Interview with Alissa Medina from Fembot
Today’s interview1 is with Alissa Medina from Fembot!
Tell us a little about yourself.
My name is Alissa Medina and I am the founder of Fembot. We began as an online magazine for the past five years with over 20,000 Instagram followers and 67,000 Facebook followers, but this year I decided to discontinue off of our website and work solely on the Substack platform. I'm hoping to get my own domain and be 100% based off of Substack with only an online magazine archive. I am also a digital marketing strategist based in Los Angeles, California.
How would you describe your newsletter?
I would describe it as a love-letter to those working towards social justice - whether it's in your environment, your work crew, wherever - just be self aware of your actions and judgements. It involves interesting reads, thoughts from other individuals, and a clear analysis of other's sharing their narratives with the world for those to hopefully reconnect and engage in a useful dialogue.
Why did you decide to publish on Substack?
I work very closely to e-mail marketing and create strategies for my day-to-day job as a digital marketing manager. I had an issue with my domain back in December and someone purchased our original domain where the entire five years of the free magazine archive was stored for around $3,000. I didn't win their bidding war and didn't think that I even wanted Fembot to go in that direction. So now the newsletter is a redefined version of our online magazine that is now paid or free.
What has your experience with your newsletter been like?
I absolutely love the platform. It's so easy to use and for some reason the way it is designed really inspires me to create and write. I'm also a huge fan of newsletters in general but the way the platform allows you to view other's newsletters feels genuine to me.
What have you liked most about your experience on Substack?
I have loved finding others' newsletters. I also really enjoy getting paid for my work and to hopefully grow Fembot.
What have you liked least about your Substack experience?
I am very aware of what they've done in the past and I hope they can reconcile their community because it needs nurturing. I am still considering leaving the platform because of it. But I've read a few thought pieces online and I'm hoping they can speak openly and support LGBTQIA & POC issues.
How have you let people know about your newsletter?
Usually through our social media since we have a semi-large following!
Is there a post in your newsletter that you consider most memorable, and if so, why?
Definitely the ones where I was just curious how they would perform. The Intersectional Feminist Book Club ones are always fun to write but sometimes I will feel guilty if I didn't read the book of the month cover-to-cover. Haha.
What do you hope for your newsletter in the foreseeable future?
I really hope we can get a bigger following and just be as consistent as possible. I hope that as we continue to grow and be aware and as loud as we can be, that we can definitely become a sustainable pub.
Is there anything you'd like to add?
I don't think so!
You can read several previous interviews with newsletter authors in the Sub Pub archive.
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