The Beauty of No Audience
I dance and sing in my living room daily. When I do this, I feel free. Why? No one is judging my lack of rhythm or poor vocals, except for my dog LOL. This is how it feels when starting over on a platform.
I’ve briefly spoken about this before, but after gaining 11 subscribers (THANK YOU!) and a conversation with one of my best friends, there’s beauty in no audience, or a small one. I get to make missteps, figure out my groove, and connect with others on an intimate level. Do I want this to grow? Absolutely. But for now, no one is harshly judging me. I’m free to be me.
I write and sometimes I get a like or a comment, but I do this for me. I’m not performing, I’m being me and I get to on a new platform quietly (for now, my time is coming, TRUST). When you have an audience, you can get lost in performing. You’ll focus on satisfying your audience instead of satisfying your soul. I want to feed my soul and connect with like minded individuals. Maybe by bearing my soul on here I will find new and aligned opportunities. Maybe I can use Substack to generate more income. Or maybe this is just something that my great grandchildren can read to connect with me once I’m gone. Whatever the case may be, I do this for me and not having an audience makes it a little easier.
You may be thinking to yourself “I’m not performing on social media”. Maybe you’re not, but performance can look like being overly critical when posting a selfie because your crush may see. It doesn’t have to be a big spectacle. We perform all the time, for example, interviewing for a job. I don’t want to perform anymore than I already have to (I work in corporate America). I’m 32, I started social media in middle school first on Xanga, then MySpace, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, etc. and everything I did was to make sure I was liked by my peers. I also don’t relate to the previous versions of myself that I built on those platforms. In 2025 I got tired of that and started showing the parts of me that I once hid on Threads, TikTok, and now Substack. Why? Because starting over with no audience I wasn’t worried about being perceived because no one was really watching. Eventually people started watching, but they were strangers and they too were looking for organic engagement. And guess what? I grew my accounts organically and my followers feel more like a community than observers.
So if you’re starting over, or you have a small audience, don’t focus on the numbers. Use that as a way to show up authentically for you. Stop judging yourself and allow yourself to grow and figure it out. No one is going to judge you, no literally you have no followers, so who’s judging?! Harsh? Maybe, but it’s true. That’s an advantage that larger creators may wish they had. You get to start fresh and be YOU! That is the beauty of no audience. And for the few that follow you, it’s like an intimate concert. Trust me I love an arena concert, but how nice is it to connect with an artist at a smaller venue? I always walk away feeling like I have a piece of their soul with me. You can do that too. The intimate venues are how you grow and prove you’re ready for the arena status baby.
Lastly, a woman from Houston Texas told me “You are the visual”. I said you know what, you’re right Bey, I’M THE VISUAL so I need to act like it and show up as my authentic and “niche-less” self. The aligned people will come and appreciate the visuals, but above else, I will never regret being me. Thank you again to my 11 subscribers. I hope you enjoy me and the Pause, then Play. publication.
If you enjoyed this, please like and feel free to share with a friend who you think this would resonate with. You can also subscribe to read more of my “niche-less” articles.
PAUSE. Right as I was about to hit send to subscribers, I got a new subscriber notification. 🥹 thank you to my 11 12 subscribers. I know that was nothing but a confirmation from God! 🧚🏾♀️💕✨
Originally posted on Substack January 28, 2026 - https://thebrianadionne.substack.com/p/the-beauty-of-no-audience
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