I don't even pay attention to how often I get your newsletter, I just like when it shows up. Good point about interacting with other Substackers. Sometimes I am bad about this in general and don't want to engage with people online and then am like why do I feel so out of touch?
Great stuff, Julie! And congrats on all your success so far. Well earned and deserved.
Re: frequency, my observation is there's a tension here. It seems to me writers who post more frequently have better paid conversion, but I have no doubt their work suffers from overexposure, and they're more likely to burn out (even if the don't admit that to themselves). I write one post per week and that's been sustainable for 20 straight months (with a few weeks off here and there). I've considered going to 5 or 6 per month but have demurred because I never want a post to feel phoned in.
If you're looking to up your frequency, I'd start with three per month and see how that goes. Then graduate up to four if you feel like you have the bandwidth. The best advice I've ever seen, for content creators of all types, is to do the exact amount of work that doesn't cause burn out.
Also, for your particular newsletter, a balance of advice and curation could give you more content to work with per month. Finally, if you specifically curated funny stuff from around Substack you'd hit the interaction/collaboration front more too. Note: another writer proposed a Substack humor community newsletter like Fictionistas, which could be cool. I need to follow up with them, and I'll be sure to mention you as someone to keep in mind if the project gets off the ground.
Just some thoughts. Hope they're helpful. Good luck!
This is so helpful! I'm so new to substack I didn't know collaborations were a thing. Thank you, and looking forward to a great second year (and beyond!)
This is great! My one year anniversary of Substack is coming up soon too and it is interesting to reflect on how it has grown and where my subscribers have come from. I sometimes wish I was growing faster but I'm with you ... I don't want to do aggressive marketing stuff and end up in a bunch in inboxes that don't actually want to read me.
This is great! I struggle with wanting to grow, while wanting to fully enjoy what I’m doing. The two are often at odds; I’ve never been able to look at stats. When I do, I slip into marketing-writer mode and get away from what’s fun. I’ve been thinking about getting a trusted friend to look at my stats and tell me what’s hitting. Either that or upping my meds 😎😎 P.S. I’d be down for a humor challenge of some sort!
What I've Learned From One Year on Substack
I don't even pay attention to how often I get your newsletter, I just like when it shows up. Good point about interacting with other Substackers. Sometimes I am bad about this in general and don't want to engage with people online and then am like why do I feel so out of touch?
This is wonderful. I like the easy applicable suggestions in this. Thank you.
Great stuff, Julie! And congrats on all your success so far. Well earned and deserved.
Re: frequency, my observation is there's a tension here. It seems to me writers who post more frequently have better paid conversion, but I have no doubt their work suffers from overexposure, and they're more likely to burn out (even if the don't admit that to themselves). I write one post per week and that's been sustainable for 20 straight months (with a few weeks off here and there). I've considered going to 5 or 6 per month but have demurred because I never want a post to feel phoned in.
If you're looking to up your frequency, I'd start with three per month and see how that goes. Then graduate up to four if you feel like you have the bandwidth. The best advice I've ever seen, for content creators of all types, is to do the exact amount of work that doesn't cause burn out.
Also, for your particular newsletter, a balance of advice and curation could give you more content to work with per month. Finally, if you specifically curated funny stuff from around Substack you'd hit the interaction/collaboration front more too. Note: another writer proposed a Substack humor community newsletter like Fictionistas, which could be cool. I need to follow up with them, and I'll be sure to mention you as someone to keep in mind if the project gets off the ground.
Just some thoughts. Hope they're helpful. Good luck!
This is great & helpful!
Great tips! Thank you for this -- it's a nice welcome basket to the Substack neighborhood.
Speaking as a newbie here, this is great information. Thanks for sharing your journey!
This is so helpful! I'm so new to substack I didn't know collaborations were a thing. Thank you, and looking forward to a great second year (and beyond!)
Man, this has some great information! I really like Substack, too. It feels so friendly and organic.
This is great! My one year anniversary of Substack is coming up soon too and it is interesting to reflect on how it has grown and where my subscribers have come from. I sometimes wish I was growing faster but I'm with you ... I don't want to do aggressive marketing stuff and end up in a bunch in inboxes that don't actually want to read me.
Thanks for sharing, Julie!
This is great! I struggle with wanting to grow, while wanting to fully enjoy what I’m doing. The two are often at odds; I’ve never been able to look at stats. When I do, I slip into marketing-writer mode and get away from what’s fun. I’ve been thinking about getting a trusted friend to look at my stats and tell me what’s hitting. Either that or upping my meds 😎😎 P.S. I’d be down for a humor challenge of some sort!
Thank you for sharing. I'm getting ready to relaunch (recommit) after taking the summer off. These tips are helpful!
Love love love this, Julie! I’m relatively new to Substack and still trying to figure things out so found this very helpful!
Thanks for sharing. I enjoy these reflection posts. What challenges do you see in the next year, either with your substack or the platform itself?
Love this, Julie! Thanks for sharing! I learn so much for every one of your newsletters! (Now if only I could get motivated to write my own :) )
I love this, thank you for sharing! I just came up on one year too and have been thinking about how to move forward. Your post is super helpful!