You Built Their Platform. They Blocked Your Access. Capitalism at Its Pettiest.

Let’s talk about the greatest con ever sold to small business owners.

You spend years building an audience on Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. You post daily, engage relentlessly, and play by their ever-changing rules. Then one morning, you wake up to a notification that freezes your blood: “Your account has been suspended.”

No warning. No explanation. No human to plead your case to. Just a faceless algorithm that decided—poof—your livelihood now belongs to the digital void.

And the worst part?

This isn’t a bug. It’s the business model.

Platforms want you dependent. They need you disposable. Because the second you realize you don’t need them, their entire empire crumbles.

So let’s burn that empire to the ground.

The Sharecropping Scam of the Digital Age

There’s a term for what’s happening to you: digital sharecropping.

You’re working land you don’t own.

Every post you make, every follower you gain, every trend you chase, it all enriches their platform, not your business. And just like the sharecroppers of old, you’re always one bad harvest (algorithm change, ban, shadow ban) away from ruin.

How They Keep You Hooked

The Illusion of Ownership

“Your” followers

“Your” content

“Your” audience

(Hint: None of it’s yours. Try exporting it when you’re banned.)

The Carrot of Virality

Just one more post

Just one more trend

Just one more algorithm hack

The Threat of Obsolescence

“If you leave, you’ll disappear!”

“No one will find you!”

“You have to be here!”

Any of this sound familiar?

It should. Because while you’re busy worrying about engagement rates, platforms are quietly doing two things:

• Selling ads against your content
• Making sure you never own anything

The Rebellion Playbook: How to Take Back What’s Yours

1. The Blog That Can’t Be Cancelled

Remember when blogs were just online diaries? Today, they’re the most powerful anti-platform weapon you have.

A client of mine, a fitness coach, got banned from Instagram for “excessive posting” (yes, really). Luckily, she’d been redirecting followers to her blog for months.

Her move?

Published “The 30-Day Home Workout Plan” (on her OWN site).

Ranked it on Google.

Let it quietly collect emails and sales.

The result:

• 200+ new clients in 3 months
• Zero Instagram posts
• Zero fucks given about algorithm changes

Your Move:

Pick one piece of knowledge only you have. Write the definitive guide to it. Publish it where you control the traffic.

2. The Email List That Can’t Be Shadow banned

Here’s a number that should piss you off:

Email converts 3x better than social media.

Yet most businesses treat it as an afterthought. Why? Because platforms have spent a decade convincing you they’re the only way to reach people.

A baker I know:

• Printed “Text BREAD to 555-123 for secret deals” on every bag
• Built a 5,000-person SMS list in 6 months
• Now sells out every weekend without posting a single Story

The Lesson: Your best customers aren’t lurking in your DMs. They’re waiting for you to own the connection.

3. The “Old-School” Tactics That Still Work (Because Humans Haven’t Changed)

Want to know what’s more effective than 10,000 followers? 10 real conversations.

A financial advisor I met:

• Stopped chasing LinkedIn fame
• Started hosting free coffee chats at local diners
• Printed “Ask Me About Tax-Free Retirement” on his business cards

The result?

• 30 new clients in 90 days
• Zero algorithm anxiety
• A waiting list for his next seminar

Why This Works:

People buy from trust, not trends. And nothing builds trust like showing up where platforms can’t interfere.

The 30-Day Platform Exit Strategy

Week 1: The Audit

Calculate what % of your income depends on platforms

Export every customer contact you can

Identify your single point of failure

Week 2: The Diversification

Start one owned channel (blog, email, SMS)

Create one piece of evergreen content

Set up one alternative contact method

Week 3: The Redirect

Change one profile link to your owned property

Add one CTA to your packaging/storefront

Message one customer directly (not through DMs)

Week 4: The Celebration

Measure your first “algorithm-free” sale

Delete one social app from your phone

Help another business do the same

The Bottom Line

Platforms didn’t build your business. You did. And every minute you spend feeding their machine is a minute you’re not investing in something that actually pays you back.

So here’s your choice: Keep begging for scraps on rented land. Or build something they can never take away.

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I am UnMarketable. I help business owners get off the ‘social media hamster wheel’ and make more money with platforms that they OWN. (Read that last part again.) Check out my books “F*CK the Algorithm, and How to Market Your Business Without Social Media. Both are available on Amazon now.