My apologies for being MIA the last few weeks.

I’ve had a slow time in my Creator Economy watching, even as the media keeps changing mostly for the worse. But personally my mental health has taken its customary November dive. I will try to explain.

This week after months of stagnation on my Newsletter revenue on Substack, and after nearly 2 years of writing here, I was featured. I should be thrilled right?

How do I get featured on Substack?

Substack itself says:

“Our team amplifies and elevates the rich kaleidoscope of writing on Substack. We look for writers who are going deep into a clear topic and exemplify best practices, like posting regularly and engaging with readers. We rotate our features regularly and aspire to give exposure to a wide variety of publications.

We welcome writers and readers to recommend another writer or writing on Substack they love via regular callouts on notes and in threads on Substack publications. Keep your eyes out for a chance to share your favorite writing with us on the @Substack account and during our Shoutout Threads at on.substack.com. “

Well I certainly have posted on a regular basis for these last two years, with multiple publications and teetering on the edge of burnout.

What Does it Do?

As On Substack is recommending you for a few days, it sends a lot of new readers (untargeted) your way.

Currently On Substack is recommending 8, not including their own publications.

This gives Substack a lot of ability to direct traffic as they please and to people who presumably have momentum and sales.

Substack’s internal employees and philosophy seems biased to “culture” as a category. I have no idea why that is. In some ways this makes sense, as typically this category has a lot of writers and with a lower price and less ability to go viral on social media, it’s these writers who likely need new readers the most from the subscription network.

Unlike categories like Politics that has a very high baseline conversion rate, or Investing, which has a high baseline price. Culture writers on paper would have the most difficulting making significant revenue via organic growth.

What Did you Get?

With the waterfall of new readers, after 500 new readers per day while featured, I got a few paid conversions. The conversion rate of these random new readers is significantly under 1%. I’m sort of used to it, my baseline conversion rate to paid is rather low, comfortably under 2%.

Still, it’s a nice boost. As in my category of A.I., there’s saturation and less organic hype around the topic as say compared to six months ago.

And I’m also grateful, just when morale was getting low, something “nice” happened. As a Creator mental health is hard to protect, when finances aren’t meeting basic needs or fulfilling your role like “bread winner”.

How Long Does it Last?

It appears to perhaps last a week? It started on Monday November 5th.

So in my earlier days it would have excited to see such an upswing of new readers:

I mean it looks impressive on paper, it should be impressive right? It might mean I’ll be marginally net positive in November in terms of paid subscribers. Growth plateaued so hard I had to go for paid Sponsorships in a big way, which sort of pisses me off after all the hard work I’ve given the first two years. Functionally, without a break or holiday.

I don’t remember the last weekend I didn’t do at least some work.

I’m not complaining, I love doing this. But I’m realizing that energy is finite and my interests are too varied and eventually I need to focus on one of two publications. Starting a ConvertKit and beehiiv to tinker has also been now part of the journey.

The reality is as a technology writer, if you don’t go viral on Twitter and aren’t valued by credentials like degrees and experience on LinkedIn, you are in the same boat as those culture writers. My success on Medium or LinkedIn Newsletters (before posts even existed) didn’t translate, I had no Email list from a decade + of writing.

The in-between was a Wordpress, that was not growing at all for two years. Granted I’m not the most entertaining or original essayist, more like a breaking news person with an interest in curation, summarization and covering emerging tech more like an enthusiast than like an Op-Ed writer. I know that caps my growth.

Ideally you want to have a business where a Newsletter is just part of the flywheel. I’m still not even sure being a pure-play writer is viable as a Newsletter operator or publisher. And it’s certainly not about quantity and all about quality, and I realize my style of writing and reporting is sort of dated and is becoming redundant as I age along with the readers who are like me.

I’m not interested in writing Op-Ed clickbait and I’m not qualified to talk about AI or future tech in a technical way, so my niche really is limited by my obsession with news reporting while I’m not a journalist or investigative journalist and don’t have the skills, network or ability to be so. So how do I talk about technology and my interests in a way that makes sense to me? And what value could it possibly offer a paid audience?

Having Readers is Nice

So due to the Feature, my publication grew 2,212 readers in five days (an average of 442 a day)! It’s nice having readers, but it still doesn’t solve the unique value proposition you need to offer them that they cannot find elsewhere.

I do offer:

• Community Chat

• A Reddit with a steady stream of articles

• A number of complementary Newsletters related to my topics

• Now I embed more videos directly into the Newsletter

• I break down longer reports

• I summarize breaking news as it occurs

• I cover and profile startups, funding and innovative products related to AI

• I talk about sociological and historical themes like the future of work and AGI

I don’t:

• Have a Podcast

• Write original Op-Eds or Essays (very often)

• I’m not really a Technological Optimist (which would win me more fans if I pretended to be)

• I don’t cover the topics repeatedly that I know would do well (e.g. OpenAI, AGI)

The moral is you need to be unique, original and offer value that your readers and niche cannot find elsewhere. When I started writing about A.I. there were easily under 10 regular AI Newsletters on Substack, now there are likely over 1,500. Many of these are Chat-GPT or AI generated, I’d say at least 15%.

It doesn’t matter how many readers you have, if you aren’t offering something unique. If you do not write with flair, originality and content that’s shareable, you will stagnate with a lower conversion rate that will make it difficult to monetize.

It’s non-negotiable to do so, if you want to survive or even thrive as a writer.

I could do all the research, put in all the work, but if I’m not talented, how far will I go?

At a point of consumer saturation with paid subscriptions and reader saturation with Newsletters, growth doesn’t last forever. This is what forced me to diversify into Sponsorships, think of how else I could serve B2B customers and integrate Ads in a way that would be minimally intrusive yet profitable.

Cost and Benefit of Ads

While the injection of cash that Sponsorships allows has been nice, it’s damaged my business model. It’s slowed down paid subscriptions, and very problematic, it’s increased churn significantly.

As my customer retention has slipped below 70% for the year, it’s literally broken my business model. This means the little money I was able to make via Ads, actually ended up costing me money.

Furthermore as growth has plateaued, now I need to keep doing those Sponsorships just to make ends meet. So you can diversify your business model as a Newsletter, but it might impact growth.

Having Sponsorships multiple times a week also means I have to write more, and hence lower quality articles and hence more churn. It’s not something I’d recommend to others necessarily, since it creates these existential problems and feedback loops.

And it’s certainly nothing that a Substack feature can fix.

There is one possible way perhaps out of the mess, it’s too do a higher percentage of paid locked content, and hope it increases conversions. Doing the majority of content as locked is certainly not the goal I had in mind. But as a business, it seems almost inevitable now.

My free content will need a Sponsor, to be free. I could not afford to go back to my home country. After two years, my bootstrapping hasn’t “paid off”. I’m net negative. This wouldn’t be a big deal if my wife worked, but with her parents having major health issues, she’s not able to.

So I’m stuck in the paid subscriptions trap, it didn’t grow fast enough to support me, but with Ads I can scrape by, but my growth has stalled and it’s and revenue has gone down in the last 90 days.

And how hard I hustle now has no incremental value. My endurance and ability is waning under the grind. But I have no other viable way of generating revenue, I’m not a skilled worker. Especially as a remote worker in a foreign country, my options are limited. I “have” to make this work.

The Email on Being Featured

I have some exciting news to share today: your publication on Substack has been handpicked to feature on Discover in our Substack app, as well as Discover on the web.

A few quick notes:

• Find above our “Featured Publication” graphic for you to use if you wish (some writers like to add them to their about pages, share on social media, or post in our home feed).

• Our featured publications are refreshed every few days. If you do not want your publication to be featured, just let us know and we can remove you at any point.

• Most writers on Substack don’t get the chance to be featured like this, but you can pay forward the opportunity by refreshing your recommendations. That way, readers who discover your work in the coming days will also learn about some of the other great writers on Substack—specifically, fellow writers that you admire.

Very best wishes,

Let’s take a look at my Stats and see where they came from:

Spike in Views on Day 1 of Being Featured

To complicate the stats of this week, I did have an article that performed better than usual, so I got more traffic from Google and unusual sources than usual.

This is traffic since November 20th, till today the end of November 25th:

• New sign-ups from Substack = 2,920

• 71.27% are coming from Substack’s App.

• So doing Notes is still somewhat important.

• If you want to tap into Substack’s existing ecosystem of writers and readers.

Substack.com also had a 52.7% conversion rate of views to sign-ups that is rather high being Featured.

Conversion was even higher of views to sign-ups on the App at 63.5%.

Conversion from Being Featured was Almost Nil

I’ve always suspected that your average Substack writer or reader wasn’t very related to my target audience. And being Featured as really demonstrated this with some data:

I got a grand total of 4 new paid subs (and a flurry of free-trials), from the five days being featured this week.

I got more paid subs just from writing about Sam Altman than I did being featured by Substack. He’s a famous CEO of a famous AI startup called OpenAI who made ChatGPT.

What’s Left for me to Do?

• I need to explore paid acquisitions (stuff like Rewind or Twitter Ads or beehiiv Boosts).

• That is, I need to re-invest the meagre revenue I generated on Substack back into my Substack to grow faster. Churn and customer retention is low now if I don’t doe this, my publication will likely die out.

• So the boost-strapping isn’t even over after 2 years. Savings depleted but even the money I make, well some of it needs to go back into the business.

• I need to explore more serious “business collabs” to make recurring revenue, like “exclusive-partnerships” with startups and AI products in my space. This is probably the most viable course of action given what I write about.

I need to Improve Quality

• LinkedIn Newsletter

• Focus on fewer Substack Newsletters

• Decide whether to continue the ConvertKit Newsletter (that hasn’t really grown fast enough)

• Improve the quality of my articles (so not 6 a week on a single publication!)

• I need to improve business sense and strategy, since monetization is not a choice in my case, it’s a necessity to feed my family.

• I need to Network more with Newsletter insiders, agencies and perhaps find a mentor.

Consider how difficult all of this is would you, it’s not as if I haven’t found any success on Substack. It’s not Substack’s fault per se either, it’s clearly my lack of talent and lack of original content.

But is it enough to live? Well yes and no. As a minimalist I can “live” on almost anything. But it’s about only one half of a “living wage”, and after housing inflation, it’s a non-starter if I ever want to go back to Canada, I’d instantly have to find a real job.

I love that I was featured, and I often wondered why it never happend to me before. But given my mental health, financial squeeze, depleted savings and low morale, I just wish circumstances were different that I could enjoy it more.

I’ll try to be more regular on this Newsletter with some actual tips and news about the big picture. Just lately, I’ve been in survival mode with revenues declining freaking out.

“Look I know media isn’t an easy business and I’m neither a talented writer or talented creator. I had moments where I thought I would make it. But also moments where I nearly reached my limit. It’s not just a grind, it’s that you need to choose your battles because your opportunities and windows for growth may be temporary and fleeting. Nobody is going to tell you that.”

Failure is always a last resort. And God knows, I’ve failed before.

Hey Guys,

So I’ve been trying to ‘build in public’ with regards to my Newsletter Creator journey. I’ve made a few videos that might interest you.

Follow Substack Growth on YouTube

I’m obviously not an expert, but I am someone who is actually doing it full-time.

Creating these videos is my Vlogging in public that is more like a secret journaling project. I added a few clickbait titles for amusement (mostly because YouTube’s algorithm is lame):

How I become a Top #50 Paid Newsletter in Technology in 14 Months

As I hustle and grind and try to get out of poverty as a Creator on an internet where there’s hardly any “Creator Middle Class”, I wanted to also cover my own personal wins.

If maybe these insights can help some others along the way, that’s a value add. If you don’t like my voice and very low-end videography skills, I won’t fault you either.

How I made $2.5k on Substack in the Last 2 Weeks

Why I was Substack's Biggest Skeptic and Critic

It’s important for me personally to try to be transparent about my process and journey thus far.

How I grew my Newsletter revenue by $1,000 in a Single Day

It’s also one of those “if I can do it you can do it too” sort of things, in my opinion. I’m not exactly good at business, marketing or self-promotion. I usually fall flat.

Share

What is Substack's Philosophy in a Nutshell?

But I also wanted to create some kind of existential Substack Testimonial, because I like many elements of what Substack is trying to do vs. algorithms and vs. Advertising.

These little videos are supposed to be secret, but maybe someone out there needs to hear them, as disjointed and raw as they are.

Why Envy Holds you Back as a Newsletter Writer

Growth Hack to Leverage Targeted Traffic of Recommendations

Anyways let me know if you found any of this useful or interesting.

Leave a comment

We’re all just figuring it out as we go along really. And there’s nothing wrong with that. This Newsletter may be on hiatus as I deal with you know, my other 15 Newsletters.

Thanks!

With all the buzz about Newsletters and Email marketing there’s another form of community that’s much more engaging, and it’s SMS texting.

In my explorations of the Creator Economy and while I am using Substack, I thought might as well get to learn more about Subtext.

This is joinsubtext.com

Subtext is a texting platform that has quietly scaled very well globally that connects you directly with your subscribers free from the chaos of social media and clutter of email. (their pitch)

I was lucky enough that its founder Michael Donogue was kind enough to give me some of his time. For the interview I encouraged him just to go off on tangents and really explore the value proposition.

As Creators we need to explore all of our options in how we engage with followers and build community. The obvious con of SMS is that it’s more expensive but the obvious pro is that it has a sky high open-rate. So it’s great for huge influencers, celebrities or super-fans like sports and music fans.

I am pretty bullish about the space since it’s also less cluttered and competitive as compared to how Newsletter platforms now must fight for influencers, social proof and features. With Web3 on the way, promising to give even more of the revenue earned back to the Creators, things will get interesting.

SMS marketing is not to be ignored, especially for live-events, AMA and real engagement of super-fans. I can see many implications of it and as they reach scale they can tweak the costs for Creators of different sizes. Substack puts a lot of emphasis on discussion threads, but what is more personal than a one to one text or the entertainment of an event with an exclusive backstage pass where text is more intimate?

It’s not just Email and Podcasts, it’s other forms of SMS too, like texting and micro communities as I covered Geneva the other day. For media professionals and journalists developing a personal brand, all channels must be diversified. If I’m a super follower of someone on Substack, I want to know the second they publish something new or are holding a unique #AMA.

I always want to push Substack to think harder about their product. What is a “Substack” for creators, without SMS? I am not quite sure. Essentially its a business model that’s relatively easy to copy and clone, without the ideological baggage and Medium-like promises. While promises can be a marketing hook, the reality of early-stage Creators is grim and discovery and scalability are immense challenges.

As the internet keeps evolving its ownership economy, whether that’s on Roblox or in VR, all of these other channels like Email, platforms and SMS will be important to create added layers of value both for audiences but for different monetization structures as well.

Even Meta is thinking of installing more paid subscriptions around its products of flagship Facebook and Instagram. This as Apple is disrupting its advertising business, and even Amazon and Microsoft get into digital advertising more seriously (including also Apple itself).

Many products have claimed to be able to disrupt Email, but it remains a staple of our digital lives, but not necessarily a successful channel. Churn is high and open-rates plummet. SMS and texting are far more immediate with open rates usually above 95%.

If you are a serious Creator, when you think of your stack of tools to promote your personal brand and build a core following, you cannot just rely on Newsletters or your favorite social media app. This is especially true once you begin to scale. Substack recommendations are not enough, the top Substack Creators have armies of tools and growth-marketers at their disposal as well as the majority of the traffic of peer recommendations.

Michael and Subtext reminded me that there is a whole other world out there. That perhaps SMS and texting can help Newsletter creations accelerate traction and be yet another revenue source in their tool-kit of streams of revenue with a relatively strong value proposition.

SMS Texting Platforms have a Serious Value Prop

The Creator Economy largely ignores the reality of text-messaging, but GenZ live on their phones. Not presumably to check their Emails many times a day. But instead, to react to the internet as an immersive real-time experience that connects them with the people and topics that matter.

Leave a comment

On Linked Mike talks about #creators, #leadership, #smsmarketing, #creatoreconomy, and #startupfounders.

This was not a sponsored post, just a founder that agreed to be interviewed due to my own insatiable curiosity. It turns out, Subtext is a bigger startup than I had ever imagined with product-market fit in ways that shocked and surprised me.

Learn more

I’m a huge fan of early-stage Substack creators, even more so if they are GenZ. They are so creator-native.

I got lucky! Jakob is all of these things.

Jakob has a very personal-tone rich Newsletter with a background in Finance and economics.

I had a chance to catch up with him recently in August, 2022 and I had a great time and got some valuable info on macroeconomics and Newsletter tactics. I wasn’t easy on him, I tried to ask him difficult questions on the recession and so forth.

I hope someone out there finds value in it too.

Rapid Fire on the Global Economy and ESG Trends

https://twitter.com/JakobLinderBlog

I like how he covers Green Tech, ESG, wealth inequality and related themes in his Newsletter with a laid pack easy-reading sort of feel.

Money Buzz

Simplifying the world of finance through some "top-notch" humor! Subscribe to get an “awesome knuckle touch” from yours truly!

By Jakob Linder

I had an incredible time trying to “rapid-fire” interview him on a wild range of topics.

• I’m trying to interview more GenZ and early-stage creators to understand their motivations for building a Newsletter on Substack and to understand better their Creator journey.

While I cannot afford the time, I will keep doing this as a kind of volunteer work for or as my contribution to Substack’s community (however small it may be).

Jakob is a prolific author of really good blog posts and Newsletter updates, some of my favorites are:

Money Buzz

Consumerism is Tiring

An Introduction – Personal Anecdote Perhaps I am turning into an old man (at the ripe age of 22 years old), but consumerism is tiring. I came to the realization while going for a morning walk around Colonial Williamsburg (CW). On this walk, I listened to a baseball podcast while trying to get my mind off things. It did not take long till I felt overwhelm…

Read more

4 years ago · 3 likes · 1 comment · Jakob Linder

Money Buzz

Recession? Yes! Recession? Wait no!

The U.S. economy has yet to face its biggest recession challenge - Jeff Cox Can we escape a recession? Who knows. It is incredibly hard to predict a recession and there is no doubt about that. This is incredibly true as Jeff Cox points out, “There is no historical precedent…

Read more

4 years ago · 6 likes · Jakob Linder

Money Buzz

Buy Now, Pay Never

#1 - Buy Now, Pay Never The more that I look into it, the more that “buy now, pay later” services scare me. I am not alone in thinking this as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is currently looking into it. For context, the financial crisis of 2007-2008 led to the creation of the…

Read more

4 years ago · 6 likes · 1 comment · Jakob Linder

See you next time.

If you want to support my tips and creator interviews, you can do so here:

Subscribe now

I am trying to be of service to the community and other early-stage Newsletter writers I’ve met along the way. I engage actively with other writers on Twitter, LinkedIn and even TikTok, Reddit and Discord.

While my primary interest is non-fiction Substacks, I’m happy to interview anyone, as each Creator has a story to spotlight. In my humble journey trying to set up interview times, I’ve found early-stage creators (my peers) tend to be more responsive.

Of the course of these “Creator Encounters” I’ve become to realize it’s the “underdogs” that makes Substack feel the most authentic.

I’m also trying to understand the tools Creators are using and thus interview founders who have a tool for Creators to help them scale better.

So what this turns out as, is just by being a Creator on Substack, I’m exploring my network on LinkedIn, Twitter and elsewhere in a fundamentally different way that’s more pro-social rather than algorithmic.

Every week I reach out to 5 to 10 different creators to offer them an interview. Few reply, scheduling is tough, and my efforts are barely seen, but I get SO MUCH from doing this. It’s intrinsically rewarding for my own mental health as a Creator. All that being said:

I’m noticing an uptick on GenZ Creators, Creators from Instagram and YouTube migrating on to Substack and momentum of course in Finance and Economics.

I have a tremendous respect for builders as well as Creators. I really lucked out when I stumbled upon Matt, an early-stage builder in the Substack ecosystem.

If you prefer text-to-audio listen on the iOS app.

Read Creator Economy Tips in the Substack app

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Get the app

He is building a tool that can save us a lot of time. I’m really enjoying tinkering on it and scheduling posts that saves me time and effort.

Like many writers, I really dislike some social media channels. If Substack even did some of the marketing for me, I would not mind.

N2S has led me to the surprising conclusion that my Newsletter should have its own brand, in addition to my personal brand as a writer. Why is that? It’s because it compounds my presence online.

But ah, and ugh, how to handle all those pesky accounts?

If we are busy writing a Utopian Novel or whatever the case may be, who wants to do all that marketing? Could an RSS feed and post scheduler help?

Does your Newsletter have its own Social Media?

For me, I’m vaguely aware that our Newsletters should have their own “business account” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. What if you didn’t have to do anything and the RSS feed could automatically go to those accounts like a Flipboard?

Here are basic examples of my Newsletter accounts:

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

Mostly when we manage our “personal brand”, we know being active on social channels can help. It is debatable of course how much it helps.

The Novelleist

Yes, artists need social media

I recently saw an artist performing on the street. We were at an ice cream shop and there were maybe a dozen of us listening to her singing and playing the guitar as we ate. She had a beautiful voice so I asked if she had a TikTok account so I could follow her, but she said “sorry, I’m really bad at social media…

Read more

4 years ago · 66 likes · 37 comments · Elle Griffin

However writers still need a social presence I’d argue! Even if actual free subscribers don’t flow from the walled gardens, a viral post on LinkedIn or a viral Tweet can still go a long ways.

While for me personally the immediate value prop of N2S is for our Newsletter accounts, the tool offers glimmers of real utility and great potential for post automation.

Why N2S Post Scheduling Tool is on my Radar

N2S is even better though, you can pull quotes, images and even controversial hooks from your posts automatically to create scheduled posts with a lot of personality, a pleasing design and very easily. If Substack is about the Email channel, it’s only natural that a wide range of third party developers would get in on the action!

So let’s say you rarely actually sign-in to your Twitter or Instagram or LinkedIn account but as a writer still want a presence there? Where you don’t think there is synergy with the audience, but still want to share just in case? How could I do that in the least amount of time possible?

This tool is perfect for the busy writer or Creator that does not have the time or inclination to hang out on social media doing marketing. I’m actively testing it, because writers deserve to spend less time on marketing, sales and technology - more time on Writing, community building, interviewing, podcasting, and so forth!

Matt is not only a talented builder but very easy to talk to about his product and its various use-cases, for which there are several.

If you care about Substack, it’s worth engaging with his tool to make it even better for the community!

I wanted to share this with my small and humble audience so he could do a demo.

Matt has a day job at Stripe, which is our provider at Substack so there’s a lot of synergy here. There are a lot of post schedulers on the market, but none that specializes in helping Substack writers.

The Win-Win Mentality Is Important Here

If Substack thrives, it benefits not only our audience, but writers and builders (e.g. developers) who find ways to augment the community and our engagement as Creators. Just like Newsletter peer niche recommendations, the more we collaborate, the better it is in a win-win for everyone.

While N2S works with RSS, you can also customize your own campaigns based on your most recent free articles via the tool. You can create image or text posts in seconds, which you can send to:

• Your Facebook author’s page

• Your Twitter feed

• Your Newsletter’s Twitter account

• An embed of your latest article in a LinkedIn post

• An image or image quote to Instagram

• I believe eventually he’ll integrate Pinterest and perhaps others.

I covered Matt Krager’s tool in a text post here:

Creator Economy Tips

What is N2S the Substack Post Scheduler?

Image credit: Matt Kragger’s Instagram. Hey Guys, As some of you know I’m extremely interested in early-stage Creators especially as it pertains to Substack’s community. I’m primarily interested in non-fiction categories and writers who bring their talents that might be valuable to professionals (i.e. LinkedIn’s audience). I’m trying to get to know and …

Read more

4 years ago · 4 likes · 1 comment · Michael Spencer

Substack “Builders” Are Stepping up

Let’s support early-stage Creators and builders! It’s in their motivations, ideas and perspectives that the use-case of Substack becomes a lot more refreshing and vivid.

Please test out N2S and let this builder know how he brings value to the community and how he can improve it. It could benefit a lot of writers.

Got to admire the solo-entrepreneurs who want to help an ecosystem.

Matt is incredibly hard-working, humble and easy to work with trying to be of service to a wide variety of Writers across all categories on Substack.

Check it out:

https://newslettertosocials.com/

As you know I’m super curious about early-stage Creators on Substack.

I don’t know why, but I had this super authentic feeling with Christine’s Newsletter and her approach to communicating.

I thought perhaps her past and personality had something to do with this, so I asked her for an interview, and luckily she accepted.

I don’t edit my videos or make them into podcasts, I like that unedited feeling of just talking to someone.

Both Christine and I hope that if this dialogue helps someone else out there, our job is done. Even just one person.

Christine’s Newsletter

Let's take your inbox on a newsletter adventure.

Every Friday, she sends a 1-2 minute insight email on:

‣ How I made a career change from strength coach to copywriter.

‣ Life of a freelance copywriter in a magical marketing company.

‣ Sharing 7+ years of experience and formal education as a strength coach for competitive powerlifters and the everyday athletes.

‣ How I’m overcoming challenges as a non-gifted writer while working full time as a copywriter.

Come along and join the wacky adventure!

She lives in Calgary and I’m in Montreal, so this was also valuable for me to talk to another Canadian freelance writer.

She’s been writing on Substack for about 6 weeks.

Her audience is also other writers, including her friends, and freelance writers or creators.

For the most part I find creators who inspire other writers pretty empowering and also endearing! And Christine certainly didn’t disappoint.

Some Of what we Covered:

• Ghost vs. Substack, why she switched.

• Her pivot into freelancing and copy-writing.

• How she has experienced growth in her first 1.5 months on Substack

• How she started her Newsletter, and writing as if it were a 1:1 journal type vibe

• How she views the future of her personal brand

• How the Creator Economy is also about networking, collaborating and constant learning

• How she settled on Twitter as her “home base” among many other social networks

• How she likes to tell stories in her approach to Newsletters

• How it’s more about a quality vs. a quantity audience

Early Stage Creators Teach us a lot

I found myself extremely humbled by her approach to things, her ideas and her enthusiasm for her new career path.

It was an extremely enlightening interview for me, which is what I like about interviewing early-stage Creators, you feel that raw quality that drives them and their natural instincts of how they write and how they share.

You can follow Christine on Twitter here. Her LinkedIn is here.

If you are open to being interviewed by me, please kindly DM me or comment on one of my posts.

Christine also had a lot of good things to say about Substack vs. her previous experiences.

If you want to support my humble efforts at community or on Substack, can you do so here.

I hope you guys can continue to support community, other creators and builders.

Subscribe now

Hey Everyone,

I recently participated in a lively discussion on Twitter. As Substack now feels more like a landing page for Creators than a Newsletter platform, I wanted to get your opinions on who you think are Substack’s real competitors out there?

Substack now has targeted recommendations, podcasting mass adoption, community management and more scalability if you are able to grow your free subscriptions well. You can further get Sponsored Ad deals with major brands related to your niche to supplement your revenue growth providing a double-stream side gig. If you build courses around your niche, that’s a triple revenue-stream in the “ownership economy”.

I’m no expert in Email marketing or Creator platforms, but: (perhaps you know of better candidates?)

Here is a shortlist of potential candidates:

Tier 1:

• Ghost

• Medium

• Twitter Notes

• LinkedIn Newsletters

• Facebook Bulletin

• Apple (TBA)

• Reddit (TBA)

Tier 2:

• Mailchimp

• Every.to

• HackerNoon

• Mirror.xyz

• Patreon

• Revue

• Wordpress (Automattic)

• ConvertKit

• Pinterest (TBA)

Tier 3:

• Buzzsprout (podcasts)

• Captivate (podcasts)

• Buy Me a Coffee (monetization)

• Podia (monetization)

• Memberful (Subscriptions)

• Ko-Fi (donations and monetization)

• Moment (Pre-Launch, “Crypto of Patreon”)

• Quora

• Jianshu (China)

Audience Picks (suggested from comments):

• beehiiv

Answer considerations and ideas:

I’d love to hear your opinions on this for Creator landing pages, blogging, Email features, segmentation, scalability, monetization, datacentric analytics, UI, user-centricity, readership base, discovery, community building, customer support, ease of use, SEO and so forth.

If this specific questions doesn’t appeal or apply to you:

Discussion Prompt: Alternatively, why did you join Substack and is it working for you?

Jacob was a fellow Creator who I met in Substack Grow, I noticed in the Zoom chats that he was pretty confident. After looking into his work I understand why.

This guy is a beast, he’s one of the leading voices on Substack in Gaming with a specialization in E-sports.

With nearly 90k followers on Twitter (@JacobWolf)

His Newsletter in E-sports has a slant in investigative journalism best practices and breaking news, with tons of original reporting. Let me just say that it’s far easier to make it on Substack as a political journalist rather than a technology journalist.

The Jacob Wolf Report

An inside and often investigative look at gaming, esports and the people and companies that drive the industry.

Jacob is part of a new breed of #GenZ writer I’m noticing on Substack that have serious pursuits elsewhere, whether it be YouTube, TikTok or Podcasting or Game streaming.

One of the most memorable dialogues I had with Jacob was about Twitter’s woefully low CTR. This means you can go “viral” on Twitter and not get as many link clicks to your work vs. the number of impressions as some other networks.

If you also came to Substack without a huge Email list, you know how hard it is to grow from scratch.

That being said, Jacob has years of investigative journalism as ESPN, a credible reputation and a deep network in the journalism community.

“Wolf is a walking encyclopedia — not only of esports, but of the entertainment and media industry in general.” — Digiday

“Wolf owns a reputation as one of the leading news breakers in the world of esports, where information is typically tightly controlled.” — The Washington Post

“Wolf has been a super star for quite some time” — Esports Heaven

His social Proof is super strong. His recommendation from the top Sports Newsletter has enabled him to grow relatively quickly.

Huddle Up

A daily newsletter breaking down the business and money behind sports.

By Joseph Pompliano

Austin based Jacob Wolf is also the Founder of Overcome.

Check out his Podcast

Click to listen.

Jacob obviously has a super personal brand and a lot of ambition, grit and a high-value niche. If anyone can make it on Substack, it’s him.

Gaming has a problem. No one asks the hard questions. "Visionaries" is a new twice-weekly interview show hosted by former ESPN, award-winning investigative journalist Jacob Wolf. Wolf will welcome on the most powerful in gaming, from executives atop multi-billion dollar companies, influencers with millions of followers, and athletes and musicians who are integrating gaming further into consumer culture. No question is off the table. Live every Monday and Wednesday on Twitter at @overcome, with audio-on-demand available the next day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Starting July 25, 2022.

Jacob seemed very dialed into the entrepnreural mind-set.

He talks about #esports, #journalism, #sportsbusiness, and #investigativejournalism, among other things.

Twitter Spaces

He’s yet another Substack Creator who is going the route of integrating with Twitter Spaces.

Jacob also has not shied away from uncovering some of the problematic cultural aspects of the Gaming industry such as financial scams, sexual abuse, and the big business aspects of roster transactions within E-sports.

Substack Thread Discussions

Jacob also leverages thread discussions, and discount offers in the welcome Email. So he’s amped up to create a readership but also foster a community. He’s found that he’s also a top of the funnel entry to readers and audiences who may not know much about the E-sports world. (as if often the case with people over 35).

My honest talk with Jacob also reminded me how early we still are in Substack’s efforts to grow its audience and niches. Gaming, E-sports and Sports in general is just getting started on the platform.

Here is his latest Discussion thread:

https://www.jacobwolf.report/p/gaming-toxicity-where-does-it-come/comments

Jacob Wolf Pioneer in the Gaming Category

Jacob is one of the most serious writers in the Gaming, E-Sports and intersection with Technology and Sports.

#Gaming isn’t a easily found category without a discover page. I have the same issue with my #MachineLearning backend category.

Jacob has changed his writing style to adapt to the top-of-the-funnel (more broad) audience he’s attracting to Substack from Twitter and his own audience across channels.

I’m the youngest talent the company (ESPN) has ever hired. (on being hired at 19).

We talked about the challenge of doing original reporting on a high-octane frequency.

• Jacob is working on Podcasting, documentaries, production, videography (50 hours a week) with Overcome.

• He started his Substack in April, 2022. (Around 20 hours a week). 3 Months in.

• So he just launched Overcome and The Jacob Wolf Report.

• He publishes on a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday Schedule.

• His Breaking News stuff will never be paywalled. (due to aggregation)

Top Posts on Jacob Wolf Report Early 2022

Top Posts

The Jacob Wolf Report

Flashpoint dead as members walk away from competitive Counter-Strike

Nine months after the sports world shut down amid the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020, a series of top esports players, commentators and staff flew to London. That November, with the virus outlook improving, the crew behind Flashpoint hoped that they could get back on track. Within two weeks, their worst fear became a real…

Read more

4 years ago · 1 like · Jacob Wolf

The Jacob Wolf Report

Activision Blizzard Is Owed Approximately $400 Million in Franchise Payments for Overwatch, Call of Duty Leagues

Activision Blizzard is still owed between $390 and $420 million in franchise payments from teams participating in the Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues after it deferred payments for two years as COVID-19 relief, league sources told The Jacob Wolf Report…

Read more

4 years ago · 1 like · Jacob Wolf

Substack Network

• Jacob mentioned how different interests play off of each other from an audience standpoint. e.g. Mainstream sports and E-sports.

• Emerging trends: e.g. MMA and E-Sports.

• Not just about Niche traffic, but intersectional interests.

GenZ, YouTube and Gaming Emergence

Jacob went into some detail about how the Creator Economy is growing up as Gaming and E-Sports is growing up as well.

League of Legends World Championship is watched by 30 million people. Yet E-Sports is still a huge hardcore niche within the Gaming audience.

Patreon has good synergy with E-Sports. Substack is not very well known for GenZ audiences.

Substack has room to grow in the Gaming industry.

Gaming doesn’t have hyper success gaming influencer journalists.

Substack would perhaps have to improve its partnerships, marketing, SEO credibility. Jacob mentioned they could be doing more multi-platform marketing. e.g. Discord integration.

Anyways Jacob is an incredibly serious Creator on Substack and had a lot of tips for us with regarding how to grow better. He mentioned:

• Subreddits (Reddit)

• Discord benefits (a community he’s built up)

• Twitter can be abysmal (is a News platform but terrible link click rates)

• 3+ million impressions, but only 16k link clicks.

• Go to where people are more involved and actively engaged with your niche.

• How to choose the right price point on Substack

Jacob was an incredibly unique guest to interview and I’m very grateful that he generously gave me some of his time.

Please check out his work:

The Jacob Wolf Report

An inside and often investigative look at gaming, esports and the people and companies that drive the industry.

A lot of us are really hustling on Substack and as we all know growth a the beginning is the hardest part.

Thanks for listening and reading!

If you want to support my enthusiasm, interviews, tweets on Substack and time, or get access to my Substack tips, feel free to support.

Subscribe now

As you know, I’m super interested in early-stage Creators, even more so when they are part of the new wave. As GenZ enters the workforce they are changing the future of digital.

So I really lucked out to bump into Alex Ha. We spoke on July 15th, 2022.

I really wanted to task Alex Ha about the Venture Capital perspective on the Creator Economy and YouTube.

His articles on Creators Lab are already fairly cerebral and insightful summaries.

Creators Lab 📸

Demystifying the Creator Economy, Distributing Weekly on Mondays

By Alex Ha

Talking with Alex Ha coincided in me finding a wave of YouTube creators who have also have created Substack accounts to round out their presence online and give themselves another revenue stream.

Currently the most common influencers are from:

1. Twitter

2. Instagram

3. LinkedIn

4. YouTube

5. TikTok

The Creator Economy is about niche following but also about the kind of attachments we form to online personalities who mirror us and our interests, inspire us to be better versions of ourselves and those whose stories we want to follow week by week.

Alex has a good way of describing GenZ attachment to personal brands and what it means as the future of the Creator Economy scales.

If you enjoyed this video, give it a like and follow the Creator in Spotlight.

• Check out the archives from The Creator Lab.

• Stay tuned for more YouTube and TikTok creators making Substacks, trend with an uptick in 2022, to build relationships with their fanbase and create new community development diversification.

• For example, Internet Princess now writes essays on mental health.

internet princess

writing to make you feel crazier & writing to make you feel sane

By rayne fisher-quann

GenZ is showing the Creator Economy isn’t just about entertainment but new modes of freedom of expression in the personal brand’s creativity.

Don’t forget the Substack Grow I lessons of growing a Substack.

First 1000

How founders got their first 1000 customers?

By Ali Abouelatta

Anyways guys I’ll do my best to interview Creators that can give us new insights and points of view of the early-stage game of starting a Substack.

Thanks for reading and listening.

Subscribe now

This video is intended to be listened to as a podcast, or video on Substack’s app.

Today on July 6th, 2022 I took some time off writing to speak with Tobias Jensen.

This is the second of a two part video interview.

• To watch part 1, go here (the link will be updated).

Futurist Lawyer

I was excited to talk to him to pitch him Substack since he’s also a futurist like I am. He had just started a Mailchimp for his website work on Hacker Noon and Medium. I’m really passionate about early-stage creators, so this was a golden opportunity for me.

I wanted to discover his perspective organically without knowing too much about him to begin with.

Tobias is based (Linkedin profile) out of Copenhagen, Denmark and as it turns out is an environmental writer as well. His insights into the legal and regulatory aspects of Web3 and A.I. truly fascinates me.

• We had 2 consecutive recorded zoom calls, once of which we only recorded half.

• While I tried to keep it about Newsletter writing, we covered a lot of tangents.

He currently writes:

• On Hacker Noon

• Medium

• Mirror

• Mailchimp

• His website.

https://futuristiclawyer.com/

He did a similar thing on Hacker Noon, here.

I have a law degree from the University of Copenhagen, where I specialized in IP, contracts, GDPR, and IT law. In my daily life, I work as a legal advisor and I also have a solid background in sales and business development. (source)

My mission is to become an influential voice in the tech space within the next three years. I will do that by posting regularly, while I dig deeper and deeper into the subject matter of the emerging technological landscape. - Futuristic Lawyer

He’s going to try:

• Substack (placeholder):

• LinkedIn

• Others

Web3 Blogging and Battle of the Ecosystems

I really enjoy hearing his perspective about the state of blogging about Web3 and his more ethical passions about the sort of content on A.I. regulation and the Environment he wants to create.

Imposter syndrome

We spoke at length about the trials and tribulations of developing a personal brand, playing marketing games and the problem of imposter syndrome which I found really genuine and that I could relate to.

Can you relate to having imposter syndrome?

Leave a comment

His Futuristic Lawyer branding is actually very good.

Although I call my website “futuristiclawyer”, I consider myself more of a humanist, than a futurist. I am interested in the psychological, philosophical, and social considerations that comes with new technological frameworks such as AI, Bitcoin, Web 3.0/Metaverse, Big Tech etc. Hopefully, my writings can provide clarity, depth, and new angles to common knowledge, and help the reader understand the world better, and to make better investments with time and money. - Futuristic Lawyer (about page)

In early July he was not sure how much of his time he would focus on Substack.

Writers developing a Personal brand

Part of the issue for many of us as indie bloggers is to scale our influence on the new algorithmic internet and in the existing limitations of the Creator Economy, many of which are algorithmic and social media network based.

His Substack Launched

Update:

The Nine-Times Gap

Elaborating on the Need for Futuristic Thinkers

"High tech runs three-times faster than normal businesses, and the government runs three-times slower than normal businesses. So, we have a nine-times gap" - Former CEO of Intel, Andrew Grove “Some of us continue to have old-fashioned careers in the twenty-first century— we are doctors, professors, lawyers, and truck drivers. Yet the main economy is now d…

Read more

4 years ago · 2 likes · 2 comments · Futuristic Lawyer

• Tobias did express a keen interest to monetize his content.

• Why as early-stage creators are we so guilty, timid and almost reluctant to think we don’t deserve to be paid for our expertise, time, entertainment value and educational material? (This question hounded me after speaking with him)

All of this takes courage and experimenting to find what works best for us. Making a business and marketing plan makes is more concrete.

We will have to catch up with Tobias later in 2022 or in early 2023.

I’m Passionate about Creator Encounters with Early Stage Creators interested in Substack’s Potential

What I want to build: genuine dialogue and spotlights

I’m hoping to find more Substack writers to interview, I take a very casual and amateur approach to interviewing.

• I’m hoping to speak with a wide variety of Creators, writers and people from all over the world and with niche content in any domain! I’m mostly interviewing non-fiction and more business related early-stage Substack creators from Substack Grow and other channels.

• I really want to Spotlight new early-stage creators, but also learn about them personally. I enjoy unpacking what inspires Creators and how they want to build community and how they want their content to impact others.

If interested, you can comment on this post or DM me on LinkedIn or Twitter. No pressure though, this Newsletter only has a total audience of a little bit over 100 free subscribers.

Today on July 6th, 2022 I took some time off writing to speak with Tobias Jensen.

This is the first part of a two part video interview.

• To watch part 2, go here (the link will be updated).

Futurist Lawyer

I was excited to talk to him to pitch him Substack since he’s also a futurist like I am. He had just started a Mailchimp for his website work on Hacker Noon and Medium. I’m really passionate about early-stage creators, so this was a golden opportunity for me.

I wanted to discover his perspective organically without knowing too much about him to begin with.

Tobias is based (Linkedin profile) out of Copenhagen, Denmark and as it turns out is an environmental writer as well. His insights into the legal and regulatory aspects of Web3 and A.I. truly fascinates me.

• We had 2 consecutive recorded zoom calls, once of which we only recorded half.

• While I tried to keep it about Newsletter writing, we covered a lot of tangents.

He currently writes:

• On Hacker Noon

• Medium

• Mirror

• Mailchimp

• His website.

  https://futuristiclawyer.com/

He did a similar thing on Hacker Noon, here.

I have a law degree from the University of Copenhagen, where I specialized in IP, contracts, GDPR, and IT law. In my daily life, I work as a legal advisor and I also have a solid background in sales and business development. (source)

My mission is to become an influential voice in the tech space within the next three years. I will do that by posting regularly, while I dig deeper and deeper into the subject matter of the emerging technological landscape. - Futuristic Lawyer

He’s going to try:

• Substack (placeholder):

• LinkedIn

• Others

Web3 Blogging and Battle of the Ecosystems

I really enjoy hearing his perspective about the state of blogging about Web3 and his more ethical passions about the sort of content on A.I. regulation and the Environment he wants to create.

Imposter syndrome

We spoke at length about the trials and tribulations of developing a personal brand, playing marketing games and the problem of imposter syndrome which I found really genuine and that I could relate to.

Can you relate to having imposter syndrome?

Leave a comment

His Futuristic Lawyer branding is actually very good.

Although I call my website “futuristiclawyer”, I consider myself more of a humanist, than a futurist. I am interested in the psychological, philosophical, and social considerations that comes with new technological frameworks such as AI, Bitcoin, Web 3.0/Metaverse, Big Tech etc. Hopefully, my writings can provide clarity, depth, and new angles to common knowledge, and help the reader understand the world better, and to make better investments with time and money. - Futuristic Lawyer (about page)

In early July he was not sure how much of his time he would focus on Substack.

Writers developing a Personal brand

Part of the issue for many of us as indie bloggers is to scale our influence on the new algorithmic internet and in the existing limitations of the Creator Economy, many of which are algorithmic and network based.

His Substack Launched

Update:

The Nine-Times Gap

Elaborating on the Need for Futuristic Thinkers

"High tech runs three-times faster than normal businesses, and the government runs three-times slower than normal businesses. So, we have a nine-times gap" - Former CEO of Intel, Andrew Grove “Some of us continue to have old-fashioned careers in the twenty-first century— we are doctors, professors, lawyers, and truck drivers. Yet the main economy is now d…

Read more

4 years ago · 2 likes · 2 comments · Futuristic Lawyer

• Tobias did express a keen interest to monetize his content.

• Why as early-stage creators are we so guilty, timid and almost reluctant to think we don’t deserve to be paid for our expertise, time, entertainment value and educational material? (This question hounded me after speaking with him)

All of this takes courage and experimenting to find what works best for us. Making a business and marketing plan makes is more concrete.

We will have to catch up with Tobias later in 2022 or in early 2023.

I’m Passionate about Creator Encounters with Early Stage Creators interested in Substack’s Potential

What I want to build: genuine dialogue and spotlights

I’m hoping to find more Substack writers to interview, I take a very casual and amateur approach to interviewing.

• I’m hoping to speak with a wide variety of Creators, writers and people from all over the world and with niche content in any domain! I’m mostly interviewing non-fiction and more business related early-stage Substack creators from Substack Grow and other channels.

• I really want to Spotlight new early-stage creators, but also learn about them personally. I enjoy unpacking what inspires Creators and how they want to build community and how they want their content to impact others.

If interested, you can comment on this post or DM me on LinkedIn or Twitter. No pressure though, this Newsletter only has hardly over 100 free subscribers.

Source: Flickr

Hey Guys,

I’m in the Substack Grow cohort of 2022, and I have this insatiable curiosity about early stage creators, especially at it pertains to Substack.

Creator Encounter is a new column here that will be those videos. Super grateful to Alicia for giving me some of her time on Friday, June 24th, 2022.

In the 30-min informal talk, we talk about starting a Newsletter, life, creativity and Substack’s potential for human connection. She had so many good stories that she threw into this interview, it was unbelievable.

Alicia Kenworthy is a freelancer, Storyteller and Performer (stand-up comedy). @aliciakenworthy

Alicia was such an incredible guest that led me down a labyrinth of her creator motivations, influences, interests in fiction, and nuggets on the wisdom of her unique experience.

Join Catalectic

 “Catalectic, a Substack borne from a love for literature and an easily distractible mind.”

Catalectic

Welcome to 'Catalectic'!

… is anybody out there? Welcome to Catalectic: a newsletter for people who read fiction, or at least like the thought of themselves reaching fiction? In other words — broadly speaking — “thoughts i…

Read more

4 years ago · 9 likes · 4 comments · Alicia Kenworthy

Catalectic, is such a good Newsletter name! We also in the video discuss why she choose this name!

Catalectic

A newsletter for people who like to read fiction -- or at least, like the idea of themselves reading fiction.

By Alicia Kenworthy

AK’s Newsletter feels to me like a writer writer’s work, deliberate, well-crafted, autobiographical and intimate.

I was so amused when she said this “line” to me live:

A newsletter for people who like to read fiction -- or at least, like the idea of themselves reading fiction.

Because I’m one of those people!

I Interview Early Stage Creators

Anyways guys, I hope the video is valuable to someone out there. Please support early stage Creators on Substack as our enthusiasm for their work can give them validation, motivation and energy for their courage of starting something new.

Her emphasis of creating quality over quantity, really stood out to me.

There are so many ways our lives can touch the lives and mind space of other people. There’s never been such a good time to start a Substack, and you just never know where it will lead you.

What is Substack Grow?

Alicia and I are fellow Substack Grow participants in the summer of 2022.

Substack Grow is a crash course for writers ready to pursue independence by building a loyal readership and kickstarting paid subscriptions. Substack Grow is a series of six workshops for writers who want to grow. It covers the essential knowledge writers need to grow their readership and paid subscriptions on Substack.

I was lucky enough to get accepted into the Summer edition of 2022, which I believe is the 2nd year they’ve done this with hundreds of other new creators in the community.

• Please excuse my lack of interviewing skills, equipment or good lighting. I’ve barely been on a zoom call in my life.

However, just to show the human side of Substack and understand the creative motivations of others, for me it’s a fascinating thing and a privilege to meet and showcase the new Newsletters of the aspiring creators, storytellers and writers of Substack (of any genre).

As the Substack Network blossoms with cross-pollination organically, the community is coming alive in 2022.

“Creator Encounter” is my new column where I interview Creators on Substack at various stages in their journey. Although my main interest is Substack Newsletters that are brand new and doing follow-ups later with them.

Guest #1 Alicia, I could not have asked for a better person to describe their early-stage Substack motivations at the crossroads of their multifaceted and inspirational journey. Thanks also to the Substack team who let me join the Video beta.

We all have hidden talents, interests, skill sets, niche hobbies and an inner world ready to share.

1. i feel as if | Platforms like Substack enable us to do so in a safe siloed space where we can be ourselves.

2. sometimes | Putting a face or a voice to a creator can lead to a greater understanding of how their Newsletter or podcast manifested and how it’s an extension of their journey, whether it reflects their inner or outer life.

3. i felt inspired | Doing this made me feel more grateful, empathetic and even more curious about the stories of others. I want to uncover the stories of the storytellers.

Let me know if anything stood out to you from this interview?

Leave a comment

Don’t want to miss a thing? (Android app coming soon).

Read Creator Economy Tips in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

No Editing

To emphasize the authenticity of this Video, it is shown in its entirety without editing.

I had a ‘script’ but quickly abandoned it. If you catch me with wandering eyes, I’m trying to find myself lost on said script on a google doc.

It was recorded on a zoom call on June 24th, 2022, the day the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states to ban abortions. We lamented this before I pressed record, so the 40-min (of a free account) zoom became a 33-min session.