Bold Types #8: Nicola Washington 🇬🇧
Bold Types #8: Nicola Washington 🇬🇧
Meet the social media strategist who is helping writers grow on socials—especially Insta (and stay sane).
We met in
’s ‘Hype Yourself’ community. I did a callout for guests in her collaboration corner, and Nicola reached out so we could chat a little (thanks Lucy!) Her newsletter is called Too Much with Nicola Washington. “So-called because my clients - writers - often tell me the demands of social media are ‘too much’ on top of everything else you’re responsible for.”I enjoyed reading this piece, ‘Is Substack really ‘The Great Escape’ from social media?’ Or is it more similar than we might like to think? Very honest and some food for thought on internet culture: managing overwhelm, comparison-itis, and the shaping of Substack so it doesn’t become “just another place we hate to hang out on the internet.” She said she’s surprised at how much this has resonated with folks.
A timely chat, too, with Instagram in the news today [BBC] for courting TikTok users with an algorithm revamp, favouring new creators (which they make sound amazing), "this will give every creator, no matter how small, a chance to go viral," but it may not be. It may hurt full-time creators and content marketers, so I'm curious to hear her thoughts.
She has a manifesto for her Substack (10 commitments she’s made to herself), some brilliant mantras for life, and a philosophy of screen and social media use (as a matter of survival and sanity in this industry) by approaching it with intention rather than habit, which she shares in this piece.
It consists of a set of practical tools - none of which are ground-breaking or particularly original - alongside a more personal, philosophical set of guiding principles that help me keep Instagram in its place.
Curious to know what she thinks of Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism? I was!
I love her passion for Instagram. Our convo left me feeling energised and like this is a person I'd like to get to know better. Thank you, Nicola. Best of luck with your fiction writing project and paid membership (launching here on Substack in June). Reach out to her if you want some support on socials.
Also lovely to chat with another Nicola and fellow Midlander!
Enjoy!
Nika ✨
Bold Types: Nicola Washington 🇬🇧
Hi Nicola! Tell us where you grew up and what your first job was.
I grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, an industrial city on the northwest edge of the Midlands. I’ve lived in Kent and London since 2000, though, which means I’ve been in the South longer than ever at ‘home.’
My first job was at age 14, as a kitchen assistant in a local nursing home. On my first day, they sent me upstairs to the dining room to clear tables, and I freaked out and hid in the lift. I never went back.
The first job to last longer than a day came when I was 16. Debenhams opened in the local shopping centre, and I bagged myself a Saturday job in the children’s clothes department. My friend worked upstairs in the much more glamorous accessories department, but we mostly stood around and yawned a lot.
What do you do and why?
I’m a social media strategist who teaches writers how to use Instagram to promote their work.
I’ve worked in social media for almost eight years, following a 12-year career as a secondary school teacher. After my children were born, I realised teaching wouldn't work. My now-husband works in a demanding job, teaching is all-consuming, and I found I had next to nothing left for my children by the end of the day.
At the time, I was questioning how long I could stay teaching; I started a blog using Instagram to promote it. This was my first foray into social media, and I really enjoyed the opportunities it opened up for me. I retrained as a social media manager in 2016 and then worked as a freelancer for small businesses.
At the beginning of 2023, I pivoted to supporting writers to bring my work closer to my interests. It’s been one of my best work decisions ever!
What are you most excited about at work right now?
I love my work and am a total social media geek, especially when it intersects with the writing world and books, so the thing I’m most excited about at the moment is the membership I’m launching here on Substack in June.
Lots of writers want ongoing, low-touch support, somewhere they can come to ask for advice or get some inspiration. My hope for the membership is that I can offer writers good-quality, industry-specific support at a price that won’t break the bank.
I’m super excited about the value it will deliver!
How do you stay on top of industry trends?
I've signed up for several industry-specific newsletters on and off Substack. I also spend quite a lot of time on Instagram, looking at what people post, pattern-spotting relevant trends, and translating what I find for my writing audience.
How are you putting yourself out there? How have you built collaboration into your biz?
When I worked with small businesses, my work came from word-of-mouth, so at the beginning of 2023, I began building a platform from scratch.
I focused on Instagram as my primary marketing channel, then diversified into Substack in November. On both Instagram and Substack, I aim to create content that demystifies Instagram (and sometimes other social media platforms) for writers.
I’ve also recorded some podcast episodes, hosted collaborative Instagram Lives with writers and other ‘book people’, and hosted free ‘Ask Me Anything’ Q&As in writing communities. These have been opportunities to support writers, build credibility, and get a feel for the challenges writers want support with.
These efforts have led to selling places on workshops and a group programme of my own, generating 1-1 leads, and being paid to speak and present to other writer communities.
A year and a bit in, I feel like I’m hitting my stride with knowing what works, what writers want from me, and how to launch and promote my services, but it’s been a process, and I still have lots to learn.
How do you define success - and balance ambition and contentment?
Outside the obvious need to earn enough to resource our family, success for me is about the quality of what I create. I want people to trust me and get value for their money when they choose to invest in my support.
I’m enormously driven, but I have to balance my natural desire to do everything NOW against the demands of being the primary parent of our two children. It’s taken me a long time to accept this role, and its limitations on fulfilling my ambitions have often felt like a trap I’ve fallen into unawares.
To preserve my sanity, ‘everything in its time’ has become a bit of a mantra - as has ‘what is for me, won’t pass me by’ - and when comparison pays me a visit and I find myself lacking, I’ve learned to use those feelings as data and tell myself, ‘Good for you! And same for me.’
That said, I struggle with contentment on a ‘macro’ level as my ‘spicy’ brain rarely stops, and I have a gazillion ideas a day that I know will never come to fruition. I find it frustrating that I’ll never get to read even a fraction of the brilliant books in the world, for example(!), but I do feel contentment in smaller moments.
I love watching the garden birds on the feeders in my garden, a cup of coffee in the sunshine, and road trips with my family.
I want to find more time for my writing projects, though. I hope the next year will see me exit the 'throwing spaghetti at the wall' first phase of business and turn it into something more predictable and consistent that will enable me to find this space.
The lightest I ever feel is after sitting at my laptop trying to put words to whatever thought or feeling I've been ruminating over.
(I agree - writing is thinking and healing. I loved this comment from Harriet Mason at on Nicola’s welcome post. “I write to clear my head, relax my shoulders and move through life more freely.”)
How do you take care of your health and prevent burnout?
Honestly, I really struggle with this. Something I imagine I have in common with many women is that I’m not very good at prioritising my needs. Add in the hyper-fixation and lack of interoception (the ability to identify what is happening in your body, e.g. hunger, thirst, pain) that come with neurodivergence, and there are times when I push myself much further than I should.
One thing that has helped me is recognising that my version of rest might not look like rest to others. Sitting me on a sofa with a blanket and a remote control or (God forbid) taking me to a spa just makes me agitated and irritable. I have to be moving, on a quiet, unaccompanied walk with my dog or gardening to feel rested.
Can you recommend a book or resource for entrepreneurs?
One book I’ve found practically helpful is More Sales Please by Sara Nasser Dalrymple. I like her realistic approach to selling in a world of bro-marketing tactics that leave me cold.
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert changed the way I see my creativity. Most small business people are intrinsically creative, and this book helped me get out of my way.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
My English, working-class background gifted me with many internalised narratives about what is ‘for me’ that I trusted unquestioningly for a long time. In contrast, my husband moved to the UK from Nigeria as a child. He’s faced all kinds of adversity as he’s navigated his way into rooms that he should not be in by the laws of averages.
I’ve learned a lot from my husband’s refusal to shut doors for himself. Of course, someone else might slam the door in your face, but don’t do the dirty work for them!
Do you have a question for my next guest?
What makes what you do possible? What help or support do/have you received that has helped you get where you are today?
Thank you! Where can readers find you?
I’m on Instagram @toomuch_social, and my newsletter is Too Much by Nicola Washington.
Tweet of the week: Thank you, Jay Clouse, for the reminder not to build our content homes on rented land.
Looking forward to more insights from CEX (May 5-7) this week!
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Wanted to be Jane Bond but ended up in journalism 🤷🏻♀️
I run Firebird, the content consultancy helping entrepreneurs impact the world with their personal stories. Life is too short to play small. See my services here.
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