Hi YATMers, I’m Ana Gil and I started We Are Indie to support small business owners with podcast and content management, bringing structure to their visibility so it doesn’t take over their lives.
I'm a big fan of steady systems, thoughtful messaging and life first businesses, especially for people juggling work, creativity and family.
My recommendation today is a podcast I recently discovered and immediately binge listened to, Complex with Kimberley Wilson. It cuts through the noise around mental health and helps you make sense of what’s actually worth worrying about.
It explores topics like anxiety, attachment, relationships and how our minds work, in a calm, grounded way.
Let's make sure we connect today.
Here I am on LinkedIn
Where I work here
The return isn’t your job yet. The routine is.
Starting something new doesn’t have to be fixed on the glory that you want to happen. It’s pulling away from the noise of outcome-chasing and back into the only thing you can control, what you do next, and what you do after that.
When you know you want to be in something for the long haul and take gradual steps, everything feels less intimidating. Not because you’ve lowered your ambition, but because you’ve matured your relationship with time.
The problem is, we’ve been trained to bring pressure far too early.
We step forward with an expectation of return. If it’s not revenue, it’s audience and acceptance. If it’s not audience, it’s reach. If it’s not reach, it’s ‘traction.’
The biggest mistake is treating the beginning like a pitch deck for something that already has proof.
The beginning doesn’t have proof, just potential, and a slightly wobbly first version. That’s the deal.
What You Start Is Different From What It Becomes
When I started You Are The Media, I didn’t take it seriously. It was something I could play with, experiment with, and see what happened if I showed up every Thursday with a newsletter and built subscribers.
My mindset had a cost.
Progress was slow and because of this I didn’t stand up proudly to talk about it. It was a work in progress and I was figuring it out.
The difficult thing about a rough first version is that people can’t easily make an association with it, or see the role it might play for them. It didn’t fit into a category people already understand.
That’s why the early stage of building anything feels so personal. You’re not just being visible with your work, you’re asking people to make sense of you while you’re still making sense of yourself.
Many of us start something while carrying a belief we’ve absorbed from somewhere else, that success should show up quickly. If it doesn’t, it’s a sign you’re not good enough or it’s not viable.
That belief turns early-stage work into something you feel embarrassed about. For me, because I didn’t recognise the role YATM could play, I continually under-sold it. I hid behind ‘just trying something,’ even though I cared about it deeply.
The results didn’t come quickly, and I read that as failure, but because it was all on me, I kept going. The first pound was made three years after YATM started.
But here’s what I didn’t understand then and I do now:
Slow is not the sign it isn’t working. Slow is often the sign it’s becoming genuine.
This video explains (thank to El Deane for recommending it).
The message from the video is that longevity is the advantage. You might discover you’re not the best early on, but you can still win by staying in it longer than most people do.
We Put Too Much On Too Soon
When you start, the audience you hope for probably won’t be there. You’re building familiarity, trust and a sense of “this person shows up.”
If you make “return” the barometer in the first phase, you create a setup where you’ll abandon the work right before it starts to matter. Which is also the part where your work is collecting its first proof points.
The beginning isn’t where you cash in. The beginning is where you find the signal. This could be someone who subscribes to your newsletter, someone replying to you, or a small group of people who start to recognise what you stand for.
If you want something practical to hold onto as the year begins, here are four prompts to keep you in motion.
Four prompts to keep you in motion
1) Embrace the learning journey
You’re not just building a project. You’re building your capacity.
You start to learn and improve, not just your project, but you too. It’s all about putting in the time and effort into something new that can potentially open opportunity. For me, writing a weekly newsletter became a place to test ideas about community, visibility, and building your audience without relying on algorithms.
Goal: Keep it small enough to repeat.
2) Avoid overcommitting
Over-investment is when you pour everything into the first version as if it has to be perfect. Commitment is when you show up and improving it, one iteration at a time.
Audience building is gradual, so choose a first step that fits into your life, not a step that tries to replace your life.
Goal: Don’t over-invest before you’ve earned evidence.
3) Don’t isolate yourself
Most work stalls not because the idea is bad, but because it becomes lonely.
When you’re building something new, you’re doing something you haven’t done before, which means it’s easier to doubt yourself.
Invite people in earlier than feels comfortable. Ask for input and help. It could be interviewing someone to add into your work.
Goal: Bring other people in early. Not for validation, for connection and momentum.
4) Expect the unease
Confidence is a lagging indicator of sticking with something, over a period of time.
Watching or listening to yourself can be uncomfortable but it means you’re doing something honest.
Goal: Expect the awkward phase. It’s part of growth, not the opposite of it.
Let’s Round Up
It doesn’t work when you shout from the start.
What works is staying long enough for people to recognise what you stand for and for them to feel themselves inside it.
If 2026 is the year you’re stepping up more, don’t make the goal “adulation.” Make the goal “routine” or even “returning.”
The work isn’t gone, it’s still there.
You’re just coming back to make it better.
Share this with someone else 💌
youarethemedia.co.uk/build-your-audience-over-time/
Time Wasting
Click on a country and it shows you what other european countries call it
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This Week Around The Web
GROWTH, CREATION & YOUR INDEPENDENCE
My year with ChatGPT - from Jeremy Connell-Waite
👉 It will never connect emotionally with an audience in the way that humans can.
How to overcome Content Shock in a world of AI slop - from Mark Schaefer
👉 Be a content artist where you have control of workflow and pace.
N.B We will have special YATM Club session with Mark, 18th Feb, book in
THE COMMUNITY YOU CAN BUILD
The community goal is that people stay - from Anthony C.
👉 The business goal of your community is maximising retention
Community is not magical - from Rosie Sherry
👉 Look for communities that care.
GROWING YOUR NEWSLETTER
The future of newsletters: predictions for 2026 - from Matt McGarry
👉 Predictions and data experience from owners
Email has been dying since the 90s - from Tyler Denk
👉 Continue building your list and adapting to new strategies
The next era is more shared....
I’m not anti-individualism. You still need your own voice and your own perspective. You still need to make work you’re proud of.
Momentum is what happens when people don’t just follow you on LinkedIn, they feel part of the thing you’re building.
When they contribute, share it, shape it, and bring others into it.
Get Beth's Content Remix Guide (use the special code)....
We all know that people need to hear the same message multiple times for it to have an impact.
Beth Carter has created a fantastoc guide to help you make content creation feel less like guesswork and more like a clear path to leads and income.
It is £21 but if you use the code YATM, the guide for free. It's here for you.
The Top 100 Marketers came out yesterday 👋...
Our friends at Alt Marketing School released their BIG annual list yesterday.
Have you seen YATM friends that are on it? If you haven't, you can see here.
Coming to you live. It all returns in February...
Poole | Thursday 5th February and theme is trust, book here
London | Thursday 12th February and the theme is connection, book here
Bristol | Thursday 26th February and the theme is being you, book here
Then it's Creator Day in May!
Have a shouty video to start your Thursday. Enjoy the day...Mark
