How I built a Substack that brings me joy, friends and (whisper it) an income

What works, what doesn't and why

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As most of you know this Substack is now 2 years old. In that time, I’d like to think I’ve learned a thing or two about how it works. I certainly understand it better than I did back in January 2021 when I was mainly just terrified of writing to an audience of zero and then, the ultimate humility, asking people to pay for the privilege of reading me.

I have never blogged. I have never mastered the art of Twitter and I never been very good at promoting my writing. Why then, I sometimes ask myself, did I start a Substack?

The answer is I love to write. And I love to share.  If you feel compelled to do both things too, you’re probably going to do pretty well on here. But, and it’s a big but, it may not be an overnight success. That’s fine. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if it was it would probably look like Milton Keynes. 

But there are building blocks that I think are helpful, plus a certain philosophical attitude that I’m including in this post because I think it’s important to figure out what Substack is and what it is isn’t. It isn’t Twitter. People come to your Substack because they want to engage with you; and they generally want to do so on a more thoughtful level. I think this is a good thing, especially if you are not the sort of person who likes getting into intellectual brawls.

Also, you will win subscribers and you will lose subscribers. Get used to the ride. It feels bumpy at the beginning and those of a nervous disposition may want to turn off notifications every time you lose someone. I did this after the first month. It felt much better.

So anyway, below is a list of things I wish I’d have known when I was starting out. These are things that have specifically worked for me, but are also based on things I have seen done beautifully on other Substack.

Any questions, feel free to ask them and I’ll do my best to answer as many as I can this week. This is January after all, and I know many of you are probably raring to go. By the way, if this is you, you can start your own Substack with the link below. As many of you know my day job is working for Substack (though TWK is very much a side hustle for me and a joyous way to spend my down time). Use this link and I can monitor all your work and help shape what I offer as a means of help here.

Ready? Okay, let’s go then…