Launch stage. Writing to the void. Learning my language. Understanding what I want to say. Refining my voice. This is harder than my marathon prep! Damn.
But! And this is a big “but”!
I enjoy this trail. I no longer care for making trials and mistakes as for only few really see then, and no one really cares 😂
Hi Bidi! Yes that’s one thing I tell new bloggers, don’t worry about being perfect when you start cause you wont have a audience at first anyway! Just relax and be yourself and you will get better with experience. As you find your voice you will also find your audience! Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for sharing Mack, I found your breakdown of stages really insightful. Beyond 'just keep writing', do you have any observations on what people write about that seems to 'find traction'? The cynic in me feels that many fast-growing accounts are ones that frequently talk about 'how to grow on Substack', which naturally becomes its own self-fulfilling prophecy. Naturally, I understand that part of the reason for that interest is because it's a universal question for many writers here on Substack, so I was curious if there were any other observations you had?
Hey Scott! Great question, and I’ll be honest I don’t think I have a good answer for you. Topic mix is one thing I am still trying to wrap my head around, especially how I differentiate the topics in my free newsletter vs paid newsletter vs notes. It’s like I am covering the same topic areas in three different ways.
To your point about a lot of people here writing about being successful on Substack, yep I see the same thing. I have had to incorporate that into my writing, the understanding that a lot of my readers here will be writers who are trying to get their own Substacks off the ground. So whenever I write about my core topics of engaging customers, I try to position it in a way that also makes it accessible to writers here on Substack. I work in lessons and takeaways that they can also use. That seems to be helpful but I think the key is to make your content appealing and valuable to Substack writers, but don’t focus exclusively on that group unless that group IS your sole focus.
Hope that helps. I will be doing recaps every month and I suspect over time I’ll get a better handle on how to select topics. Honestly, being engaging with other users is what’s working the best for me right now. I try my best to engage back with people who are consistently engaging with my content. That’s helping me to connect with new friends and it’s helping me connect with a group that writes about the same topic areas. Which also gives me insights into which topics I should cover.
Thanks for such a considered response Mack! I think the operative words that stood out to me from your comment was: "...appealing and valuable to Substack writers."
In short, I'm reminding myself that as part of my topic mix (which I'm also figuring out), that I do still need to 'add value' or 'solve problems' for the different groups. And as a corollary, I've then jotted down for myself:
1) Relevant for people at individual level (i.e. How do I grow on Substack?)
2) Helping people make sense of a larger topical problem / trends (i.e. How does Substack's algo work?)
3) Introduce people to new ways of thinking (i.e. How Substack might influence changes in community engagement, for example)
I think a lot of my initial writing was too focused on exploring philosophical ideas, but I may not have been clear enough what value I was adding for people at each of those levels.
Thanks for engaging with me and for the subscription!
Interesting thoughts, Scott. I think part of it is figuring out what role Substack will play in your larger strategy. Obviously, if you want to directly monetize Substack, you would want to lean more on getting subscribers and that means tailoring content to get them. Or if you want Substack to indirectly lead to income, maybe you write for a slightly different audience. I also think as we grow our networks, new opportunities will arise and it’s about adjusting and taking best advantage of those as they do.
But the ‘just keep going’ is something I have heard over and over again from successful writers here. And the numbers bear that out. Good luck, and looking forward to reading more of your work, thank you for the sub as well!
Thank you for writing this! It was very insightful. We usually scratch our heads thinking how exactly the algorithm must be working and you gave a good idea for that.
Thank you Gary, and congrats on your success! One of the things I kept hearing over and over again from successful Substack writers was: Keep going. They all experienced points early on where growth was so slow they felt like maybe it had stopped. Then later the hockey stick arrived. I am committed to keep going, good luck to us both!
Hey Colin, I imported a list from Mailchimp with around 868 names on it at the end of May. I purged some names from that list and a few unsubs as well. Without checking, I believe I gained 13 subs in June, 51 in July, and I think I have either 16 or 17 so far this month. I go into that more in the first months update, which I linked to in the middle of this post. Hope that helps!
I am missing something because you said you have only been doing this for two months but you have 890 subscribers and growth is only 22 in the last 30 days? Or have you only started a new growth strategy 2 months ago.
Hi there, they came from Mailchimp. I’ll be doing an update again on the numbers next month, and I’ll be sure to include a detailed breakdown of how the list was imported and associated numbers thanks to your and Colin’s feedback.
Ah, thanks Carlo, that’s interesting to hear. It seems like it would be easy for Substack to give us an engagement rate, then break down where subscribers are engaging with the newsletter, like via email or on substack. Maybe that’s in the works?
A followup on something I said in the post. I pointed out that I noticed my traffic from Substack jumped when I wrote my first month's recap post. My assumption is that Substack's algos were rewarding content written about Substack. Yesterday's traffic from Substack was the highest I've had so far, after I wrote a post about my progress on Substack. Today's traffic from Substack is so far looking up a bit over average numbers. As you can see from the graph I included in the post, I got 42 views from Substack on July 4th when I published my first month's recap.
Yesterday I got 60 views from Substack. Another theory, perhaps getting several Likes, comments and shares soon after publication triggers the algo to give the post a boost. This post had a lot of engagement within the first hour or so of publication. This is consistent with what other platforms do with content so its entirely possible.
Or it could all simply be organic and have nothing to do with the algo. I will keep testing and tracking, and see what I can learn. Thanks again to everyone for reading and sharing, I've seen others sharing their progress, just happy to return the favor and I hope it helps.
Launch stage. Writing to the void. Learning my language. Understanding what I want to say. Refining my voice. This is harder than my marathon prep! Damn.
But! And this is a big “but”!
I enjoy this trail. I no longer care for making trials and mistakes as for only few really see then, and no one really cares 😂
Hi Bidi! Yes that’s one thing I tell new bloggers, don’t worry about being perfect when you start cause you wont have a audience at first anyway! Just relax and be yourself and you will get better with experience. As you find your voice you will also find your audience! Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for sharing Mack, I found your breakdown of stages really insightful. Beyond 'just keep writing', do you have any observations on what people write about that seems to 'find traction'? The cynic in me feels that many fast-growing accounts are ones that frequently talk about 'how to grow on Substack', which naturally becomes its own self-fulfilling prophecy. Naturally, I understand that part of the reason for that interest is because it's a universal question for many writers here on Substack, so I was curious if there were any other observations you had?
Hey Scott! Great question, and I’ll be honest I don’t think I have a good answer for you. Topic mix is one thing I am still trying to wrap my head around, especially how I differentiate the topics in my free newsletter vs paid newsletter vs notes. It’s like I am covering the same topic areas in three different ways.
To your point about a lot of people here writing about being successful on Substack, yep I see the same thing. I have had to incorporate that into my writing, the understanding that a lot of my readers here will be writers who are trying to get their own Substacks off the ground. So whenever I write about my core topics of engaging customers, I try to position it in a way that also makes it accessible to writers here on Substack. I work in lessons and takeaways that they can also use. That seems to be helpful but I think the key is to make your content appealing and valuable to Substack writers, but don’t focus exclusively on that group unless that group IS your sole focus.
Hope that helps. I will be doing recaps every month and I suspect over time I’ll get a better handle on how to select topics. Honestly, being engaging with other users is what’s working the best for me right now. I try my best to engage back with people who are consistently engaging with my content. That’s helping me to connect with new friends and it’s helping me connect with a group that writes about the same topic areas. Which also gives me insights into which topics I should cover.
Thanks for such a considered response Mack! I think the operative words that stood out to me from your comment was: "...appealing and valuable to Substack writers."
In short, I'm reminding myself that as part of my topic mix (which I'm also figuring out), that I do still need to 'add value' or 'solve problems' for the different groups. And as a corollary, I've then jotted down for myself:
1) Relevant for people at individual level (i.e. How do I grow on Substack?)
2) Helping people make sense of a larger topical problem / trends (i.e. How does Substack's algo work?)
3) Introduce people to new ways of thinking (i.e. How Substack might influence changes in community engagement, for example)
I think a lot of my initial writing was too focused on exploring philosophical ideas, but I may not have been clear enough what value I was adding for people at each of those levels.
Thanks for engaging with me and for the subscription!
Interesting thoughts, Scott. I think part of it is figuring out what role Substack will play in your larger strategy. Obviously, if you want to directly monetize Substack, you would want to lean more on getting subscribers and that means tailoring content to get them. Or if you want Substack to indirectly lead to income, maybe you write for a slightly different audience. I also think as we grow our networks, new opportunities will arise and it’s about adjusting and taking best advantage of those as they do.
But the ‘just keep going’ is something I have heard over and over again from successful writers here. And the numbers bear that out. Good luck, and looking forward to reading more of your work, thank you for the sub as well!
nice one good effort
Hey thanks Patrick! Gonna keep plugging away and see what happens!
Thank you for writing this! It was very insightful. We usually scratch our heads thinking how exactly the algorithm must be working and you gave a good idea for that.
Thank you Harshal. Key lesson I keep hearing from all successful Substack writers is KEEP GOING! So will do that :)
Cheers Mack! I love data and cogent explanations of it.
It’s heartening that my first eight weeks are following your projections. I look forward to the hockeystick one day!
Thank you Gary, and congrats on your success! One of the things I kept hearing over and over again from successful Substack writers was: Keep going. They all experienced points early on where growth was so slow they felt like maybe it had stopped. Then later the hockey stick arrived. I am committed to keep going, good luck to us both!
Hey Colin, I imported a list from Mailchimp with around 868 names on it at the end of May. I purged some names from that list and a few unsubs as well. Without checking, I believe I gained 13 subs in June, 51 in July, and I think I have either 16 or 17 so far this month. I go into that more in the first months update, which I linked to in the middle of this post. Hope that helps!
I am missing something because you said you have only been doing this for two months but you have 890 subscribers and growth is only 22 in the last 30 days? Or have you only started a new growth strategy 2 months ago.
I was going to ask the same question.
Or did you import them from somewhere else?
Hi there, they came from Mailchimp. I’ll be doing an update again on the numbers next month, and I’ll be sure to include a detailed breakdown of how the list was imported and associated numbers thanks to your and Colin’s feedback.
@Neela is amazing, I totally agree
Thank you for this! Realism is essential, work is necessary, consistency is key! Appreciate you being in this space!
Thank you Marie for the wonderfully kind comments. Have a beautiful day!
Great stuff, keep up the good growth!
You ask good questions Mack.
I love me some experimenting and exploring to see what happens.
I have noticed the same fall on my open rates since I jumped from 50 to 180 subs.
I thought it was down to a lack of interest from some of the new subs.
However I also suspected what you mention in your post.
Perhaps this is something that Substack should address to get a more sensible stat?
Ah, thanks Carlo, that’s interesting to hear. It seems like it would be easy for Substack to give us an engagement rate, then break down where subscribers are engaging with the newsletter, like via email or on substack. Maybe that’s in the works?
This is so insightful! Thank you Mack
Hi Irene, it’s nice to meet you! Have a great week!
This was extremely useful, Mack! So glad to have you to turn to for consistently great advice...and great writing.
Thank you Melissa! Always a joy to hear from you, hope you are having a wonderful week!
Super interesting read. Thanks for sharing. I also love a good recommendation. I've followed them all!
Thank you Danielle! I can check my stats and I notice that Writers of the Lost Art is one of my referral sources. Thank you :)
A followup on something I said in the post. I pointed out that I noticed my traffic from Substack jumped when I wrote my first month's recap post. My assumption is that Substack's algos were rewarding content written about Substack. Yesterday's traffic from Substack was the highest I've had so far, after I wrote a post about my progress on Substack. Today's traffic from Substack is so far looking up a bit over average numbers. As you can see from the graph I included in the post, I got 42 views from Substack on July 4th when I published my first month's recap.
Yesterday I got 60 views from Substack. Another theory, perhaps getting several Likes, comments and shares soon after publication triggers the algo to give the post a boost. This post had a lot of engagement within the first hour or so of publication. This is consistent with what other platforms do with content so its entirely possible.
Or it could all simply be organic and have nothing to do with the algo. I will keep testing and tracking, and see what I can learn. Thanks again to everyone for reading and sharing, I've seen others sharing their progress, just happy to return the favor and I hope it helps.