Have I fully introduced myself yet?

It feels like a good time...

I want to give you a little glimpse behind the curtain and clear up some misconceptions I’ve seen.

Hi, my name is Ariella, I’m 31 and am disabled. I work as a political content creator, journalist, influencer, whatever you wanna call it — I haven’t even settled on a title I like yet.

I do the majority of my work from my bed, because I am constantly in pain. And I haven’t done any interviews recently because I had to cancel one three times thanks to my body just deciding it couldn’t cooperate on that day. (Christine Cockley, I PROMISE, the interview will happen)

I second guess everything I post and say cause I want to make sure it’s the most accurate and useful information possible, but also that social media will even decide to show it to anyone…ever.

I am angry every single time I have to clickbait something, and often times just decide not to do it, and am repeatedly reminded why that was the wrong decision — no one saw the post, no matter how good or important it was.

I write everything myself. EVERYTHING. I have fallen in love with the em dash — that doesn’t make me AI — that makes me a human who recently was reminded that commas aren’t the only form of punctuation that can separate connected thoughts.

I also use voice to text pretty consistently, for short posts, which frequently results in me accidentally posting things that don’t make sense (I really need to get better at looking before I press post).

I will not leave any platforms just because the people who run them are evil or they partner with a company that sucks. The only reason I’m not on Twitter is because I left before I became a political creator. I don’t care how bad Meta or TikTok or Substack get, that’s where the people I can educate and influence are, so I’m not leaving.

But I also am everywhere. I post the same content on virtually every platform, including Tumblr, because I want as many people to have access to my work as possible. I also don’t put anything behind any sort of paywall for that same reason.

I don’t have sponsorships right now. So anyone you think is paying me, isn’t. I work with the DNC and DPCC and SCC and every other Democratic arm and organization you can think of, but they’re not paying me. If that ever changes, you will know immediately. I won’t just disclose it cause that’s the right thing to do but because I believe in the work they’re doing.

Most of the reason I don’t have sponsorships is because it’s hard as a political creator in general. Part of it is cause I don’t want to work with companies that I don’t align with in really fundamental ways — and those companies, kinda by design, rarely have the money to pay creators. And part of it is that I don’t get enough views on my regular posts, and people skip ads — I don’t blame them, but it makes it hard.

And, unfortunately, that means I make most of my income from Substack (it’s not sustainable, at least not yet) — with some also from Buy Me A Coffee, and a much smaller portion from my merch. I hate it. I hate relying on my audience, most of whom I know can’t afford it, to make money.

I will say that I am on Facebook, where I was officially invited to be monetized this week, but so far, most posts have less than 1k views and as a result I have made a whopping 25 cents…total. I’m doing long form on Youtube, but I’m about 2.5k public watch hours away from being eligible to become a partner, even though I’m already verified. So, yes, right now, my income really is almost entirely from my audience.

Finally, if you’re not seeing my posts, it means your algorithm doesn’t think my posts matter to you, or they just want to shut down what I’m saying on a particular topic entirely. I post something every single day. If you aren’t seeing my posts on any given platform, turn on notifications for my account, and make sure you’re not just following, but also subscribed.

Why did I made this post? It’s Thursday, so there’s no video and with the news that Substack is now partnering with Polymarket, and a question a few days ago asking if the DNC pays me, it felt like a good time to clear up some misconceptions.

No matter how hard this gets, I will be here, finding reasons we’re NOT doomed and showing you how Dems are fighting back and how you can continue to have hope and fight back too.

My mantra isn’t just for you, it’s for me too. Our voices, collectively and individually, are our superpower, but only when we take the time and make the effort to use them.