Whenever I say that I quit social media (mostly), entrepreneurs all over the world either cringe or their ears perk up.

The ones who cringe think "well, there goes her revenue. adios."

The ones whose ears perk up think "I wish I could do that."

Gurus everywhere have brainwashed you into thinking that the only way to grow a business online right now is to post on social every day, multiple times a day.

They've said things like "just show up, and you'll never want for clients."

But the reality?

Social media doesn't work for everyone.

The reasons really don't matter, but the fact is that not every entrepreneur will or even CAN see success in the online space.

No matter what the gurus say about it.

Because if what they said was true, then every entrepreneur who has ever downloaded an Instagram program and showed up would not be struggling right now.

But they are struggling.

I was struggling too. I had put all of my eggs into the Instagram basket.  I did everything the gurus told me to do - gurus that I paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to coach me on.

And yet? Not a lot of traction.

Their answer was that I wasn't focused or niched enough.

Or that I needed to be more salesy.

Or that I should share my private life.

A few years ago I stopped worrying about social media.  I posted when I felt like it.  I showed up when I had time.  I focused on my family and my hobbies and my interests instead.

My entire social media presence flopped.  No one saw my content. No one cared about my content.  No one engaged.

The algorithm was punishing me for living my life outside of social media.

Thankfully, I had a few things in place to sustain me. I had my list.  I had my blog. I had a few other pieces that kept the leads coming in.

Things in place to keep my revenue flowing.

Today, if you log on to my social media, you'll see a few posts a month at most.  Every day I get messages from people asking me where I went. 

But you know what you won't see?

• You won't see that I travel once or twice a month.
• You won't see that I love refinishing furniture and decorating my home.
• You won't see that I just celebrated 24 years of marriage with the love of my life.
• You won't see that my dad just died.

• You won't see me talk about the fact that I still make over $40,000 a month, without posting on social media.

• You won't see me bragging that I have a thriving, happy client base just to impress strangers and convince them to hire me.

Because those things are mine.   They aren't anyone's business but mine.

The world has gone apeshit for oversharing.

Businesses often feel like they have to overshare to remain relevant. That they have to share their lunch or their kids, or every thought that pops into their mind just to connect with people who might hire them one day.

Here's what you need to know about letting go of social media:

• Most of your followers will never hire you.  
• There are far better, and more effective ways to get clients consistently without the content grind.
• Your business is created to fund and support the life you want to live.  That life is real - not on the other side of a camera, or on a 9 grid on a screen.
• Businesses thrived before social media was a thing, and they'll thrive after it's dead.

But like anything, letting go of social media - or even just taking a break - comes with work.  

You'll still create content, but instead of that content having a shelf life of 24 hours, it will have a shelf life of months to years.

You'll still show up, but you'll do it in different ways, and in ways that are evergreen and carry a longevity that social media is missing.

You'll still have to be focused and clear - but an algorithm isn't going to punish you if you want to go off brand for a little while to test the waters.

When I let go of social media, it was scary. Everyone told me I would fail.

And the truth is that it felt weird at first.  I was so used to the stress of content marketing that I didn't know if I was doing enough in my new lane. 

The marketing I do now off of social media is stress free. It's fun. It's engaging, and it's focused.  And it doesn't leave me feeling like I can never catch up.

I didn't fail.  I found a way to thrive, increase my revenue and maintain my privacy.

I call that a win.

xx,

Jessica

PS:  If you're interested in learning more about how I market now that I don't really use social, join the Quiet Marketing Membership.