losing their clients. On this show, we'll explore how to run an incredibly successful business without relying on social media to get new customers or clients.

Download your free Leaving Social Media Toolkit, and subscribe now so you never miss an episode.

Credits —

Music: https://www.melissakaitlyncarter.com/makingaudiomagic
Cover Art: https://natelier.co/