Amelia Hruby on Growing a Business Off the (Social Media) Grid

Today we’re talking to Amelia Hruby, PhD, feminist author, educator, podcaster, and the founder of Softer Sounds, a podcast studio for entrepreneurs and creatives.

Over the past decade, Amelia has been a university professor, a community organizer, and a radio DJ. Now, she helps babes get their voices off social media & onto the airwaves with her podcast Off the Grid: Leaving Social Media without Losing All Your Clients.

If you’ve been with us for a while you’ve definitely heard Amelia’s genius editing skills via this podcast, but today we’re lucky to be sitting down with her to chat about her journey of growing her business to six figures in a year, while going totally dark on social media.

We’re musing on:

  • Amelia’s journey of becoming an influencer, getting a book deal, and raising money to market her book

  • What sparked her disillusionment with Instagram and created a catalyst for going completely “dark” on social

  • How she manages friendships and business partnerships without Mr. Zuck

  • How she markets her services without relying on social media algorithms

  • What skills and values entrepreneurs should focus on vs. the skill development that social media demands of us

“So much discontent in the space between ‘I’m here making content’ and ‘my follower, subscriber, listener, whoever, is so far away from me, I can’t even see them because of how social media platforms have reshaped the space in between us. Neither one of us has moved, but we can’t see each other because I think it’s just gotten so opaque and cloudy and people are just really frustrated.”
— Amelia Hruby
“I just worry that I do see a lot of people I love and adore, running really cool businesses, but the skill they’re building is just chasing the algorithm. And I don’t know that’s the skill that’s going to benefit their business long term. I worry a lot.”
— Amelia Hruby
“We kind of skill build in places that don’t follow our desires, passions and joys. And I think that is also just as dangerous as people with limited time and energy and capacity in the world.”
— Amelia Hruby
“It becomes exhausting to your point when you’re out of alignment with your values. That is the surefire path to burnout very quickly.”
— Wallis
“We can pretend like we’re in control by withholding from the world., but we never are. That’s the lesson of life. We’re not controlling this stuff. We can orient ourselves on a path, but we have no idea how that path is going to turn out. We just have to be responding in general to the world around us, and in trying to figure out on our path on the way. But that’s horrifying especially if you want to be seen as perfect or good, or whatever it is you’ve been told you need to be.”
— Michelle

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    • Let's talk about how to pronounce Amelia Hruby's surname!

    • How Amelia organically increased her social media following, particularly on Instagram

    • The difference between reaching out to a smaller audience versus speaking to a larger audience

    • What is considered a good open rate in eblasts?

    • When social media platforms promise virality and easy, massive audience growth

    • Building skills on platforms that do not reflect your skills, passion, and joy

    • What is marketing today without social media?

    • Amelia's book deal and why it pushed her to gain more followers

    • What caused Amelia to avoid social media, and how did she share her amazing content with the world?

    • The significance of living and acting in accordance with one's values

    • The fear of visibility, vulnerability, and of being canceled

    • IG as the platform of controlling your own image

    • More effective ways and important things you could do to grow your business prior to going and relying on social media

    • Having a strong boundary on new social media platforms

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