I feel behind.

That’s what I thought 12 months ago.

I had one goal:

Build freedom.

But not the kind of freedom everyone wants. I want a week where I can hang out with my friends, walk my dog, and still have time to rest. Without the constant pressure, the stress, the tiredness of living in a world where everything moves too fast.

That was my goal.

After a year, I can’t say I’ve reached it. But I’ve learned a lot. And for every other person on this platform who wants to create something meaningful, this is for you. Because it wasn’t easy, and I want you to go faster than I did.

So let’s jump into the 3.5 lessons that impacted my journey the most.

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I Didn’t Put in Enough Effort

Let’s go back to the beginning, when this publication was faceless and about self-improvement, for those of you who were there.

It was already the second month, and I was still stuck at 2 subscribers. Painful.

I tell this story pretty often, but let me share the part I usually leave out.

I didn’t put in enough effort.

That’s right. I was only writing Notes and articles, and expecting people to find me on their own. In a crowded niche, why would they pick me?

Why would I be better than anyone else? I didn’t realize it at first, because everyone on the platform kept saying that writing was the only way.

It wasn’t.

What changed things was reaching out for the first time. But the lesson underneath it goes deeper.

I remember opening my phone and seeing a notification for a chat thread boost, the kind where you promote your Note alongside other creators. I posted my Note and gained 1 subscriber. That’s when I started to see the light.

But I didn’t stop there, because I couldn’t wait for the next chat thread. So I went through the threads like a scout combing new territory, trying to spot who else was writing about self-improvement.

I reached out in the comments and in DMs to 15 of them. By the next morning, I had 5 new subscribers.

I still remember the feeling in my chest, racing, like I’d just found a treasure.

From there, I didn’t stop. I tried things again and again, and here’s what I learned:

If you want something, deep down, you need to do more. Don’t stay on the surface, go deeper. Ask yourself:

• Where does my target audience hang out?

• How can I reach out to them?

• How can I make my newsletter the most valuable thing they read?

That’s how you get better every day. And on Substack, it all comes down to the conversations and connections you build.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Saturday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Tell People What You’re Doing

Let’s go back to the last 3 months for this one.

My Substack wasn’t always the best. Never the best open rates. Never the best offer. Never the best likes, or an article that got widely restacked.

A lot of people would stop, or panic and rework everything to hit those milestones. Not me. It didn’t change my mindset, because I had a problem, I fixed it, and now I had the knowledge to help others with it.

So what does the number matter?

What matters is: is anyone reading my posts? Am I making less money than I’d like? Sure, but neither of those is the real question. The real question is: do I help people, and do they know I can help them?

Those are the only two things I want to answer every week. That’s it.

I know I can help people. The next step is finding them, wherever they are. And yes, the newsletter helps, the articles help, the digital products help too. But you know what helps the most?

A conversation, and real support. That’s what gives the best results, and that’s what makes it all worth it.

So even during my worst week, I can go to Substack, do a little research, or reach out to my subscribers.

I send a DM or a comment to 50 of them, and I’ll get a response. If I don’t know what to ask, I simply say: Do you know anyone who struggles with [a problem you can solve]?

They’ll start thinking of people, or of themselves, and that’s how you get the chance to help them.

I could do this without an audience at all. And that’s the mistake I made, the same one most people make: being too focused on growing and on the numbers, even when they claim they’re not, instead of focusing on the actual process of helping people get results.

That’s my whole strategy now: help people get results, and go find them. That’s the process that unlocked 5k a month.

If you’re interested in knowing how, book a call, we’ll build a plan for your Substack together.

Curiosity

Substack has been an incredible first year. When I think back to where I started and where I am now, I’m simply proud, even if some part of me still thinks the opposite sometimes.

We all have that thought.

If I had to use one word, one moment, to describe this year, it would be: Curiosity.

If you’re like me, if you want freedom, want to reach a dream, want to grow on Substack, you need curiosity.

Every time another creator posted something, I would analyze it. Break it down. Build a plan of action from it. I’d test the first steps, look at the results, and adjust the plan to fit my system and my life.

Every single day, I did that, investing in myself, testing all kinds of actions and messages to connect with the right people.

That was curiosity. I was curious to see what would happen. I didn’t just sit there expecting results, I went, I tried, and results had no choice but to follow.

That’s maybe the one thing I’d tell my past self: William, go out and test whatever you can, without the pressure. I think I would have learned things 10x faster than by trying to do everything “properly.” And it would have been more fun.

So for the next month, I’m focusing on that same curiosity, including the curiosity of getting to know you better. I need 20 of you.

Thank You

Thanks to everyone who has supported this journey, everyone who’s been there for me, cheered me on, and made this whole process so much more fun. I’ve learned a lot, and I’ll keep learning. It’s only been 1 year, and I want to be here for 5 to 10 more, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of me, haha.

Everything I’ve learned this year, I want to give back to you, so you can reach your goals too.

Right now, I’m building a research project with 20 people who are struggling to grow on Substack (even if you’re just starting out), to understand what’s really holding you back and how to get results faster.

The 20 people who join will get an exclusive roadmap built from those answers, something no one outside the group will have access to, plus real, hands-on support from me.

Once those spots are filled, I’m closing the research and keeping it just for us.

How to participate: simply answer the assessment here. You’ll get a roadmap to help you grow, and I’ll personally reach out to help you use it.

To your success. Thanks, everybody.

Question of the day: How long have you been on Substack? What’s your best memory from it?

Leave a comment

Leave a comment, let’s start discussing :)

Continue the good work.

— William

Becoming a writer online is harder than we think, and everyone makes it look easy.

All the success stories, the big numbers, honestly? It’s frustrating to watch.

Why can’t it be me? That’s the question I always asked myself.

And here’s the thing, the truth is that it IS you, just 5 years later. Nobody wants to hear that though.

So instead I kept wondering something else: why don’t these creators just spill the actual recipe? Not the highlight reel, the real one.

That question burned in my head long enough that I decided to stop wondering and just ask. I started reaching out to creators directly, sitting down with them, trying to get past the polished version of their story.

So when I sat down with , a 7-figure copywriter and agency owner who built The Bread Board into one of the go-to newsletters for freelancers who actually want to get paid, I wasn’t looking for another vague “know your audience” quote.

I wanted the mechanics. The messy part behind the polished offer page.

And honestly? What she told me made me rethink how I was writing for my own audience. So grab your coffee, this one’s worth the read. ☕

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The Accident (The Before)

Here’s the thing that surprised me the most.

Anjeanette isn’t someone who studied marketing for ten years and cracked some secret code.

She’s been a writer and a serial entrepreneur her whole adult life, trying different things, building, failing, rebuilding. Copywriting wasn’t even a plan.

It just... fell into her lap.

She didn’t wake up one day and decide “I’m going to become a 7-figure copywriter.” She started noticing that clarity in messaging was something she was naturally paying attention to, long before she had a word for it.

And from that one accidental skill, everything else grew.

I think that’s the part most people skip when they read a success story. They assume the person always knew exactly where they were going.

Anjeanette didn’t. She just kept sharpening the one thing she was already good at, without realizing it was a whole business waiting to happen.

So wherever you are in your journey, someone who begin or a creator with 5k subscribers, just continue.

Create things.

Be curious.

That’s own you will find your own sucess over time.

We often hear this but it’s more than true and the most successful individuals did this better than anyone.

Everyday they would wake up and be better or different than anyone else with the same goals as theirs.

That’s your goal as well.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Subscribe now

The Shift (Stop Guessing, Start Asking)

This is the part that hit me the hardest.

In Substack, and the online world, growth has a huge place and we often want to know how to grow.

Which comes with a lot of strategies, opinions and tactics that don’t always work.

Here’s her opinion:

Most creators think “knowing your audience” means watching your analytics. Seeing what post did numbers, then making more of that.

Anjeanette told me that’s the bare minimum. The floor, not the ceiling.

Her actual method? She asks. Directly. Out loud, in polls, in her newsletter, over and over.

“You need to be actively asking your audience to tell you what they want,” she said. Not guessing from a dashboard. Asking the humans.

And here’s the twist that I think most people never plan for: your audience changes.

What they wanted six months ago isn’t necessarily what they want today. So you can’t just do the audience research once and coast on it forever. You keep your finger on the pulse, constantly.

That’s exactly what happened with The Bread Board. Anjeanette already had a workshop on landing clients, she thought that was the win.

But when she actually dug into what her readers wanted more of, the answer wasn’t more advice.

It was jobs. Real, paying opportunities, curated so they didn’t have to dig through the garbage on job boards themselves.

She built it. And that’s when things really took off, she hit bestseller status by month 11.

Not because she pushed harder. Because she finally listened correctly.

If you’re building something right now and you’re not sure what your audience actually wants, this is your sign to stop guessing and start asking.

That’s actually how you will have growth that’s worth it, not just vanity metrics.

If you want to see how I do that in my own newsletter, come hang around Become Better You, I break this stuff down constantly.

The Framework (Start Small, Stay Honest)

Now let’s get practical, because this is the part everyone actually wants.

What is her advice to grow?

What if you’re just starting out? A handful of subscribers, no data, no clear signal?

Anjeanette’s answer surprised me because it wasn’t some elaborate system. It was almost stupidly simple.

A handful of subscribers isn’t enough data to make real decisions from. So don’t try to.

Instead, write about what feels the most authentic to you and where your actual expertise lives.

Then watch.

If it gets traction, you’re onto something. If it doesn’t, don’t panic and don’t quit, just zoom out.

Think bigger about what you’re actually trying to achieve with your content, and reverse-engineer your way back down to what to write.

It’s not glamorous advice. It’s not a “10-step viral framework.” But it’s honest, and honestly, most people skip this step because it feels too slow.

Then, you repeat this over and over. You’ll eventually found soemthing, gain subscribers and build powerful relationship.

That’s the game.

The Mindset (Quantity Is a Trap)

Here’s where I think Anjeanette said the thing most creators need tattooed on their forehead.

Everyone believes growth comes from a number of little details. More content, better headlines, cracking the algorithm…

She doesn’t disagree that headlines help. She doesn’t disagree the algorithm matters a little. But none of that is what makes someone stay.

“Spewing out garbage in great quantities doesn’t help you at all,” she told me. Quality always comes first.

People don’t subscribe to volume. They subscribe to connection. You can post twice a day forever and if none of it actually means something, you’re just adding noise to a very loud room.

That’s why building that community is so important.

How?

Simply talk to your subscribers, jump in live, make polls and create valuable free products or articles that will make them trust you.

In a world where everybody try to sell you something, you can be different by giving them so much value they want more without you promoting.

And that’s a superpower!

The BeBetter Takeaway

Anjeanette didn’t build a 7-figure business by having it all figured out from day one.

She built it by paying attention, by asking instead of assuming, and by refusing to confuse “more content” with “better content.”

If there’s one thing to steal from this interview, it’s this: stop treating your audience like a number on a dashboard. Ask them what they want. Actually listen to the answer, even when it’s not what you expected. Then build that.

I’d recommend checking out ’s newsletter and The Bread Board if you’re a freelancer/writer/creator tired of digging through garbage job listings, or if you just want to watch someone build in public with real numbers and real strategy behind it.

It’s more to valuable and one of the best offer I have seen. Here’s an article you can start with:

Anjeanette Carter

THE BREAD BOARD 🍞💰+ plus strategies to build your own client pipeline.

I’m Anjeanette, a 7-figure copywriter and agency owner…

Read more

a year ago · 18 likes · 10 comments · Anjeanette Carter

A big thank you to Anjeanette for this article and interview. I learn a lot and appreciate the value that you gave us!

Your Move Alright, your turn.

When’s the last time you actually asked your audience what they wanted, instead of guessing from your analytics? What did you think of those strategies?

Leave a comment

Hit reply and tell me, or drop it in the comments if you’re reading this on the web. I read every single one. (I love them) :)

And if this was useful, send it to one other creator who’s still guessing instead of asking.

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Talk soon.

Engage with 10 posts before publishing your own. Comment consistently. Show up every day. Leave your mark across the platform and eventually, through some mysterious law of internet karma, the readers will come to you.

So you do it.

You open Substack, scroll your feed, leave a few replies, maybe share your latest article in someone’s comment section, and check the box. Engaged. Done. Time to post.

And then you refresh your stats 45 minutes later and nothing moved.

So you engage more. You reply to more posts. You follow more writers. You spend an entire Tuesday morning doing “community building” and gain two subscribers, one of whom unsubscribes by Friday (probably your mom testing the system).

Here’s what I realized after running a growth assessment with 85 frustrated writers:

51% of respondents said they use comments to drive traffic to their newsletter.

When I dug deeper into what they were actually doing?

Most of them were commenting the same way I just described.

Showing up. Checking the box. Engaging without a strategy.

And wondering why it felt like shouting into a very polite, supportive void.

Comments aren’t broken. The way most writers use them is.

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What “Commenting for Growth” Actually Looks Like (For Most People)

There are three comment behaviors I see constantly. All of them feel productive. None of them do what people think they do.

The Cheerleader Comment. “This is so good!! Really needed this today 🙌”

Warm. Nice. Completely forgettable. The author appreciates it for 4 seconds and moves on. Nobody clicks your profile. Nobody remembers your name. You are a thumbs up with a bio attached.

The Self-Promoter Comment. “Great post! I actually wrote something similar about this, [link to your article]”

I’ll be honest with you: this one makes people quietly annoyed. You took someone else’s post and turned it into a billboard for your own content. Even if your article is genuinely relevant, the move feels extractive. And people on Substack notice extractive immediately, it’s a platform built on trust, and trust has a very low tolerance for that kind of thing.

The 10-Before-Posting Comment. This is the most dangerous one because it actually sounds like a strategy.

Engage with 10 posts before publishing your own to warm up the algorithm. So you go through your feed, leave 10 generic but reasonably thoughtful replies, publish your article, and... the algorithm barely notices. Because what you just did wasn’t engagement. It was pre-flight prep for a plane that wasn’t ready to fly.

The algorithm doesn’t reward volume of comments. It rewards quality of interactions, replies, reshares, conversations that continue. Ten “nice post!” comments are not that.

Here’s the thing none of this is your fault. Nobody actually told you what comments are for.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

What Comments Are Actually For

This reframe changed everything for me.

Comments are not a distribution channel.

They’re a research lab.

Every comment you leave in the right place, on the right post, in the right niche, with the right question, gives you information that no analytics dashboard can give you. You learn what that community actually cares about. What language they use. What frustrates them. What they’re trying to do.

That information is worth more than any growth tactic.

Because the writers who know their audience at that level of depth don’t have to guess what to write next. They don’t have to wonder why their articles aren’t converting. They don’t have to keep testing hooks like scientists running experiments with no hypothesis.

They already know.

And they got there through comments.

Here’s what a comment that actually does something looks like:

Add value first: “I totally agree with your point about…”

Explain why: “I’ve noticed the same thing with my own workflow. Every time I remove distractions before work, I get twice as much done.”

Then ask a question that helps you identify whether they’re a potential reader: “Curious, are you writing for busy parents juggling work and kids, or more for people who have flexible schedules and just want to become more productive?”

Finally, end by opening the door to a relationship: “Would love to connect and keep following your writing!”

Example (on a productivity writer’s post aimed at adults with a 9-to-5 and kids):

“I completely agree that people underestimate how exhausting decision fatigue is after a full workday. I started planning my next day the night before, and it’s made a huge difference. Curious, do you mostly write for parents balancing work and family, or for anyone trying to become more productive? I’d love to connect and keep reading your work!”

It adds a real perspective. Not validation, a genuine extension of the thought. Maybe you agree but from a completely different angle. Maybe you push back on one sentence while agreeing with the rest. Maybe you share a result from your own experience that makes the author’s point more concrete.

And then, this is the part most people skip, it ends with a question.

Not a rhetorical question. A real one. Something you’re actually curious about. Something the author or another commenter would want to answer.

That question is what starts a conversation. And conversations are what make people click your name, read your bio, and decide you’re worth following.

One good question at the end of a thoughtful comment does more for your visibility than 20 cheerleader replies.

The Real Strategy: Comments as Intel, Not Promo

Here’s how to use comments the way the fastest-growing writers on Substack actually use them.

Find the 3 to 5 writers in your niche with the most engaged comment sections, not the most subscribers, the most engaged comments. Those comment sections are a live focus group for your exact audience. Read what people are saying. What questions are they asking? What problems keep coming up? What language do they use to describe their frustration?

Write it down. Literally. That’s your next 10 article ideas.

Comment with curiosity, not credentials. The goal isn’t to prove you know things. It’s to find out what the people in that comment section care about. Ask questions. Respond to other commenters, not just the author. Start threads.

When someone replies to your comment with something real, follow up in DMs. Not with a pitch. With a continuation. “Your point about X was interesting, are you working on that problem right now?” That’s how comments turn into relationships, and relationships on Substack turn into recommendations, collaborations, and subscribers who actually stick around.

Use comments to find your best potential readers before they ever see your newsletter. The person leaving the most thoughtful replies in a niche you write about? That’s your reader. They just don’t know it yet. A genuine comment. A real DM. One useful piece of content sent without an ask.

That sequence, comment, DM, resource, is the actual growth engine most people are looking for when they sit down to “engage with 10 posts before posting.”

Same amount of time. Completely different result.

The Honest Part

I’m not going to tell you this is fast.

Building real relationships through comments takes weeks, not hours. You won’t leave 3 thoughtful questions and wake up to 200 new subscribers tomorrow.

But here’s the math that changed how I thought about this:

One genuine comment that starts a real conversation is worth approximately 30 cheerleader comments in terms of actual growth impact. Not because it’s nicer or more virtuous. Because it creates something the other 30 don’t, a reason for someone to learn your name.

And on a platform where most people are commenting to be seen, being the person who comments to listen makes you the most interesting person in the room without saying a single clever thing.

And if you want to figure out which of these issues is actually yours, the volume gap, the positioning problem, or something else, I built a free assessment that tells you exactly where you’re leaking growth. Most writers are surprised by the answer (I was surprised by the data too).

Grab it now!

Get your 10k Roadmap

• Takes 3 minutes to complete

• Give you a perzonalized roadmap designed to fit your situations

• You have the ebst next step to go 10 time faster with actionnable steps

Your Action This Week

Three things. Pick one niche you write about.

Day 1 to 2: Find 3 writers in that niche with active comment sections. Don’t comment yet. Just read the threads. Write down the 5 most common questions, frustrations, or topics that keep coming up. That list is your research.

Day 3 to 5: Leave one real comment per day on posts in your niche. Each comment must add a perspective AND end with a genuine question. No cheerleading. No links to your own work. Just curiosity.

Day 6 to 7: If anyone replied to your comment with something real, send them a DM. Not a pitch. One sentence continuing the conversation.

Do that for one week and track how many real conversations you started vs. how many profile clicks you got on your “engage with 10 before posting” weeks.

The difference will be obvious.

💬 The Writers Who Comment to Listen

This section is for the ones who realized this week that they’ve been leaving comments like flyers on a car windshield, technically reaching people, but making nobody happy about it.

The shift from “commenting for visibility” to “commenting for intel” is quiet. Nobody sees it happen.

But your next 3 collaborations, your next partnership, your next 50 subscribers who actually engage, a lot of them will come from a conversation that started with one good question at the end of one real comment.

You just have to start asking.

Here’s my question for the comments (appropriately):

When you leave a comment on Substack, what’s your actual intention, visibility, connection, or something else? And has it ever led to something real?

Drop it in the comments. Genuinely curious where most of you are at right now.

Leave a comment

Thanks everyone for reading BeBetter. If you would like to support, don’t hesitate to restack, share, like and comment.

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I really appreciate all kind of support even if it’s just a “this helps”.

Continue the good work!

— William 😁

Consistency issues. Niche confusion. Bad hooks. The classic “I don’t have enough time” that every creator blames before quietly spending 90 minutes scrolling Notes instead of posting one.

So when I built a growth assessment and sent it to 85 Substack writers who told me they were frustrated, genuinely stuck, not just impatient after 3 weeks, I wasn’t expecting a surprise.

I was expecting confirmation.

Confirmation that the problems were the ones everyone already talks about. The ones with ready-made solutions and 47-step frameworks sold by guys in front of whiteboards.

Instead, one single question predicted almost everything.

Not “how often do you post.” Not “do you engage with other writers.” Not “have you defined your ideal reader” (the kind of question that sounds smart until you realize nobody actually knows what it means).

One question. And the writers who answered it wrong were stuck at near-zero growth in 72% of cases.

Here’s what I found, and why it probably explains more about your newsletter than you’d like to admit.

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The Assessment (And What I Was Actually Looking For)

A few weeks ago I put together a short Tally survey and shared it with writers inside my community and across my content. I wanted to understand the real gap, not what people said was wrong with their newsletter, but what was actually wrong when you looked at the full picture together.

85 writers filled it out.

I asked about their habits (notes frequency, comments, DMs), their setup (bio, Start Here post, roadmap), their goals, their blockers, and one simple question about their content:

“Do you solve a specific problem for your audience?”

Yes or no.

That’s it.

I almost cut it from the survey because it felt too obvious. Of course people know whether they’re solving a problem. Right?

Then the data came back.

29% of respondents said no.

Almost 1 in 3 writers publishing content, posting notes, leaving comments, trying to grow, with no clear problem they’re actually solving for the people reading them.

And of those writers?

72% were stuck at 0 to 1 new subscriber per day.

Not “growing slowly.” Essentially flat.

That’s not a correlation. That’s a pattern so consistent it made me go back and check the numbers twice (and I’m a PE student, not a statistician, so if even I noticed it, it’s real).

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Why “No Clear Problem” Breaks Everything Else

Here’s the part that surprised me most.

The other data from the assessment looked like this:

72% of respondents have 1 to 2 free hours per day. Only 21% actually blame time for their stuck growth. 73% have never sent a single DM. 68% post exactly 1 note per day. 64% have no Start Here post.

All real problems. All worth fixing.

But when I cross-referenced everything against growth momentum, the “no specific problem solved” answer was the most predictive single factor in the entire dataset.

And the reason makes sense once you see it.

Every tactic on Substack, comments, DMs, Notes, collaborations, recommendations, works by driving people to your profile. That’s the whole game. You create visibility, someone gets curious, they click your name, they land on your page.

Then what?

If your newsletter is about “life, creativity, and personal growth” (I saw some version of this in at least 20 responses), the person who just clicked your profile has no idea if you’re for them. They read your bio, skim an article title or two, and leave. Not because your writing is bad. Because nothing told them to stay.

You can’t DM your way out of a blurry message. You can’t Note your way out of it either. You can run every growth tactic perfectly and still bleed readers because the foundation, the one thing that makes someone think “yes, this is exactly for me”, isn’t there.

It’s like spending hours optimizing a restaurant’s Instagram account when the menu has 200 items and no cuisine (and the lighting inside looks like a hospital waiting room).

People don’t subscribe to newsletters anymore.

They subscribe to a specific transformation they want to experience.

And if you can’t name the transformation your newsletter creates in one sentence, odds are your potential readers can’t either.

(Of course, this applies more to non-fiction Substacks. For fiction, the equivalent isn't solving a specific problem, it's creating a specific reading experience. Readers don't subscribe because you help them become more productive or healthier. They subscribe because they know exactly what kind of world, emotion, or story they're coming back for. Whether it's cozy fantasy, psychological horror, sci-fi mysteries, or heartfelt romance, the same principle applies: if people can't immediately understand what experience awaits them, they're far less likely to subscribe.)

The One-Sentence Test That Fixes This

I want to give you something practical here because “find your niche” is the most useless advice on the internet and I refuse to just say it.

Here’s the test I use.

Finish this sentence:

“I help [type of person] do/become/achieve [specific result] without [frustrating obstacle].”

That’s it. One sentence.

If you can fill that in cleanly, even roughly, you have a reason for someone to subscribe. Something they can self-identify against. Something that filters out the wrong readers and pulls in the right ones.

If you sit there staring at it for 20 minutes and end up with something vague like “I help people live better lives,” the problem isn’t that you haven’t found the right words yet.

The problem is the answer doesn’t exist yet.

And that’s okay. That’s fixable. But it’s the thing to fix first, before you optimize your notes frequency, before you build a DM strategy, before you redesign your bio for the fourth time.

Because here’s what the data showed me about the writers who DO solve a specific problem:

They’re not all posting more. They’re not all using DMs. Some of them have terrible bios and no Start Here post.

But they have something to say to a specific someone.

And that specificity does more work than any tactic ever could.

The Uncomfortable Part

I’m going to say the thing most growth accounts won’t say because it’s bad for engagement:

Some of you don’t need a new strategy.

You need to sit with a blank document for an hour and figure out what problem you’re actually solving, and for who.

Not “busy professionals.” Not “aspiring writers.” Not “people who want to grow.”

Specific. Real. A problem that keeps someone up at 2am, not a preference for self-improvement content.

The writers growing fastest in my community aren’t the ones with the most followers, the best hooks, or the most polished About page.

They’re the ones who can answer that one question, do you solve a specific problem for your audience?, without hesitating.

Everything else is just amplification.

And you can’t amplify something that isn’t there yet.

And if you want to figure out which of these issues is actually yours, the volume gap, the positioning problem, or something else, I built a free assessment that tells you exactly where you’re leaking growth. Most writers are surprised by the answer (I was surprised by the data too).

Grab it now!

Get your 10k Roadmap

• Takes 3 minutes to complete

• Give you a perzonalized roadmap designed to fit your situations

• You have the ebst next step to go 10 time faster with actionnable steps

Your Action This Week

Write the sentence.

“I help [type of person] do/become/achieve [specific result] without [frustrating obstacle].”

One draft. Messy is fine. Then ask yourself: if a stranger landed on my newsletter right now, would they immediately know if this was for them?

If the answer is yes, great. Go optimize the tactics.

If the answer is no, or “maybe,” or “I think so”, that’s your real blocker. Not your hook writing. Not your posting frequency. This.

🌱 The Writers Who Know Exactly Who They Help

This section is for the ones who can finish that sentence without flinching.

Not because they’ve been writing for 10 years or have some perfect niche.

But because at some point they stopped trying to write for everyone and started writing for someone specific, and felt the whole thing get easier almost immediately.

If you just wrote your sentence and felt something click: that’s the moment. That’s the one that changes the next 90 days.

Here’s my question for the comments:

Can you finish that sentence right now, or does it feel blurry? Tell me where you’re at. I’m genuinely curious how many of you have a clear answer vs. how many of you just realized you don’t.

Drop it in the comments. Genuinely curious where most of you are at right now.

Leave a comment

Thanks everyone for reading BeBetter. If you would like to support, don’t hesitate to restack, share, like and comment.

Share

I really appreciate all kind of support even if it’s just a “this helps”.

Continue the good work!

— William 😁

No, seriously. Don’t stop.

This isn’t one of those “quality over quantity” takes that mysteriously appear every time someone wants to justify disappearing for 3 weeks. Daily posting is one of the best habits you can build on Substack.

But here’s the thing nobody tells you about daily posting:

Doing it at the wrong volume is almost identical to not doing it at all.

And after sending a growth assessment to 85 writers earlier this month, real writers, actually trying to grow, not just people who downloaded a Notion template and called themselves creators, one number stopped me cold.

68% of respondents post exactly 1 note per day.

Every day. Consistently. Showing up.

And most of them are stuck at 0 to 1 subscriber per day.

So what’s actually going on?

Subscribe now

The Minimum Effort Trap

Here’s a comparison I think about a lot.

Imagine you decide to get in shape. You show up to the gym every single day. You walk in, do one set of something, and leave. Technically, you’re consistent. Technically, you’re working out daily.

But you’re not actually training.

It’s not how the results will appear.

That’s exactly what’s happening with 1 note a day on Substack.

It feels like consistency. It looks like effort. You can even tell yourself “I posted today” and technically be right.

But from a growth standpoint? One note a day isn’t a strategy. It’s a checkbox.

And here’s where the data gets interesting.

Earlier this month I ran a short Tally assessment with 85 Substack writers who said they were frustrated with their growth. I asked about their habits, their systems, and what they thought was holding them back. I expected the answers to be about content quality or niche confusion.

What I actually found was a volume gap nobody was talking about.

Writers posting 3+ notes per day scored an average of 13 out of 20 on overall growth-readiness.

Writers posting 1 note per day scored 9.8.

Same platform. Same daily posting habit. A 33% difference in momentum, just from crossing a threshold most people don’t even know exists.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Why Volume Actually Matters (The Part Nobody Explains)

Most people think more notes = more luck. Like if you post enough, something randomly goes viral and fixes everything.

That’s not what’s happening.

Here’s the real mechanism, and it has three layers:

1. Substack’s algorithm rewards repeated exposure, not individual posts.

A reader needs to see your name multiple times before they click your profile. One note a day means you’re in their feed once. Five notes a day means you’re in their feed five times, as different thoughts, different angles, different reasons to notice you. Each one is a micro-impression. And somewhere around impression 4 or 5, something shifts: you stop being “that person I saw once” and start being “that person I keep seeing.” That’s when they subscribe.

2. Notes compound differently than articles.

An article sits. A note moves. Notes get reshared, commented on, pushed into other people’s feeds through interactions. The more notes you publish, the more surface area you create for organic distribution. At 1 note a day, you’re throwing one fishing line in the water. At 5, you’ve got five lines in five different spots. The fish don’t care how hard you tried. They just swim past more lines.

3. Speed of feedback destroys the guessing game.

At 1 note a day, you get 7 data points a week about what resonates. At 5 notes a day, you get 35. Writers who scale volume figure out their voice, their strongest angles, and their best hooks in weeks, not months. The writers stuck at 1 note a day are still trying to figure out “what works” six months in, while someone else ran 150 experiments and already knows.

This is why the same platform, same niche, same level of writing skill produces wildly different results for different people.

It’s not talent.

It’s reps.

What This Actually Looks Like in Practice

I’m not telling you to post 10 random thoughts a day and spam your followers into submission (please don’t do that).

Here’s what actually moving from 1 to 5 notes looks like:

Morning note: One real observation from something you read, saw, or did yesterday. 3-5 sentences. No hook needed.

Midday note: A question for your audience. Literally just ask something related to your topic. Questions get comments. Comments get distribution.

Afternoon note: A short excerpt or insight from your latest article, one paragraph, one sentence that makes someone want to read the full thing.

Evening note: A hot take. Something slightly controversial about your niche. “Most advice about X is actually wrong because…”, and then finish the thought in 4 lines.

Bonus (when you have it): A personal moment. Something that happened today that connects back to what you write about. This is the note that makes people feel like they know you.

None of these take 45 minutes. None of them require a strategy session. They just require you to stop treating 1 note like it’s enough, because the data says it isn’t.

The Honest Part

I want to be straight with you: volume alone won’t fix a broken newsletter.

If your bio is confusing, if you’re writing about 6 different topics with no clear thread, if nobody understands why they should subscribe, more notes will just accelerate the visibility of a blurry message.

But if you’re already doing the right things and wondering why growth feels random and slow?

Nine times out of ten, the answer is volume.

Not more effort.

More surface area.

And if you want to figure out which of these issues is actually yours, the volume gap, the positioning problem, or something else, I built a free assessment that tells you exactly where you’re leaking growth. Most writers are surprised by the answer (I was surprised by the data too).

Grab it now!

Get your 10k Roadmap

• Takes 3 minutes to complete

• Give you a perzonalized roadmap designed to fit your situations

• You have the ebst next step to go 10 time faster with actionnable steps

Your Action This Week

Pick 3 of the 5 note types above and post them tomorrow.

Not next week. Tomorrow.

Notice what gets engagement, what gets ignored, and what makes people click your profile. Do that for 7 days straight.

You’ll learn more about what actually resonates with your audience from those 21 notes than from your last 3 months of 1-per-day posting.

🚀 Past the Minimum

This section is for the writers who read this and actually post more than once today, not “when inspiration strikes” or “when I have something perfect to say.” The ones who understand that building an audience is a contact sport, and contact requires reps.

If that’s you this week: you’re already ahead of 68% of people on this platform.

Not because you’re more talented.

Because you’re finally giving the algorithm enough to work with.

One last thing.

What’s been your actual Notes rhythm lately, and after reading this, do you think it’s been enough?

Drop it in the comments. Genuinely curious where most of you are at right now.

Leave a comment

Thanks everyone for reading BeBetter. If you would like to support, don’t hesitate to restack, share, like and comment.

Share

I really appreciate all kind of support even if it’s just a “this helps”.

Continue the good work!

— William 😁

You hit publish. You refresh the dashboard….

Two likes. One of them is your mom.

You write again next week. Same thing.

You’re consistent. You’re showing up. Nothing is compounding.

You’ve been told consistency is the answer. Publish regularly. Stay in the game long enough and the algorithm will reward you.

I believed that for at least a year.

I learned, consistency without feedback is just repetition. And repetition doesn’t compound.

The creators who actually build momentum aren’t the ones publishing most often. They’re the ones learning fastest from what they publish.

For me, that ‘feedback’ means comments, DMs, and restacks-with-commentary.

I had this problem at scale.

For months, I posted articles that had nothing to do with each other. One week I’d write about cold outreach. The next week, founder mindset. The week after that, a random observation from a sales call.

I was doing random acts of publishing. Useful posts. Zero momentum.

Here’s what my analytics looked like in March:

I was even publishing twice some weeks. But no real thread. No pattern. I wasn’t earning my readers’ attention…I was just consuming it.

There were peaks and valleys. The peaks just weren’t that high yet. 😁

Then I changed three things. (which is what I’m sharing with you today):

1. Stop publishing “misc.” Start publishing a thread.

2. Stop measuring views. Start measuring signals.

3. Stop starting from zero. Re-engage what already worked.

Growth started coming. Not because I published more.

Because I published with more intention.

Let’s dig into what I change

Subscribe now

Build a Thread, Not a Collection

Here’s what I didn’t understand for the first six months:

Good posts don’t build an audience. Connected posts do.

Most writers aren’t stuck because they’re inconsistent. They’re stuck because every post resets the story.

I was writing useful articles. My views per post weren’t bad. But nothing was compounding because each post existed in isolation.

Look at my post history from a year ago looks like:

• Tarriff Impact

• Relationship Impact on Business Growth

• A random sales call observation after that

• A random call to stay Curious (which was the best of them all).

Every post was fine on its own. But there was no thread a reader could follow.

I wasn’t building a thesis. I was building a content archive.

The shift happened in April.

I stopped asking “What should I write about this week?” and started asking “What does this week’s post add to the framework I’m building?”

That single question changed everything.

Because it forced me to have an answer to: What framework am I building?

For me, that became the Revenue Flywheel System, a way to think about sales as a compounding system instead of a linear funnel. Every post since April has been a different application of the same three drivers.

A reader could feel the thread.

Now before I write any post, I answer three questions:

1. What specific problem am I solving for my reader this week?

   1. If I can’t name it in one sentence, I don’t have an article. I have a topic.

2. Is this connected to the thread I’ve been building, or is it a detour?

   1. Early on, you don’t have leeway for detours. Your reader is still learning what you stand for. Stay on thesis.

3. Do I have the expertise to cover this, or should I collaborate?

   1. If someone else can say this better, point to them. Your value isn’t knowing everything, it’s knowing the one thing you know better than anyone.

The engagement signal I watch now: comments and DMs.

Likes are passive. A comment or DM means someone thought “that’s exactly me” and decided to tell you.

The posts that generate that response are the ones connected to my thesis.

The tactical move that accelerated everything:

I started reaching out to every new follower with a genuine invitation.

Not a pitch. A simple message:

“Thanks for following. Here’s the post that most people find valuable: [link]. If it lands, I’d love to have you as a subscriber.”

I’ve converted more followers to subscribers in the last month with this one move than in the previous six months combined.

It’s just being intentional.

That intentionality has led to increased traffic:

This is what happened when I stopped publishing randomly and start building toward something.

Why I Treat Every Post as a Data Point

For months, I hardly checked my analytics. I’d look at my post views and that was about it.

Of course I’d see my subscriber count. Usually got bummed by the number. Close the tab. Said some words… Then started writing the next post from scratch.

I treated analytics as an afterthought. Something I would worry about when I was “making it big time”.

The shift happened when I started asking “what does this tell me about my reader?”

That question helped me realize that analytics could help me grow today.

Here’s what I started tracking:

Comments, Restacks, and DMs.

A comment means someone read my post/article and thought it was worth continuing the conversation. That’s a signal.

When I went back through my posts from April, three stood out. They generated 80% of my comments despite being only 15% of my total output.

I studied those three posts and asked: What did these have in common?

Same structure, tone and a connection to the Revenue Flywheel framework.

The posts that scattered off-thesis? Almost no replies.

That became my filter for the next post.

“What extends the thread that’s already generating replies?”

The weekly review I run now:

I don’t do analytics review daily, that’s overkill. It’s a weekly flow. I still engage with comments daily, but analytics reviews happen once a week with three questions:

1. Which posts got real comments?

   1. Actual comments where someone added to what I said. Those are the posts that named something specific enough that a reader thought “that’s exactly me.”

2. Which Notes made someone DM me?

   1. The notes that generate unsolicited DMs tell you what to expand into full posts. I’m starting to turning my best-performing Notes into articles.

3. Which topics made my most engaged readers share without being asked?

   1. When someone restacks your post and adds their own take, that’s the highest-signal engagement on Substack. It means your post gave them something worth building on.

Amplify What’s Already Working

Most creators publish a post, watch the engagement, then move on to the next topic.

The ones who compound do something different.

They take the post that worked and turn it into a week-long conversation.

Here’s how I work to amplify my posts. I published a post in April about how AI agents are changing B2B procurement. It generated 6 replies and 1 unsolicited DM, more than any post I’d written before.

I did celebrate those numbers. Then I identified key insights.

The next day I turned the core insight into a Note. Two days later I posted another angle. End of week I posted a question that the original article sparked.

Every Note pointed back to the original article.

By the end of the week, that one post had generated 14 total engagements across 4 posts instead of 7 from a single publish-and-move-on.

Same content, but now I was able to amplify the reach.

The pattern I follow now:

One post per week. But that post becomes four pieces of content:

• Day 1 (Tuesday): Full article published

• Day 2 (Wednesday): Note #1 — core insight from the article

• Day 4 (Friday): Note #2 — different angle or unanswered question

• Day 6 (Sunday): Note #3 — reader question or follow-up sparked by replies

Each Note stands alone, but points back to the thread. A reader who finds me through a Note on Friday sees the full article and realizes there’s more depth waiting.

The collaboration layer:

While that week is running, I look for 1–2 newsletters or Notes from other creators covering similar topics.

Not identical topics. Someone writing about AI in sales workflows. Someone writing about procurement automation. Someone writing about founder-led growth at scale.

I restack their work and add my take connecting it back to the Revenue Flywheel framework.

This does two things:

First, it keeps the conversation going beyond my own content. I’m engaging with new readers.

Second, it introduces my thesis to their audience. The restack is strategic. Someone reading about AI sales workflows is one step away from someone who needs to understand how AI agents change buyer behavior.

That’s how one post becomes a week of engagement instead of a single publish-and-forget.

We Just Built a Flywheel

Look at what we just did in those two sections.

We engaged readers by building a connected thread instead of scattered topics. Every post reinforced what came before it.

We improved our approach by treating posts as signals, not just output. We used comments and DMs to tighten the loop between what we published and what we learned.

Those are two of the three drivers.

Here’s the third one: re-engagement.

Every collaboration. Every restack with commentary. Every time we turn a Note into a full article because it generated DMs…that’s re-engagement. We’re taking what already worked and amplifying it.

Engagement starts the wheel. Improvement sustains it. Re-engagement accelerates it.

That’s not a content strategy. That’s a compounding system.

In my work with technical (non-sales) founders, I call this the Revenue Flywheel System.

Same three drivers. Same pattern. The only difference? They’re measuring revenue. You’re measuring subscribers.

But the mechanics are identical:

• Customer Engagement Driver → you engage readers by solving a specific problem

• Improvement Driver → you use feedback to make each post better than the last

• Upsell & Re-Engagement Driver → you amplify what’s working through collaborations and strategic restacks

When all three are running, you stop starting from zero every week. You start compounding.

Action Step

Before your next post, spend 15 minutes on this three-part audit:

1. Thread (what you write): Write your thesis in one sentence, then list 3 “next posts” that clearly build on it.
   
   If you can’t name the thread, your reader can’t follow it. Pick one lane and go three posts deep.
   
   

2. Signals (what you measure): Find your top three posts by comments/DMs/restacks-with-commentary and write what they had in common.
   
   Topic? Structure? Angle? Specificity? That pattern is your signal. Re-use that pattern in your next three posts.
   
   

3. Re-engagement (what you amplify): Take the best-performing idea and re-run it three ways this week.
   
   

   • Turn 1 high-performing Note into a full post

   • Restack a relevant post with your take

   • Re-share your “best starter post” and invite a reply: “What part hit you?”

Do all three and you’ll know exactly what to write next.

Closing

One last thing thank you to William for trusting me with his audience and giving me the chance to share this. It means more than a quick note can say. William’s newsletter shows up with real value every single week. I’m excited I could be a part of that this week.

As mentioned in the intro, I write , a weekly newsletter for technical (non-sales) founders who became their own first sales rep by default. Applying the Revenue Flywheel System to daily challenges going sales. If that is a challenge for you, subscribe below. Every Tuesday. Same framework, one layer deeper.

Subscribe to Eng Sales

And if you want to know where your biggest gap is right now, take the Revenue Flywheel Scorecard. It’ll show you which driver is leaking momentum. It’s Free!

Get The Revenue Flywheel

Final Thought

Hey William here! Thanks David for sharing such an amzing post with the BeBetter community! (If you liked it, don’t wait to go subscribe and support him)

If you are a Substack writers who want growth, to create freedom, an income or simply help more people, go check out the last article about why Substack is keeping you stuck (it will help you I promise!):

The thing that stuck with me most from David’s post:

He wasn’t failing because he was inconsistent. He was failing because every post reset the story.

No thread. No signal. No compounding.

And honestly? That’s the most common mistake I see in newsletters trying to grow, including my own early on. We treat each post like a standalone piece instead of one chapter in something bigger.

The moment you start asking “what does this post add to the framework I’m building?” instead of “what should I write about this week?”, everything shifts.

You stop publishing into the void. You start building something a reader can actually follow.

So here’s my question for you:

👉 What’s the one-sentence thesis your newsletter is building toward right now? If you had to write it down, what would it be?

Drop it in the comments. Genuinely curious where most of you are at right now.

Leave a comment

Thanks everyone for reading BeBetter. If you would like to support, don’t hesitate to restack, share, like and comment.

Share

I really appreciate all kind of support even if it’s just a “this helps”.

Continue the good work!

— William 😁

Uncomfortable. Forward. A little desperate.

So most writers don’t do it.

They post their notes, publish their articles, leave a few comments, and wait, patiently, hopefully, for growth to find them like some kind of subscriber fairy that rewards consistent people with loyal readers.

It doesn’t work like that.

And the data I collected from 85 frustrated Substack writers this month made it impossible to ignore:

73% of respondents have never sent a single DM.

Not one.

Not “I tried it a few times.” Zero.

And those same writers? They’re scoring an average of 9.4 out of 20 on overall growth momentum.

The 27% who actually use DMs?

11.8 average.

That’s not a small gap. That’s the difference between a newsletter that’s slowly bleeding readers and one that’s quietly compounding.

Here’s what nobody tells you though:

The problem isn’t that you’re not sending DMs.

The problem is that you think DMs are for pitching, when the writers actually growing are using them for something completely different.

Subscribe now

DMs Are Not What You Think They Are

When most people imagine “sending a DM on Substack,” they picture something like this:

“Hey! Love your content 🙌 I write about X and think our audiences would really align. Would love to collaborate sometime!”

And if that’s what a DM is, then yeah, I’d never send one either.

That message isn’t a DM. It’s a cold pitch wearing a DM costume.

Nobody owes you a response to that. Nobody feels good receiving it. And the fact that you spent 4 minutes personalizing the emoji selection doesn’t change what it is.

Real DMs, the ones that actually build something, look nothing like that.

They look like genuine curiosity.

When a new subscriber joins my newsletter, I don’t send them a welcome sequence and hope the automation does the relationship-building for me. I send something like this:

“Quick question for you.

Hey how are you? most writers (or subscribers) here tell me they struggle with one of three things: getting visible, staying consistent, or converting readers into actual subscribers. Curious to know if any one’s killing you right now?”

Then, : “I am William by the way, nice to meet you. Where are you from?”

That’s it.

No pitch. No ask. No “check out my latest article.” Let’s break ti down:

“Quick question for you…” this open the conversation, sparks curiosity, and make them want to know what is the question.

“Hey how are you…” always ask them this, be polite, be open, that’s how you build trust.

“most writers here tell me… curious to know if…” this open the conversation towards a struggle, a pain or a goal that a reader might have, soemthing that will tell you if they mught be a good fit for what you are writing. It also helps you know what people actually struggle with, to make better content.

“I am William… Where are you from?” This is a connector, soemthing to build a conversation not just around a problem, but also as a human, and people trust human more.”

Just a real question and DM like this. That takes 8 seconds to answer, and almost everyone does.

The reply changes everything and you connect with them.

Now you know exactly what they’re struggling with. You can send them one relevant piece of content. You start an actual conversation. And suddenly you’re not just another newsletter in their inbox, you’re the person who actually asked.

That’s the reframe.

DMs aren’t for promoting.

They’re for listening.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

The Two-Part System Most Writers Are Only Half-Using

Here’s where it gets interesting.

Comments and DMs aren’t two separate tactics you can pick between depending on your mood.

They’re two halves of the same strategy.

And running only one half is why most writers feel like their engagement is going nowhere, they’re getting likes, maybe a reply here and there, but nothing that actually converts into subscribers or real relationships.

It works like this:

Comments get you seen. DMs get you known.

When you leave a genuinely useful comment on someone’s post, not “great take!” but an actual observation, a personal experience, a question that adds something, people notice your name. They click your profile. Some of them subscribe.

That’s the comments doing their job: visibility.

But here’s what most people miss.

The writers who comment thoughtfully and then disappear are leaving 80% of the value on the table. Because the person who wrote that post? They saw your comment. They probably appreciated it. And if you followed up with a short, human DM, not a pitch, just a continuation of the thought, you’d go from “that person who commented once” to “someone I actually know.”

That transition is everything on Substack.

Because recommendations, collaborations, shoutouts, they don’t come from people who kind of know you.

They come from people who feel like they actually do.

My assessment data confirmed what I’d already suspected in practice: writers using both comments and DMs together score 46% higher on growth momentum than writers using neither. That’s not two tactics adding up. That’s a compound effect, one feeds the other, and together they build something neither creates alone.

What to Actually Say (Without Sounding Like a Robot)

Three situations. Three DMs that work.

After a new subscriber joins: Ask about their biggest struggle. Give them a reason to reply (a simple multiple choice works perfectly, people find it way easier to pick an option than write a paragraph from scratch). Send them one useful thing based on their answer. Done.

After leaving a great comment and getting a reply: “Really glad that landed, I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. Are you working on [related thing they write about]?” One sentence. Open-ended. Human.

After reading someone’s article that genuinely helped you: Tell them exactly which part and why. Not “great article!”, that’s a comment-shaped compliment, not a DM. “The part about X in your last piece actually changed how I’m thinking about Y” is a DM. Specific, real, zero ask.

None of these require you to be an extrovert.

None of them require you to have 1,000 subscribers first, or a big audience to offer, or some special credibility that makes the other person want to talk to you.

They just require you to stop treating DMs like a pitch channel and start treating them like what they actually are: the fastest way to go from invisible to known on a platform built for real relationships.

The Honest Part

Look, I’m not going to pretend DMs alone will double your subscriber count by Thursday.

They won’t.

But if you’ve been posting consistently, leaving comments, doing “the right things” and still feel like nothing is sticking, there’s a decent chance you’re missing the second half of the loop.

Visibility without connection is just noise.

And Substack, more than any other platform, rewards the writers who figure out that the DMs aren’t the uncomfortable part.

The uncomfortable part is staying invisible for another 6 months because sending a 2-sentence message felt too awkward.

And if you want to figure out which of these issues is actually yours, the volume gap, the positioning problem, or something else, I built a free assessment that tells you exactly where you’re leaking growth. Most writers are surprised by the answer (I was surprised by the data too).

Grab it now!

Get your 10k Roadmap

• Takes 3 minutes to complete

• Give you a perzonalized roadmap designed to fit your situations

• You have the ebst next step to go 10 time faster with actionnable steps

Your Action This Week

Three things. Small. Do them today.

First — message your 3 most recent subscribers. Not a pitch. Ask them one question about what they’re struggling with. See what comes back.

Second — find one creator whose last post genuinely made you think. Leave a real comment. Then send a one-sentence DM that continues the thought.

Third — notice how it actually feels after you do it. (Spoiler: way less weird than you’re imagining right now.)

That’s it.

Not a new system. Not a 47-step framework.

Just finally using the feature that 73% of writers on this platform are actively avoiding, while quietly wondering why the other 27% seem to be growing faster.

🤝 The Writers Who Actually Sent the DM

This section is for the people who read this and didn’t just nod along and close the tab.

The ones who opened a DM, stared at the blinking cursor for 11 seconds, typed something human, and hit send anyway.

You didn’t send a pitch. You started a conversation.

And on Substack, that’s the whole game.

Real question to end on:

Have you ever sent a DM on Substack, and if you have, what happened? If you haven’t, what’s actually stopping you?

Drop it below. I read every single one.

Leave a comment

Thanks everyone for reading BeBetter. If you would like to support, don’t hesitate to restack, share, like and comment.

Share

I really appreciate all kind of support even if it’s just a “this helps”.

Continue the good work!

— William 😁

Get lucky on social media.
Go viral.
Maybe get noticed by a publisher.
Maybe build an audience.
Maybe somehow turn writing into income.

Which honestly sounds a little bit like trying to become a millionaire by buying one lottery ticket and “manifesting abundance” in your bedroom

But the internet changed.

And most writers still haven’t realized it yet.

Right now, there are writers quietly building real audiences, real communities, and real income streams without posting 7 TikToks a day, without dancing for algorithms, and without needing millions of views.

They’re doing it through owned audiences.

Mostly on Substack.

And I genuinely think a lot of people are underestimating how big this shift is becoming.

The one I will expose to you in this article and the 3 main obstacles keeping you stuck from growing.

Let’s go!

Subscribe now

The Real Shift Happening Right Now

This is why I became obsessed with Substack.

Not because it’s “trendy.”

But because it fixes the biggest problem writers have:

You finally own the connection.

When someone subscribes to your newsletter, they’re not just liking a post.

They’re giving you direct access to them.

Their email.

Their attention.

Their trust.

That changes EVERYTHING.

Because now:

• you don’t need to go viral every week

• you don’t need millions of views

• you don’t need to beg an algorithm for visibility

You can simply build relationships over time.

And honestly?

That’s how the biggest creators online are winning now.

Not by chasing random traffic forever.

But by building ecosystems.

One subscriber at a time.

(and with Substack, it’s way easier than any other social media!)

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Why Most Writers Still Stay Stuck on Substack

Now here’s where people mess up.

They hear:
“Substack is growing fast.”

So they create an account…

Write 2 articles…

Get 14 views…

Then disappear into the shadow realm forever.

Because they think growth magically happens by posting.

It doesn’t.

Substack is NOT magic.

It’s leverage.

Big difference.

The writers growing fast usually understand 3 things:

1. Clear Positioning

People need to instantly understand:

• who you help

• what problem you solve

• why they should care

If someone lands on your page and your bio says:
“Thoughts about life, creativity, philosophy, entrepreneurship, fitness, culture and random things.”

…I have absolutely no idea why I should subscribe 😭

You need clarity.

Not complexity.

For example:

• helping beginner writers grow on Substack

• helping students become more disciplined

• helping creators monetize small audiences

Simple wins.

2. Consistent Visibility

Nobody discovers invisible writers.

And this is where people underestimate Notes and comments.

Comments are honestly one of the most underrated growth systems on Substack.

Because every big writer already has your audience sitting in their comment section.

That’s crazy when you think about it.

You don’t need to “find” your audience from scratch.

You just need to consistently show up where they already are.

This is literally what I did early on.

I would:

• leave thoughtful comments

• ask good questions

• connect with smaller writers

• DM people naturally

• restack content I genuinely liked

Nothing fancy.

But over time people started recognizing my name.

And familiarity builds trust WAY faster online than people think.

(Which is also why you somehow know random internet people better than your own cousins at this point )

3. Systems > Motivation

This one changed everything for me.

Most writers rely on motivation.

That’s dangerous.

Because motivation disappears the second:

• school gets stressful

• work gets busy

• your post flops

• life punches you in the face for a week

Systems survive bad days.

That’s why instead of asking:
“How do I stay motivated?”

Ask:
“How do I make growth easier to repeat?”

For example:

• writing 1 main article weekly

• turning that article into 5 Notes

• spending 20 minutes daily commenting

• DMing 3 new people per day

• collecting audience problems inside a document

Now growth becomes predictable instead of emotional.

That’s a HUGE difference. (and a difference not a lot of people are willing to build)

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

The Part Nobody Wants To Hear

I’m gonna be honest with you.

If I had to restart from 0 today on Substack, I would NOT obsess over writing the “perfect article.”

Because the biggest lie online is probably this:

“Just write great content and people will find you.”

No they won’t

I genuinely wish that were true.

There are brilliant writers sitting at 42 subscribers right now… while average writers with stronger systems quietly build massive audiences.

Because growth is rarely just about writing quality.

Visibility matters.
Connection matters.
Consistency matters.

And honestly? That’s the part most writers underestimate.

They think one good article will magically fix everything.

But then the real questions appear:

• how do I actually get people to SEE my writing?

• how do I build relationships with readers and creators?

• what do I say in DMs without sounding awkward?

• how do I turn attention into loyal subscribers?

• what happens if people subscribe… then disappear forever?

• how do I stay consistent when growth feels slow?

• how do I build systems so I’m not relying on motivation every week?

That’s where most writers get stuck.

Because what I just shared with you is only 10% of the complete system to turn your Substack into a real growing place!

The writers winning long term are usually not the most talented.

They’re the ones who:

• stayed visible

• built systems

• learned audience psychology

• kept improving

• kept showing up after bad weeks

That’s the real game.

And honestly? Most people reading this still won’t build an audience.

Not because they’re dumb.

But because they’ll:

• overthink for 4 months

• redesign logos 17 times

• consume productivity videos all day

• wait until everything feels “perfect”

Instead of simply:

• writing

• connecting

• testing

• improving

Over and over again.

That repetition is the boring secret nobody wants to hear.

But it’s also why growth eventually compounds.

It’s kind of like going to the gym once, looking in the mirror, then getting angry because you don’t look like a Marvel superhero by Thursday 😭

That’s exactly why I created Newsletter Growth Lab.

A FREE community where I share the complete systems I personally use to grow on Substack while balancing school, sports, writing, content creation, and everything else life randomly throws at you.

Join Now!

Because I genuinely believe everybody should have access to this information instead of trying to figure everything out alone for years.

Inside Growth Lab, I break down:

• how to consistently grow on Substack

• how to build relationships with readers and creators

• how to create engagement systems that compound

• how to use AI without sounding robotic

• how to structure your newsletter for retention

• how to turn subscribers into loyal fans

• how to build systems instead of relying on motivation

• and how to eventually monetize your audience authentically

Not fake “go viral tomorrow” advice.

Real systems.

Real testing.

Real execution.

And I’ve already seen these systems work for other writers too.

One creator inside the community went from around 400 subscribers to over 1,100 subscribers while making her first money online after applying the systems consistently.

Not because she magically became more talented overnight.

Because she stopped guessing and started building intentionally.

That’s the difference.

And honestly? The writers learning these skills now are going to have a huge advantage later.

Because while most people are still endlessly preparing and waiting for perfect conditions…

Others are quietly building:

• trust

• systems

• audiences

• relationships

• communities

That compound every single month.

So if you’re tired of overthinking, growing painfully slowly, and trying to figure everything out alone…

Join us. 🔥

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Growth Lab is completely free because we genuinely believe everybody should have access to this information.

And your future audience is probably built more by the systems you repeat consistently than the “perfect strategy” you never actually apply 😭

Final Thought

A lot of writers are trying to become “content creators.”

But I honestly think the future belongs to people who build communities instead.

People are tired of fake optimization.

They want real voices.

Real stories.

Real connection.

That’s why newsletters are becoming so powerful.

Because readers are no longer just following content.

They’re following people.

And if you start building that relationship now?

You’ll have a massive advantage 2-3 years from today while everyone else is still trying to win the dopamine Olympics on social media 💀

So if you’re starting today:

• stop waiting to feel ready

• simplify your niche

• talk to readers like humans

• build systems

• stay visible

And most importantly…

Keep showing up long enough for people to finally notice you.

Because sometimes the difference between the writer who “made it” and the one who quit…

is literally just 6 more months of consistency.

Every Monday I break down successful creators.
Every Wednesday I share practical growth strategies.
And every Friday we have real conversations with writers trying to build something meaningful online.

So if you’re tired of shouting into the void…

Subscribe!

Subscribe now

See you next post,
— William 😁

Leave a comment

Just a bunch of people reading your work?

Is it that important?

Yes.

1000 subscribers is not just a number or milestone. It’s the proof you can live with your writing.

Imagine if you have just 250 people in front of you, right now, listinening to you, for you writing.

Wouldnt that be worth building and creating?

Yet you take so much time building it and getting overhelemed by all the tips out there.

I get you.

I was like you: with a goal, but without the system.

And today, this frustartes me, because all writers should have the power to make their dream and goal a reality.

That’s why I want to show you the exact blueprint I would follow if I had to restart from 0 and get my first 1,000 readers on Substack in the next 90 days.

Not with ads.
Not with fake engagement pods.
Not with “post 17 times a day” productivity guru nonsense.

Just with systems, consistency, and real human connection.

Let’s get into it.

Subscribe now

The 90-Day Blueprint

This is not a “post once and become famous” strategy.

This is a compounding strategy.

Every week builds on the previous one.

And the reason most writers fail is because they do random actions with no structure:
3 days of motivation
2 weeks disappearing
one panic-post
then another “why am I not growing?” moment

So here’s the roadmap I’d actually follow.

Phase 1 (Weeks 1-2):

Build a Page People Actually Want to Subscribe To

Most writers focus on content first.

Big mistake.

Because if people discover your page and instantly feel confused…
they leave.

Simple.

Your Substack needs to answer 3 questions immediately:

1. Who is this for?

Not:
“Thoughts on life and creativity.”

That means absolutely nothing.

Be specific.

Examples:
Helping busy writers grow online
Helping students become disciplined
Helping creators build newsletters

People subscribe when they feel:
“This is for me.”

2. What problem do you solve?

Most writers describe topics.

Good newsletters describe transformations.

Bad:
“I write about productivity.”

Better:
“I help overwhelmed creators stay consistent without burning out.”

See the difference?

One describes information.
The other describes a result.

3. Why should they trust you?

And no, you do NOT need 100k followers.

But people need context.

Tell your story.

For me, I usually mention:
full-time student-athlete
grew to 1,500+ subscribers
tested hundreds of growth experiments
helped 40+ writers grow

Not to flex.

But because context builds credibility.

People trust people faster when they understand where the advice comes from.

Then, you put all of this in your Substack page: your banner, your biography description, your Start Here post.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Phase 2 (Weeks 3-4):

Stop Posting Into the Void and Go Find Your Readers

This is where most growth actually happens in the beginning.

Not from your articles.

From your visibility.

When you’re small, waiting for people to magically discover you is one of the slowest strategies possible.

So instead:
borrow attention ethically.

Here’s exactly what I mean.

Go find 20-30 writers in your niche.

Not celebrities.
Not giant creators with 2 million followers.

Writers slightly bigger than you.

Then:
read their Notes
read their comment sections
see what readers complain about
see what questions they ask
see what frustrations come back repeatedly

This part is IMPORTANT.

Because you’re not just looking for writers.

You’re looking for struggling readers.

That changes everything.

Now instead of writing random content based on assumptions, you start understanding what people ACTUALLY care about.

And then comes the most underrated growth strategy on Substack:

Comments.

Not:
“Great post!”

That adds nothing.

I mean REAL comments.

Thoughtful comments.
Personal experiences.
Extra insights.
Funny observations.
Questions.

Comments that make people think:
“Wait… who is this person?”

That’s how I got a lot of my first subscribers.

Not through viral posts.

Through visibility + consistency.

At one point, I realized:
10 meaningful comments per day consistently brought me subscribers.

So instead of doing 10…
I started doing 30-50.

Because once you find something that works, the answer is usually not:
“Find another strategy.”

The answer is:
“Go bigger on the strategy already working.”

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Phase 3 (Weeks 5-8):

Build Trust Instead of Just Traffic

This is where most writers completely plateau.

Because getting subscribers and keeping subscribers are two different skills.

A lot of people can get attention.

Very few build loyalty.

And loyalty is what actually grows newsletters long-term.

This changed a lot for me:
I stopped thinking like a creator.
And started thinking like a community builder.

Meaning:
I stopped treating subscribers like numbers.

Now whenever someone subscribes, I try starting a real conversation.

Not robotic welcome messages.

Something simple like:

“Curious, what made you subscribe?”

or:

“Most writers here usually struggle with visibility, consistency, or engagement… which one are you dealing with most?”

Now suddenly:
you understand your audience
you get article ideas
you create relationships
you build trust

All from one conversation.

And honestly?

This is why smaller newsletters sometimes outperform massive ones.

Because connection scales harder than attention.

One loyal reader who deeply trusts you is worth more than 100 passive subscribers who barely remember your name.

So, for every new subscriber you get, you should send a welcome DM.

Simple as that.

Moreover, in this weeks, you want to analyze your content and schedule new content: including 5 Notes a day and 1-2 articles a week.

You want to take 1 weekend to take this off your plate.

Why?

Because if your content is already made, you have more time for what matters = connections, conversations, DM, comments.

And that’s how you build something sustainable!

Phase 4 (Weeks 9-12):

Turn Visibility Into Momentum

At this stage, you want your growth becoming semi-consistent.

Not random spikes.

Momentum.

And momentum usually comes from stacking systems together.

Here’s what that looked like for me:

Articles → attract new readers
Notes → increase visibility
Comments → create discovery
DMs → build relationships
Relationships → create recommendations
Recommendations → bring consistent subscribers (in your niche_

That’s the ecosystem.

Not one magic trick.

A SYSTEM.

And the writers growing fastest right now are usually not the smartest writers.

They’re the writers with the clearest systems.

That’s an important difference.

Because systems remove emotional decision-making.

You don’t wake up wondering:
“What should I do today?”

You already know.

Write.
Comment.
Connect.
Repeat.

Simple.
Not easy.
But simple.

So, you should take this weeks to build that system and figure out how to make it consistent and easy.

The Part Nobody Wants to Hear

I’m going to be honest with you.

Reaching your first 1,000 readers is probably not going to happen because of one “perfect” strategy from this article.

Because honestly? Most people reading this will still not reach 1,000 subscribers.

Not because they’re incapable.

But because after finishing this article, they’ll go back to:

• optimizing logos

• researching niches for 2 more months

• watching endless “how to grow online” videos

• and rebuilding their strategy every 4 days instead of actually publishing 😭

Meanwhile, another writer with less talent but better systems quietly builds momentum every single week.

Because the real bottleneck is usually not information.

It’s consistency while nobody cares yet.

And that phase is brutal.

Posting when:

• nobody replies

• subscriber growth feels slow

• engagement feels random

• and it seems like everybody else is growing faster

That’s the phase where almost everyone quits.

But honestly?

That’s also why opportunity still exists.

Because most people stop before momentum kicks in.

And that’s the important thing to understand:

What I shared in this article is maybe 10% of the full system behind growing on Substack.

Because yes, the roadmap matters a LOT.

But eventually new questions appear:

• how do I actually get readers consistently?

• how do I build relationships with creators in my niche?

• what do I even say in DMs without sounding awkward?

• how do I turn attention into loyal subscribers?

• what happens if people subscribe… but never come back?

• how do I stay consistent without burning out after 3 weeks?

• how do I build systems so growth keeps happening even when motivation disappears?

That’s where most writers get stuck.

Because growth is rarely about one tactic.

It’s the system behind it.

It’s kind of like trying to build a house with only a hammer and then wondering why the roof keeps collapsing

That’s exactly why I created Newsletter Growth Lab.

A FREE community where I share the complete systems I personally used while balancing school, sports, writing, content creation, and trying not to lose my sanity checking analytics every 12 minutes

Join Now!

Because I genuinely believe everybody should have access to this kind of information instead of trying to figure everything out alone for years.

Inside Growth Lab, I break down:

• how to consistently grow on Substack

• how to build engagement systems that compound

• how to create relationships with readers and creators

• how to use AI without sounding robotic

• how to structure your newsletter for retention

• how to build systems instead of relying on motivation

• and how to eventually monetize your audience authentically

Not fake “grow to 100K overnight” advice.

Real systems.

Real testing.

Real execution.

And I’ve already seen these systems work for other writers too.

One creator inside the community went from around 400 subscribers to over 1,100 subscribers while making her first money online after applying the systems consistently.

Not because she magically became more talented overnight.

Because she stopped guessing and started building intentionally.

That’s the difference.

And honestly? The writers learning these systems now are going to have a huge advantage later.

Because while most people are still endlessly preparing and restarting every 2 weeks…

Others are quietly building:

• trust

• systems

• audiences

• relationships

• communities

That compound over time.

So if you’re tired of overthinking, growing painfully slowly, and trying to figure everything out alone…

Join us. 🔥

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Growth Lab is completely free because we genuinely believe everybody should have access to this information.

And your future audience is probably built more by the systems you repeat consistently than the strategies you save and never apply

Final Thought

A lot of writers think growth comes from becoming more impressive.

Usually…
growth comes from becoming more understandable.

People subscribe when they feel:
“This person understands exactly what I’m struggling with.”

That’s why relationship-driven writers grow so much faster long term.

Not because they manipulate attention better.

Because readers actually care when they publish.

And THAT is the real goal.

Not random vanity metrics.
Not fake internet fame.

Real readers.
Real trust.
Real connection.

That’s the foundation of every great writing business online.

And honestly?

The writers building those systems today are going to have a massive advantage 1-2 years from now while everyone else is still trying to “hack the algorithm.”

So start now.

Messy if needed.
Imperfect if needed.
But start.

Because your future audience is built by the systems you consistently create today.

Every Monday I break down successful creators.
Every Wednesday I share practical growth strategies.
And every Friday we have real conversations with writers trying to build something meaningful online.

So if you’re tired of shouting into the void…

Subscribe!

Subscribe now

See you next post,
— William😁

Leave a comment

Like:
10,000 subscribers.
Viral posts.
Brand deals.
Thousands of likes.

But honestly?

That’s usually not how it starts.

Most creators make their first money in much smaller, simpler ways.

A template.
A guide.
A mini-course.
A simple system that helps somebody solve ONE frustrating problem faster.

That’s it.

And the crazy part?

You do not need a massive audience to make your first $100 online as a writer.

You just need:
people with a real problem
a simple solution
and enough trust for them to say:
“Honestly… this could help me.”

That’s the real game.

Because if 5 people buy a $20 product…
you made your first $100.

Not very sexy math.
But life-changing psychology.

But most writers overcomplicate the process and take 6 months just to build 1 product…

So if you’re trying to monetize your writing without waiting 7 years to “become famous,” here’s the roadmap I’d follow. (in less than 90 days!)

Subscribe now

The Real Reason Most Writers Stay Stuck Financially

Most writers do not fail because they are bad writers.

They fail because they pick the wrong monetization strategy for their current stage.

This is HUGE.

Because different monetization models work at different levels of audience size.

For example:

Sponsors sound cool.

But sponsors mostly care about:
open rates
clicks
audience quality
consistent traffic

If you have 87 subscribers and your mom opens 42% of your emails…
you are probably not ready for brand deals yet

Then you have ebooks.

Which CAN work.

But most writers make the mistake of creating giant 150-page ebooks nobody finishes instead of solving one painful problem quickly.

And if your ebook costs $9?
You need a LOT of traffic before that becomes meaningful income.

That’s why most beginner writers end up stuck in this weird cycle:

post content → get small growth → try random monetization → get no sales → doubt themselves → disappear for 3 weeks.

I’ve seen this happen so many times.

The solution is not “work harder.”

It’s choosing a monetization path that actually fits where you are right now.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

The Best Monetization Model for Small Writers

Honestly?

Small, actionable digital products are one of the best places to start.

Things like:
mini-courses
templates
systems
guides
roadmaps
resource packs

Not because they make you rich overnight.

But because:
they are simple
they solve specific problems
they create transformation fast
and they teach you how selling actually works.

That last part matters a LOT.

Your first product is less about maximizing money.

It’s about learning:
how people buy
why people buy
what problems feel painful enough to pay for
and how trust affects conversions.

That’s why I usually recommend beginner writers focus on:
simple problem → simple solution.

Not:
“THE ULTIMATE COMPLETE MASTERCLASS OF EXISTENTIAL PRODUCTIVITY.”

Brother nobody asked for that 😭

The Simple System I’d Use to Make My First $100

This is where most people overcomplicate everything.

You do NOT need:
funnels everywhere
crazy automation
paid ads
a giant team
or 16 productivity softwares connected together like a NASA control center.

You need a simple trust-building system.

Here’s what I’d do.

Step 1: Start Conversations With Subscribers (14 Days)

This part changed everything for me.

Most writers get subscribers…
then completely ignore them.

Huge mistake.

When somebody subscribes, I like sending a simple message like:

“Hey! Quick question 🙌
Most people here usually struggle with:
growing their audience
staying consistent
or monetizing their writing.
Curious which one fits you most?”

Simple.

But now you’re doing 3 important things at once:
building connection
understanding their struggles
collecting product ideas

This is how you stop guessing what to create.

Your audience literally tells you.

Step 2: Create a Free Resource Around ONE Problem (7 Days)

Once you notice patterns, build something small that helps.

And please…
do NOT try making the “perfect” product.

Your first freebie can literally be:
10 pages
a Notion template
a checklist
a mini-guide
a swipe file
or even a Loom video.

The goal is not perfection.

The goal is solving ONE frustrating problem quickly.

For example:

If writers struggle with visibility:
make a “30 Substack Comment Ideas” guide.

If they struggle with consistency:
make a weekly writing system template.

Simple.
Useful.
Actionable.

That’s what people want.

Not motivational fluff they forget 8 minutes later.

Fun Tips: You resolve a pain for a dream outcome, not just a pain. People are mor elikley to buy if they feel the transformation!

Step 3: Use the Freebie to Build Trust (7 Days)

This is where most people mess up.

They try selling IMMEDIATELY.

But trust always comes first.

Before thinking about making money, test your freebie with at least 3 subscribers.

Why?

First, you want feedback on the product. It’s your first one, so you need to know if it actually helped people and delivered what they expected.

And if it didn’t?

Improve it. Make it clearer, more actionable, and more useful.

Second, you want testimonials. If people got results, they can leave a 5-star review or a short testimonial that proves your system actually works.

That social proof matters way more than people think.

And finally, all this feedback will help you build a much better paid product later, because now you’ll understand exactly what people struggle with, what they want more help with, and what kind of transformation they’re actually looking for.

Step 4: Add a Small Paid Offer (14 Days)

Now comes the important part.

After the freebie, give people an OPTIONAL next step.

Maybe:

• a mini-course

• a deeper guide

• a system

• a bundle

• a workshop

Something that helps them get a faster, easier, or more complete result.

And honestly?

Your first paid product does NOT need to be complicated.

One of the biggest mistakes writers make is thinking:

“If people pay, it needs to be insanely advanced.”

No.

Most people pay for:

• clarity

• speed

• organization

• simplicity

• implementation

That’s it.

A simple system that saves somebody 10 hours can easily be worth $20-$50.

Especially when the problem is frustrating, overwhelming, or emotionally draining to deal with alone.

Step 5: Market It the Right Way

Marketing your product can honestly feel like one of the most uncomfortable things as a writer.

Most of us don’t like “selling.”

And readers don’t like feeling sold to either.

That’s why you should use a simple 2-step approach instead of constantly pushing your product.

Emails

People need to KNOW your offer exists.

You should do a small launch and write at least 3 emails about your paid product:

• what it does

• who it helps

• what result it gives

• why you created it

Because when people understand the value of something, they become much more likely to buy it.

Free Comments & DMs

Using Tally, create a landing page for your freebie.

Then, after people download it, redirect them to your paid offer as the “complete system” or the next logical step.

This works really well because it doesn’t feel pushy.

You’re giving value first.

Then naturally showing them a deeper solution if they want more help.

From there, your job is simple:
find people who struggle with the problem your freebie solves, then send them the resource through comments or DMs.

The more people you help, the more chances you create for sales.

Simple as that.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Bonus

Okay… I have some good news for you. 😁

You just went through the strategy.

You now know what works.

But here’s the problem: knowing the theory and knowing exactly what to do with your own newsletter are two very different things.

Because your niche is different.

Your audience is different.

Your current stage is different.

And unfortunately, I cannot write one article that magically tells 10,000 different creators exactly what to do next.

I wish I could. That would save me a lot of calls. 😂

That’s why I’m opening something a little different.

For this year, I have one big goal:

Help 100 newsletter creators build more freedom and create stable revenue from what they publish.

Not just more subscribers for the screenshot.

Not another newsletter that takes 10 hours a week and makes $0.

But something that can actually become an asset: an audience, relationships, opportunities, and eventually revenue.

So right now, I’m offering a free Newsletter Growth Consultation, normally valued at $197.

During the consultation, we take everything you learned in this article and apply it directly to you and your newsletter.

We look at:

• Where you are right now and what’s actually holding your growth back

• Your positioning, audience, and biggest opportunities

• What you should focus on first instead of trying 27 strategies at the same time

• Your personalized 90-day growth plan

• How you can start reaching the right readers consistently

• The opportunities to turn your newsletter into something that can eventually generate revenue

• And the systems you need to build if your goal is more freedom, not just another job you created for yourself 😅

Basically, you leave knowing:

Where you are → where you want to go → and what you should actually build next.

No generic advice.

No “just post consistently.”

No 47-page PDF that you download and never open again.

A real plan based on your newsletter, your goals, and the life you’re trying to build.

Because honestly, this is why I think taking action now matters.

You can spend the next few months, or even the next two years, testing strategies, changing your niche, trying new platforms, buying another course, and hoping one thing finally works.

The consultation is normally $197, but I’m offering it for free right now because I genuinely want to help as many of those 100 creators as possible get moving in the right direction.

So if you’re serious about growing your newsletter into something bigger than just a hobby…

Let’s look at it together.

Book Your Free Consultation

Final Thought

Making your first $100 online is not really about the money.

It’s about proof.

Proof that:
your ideas have value
people trust you
and your writing can create opportunities.

That changes your mindset completely.

Because once you realize:
“Wait… somebody paid me because my writing helped them…”

you stop treating your work like a hobby. This is actually something that can chnage your life.

But the next question is:

What do YOU build next?

Because reading about positioning is one thing.

Actually fixing your positioning is another.

Knowing that you need a growth system is one thing.

Actually building one around your niche and audience is another.

And knowing you eventually want to monetize your newsletter is great…

But figuring out what to sell, who to sell it to, how to get people there, and how to avoid creating another job for yourself… yeah, that’s where it gets a little more complicated. 😂

That’s why I created the free consultation.

We’ll look at your newsletter together, find the biggest opportunities and bottlenecks, and build your next steps around where you are right now.

But please don’t finish this article, say “Wow, that was useful!”, close the tab, and then do absolutely nothing for the next three months.

I’ve done that before.

It’s a very productive way to procrastinate. 😂

Take what you learned.

Apply it.

And if you want help figuring out exactly how to apply it to your newsletter and your goals, book the free consultation.

Book Your Free Consultation

Hope the article was helpful! And seriously, thank you for reading until the end.

Now… go build something. 🚀

💬Leave a comment about your #1 struggle building your Substack. I want to help you now!

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🤝Share this piece to someone who needs it. Always love to help more people!

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Just real examples, simple takeaways, and things you can try yourself.

You’ll get it straight in your inbox 🙂

See you there!

- William

Subscribe now

Write a manuscript.
Send it to publishers.
Get accepted.
Hope your book succeeds.

And honestly?

That path still works for some people.

But the problem is that most writers think the publisher is the thing that creates success.

It’s not.

The audience is.

Because you can have the best book in the world, but if nobody knows who you are before launch… you’re basically starting from zero every single time.

That’s why you see some creators sell thousands of books instantly while other incredibly talented writers barely sell 100 copies.

Not because their writing is worse.

Because one built an audience first.

And the other waited for permission.

That realization changed everything for me.

I stopped thinking:
“How do I get chosen?”

And started thinking:
“How do I build something people actually care about before I ever sell anything?”

That’s the real game now.

And honestly?
You are not doing it right.

That’s exactly why I want to show you the 4 strategies that helped me grow to 1,500 subscribers with real engagement… so you can have real readers for your book too!

Subscribe now

The Real Problem With Traditional Publishing

The biggest issue with publishers is not even the money.

It’s the distance they create between you and your readers.

The publisher owns the distribution.
The marketing.
The relationship.
The visibility.

You become dependent on somebody else to grow your career.

And that’s dangerous.

Because if they stop promoting your work?
You disappear.

Meanwhile, writers with their own audience can:
launch products
sell books
start communities
build memberships
get clients
make money from recommendations
and create opportunities whenever they want.

Why?

Because they own attention.

And attention online is basically modern leverage.

The craziest part is that most writers are trying to build this audience on platforms designed to destroy their focus.

Instagram.
TikTok.
Twitter/X.

You post something.

Someone watches for 1.7 seconds.

Then immediately goes back to watching a raccoon stealing cat food while subway surfers gameplay plays underneath.

Good luck building deep trust in that environment

That’s why I became obsessed with Substack.

Not because it’s “perfect.”

But because it’s one of the few places online where people still show up to actually READ.

Huge difference.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Why I Think Substack Is The Best Place For Writers Right Now

I’ve tested a lot of platforms.

And honestly?

Substack solves a problem most writers don’t even realize they have:

ownership.

When somebody subscribes to your newsletter, you own the connection.

You don’t have to pray an algorithm shows your work to them next week.

You can directly reach them.

That’s powerful.

Especially today when algorithms change every 14 seconds for absolutely no reason

But the other underrated thing about Substack is the environment.

People there EXPECT to read.

That changes behavior completely.

On TikTok, people consume.

On Substack, people connect.

That’s why even small writers can build loyal communities there way faster than on traditional social media.

And once you combine:
email list
community
consistent content
relationship-building
and recommendations...

growth becomes way more predictable.

And here’s how you can start or build the best foundation!

Here’s The 4 Thing I Would Do if I Were You

Honestly?

I’d stop overthinking branding for 3 weeks first

Most writers waste insane amounts of time trying to:
pick the perfect logo
find the perfect niche
rewrite their bio 47 times
choose the perfect color palette

Meanwhile they still haven’t posted anything.

So here’s the actual process I’d follow.

Step 1: Create The Account Fast

Don’t wait until everything looks perfect.

Nobody cares at the beginning.

Create the account.
Add a simple picture.
Write a clear sentence about what you help people with.

Done.

Your first version is supposed to look messy.

(Mine definitely did)

Step 2: Study Writers In Your Niche

This part matters WAY more than people think.

Go search creators in your niche and analyze:
what people comment on
what headlines get engagement
what problems repeat constantly
what readers complain about
what angles feel different

You’re not copying.

You’re researching demand.

Big difference.

Because when you understand what readers already care about, writing becomes much easier.

You stop posting random ideas into the void hoping something works.

Also, you should look at what other writers are offering and how you can be different.

Why?

If your Substack feels like the same of every other Susbtack in your niche, people won’t stay for you, they will take the first thing they see or read.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Step 3: Build A Clear Structure

If somebody lands on your page and immediately feels confused…
you lose them.

People need clarity FAST.

Your page should instantly answer:
Who are you?
What do you write about?
Why should they subscribe?
What transformation/problem do you help with?

Simple.

Not:
“I explore the intersection between modern existential curiosity and digital creativity.”

Be direct and clear.

You can use your previous research to let them know 3 things:

• Their transformation (from pain to dream outcome)

• Your unique solution (how are you different and when your are posting this)

• Your story (and proof)

Then, put it in your bio and in your Start Here Post.

That’s how it becomes more clear for your reader!

Step 4: Stop Posting Alone

This one changed everything for me.

A lot of writers publish…
then disappear.

No comments.
No conversations.
No networking.
No engagement.

Then they wonder why nobody notices them.

At the beginning, visibility matters more than perfection.

That’s why commenting helped me so much early on.

I treated comments like mini networking opportunities.

Not fake “great post 🔥” comments.

Real thoughts.
Real questions.
Real conversations.

That’s how readers slowly started discovering my work.

And once you get momentum?
Everything compounds faster.

More readers.
More recommendations.
More replies.
More relationships.
More trust.

Want a real structure?

Use this:

1. Add value to what they just said (in a Note or a comment)

2. Ask a question about your niche (are you struggling too with…)

3. Finish by saying: I would love to connect!

It’s a simple comment that will first help you get answered and secondly make them check out your page.

When they answer, and do struggle with something, help them and if you can share a valauble piece you have.

Chances are they will subscribe!

(and that’s how you can start having real readers for you book!)

The Part Most Writers Don’t Want To Hear

I’ll be honest with you.

If I had to restart from 0 today, I would still focus on building an audience first instead of waiting for some magical publisher to come save me.

Because honestly? Most writers reading this will still stay stuck.

Not because they’re incapable.

But because they’ll consume this article like entertainment instead of execution.

They’ll read it.
Feel motivated for 12 minutes.
Maybe even tell themselves:
“Okay yeah… I should probably start my Substack.”

Then go right back to overthinking:

• their niche

• their logo

• their first post

• their banner

• or waiting for “the perfect time” to start

Meanwhile another writer with less talent but better systems quietly builds an audience every single week.

Because building online is usually less complicated than people think.

It’s mostly:

• visibility

• consistency

• connection

• repetition

That’s it.

And honestly? That’s why building an audience first matters so much.

Because once you own attention and trust, everything becomes easier later:

• books

• products

• clients

• opportunities

• collaborations

• monetization

But here’s the important part:

This article alone is only a small piece of the bigger picture.

Because yes, starting a Substack and building publicly matters a LOT.

But eventually new questions appear:

• how do I actually get readers consistently?

• how do I build relationships with other writers?

• what do I say in DMs without sounding weird?

• how do I turn attention into loyal subscribers?

• what if people subscribe… but never come back?

• how do I stay consistent without burning out?

• how do I structure my newsletter so people actually remember it?

That’s where most writers stay stuck.

Because growth on Substack is rarely about one viral strategy.

It’s the system behind it.

The writers growing the fastest right now are usually not the most talented writers.

They’re the writers building the strongest systems.

That’s exactly why I created Newsletter Growth Lab.

A FREE community where I share the systems I personally used to grow my Substack while balancing school, sports, work, content creation, and honestly way too much caffeine ☕

Join Now!

Because I genuinely believe more writers should have access to this information instead of trying to figure everything out alone for years.

Inside the community, I break down:

• how to grow consistently on Substack

• how to get loyal readers instead of ghost subscribers

• how to structure your newsletter

• how to monetize without sounding salesy

• how to use AI without losing your human voice

• how to create systems instead of relying on motivation

• and how to turn writing into a real long-term opportunity

Not fake “become a millionaire author in 30 days” advice 😭

Real systems.

Real testing.

Real execution.

And I’ve already seen these systems work for other writers too.

One creator inside the community went from around 400 subscribers to over 1,100 subscribers in just a few months while making her first dollar online.

Not because she became a genius overnight.

Because she finally had systems.

That’s the difference.

And honestly? The writers learning these skills now are going to have a huge advantage later.

Because while most people are still waiting for permission to start…

Others are quietly building audiences that compound every single month.

Huge difference.

So if you’re tired of overthinking, posting inconsistently, and trying to figure everything out alone…

Join us. 🔥

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Growth Lab is completely free because we genuinely believe everybody should have access to this kind of information.

And your future audience is probably built more by the systems you repeat consistently than the ideas you keep waiting to “perfect” before publishing.

Final Thought

The old writing path was:

Write first.
Find readers later.

The new path is:

Build readers first.
Create WITH them.
Grow together.

That’s the shift.

And honestly?
I think writers who understand this early are going to have a massive advantage in the next few years.

Because attention is changing.
Algorithms are getting noisier.
AI content is exploding.

But real connection?

That’s becoming more valuable every day.

So stop waiting for somebody to “discover” you.

Start building your own platform.
Start your newsletter.
Start talking to readers.
Start learning what people actually care about.

Because your future writing career probably won’t be built by a publisher.

It’ll be built by the audience you start creating today.

Every Monday I break down successful creators.
Every Wednesday I share practical growth strategies.
And every Friday we have real conversations with writers trying to build something meaningful online.

So if you’re tired of shouting into the void…

Subscribe!

Subscribe now

See you next post,
— William 🤝

Leave a comment

Now?

A random 20-year-old student with a laptop can build a writing business from his bedroom while procrastinating an assignment due in 4 hours (not me)

That’s the internet now.

And honestly, that opportunity is still massively underrated.

Ali Abdaal sold hundreds of thousands of books because he built an audience first.

Big creators, authors, YouTubers, even small niche writers making a full-time income online…

Most of them are not winning because they “write better.”

They win because they built attention BEFORE they needed it.

That’s the part most writers completely miss.

They spend years perfecting writing…

…but almost no time learning how to build an audience around it.

And then they wonder why nobody reads their work.

I know this because I used to do the exact same thing.

I’d spend HOURS writing articles.
Editing every sentence.
Trying to sound smart.
Trying to sound “professional.”

Then I’d publish it…

…and hear absolutely nothing back

No comments.
No replies.
Barely any subscribers.

At one point I genuinely thought:
“Maybe people just don’t care about writing anymore.”

But the real issue wasn’t my writing.

It was that nobody knew I existed.

Now I’m at 1,500 subscribers, and in this article, I’ll show you the 4 main things that helped me get there so you can grow way faster than I did (without wasting months figuring it out alone).

Let’s go!

Subscribe now

Step 1: Stop Writing Into the Dark

One of the biggest mistakes beginner writers make is this:

They start publishing without understanding WHO they’re writing for.

So their content feels vague.
Generic.
Forgettable.

Instead, start with research.

Go on Substack.
Search keywords related to your niche.
Study creators growing in your category.

Not to copy them.

But to understand:
what readers care about
what struggles appear repeatedly
what titles get engagement
what language people use

This is HUGE.

Because once you understand your audience’s real problems, your writing instantly becomes more relevant.

And relevant writing grows faster than “beautiful” writing.

Every time.

You should also make a list of how you can be different from all those writers in your niche.

Why?

Because if you don’t feel special, if you don’t create a little curiosity in the reader’s mind, you will lose him when he will see a bigger newsletter which is way more consistent than you.

So when you research, you’ll should look at 3 things:

• What readers care about

• How can you be different and better than other newsletters (your own angle)

• How top creators structure and present the idea so people actually keep reading until the end

That’s it. Now put it in your Substack!

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Step 2: Build a Newsletter People Actually Understand

Most newsletter pages are confusing.

And confused readers don’t subscribe.

Simple.

When someone lands on your page, they should immediately understand:
who you help
what you write about
why they should care

Not:
“I explore ideas about life, growth, humanity, productivity, creativity, philosophy, systems, emotions, and the art of becoming.”

Be CLEAR.

For example:

Bad:
“I write about personal growth.”

Better:
“I help busy creators grow online without burning out.”

Now readers instantly know:
“Okay this is for me.”

You also NEED:
a good profile picture
a simple bio
and a “Start Here” article

That article matters way more than people think.

Because new readers need direction.

They need:
what to read first
what transformation you offer
and why they should stay

Otherwise they subscribe…
forget who you are 2 days later…
and become ghost subscribers FOREVER.

So build a good structure!

Step 3: Use Notes Like a Human Being

This is where most writers overcomplicate everything.

Substack Notes are honestly one of the easiest growth tools right now.

But people treat them like corporate LinkedIn posts

Instead:
share thoughts
stories
mistakes
small lessons
opinions
behind-the-scenes moments

The goal is not perfection.

The goal is familiarity.

Because readers subscribe faster when they feel like they know you.

And PLEASE interact with people.

Comment on posts.
Reply to Notes.
Ask questions.
Support smaller writers.

That’s literally how I found many of my first subscribers.

Not through some genius funnel.

Just genuine interaction.

And the cool part?

Substack rewards community WAY more than traditional social media.

That’s why small writers can still grow fast there.

So focus less on perfection:

And more on familiarity when you post or interact inside Substack!

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Step 4: Focus on Relationships, Not Numbers

This changed everything for me.

At first, I was obsessed with subscriber count.

100 subscribers.
500 subscribers.
1,000 subscribers.

But eventually I realized:

100 loyal readers are more valuable than 10,000 random followers.

Because loyal readers actually engage.

That’s why I started messaging subscribers personally.

Simple things like:

“Hey 🙌 curious… what made you subscribe?”

Or:

“What are you currently struggling with most as a writer?”

And suddenly:
people started replying
sharing their problems
opening up
asking questions

Now my content isn’t based on guessing anymore.

It’s based on real conversations.

That’s the cheat code.

Your audience literally tells you what to write about if you listen enough.

So, you should interact 10x more than you are doing right now.

Don’t know how and where?

Go to Search in Substack.

Write a keyword in your niche.

Find 10 readers.

Engage with their Notes. And Engage with the comments of their Notes (that’s where you can find real readers for your work!)

The Part Nobody Wants to Hear

I’ll be honest with you.

Starting a Substack when you already have book ideas, stories, or knowledge to share is honestly the easy part.

The hard part is continuing long enough for people to actually remember you.

Because most writers are not failing because they lack talent.

They’re failing because they stop too early.

They post consistently for:

• 2 weeks

• maybe 2 months if we’re lucky

Then they panic because:

• growth feels slow

• engagement feels inconsistent

• or somebody else grows faster

But building a real audience takes repetition.

It takes systems.

And honestly? That’s where most writers start realizing something important:

this article alone will not magically grow your newsletter.

Because yes, having a good Substack idea matters.

But eventually new questions appear:

• how do I actually get readers consistently?

• how do I build relationships with people in my niche?

• what do I even say in DMs without sounding awkward?

• how do I turn readers into loyal subscribers?

• what if people subscribe… but never come back?

• how do I stay consistent without burning out after 3 weeks?

• how do I grow while balancing real life, work, school, or sports?

That’s where most writers stay stuck.

Not because they’re untalented.

Because they only see one piece of the system.

It’s like trying to bake a cake with only flour and then wondering why it tastes like emotional damage

Reading growth advice feels productive.

Actually commenting, posting, messaging readers, improving your writing structure, and building systems consistently?

That’s the uncomfortable part.

But that’s also the part that changes everything.

And honestly? That’s exactly why I created Newsletter Growth Lab.

A FREE community where I share the complete systems I personally used to grow while balancing school, training, writing, content creation, and everything else life randomly throws at you.

Join Now!

Because I genuinely believe more writers should have access to this information instead of trying to figure everything out alone for years.

Inside Growth Lab, I break down:

• how to consistently grow on Substack

• how to build relationships with readers and creators

• how to create engagement systems that compound

• how to use AI without sounding robotic

• how to turn subscribers into loyal fans

• how to build workflows that save time and energy

• and how to eventually monetize your audience authentically

Not fake “write one post and become rich by Thursday” advice 😭

Real systems.

Real testing.

Real execution.

And I’ve already seen these systems work for other writers too.

One creator inside the community, Growth Canva, went from around 400 subscribers to over 1,100 subscribers while making her first money online.

Not because she magically became a genius overnight.

Because she stopped relying on random motivation and started building intentionally.

That’s the real difference.

And honestly? The writers learning these skills now are going to have a huge advantage later.

Because while most people are still overthinking and endlessly consuming advice…

Others are quietly building:

• trust

• systems

• audiences

• relationships

• communities

And that compounds fast.

So if you’re tired of feeling stuck, posting randomly, and trying to figure everything out alone…

Join us. 🔥

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Growth Lab is completely free because we genuinely believe everybody should have access to this information.

And your future audience is probably built more by the systems you repeat consistently than the ideas you keep waiting to “perfect” before publishing.

Final Thought

The writers winning online right now are not necessarily the smartest writers.

They’re the writers building:
trust
consistency
visibility
and real relationships.

Because information is everywhere now.

Connection is rare.

That’s why people don’t subscribe because of “content” anymore.

They subscribe because they feel connected to the person behind it.

And honestly?

That’s good news for smaller writers.

Because you don’t need millions of followers anymore.

You just need:
the right people
the right systems
and enough consistency to stay in the game long enough for momentum to kick in.

Every Monday I break down successful creators.
Every Wednesday I share practical growth strategies.
And every Friday we have real conversations with writers trying to build something meaningful online.

So if you’re tired of shouting into the void…

Subscribe to BeBetter!

Subscribe now

See you next post,
— William😁

Leave a comment

“I’ll start writing online… post consistently… and eventually people will magically discover me.”

Yeah.

That lasted about 2 months before reality punched me directly in the forehead

Because when I started my newsletter, I had:
2 subscribers
0 momentum
almost no engagement
and enough self-doubt to power an entire city

I remember refreshing my stats every 17 minutes like somehow the algorithm would suddenly feel bad for me and send me readers out of pity

But nothing happened.

Not because my writing was terrible.

Not because I wasn’t motivated enough.

But because I completely misunderstood how online writing growth actually works.

Most writers think success comes from:
writing more
waiting longer
or becoming “better” writers

But honestly?

A LOT of writers stay stuck for years because they never fix the real bottlenecks slowing them down.

And after growing from 2 subscribers to 1,500+ while being a full-time student-athlete juggling school, training, work, content, and trying not to mentally collapse during exam season…

…I realized most writers struggle with the same 3 problems.

So if you feel like you’re posting into the void right now, this article will probably save you a lot of wasted time.

Let’s get into it!

Subscribe now

Obstacle #1: You’re Not Going Big Enough

This one completely changed how I approached growth.

Most writers find ONE thing that works…

…and then barely do it.

For example:

When I first started growing, I realized comments were bringing me subscribers.

Not fancy viral threads.
Not perfect branding.
Not some magical AI prompt from a productivity guru

Just comments.

I noticed something interesting:

Around 10 thoughtful comments would usually bring me 1 subscriber.

So instead of saying:
“Cool.”

I asked:
“What happens if I do 50?”

That’s when growth started compounding.

Because beginners massively underestimate volume.

They post:
2 Notes a week
3 comments a day
1 article every 14 years

…and then wonder why nothing moves.

But when nobody knows who you are yet, visibility matters more than perfection.

You need reps.

A LOT of reps.

The writers growing fast are usually not doing one amazing thing.

They’re doing enough useful things consistently for long enough that the math finally starts working in their favor.

That’s why Notes matter.
That’s why comments matter.
That’s why engagement matters.

Not because each action is life-changing individually…

…but because together they create momentum.

And momentum online is basically a superpower.

So think BIGGER!

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Obstacle #2: Your Newsletter Structure Confuses People

This is the silent killer.

A writer can have:
good ideas
solid writing
valuable content

…but still struggle to grow because their page gives readers absolutely no reason to subscribe.

Imagine someone lands on your Substack for the first time.

And they see:
a vague bio
random article titles
no clear transformation
no “Start Here” post
no direction

Most people leave in 7 seconds.

Not because they hate you.

They’re just confused.

And confused people don’t subscribe.

This is why your positioning matters SO much.

People should instantly understand:
who you help
what problem you solve
why they should care

Simple example:

Bad:
“I write about self-improvement and life.”

Better:
“I help busy creators grow on Substack without burning out.”

Way clearer.

Now people immediately know:
“Okay this is for me.”

And one small thing that helped me a lot?

Creating a real “Start Here” article.

Not just:
“Hey welcome to my newsletter :)”

But an actual roadmap:
who you are
what readers will learn
where they should begin
what transformation they can expect

Because readers don’t want random information anymore.

They want clarity.

(Also please stop overthinking your logo for 9 hours instead of writing)

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Obstacle #3: You’re Collecting Subscribers… Not Relationships

This was probably my biggest mistake.

At one point, I was getting subscribers consistently from comments and Notes.

And I thought:
“Okay nice… now the audience will magically become loyal.”

Nope.

Because subscribers alone mean nothing.

You can have 5,000 subscribers and still feel invisible if nobody actually cares when you post.

That’s why engagement matters more than vanity metrics.

The shift happened when I stopped treating Substack like a content machine…

…and started treating it like a real community.

Now whenever someone subscribes, I usually send a simple message like:

“Hey 🙌 curious… what made you subscribe?”

That’s it.

Simple.
Human.
Easy to answer.

And the replies changed everything.

Now I understand:
what people struggle with
what content they actually want
what language they use
what frustrates them most

Which means my articles stopped being random guesses.

They became relevant.

And relevant writing grows WAY faster than “technically good” writing.

Because readers don’t stay for perfect grammar or sophisticated frameworks.

They stay because they feel understood.

That’s the internet cheat code nobody talks about enough.

Connection.

The Truth Most Writers Don’t Want to Hear

I’m going to be honest with you.

Most writers are not one strategy away from growth.

They’re one SYSTEM away.

Because after reading an article like this, most people finally become more “problem aware.”

They realize:
“wait… maybe my newsletter isn’t dying because the platform is saturated.”

Maybe it’s because there’s no real system behind the growth.

Because what usually happens is:

• you try a tactic

• get inconsistent

• overthink small problems

• lose momentum

• then convince yourself Substack “just doesn’t work anymore”

Meanwhile, another writer with worse branding but better systems quietly grows past you.

Harsh.

But true.

And honestly? That’s why one strategy alone rarely changes everything.

Because yes, understanding the 3 obstacles helps a LOT.

But then new questions appear:

• okay… but how do I actually get readers consistently?

• how do I build relationships with other writers?

• what do I say in DMs without sounding fake?

• how do I turn engagement into loyal subscribers?

• how do I keep readers from disappearing after 2 emails?

• how do I stay consistent without burning out?

• how do I grow AND eventually monetize without becoming some weird fake guru posting “millionaire morning routines”

That’s where most writers stay stuck.

It’s the systems behind that make a good Substack:

• finding readers

• keeping readers

• building trust

• creating content

• starting conversations

• and eventually monetizing later

All working together.

It’s kind of like trying to build IKEA furniture with only 10% of the instructions and then acting surprised when the chair becomes a dangerous medieval weapon

That’s exactly why I created Newsletter Growth Lab.

A FREE community where I share the complete systems that helped me grow while balancing school, sports, work, writing, and content creation at the same time.

Join Now!

Because I genuinely believe more writers should have access to this information instead of trying to figure everything out alone for years.

Inside Growth Lab, I break down:

• how to consistently grow on Substack

• how to build real relationships with readers and creators

• how to create engagement systems that compound

• how to use AI without sounding robotic

• how to turn readers into loyal fans

• how to build systems instead of relying on motivation

• and how to eventually monetize your audience authentically

Not fake “grow overnight” advice.

Real systems.

Real testing.

Real execution.

And I’ve already seen these systems work for other writers too.

One creator inside the community, Growth Canva, went from around 400 subscribers to over 1,100 subscribers while making her first money online.

Not because she suddenly became more talented.

Because she stopped guessing and started building intentionally.

That’s the difference.

And honestly? The writers learning these skills now are going to have a massive advantage later.

Because while most people are still posting randomly and hoping something works…

Others are quietly building systems readers actually trust.

Huge difference.

So if you’re tired of feeling stuck, restarting every 2 weeks, and wondering why growth feels so random…

Join us. 🔥

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Growth Lab is completely FREE because we genuinely believe everybody should have access to this kind of information.

And your future audience is probably built more by the systems you repeat consistently than the strategies you save and never apply

Final Thought

Most writers think success comes from writing better.

But honestly?

A lot of the time, success comes from becoming:
more visible
more clear
and more human.

Because people don’t subscribe to newsletters anymore.

They subscribe to people they trust.

That’s the difference between:
“Cool article.”

and:

“I actually look forward to this person’s posts.”

Big difference.

Every Monday I break down successful creators.
Every Wednesday I share practical growth strategies.
And every Friday we have real conversations with writers building together.

So subscribe, keep writing, and stop underestimating what one focused year can do.

Subscribe now

See you next post
— William😁

Leave a comment

But I’m always asking myself the same question:

“What’s the ONE move that could grow my newsletter the fastest next month?”

For a long time, the answer was comments.

Comments helped me go from basically invisible to finally getting readers consistently.

But recently?

Something else started outperforming almost everything.

Recommendations.

Because once a bigger newsletter recommends you…

Subscribers start coming in automatically.

Not from you posting 14 Notes a day.

Not from fighting Instagram’s algorithm like a gladiator.

Not from praying your post magically goes viral while sacrificing your sleep schedule to the content gods.

Just… consistent subscribers showing up every week because another creator already built trust with their audience.

That’s the beauty of recommendations.

Trust transfers.

And honestly?

Most writers completely misuse this system.

They treat recommendations like networking.

But they’re actually relationships.

Huge difference.

Because nobody with a real audience wants to recommend a random stranger they barely know.

Especially when THEIR reputation is attached to it.

So today, I want to break down the exact system I started using to get bigger newsletters to recommend my work consistently, without sounding fake, pushy, or desperate.

Let’s get into it 👇

Subscribe now

Step 1: Build Your “Recommendation Target List”

This sounds simple.

Because it is

But most people skip this part completely and randomly DM huge creators with zero strategy.

Bad idea.

What I started doing instead was creating a list of around 30 writers in my niche.

For me, that meant searching things like:
Substack
newsletter growth
writing
creator economy
online writing

Then I looked for creators with:
good engagement
consistent posting
and audiences that actually matched mine

This part matters A LOT.

Because if someone sends you subscribers who don’t care about your topic…

You’ll just get empty numbers.

And empty numbers are dangerous because they make you THINK you’re growing while your engagement slowly dies in the background

So relevance > size.

Always.

Honestly, I’d rather get recommended by a creator with 2,000 loyal readers than someone with 100K completely disconnected followers.

Smaller engaged communities convert WAY harder.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Step 2: Stop Asking Before Becoming Familiar

This is where most people fail.

They immediately jump into DMs asking for collaborations before anyone even knows who they are.

Imagine someone walking up to you randomly and saying:

“Hey can you promote me to your audience?”

At least say hello first.

Instead, spend 1-2 weeks becoming visible inside their ecosystem.

• Reply to their Notes.

• Comment on their posts.

• Answer their emails.

• Ask GOOD questions.

Because eventually something interesting happens:

They start recognizing your name.

And recognition is huge online.

People trust familiarity WAY more than strangers.

That’s why when you eventually send the DM, it feels completely different.

Now you’re not:
“random creator #482 asking for a favor.”

You’re:
“Oh yeah, I know this person.”

Massive psychological difference.

And honestly?

Sometimes you won’t even NEED to ask.

A few recommendations I got happened naturally just because I consistently supported someone’s work for weeks beforehand.

That’s why relationship-building compounds so much on Substack.

Step 3: The Welcome DM Changes Everything

This part is insanely underrated.

Let’s say a bigger newsletter recommends you tomorrow.

Amazing.

You wake up with:
17 new subscribers
maybe 40
maybe 100

Cool.

But now what?

Most writers do absolutely nothing.

Which is crazy to me.

Because this is literally the moment where your new readers are MOST curious about you.

So instead of letting them silently subscribe and disappear forever…

Start conversations immediately.

I usually send something simple like:

“Hey! Really appreciate you subscribing 🙌
Quick question actually: what made you interested in newsletter growth/writing?”

Simple.

Human.

Easy to answer.

And once they reply?

Now the relationship begins.

Sometimes I’ll ask about their biggest struggle.

Sometimes I’ll send them one article that could genuinely help them.

Not in a salesy way either.

Just:
“Honestly this might help based on what you said.”

That one small interaction changes everything.

Because now they don’t feel like:
“another subscriber.”

They feel seen.

And readers who feel seen become WAY more loyal long term.

That’s one of the biggest lessons I learned this year honestly.

People don’t stay because your formatting is perfect.

They stay because connection exists.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

The Part Nobody Wants to Hear

I’m going to be honest with you.

Most people reading this will not actually do it

They’ll read the strategy, think:
“Wow, this is smart.”

Maybe leave 2 comments that day.

Maybe send 1 DM.

Then stop the second it doesn’t instantly bring 200 subscribers and 14 recommendations from huge newsletters.

But that’s the mistake.

Because getting recommended by bigger writers is rarely about one viral interaction.

It’s usually the result of:

• consistent engagement

• real relationships

• repeated visibility

• trust built over time

And honestly? That’s the part most people underestimate.

They think recommendations happen because someone magically discovers your newsletter one day and decides to save your life

But most of the time, writers recommend people they’ve seen repeatedly:

• in comments

• in DMs

• in Notes

• supporting their work consistently

Because familiarity creates trust.

And trust creates recommendations.

That’s why the weekly engagement system I showed you matters so much.

But here’s the important part:

What I shared in this article is honestly only a small piece of the full system behind getting recommended by bigger newsletters.

Because yes, collaborations and recommendations can bring attention.

But then the real questions start showing up:

• how do you actually build relationships with bigger writers?

• what do you even say in DMs without sounding fake?

• how do you turn recommendation traffic into loyal subscribers?

• what happens if people subscribe… but never come back?

• how do you keep growing without burning out?

• how do you create systems so growth keeps happening even when motivation disappears for a week?

That’s where most writers get stuck.

Because getting attention is only like 10% of the game.

Keeping it is the hard part.

It’s like pouring water into a bucket full of holes and wondering why it never fills up

That’s exactly why I created Newsletter Growth Lab.

A FREE community where I share the complete systems I personally used to grow my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers while balancing school, training, writing, and trying not to lose my mind checking open rates every 7 minutes

Join Now!

Because I genuinely believe more writers should have access to this information instead of trying to figure everything out alone through random Twitter threads and painful trial-and-error.

Inside the Lab, I break down:

• how to grow consistently on Substack

• how to build loyal readers instead of ghost subscribers

• how to create engagement systems that compound over time

• how to monetize without sounding fake

• how to use AI while keeping your human voice

• how to build workflows that save time instead of creating chaos

• and how to turn writing into a real long-term opportunity

Not fake “go viral tomorrow” advice.

Real systems.

Real testing.

Real execution.

And I’ve already seen these systems work for other writers too.

One creator inside the community, Growth Canva, went from around 400 subscribers to over 1,100 subscribers after applying the systems consistently.

Not because she suddenly became a genius overnight.

Because she stopped relying on random tactics and started building intentional systems.

That’s the real difference.

And honestly? The writers learning these skills TODAY are going to have a massive advantage 6 months from now.

Because while most people are still randomly posting and hoping for growth…

Others are quietly building ecosystems readers actually care about.

Huge difference.

So if you’re tired of guessing, overthinking every tiny detail, and growing painfully slowly…

Join us! 🔥

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Growth Lab is completely free because we genuinely believe everybody should have access to this kind of information.

And your future audience is probably built more by the systems you repeat consistently than the “perfect post” you almost published 14 times 😭

Final Thought

Recommendations rarely happen because of one perfect DM or one viral post.

Most of the time, they happen because someone kept seeing your name over and over again until recommending you simply felt natural.

That’s honestly the part most writers underestimate.

Substack growth is way less about “convincing” people to promote you and way more about becoming someone people genuinely trust, recognize, and remember.

Because when writers repeatedly see you supporting their work, sharing thoughtful ideas, and showing up consistently, recommending you stops feeling risky and starts feeling obvious.

And that’s why I believe recommendations compound so hard over time.

One relationship can quietly lead to another, then another, until growth stops feeling completely random.

So if you want help building those kinds of systems instead of relying on luck, subscribe below.

Subscribe now

Every week, I break down what’s actually working on Substack, recommendations, audience growth, engagement systems, monetization, AI workflows, and all the mistakes I’m personally learning through trial and error while building this in real time

See you next post,

— William😁

Leave a comment

Not “easy” easy.

But easier than this 😭

In my head, I was going to start a newsletter, write a few good articles, maybe post a couple motivational Notes… and suddenly thousands of people would magically discover my work because “the algorithm would recognize my value.”

Yeah.

The algorithm did NOT care about my value

For months, I was basically writing into the void.

2 subscribers.

One of them was probably me testing my second email account.

The other was maybe my mom trying to be supportive.

And honestly, that phase messes with your confidence more than people realize, because you start questioning everything:

“Maybe my writing sucks.”

“Maybe nobody cares.”

“Maybe I’m just not made for this.”

Meanwhile you open Substack and see another writer gaining 300 subscribers in a week while casually posting:
“Here’s 4 ways to wake up at 5AM.”

Like HOW 😭

But after months of testing, failing, overthinking, deleting drafts, rebuilding systems, and honestly spending way too much time refreshing my stats page like it was the stock market…

I realized something important:

Most writers do not fail because they are bad writers.

They fail because nobody knows they exist yet.

That’s it.

And once I understood that, everything changed.

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter from 2 subscribers to 1,500+ readers while being a full-time student-athlete, helped over 40 writers improve their growth, and built systems that actually bring readers consistently instead of praying for random viral luck.

And almost all of that growth came from 3 pillars.

Not hacks.

Not “secret algorithms.”

Just systems that compound over time.

So let’s break them down 👇

Subscribe now

Pillar 1: Strategic Commenting (The Most Underrated Growth Tool)

This is probably the biggest reason I grew.

And I know…

Commenting sounds boring.

Most people hear “comment strategy” and imagine:
“Nice post 🔥”

That’s not what I mean.

The goal is not commenting.

The goal is conversations.

Here’s what I started doing:

I searched for writers in my niche.

Then instead of only reading their posts, I started reading the comments too.

That’s where the gold is.

Because the comments section is literally full of people already interested in the exact topics you write about.

So instead of trying to scream into the void…

You enter existing conversations.

Big difference.

Sometimes I would reply to someone struggling with visibility and say something like:

“Honestly I struggled with the same thing for months. Are you trying to grow mostly through Notes or long-form articles right now?”

Now suddenly:
you’re helping
you’re starting a conversation
and people naturally become curious about your work

No forcing.

No weird networking energy.

Just being useful.

And over time, people start recognizing your name.

Then they click your profile.

Then they read your writing.

Then they subscribe.

That’s literally how a huge percentage of my early subscribers came in.

Not from viral posts.

From repeated visibility and human interaction.

(Which is way less sexy than “10X YOUR GROWTH WITH THIS AI FUNNEL,” I know )

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Pillar 2: Notes Are a Volume Game

I used to overthink every single Note.

Like genuinely spending 25 minutes rewriting a 2-line post as if Shakespeare himself was judging me from heaven.

Terrible strategy.

Because Notes are not really about perfection.

They’re about volume + resonance.

The more Notes you publish, the more chances you create for discovery.

Simple math.

One Note getting 100 impressions feels small.

But 10 Notes?

Now you suddenly have 1,000 chances to reach someone new.

And the writers growing fastest usually understand this.

They test angles constantly.

Curiosity.

Fear.

Frustration.

Personal stories.

Relatable struggles.

Hope.

That’s what makes people stop scrolling.

Not sounding “smart.”

Actually, some of my best-performing Notes were the simplest ones.

Stuff like:

“Nobody reads your writing because they don’t know you yet.”

Boom.

Relatable.

Easy to understand.

Emotionally true.

That matters more than trying to sound like a productivity philosopher from ancient Greece

And another thing most people misunderstand:

Notes work WAY better when they feel human.

Not optimized.

Not corporate.

Not like ChatGPT wearing a suit.

Human.

The posts that usually perform best are the ones where people feel:
emotion
honesty
personality
or vulnerability

Because readers connect to people.

Not perfect brands.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Pillar 3: Recommendations Changed Everything Too Late

I honestly ignored recommendations for WAY too long.

Huge mistake.

Because recommendations on Substack are basically free subscriber transfers.

When another writer recommends you, their subscribers immediately discover your work.

And if their audience overlaps with yours?

It converts insanely well.

But most writers approach this completely wrong.

They send cold DMs like:

“Hey wanna recommend each other?”

Why would someone trust a random stranger with their audience?

The better strategy is way simpler:

Step 1:
Become familiar first.

Comment on their Notes.

Reply to their emails.

Support their work consistently.

Step 2:
Build an actual relationship.

Not fake networking.

Real conversations.

Step 3:
Then collaborate naturally.

And the cool part?

Once recommendations start stacking, growth becomes more predictable.

Because now subscribers start coming in while you sleep instead of ONLY through active effort.

That’s when Substack starts becoming really powerful.

The Part Nobody Wants to Hear

I’m going to be honest with you.

Most people will read this article, feel motivated for 14 minutes… then go back to redesigning their logo for the 7th time this week

Meanwhile, another writer with worse branding but better execution quietly gains 200 subscribers.

Because growth usually comes from systems.

Not perfection.

And honestly? Realizing that helped me a lot.

Because I used to think successful writers had:

• better ideas

• better creativity

• some magical “creator gene” I didn’t have

But usually they just:

• published more

• talked to more people

• tested more things

• and stayed consistent longer

That’s it.

Not glamorous.

But true.

And the important thing to understand is this:

What I shared in this article is maybe 10% of the real system behind newsletter growth.

Because yes, these growth engines can help a LOT.

But eventually new problems appear:

• how do you actually turn attention into subscribers?

• what do you say in DMs to build real relationships?

• how do you make readers come back instead of disappearing forever?

• how do you stay consistent when motivation dies?

• how do you organize your workflow without everything becoming chaotic?

• how do you grow AND eventually monetize without sounding like a fake guru selling “7 passive income streams before breakfast”? 😭

That’s where most writers get stuck.

Because isolated tactics are useful…

but without systems behind them, growth becomes exhausting really fast.

It’s like putting a turbo engine inside a car with no steering wheel and wondering why everything catches fire after 2 weeks

That’s exactly why I built Newsletter Growth Lab.

A FREE community where I share the complete systems I personally used while balancing school, sports, training, writing, and trying not to mentally collapse after checking analytics 38 times a day.

Join Now!

Because I genuinely believe more writers should have access to this information instead of trying to figure everything out alone for years.

Inside Growth Lab, I break down:

• how to grow on Substack consistently

• how to turn readers into loyal fans

• how to build onboarding and retention systems

• how to use AI WITHOUT sounding robotic

• how to create writing systems that save time

• how to build content people actually remember

• and how to eventually monetize your audience without becoming one of those weird fake gurus filming next to rented Lamborghinis

And I’ve already seen these systems work for other writers too.

One creator inside the community went from around 400 subscribers to over 1,100 subscribers after applying the systems consistently.

Not because they became a genius overnight.

Because they stopped relying on random motivation and started building intentionally.

That’s the difference.

And honestly? The writers learning these systems now are going to have a huge advantage later.

Because while most people are still chasing hacks and over-optimizing tiny details…

Others are quietly building:

• trust

• systems

• relationships

• communities

And that compounds fast.

So if you’re tired of guessing, posting randomly, and feeling like growth is completely chaotic…

Join us!! 🔥

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Growth Lab is completely free because we genuinely believe more writers deserve access to this information.

Final Thought

Don’t overcomplicate this.

Seriously.

Just do these 3 things:

• Leave thoughtful comments every day

• Publish more Notes than feels comfortable

• Start building real relationships with writers in your niche

That alone can completely change your growth over the next few months.

Because the writers who grow are usually not the ones waiting to be discovered.

They’re the ones consistently putting themselves in rooms where readers already exist.

That’s the shift.

And honestly?

Once you stop treating growth like luck…

Substack becomes WAY more fun.

And if you want help building that kind of audience, subscribe below 🤝

Subscribe now

Every week, I break down:
what actually works on Substack
growth systems
real experiments
and lessons from balancing writing while being a student-athlete trying not to lose his mind refreshing analytics every 12 minutes

See you next post

— William😁

Leave a comment

Seriously.

Some of you are sitting on one of the best writing platforms on the internet right now… and using it like it’s a dead Facebook page

You post an article.

Disappear.

Come back 7 days later.

Post another article.

Then wonder why nobody engages.

Why nobody replies.

Why your subscribers feel like ghosts.

And look, I get it.

Because at first, I was doing the exact same thing.

I thought growth on Substack was only about writing better articles.

Better hooks.
Better formatting.
Better titles.

But after months of testing, failing, rebuilding systems, talking to readers, and honestly overthinking my growth way too much while eating rice and chicken after practice (student-athlete lifestyle), I realized something important:

Substack is the best place to build writing…

but most writers don’t know how to use the platform properly (espcially the features)

Once I understood this, I started using Substack the right way, with the right features…

More comments.

More returning readers.

More recommendations.

More product sales.

More people genuinely waiting for the next article. (which you can do too)

So let me show you the 3 most misused features on Substack and how to actually turn them into a growth engine.

Let’s go 🤝

Subscribe now

Step 1: The Welcome DM System (Most Important One)

This single thing changed my engagement more than writing “better.”

And almost nobody uses it properly.

When someone subscribes to your newsletter…

DON’T just let them sit there silently like a lost Sim character waiting for instructions

Talk to them.

But not with boring automated messages like:

“Thanks for subscribing :)”

Nobody answers that.

There’s no emotional reason to respond.

So instead, I use curiosity.

Usually something simple like:

“Quick question for you 👀”

or:

“I’m curious about something related to your writing.”

That’s it.

Simple.

But psychologically, curiosity creates tension.

People naturally want to know the question.

And once they answer?

The wall is broken.

Now they’re not just another subscriber.

They’re a real person you’ve interacted with.

Then comes the important part:

I ask about their REAL struggle.

Something like:

“Most writers here usually struggle with:
visibility
consistency
or engagement.

Curious which one fits you most?”

Now this is where things become powerful.

Because suddenly:

you understand your audience better
you collect endless content ideas
you create trust immediately

And when they answer?

I send them one useful article related to THEIR problem.

Not in a salesy way.

Just:

“This might genuinely help honestly.”

That small interaction creates WAY more loyalty than most writers realize.

Because readers remember people who help them.

Especially online where everyone is trying to extract value immediately.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

Step 2: Use Chat Threads Like a Human Being

This one is massively underrated.

Most people use chat threads like mini-announcement boards.

Boring.

Optimized.

Cold.

Instead, use them to become relatable.

One thing that helped me a lot was simply talking about being a student-athlete while building all of this.

Because suddenly people weren’t just reading “growth advice.”

They were following a real person trying to build freedom while juggling school, training, writing, community building, and trying not to lose his mind refreshing Substack stats every 8 minutes

That creates emotional connection.

And emotional connection creates retention.

Sometimes I’ll literally ask random questions like:

“What do you do outside writing?”

or:

“What’s your current goal?”

Simple things.

But people LOVE talking when they feel genuinely seen.

And weirdly enough…

those conversations often become:
future collaborations
future customers
future friends
future loyal readers

That’s why I keep saying this:

People don’t stay for information anymore.

There’s infinite information.

They stay because of connection.

Big difference.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Step 3: Recommendations Are Basically Free Growth

This is probably the most powerful feature on Substack.

And also the one people misuse the most.

Some writers do this:

“Hey can you recommend me?”

…to a creator who has never heard of them before 😭

Please don’t do that.

Recommendations work through relationships.

Not random transactions.

Here’s the better approach:

Phase 1: Visibility

Comment consistently on someone’s posts.

Reply to their emails.

Engage with their work genuinely.

Not fake networking.

Actual value.

You want them to recognize your name naturally over time.

Phase 2: Relationship

Start real conversations.

Ask about their projects.

Talk like a normal human being instead of a LinkedIn robot trying to “maximize synergies” 💀

Most creators are honestly just people trying to build cool things online.

The relationship matters.

Phase 3: Win-Win Collaboration

NOW you can propose something.

Maybe:
a recommendation exchange
a collaboration
a free lead magnet for their audience
a challenge together

Something mutually beneficial.

And once recommendations start working?

You gain subscribers while sleeping.

Literally.

That’s why Substack is different from traditional social media.

The ecosystem actually rewards creators helping each other grow.

Instagram rewards attention.

Substack rewards relationships.

Huge difference.

The Part Nobody Wants to Hear

I’m going to be honest with you:

Using these Substack features alone will not magically grow your newsletter.

Most people will read this article, feel motivated for 11 minutes, optimize 3 tiny things… then go back to scrolling and “researching” instead of actually building

They’ll spend 2 hours changing:

• their logo

• their bio

• their colors

• their banner

• their fonts

Meanwhile, another writer with worse branding but better systems quietly gains 300 subscribers.

Because growth usually comes from systems.

Not perfection.

And that’s probably the biggest realization you should take from this article.

The feature itself is not the magic trick.

It’s how the feature fits into the bigger system behind your growth.

Because yes, Notes, recommendations, DMs, collaborations, and all these hidden Substack tools can help a LOT.

But then the real questions appear:

• how do you actually use them consistently?

• what do you say in DMs without sounding robotic?

• how do you build relationships that lead to subscribers?

• how do you turn engagement into loyal readers instead of ghost subscribers?

• how do you keep growing when motivation disappears for a week?

• how do you connect all these features together into one system?

That’s where most writers get stuck.

Because knowing about the tools is only like 10% of the game.

It’s like owning a full home gym but only using the yoga mat and wondering why you still can’t bench 225

Substack growth is usually:

• relationships

• consistency

• distribution

• trust

• positioning

• valuable content

• systems

All working together.

And honestly? That’s exactly why I created Newsletter Growth Lab.

Because I spent months trying to figure all this stuff out alone while balancing school, sports, writing, and content creation at the same time.

And I genuinely believe more writers should have access to these systems instead of spending 2 years stuck in “trial and error mode.” (For FREE)

Inside the Lab, I share:

• growth systems

• DM templates

• engagement frameworks

• content breakdowns

• AI systems without losing your voice

• and the exact strategies helping writers grow loyal audiences instead of random subscribers who disappear forever after one email

Join Now!

Not fake “go viral tomorrow” advice.

Real systems that actually compound over time.

And I’ve already seen these systems work for other writers too.

One creator inside the community went from around 400 subscribers to over 1,100 subscribers after applying the systems consistently.

Not because they magically became a genius overnight.

Because they stopped posting randomly and started building intentionally.

That’s the real difference.

And honestly? The writers learning these systems now are going to have a huge advantage later.

Because while most people are still chasing hacks and tiny optimizations…

Others are quietly building systems readers actually trust.

So if you’re tired of guessing, posting randomly, and feeling like growth is completely unpredictable…

Join us!! 🔥

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

Growth Lab is completely free because we genuinely believe more writers deserve access to this information.

And it’ll probably save you months of confusion (plus a few existential crises caused by checking your subscriber count 17 times a day)

Your Action For This Week

Don’t overcomplicate this.

Seriously.

With your next 10 subscribers:

→ send a curiosity-based DM
→ ask about their biggest struggle
→ send one useful resource
→ start one real conversation

That’s it.

You’ll learn more from 10 real conversations than from consuming 50 “growth hacks.”

And once you start noticing patterns in what people struggle with?

Congratulations.

You just found your next 20 article ideas 🤝

(and don’t forget to join the Newsletter Growth Lab😉)

Final Thought

A lot of writers are trying to become influencers.

But honestly?

The best writers on Substack feel more like friends than creators.

That’s why people come back.

Not because every sentence is perfect.

Not because every hook is optimized.

But because readers feel connected to the person behind the screen.

And THAT is what turns:
random readers
into loyal fans.

And if you want help building that kind of audience, subscribe below 🤝

Subscribe now

Every week, I break down:
what actually works on Substack
growth systems
real experiments
and lessons from balancing writing while being a student-athlete trying not to lose his mind refreshing analytics every 12 minutes

See you next post,

— William 😁

Leave a comment

Seriously.

Most writers blaming their “bad writing” are usually just invisible.

Big difference.

Because right now, the internet is full of talented people posting into the void while someone making “Top 7 Productivity Hacks Before Breakfast” with video games gameplay underneath gets 2 million views. (sad)

And honestly?

That messes with your brain after a while.

You start thinking:
“Maybe I’m not good enough.”
“Maybe nobody cares about writing anymore.”
“Maybe I need better hooks.”
“Maybe I should start dancing on Instagram while explaining newsletters.”

Please don’t do that.

Because the real problem is usually much simpler:

Nobody sees your writing.

And after months of testing, posting, researching creators, and honestly overthinking everything way too much…

I realized something important:

You are probably using the wrong platform to grow as a writer (and you don’t even realize it).

If you want more readers, a real community, or eventually people buying your book, your products or your ideas…

You need to start using Substack (the right way).

Because Substack is one of the only platforms actually helping beginner writers grow, and in this article, I’ll show you the 4 best things you should do right now to grow faster on it.

Subscribe now

Why Substack Feels Different

Substack feels different because people go there to READ.

Not just consume dopamine for 4 hours straight while pretending they’re “taking a little break.”

Huge difference.

And what makes it even more powerful is this:

Substack combines:
social media
email marketing
community
and monetization

All in one place.

So instead of constantly fighting algorithms that barely show your content to your own followers…

you actually build direct relationships with readers.

That changes everything.

Because when someone subscribes to your newsletter, you now enter their inbox.

Not their chaotic feed.

Their inbox.

That’s valuable.

You’re no longer relying on random reach every day hoping the algorithm decides to bless you for 12 minutes.

You own the connection.

And honestly, that’s probably one of the biggest advantages writers can have online right now.

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

The 3 Reasons Substack Is Still Underrated

1. You Don’t Need to Become an Influencer

This is probably my favorite part.

On most platforms, writers slowly get pushed into becoming entertainers.

You need:
better editing
better thumbnails
better transitions
better retention curves

At some point you’re basically filming a Netflix documentary just to talk about journaling

But on Substack?

Good writing still matters.

Honest thoughts still matter.

Being relatable still matters.

You can literally grow by:
sharing lessons
documenting your journey
talking about struggles
testing ideas publicly

without pretending to be a productivity superhero waking up at 4 AM to meditate beside a waterfall.

2. Substack Wins When You Win

This is HUGE and most people ignore it.

Substack only makes money when YOU make money.

Which means the platform is actually incentivized to help writers grow and monetize.

That’s rare.

Most platforms monetize attention.

Substack monetizes creators succeeding.

Completely different model.

And because the platform is still growing fast, there’s still massive opportunity for smaller writers right now.

Honestly, I think people joining today will have a huge advantage 1–2 years from now.

Because attention compounds.

The earlier you start building trust and relationships, the easier growth becomes later.

3. You Build Real Readers: Not Empty Followers

A lot of people online have audiences.

Very few have communities.

Big difference.

One loyal reader who:
opens every email
replies
comments
shares your work
and trusts your recommendations

is worth WAY more than 1,000 ghost followers who barely remember your name.

That’s what Substack does best.

It helps you build returning readers.

And returning readers eventually become:
supporters
customers
friends
collaborators
opportunities

That’s why I always say:
the goal is not just getting subscribers.

The goal is making people care when you publish.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

So… How Do You Actually Start?

Most writers overcomplicate this part so much.

You do NOT need:
a perfect brand
a perfect logo
a perfect website
or a 47-step funnel

You need clarity.

That’s it.

Here’s the simple structure I’d focus on:

Step 1: Build a Clear Identity

People need to instantly understand:
who you help
what you write about
and why they should stay.

Not:
“I write about life, mindset, business, philosophy, fitness, finance, AI, psychology, cooking and occasionally ducks.”

Be specific enough that readers recognize themselves.

Step 2: Solve Real Problems

This changed everything for me.

The best content usually comes from:
real frustrations
real experiences
real conversations

That’s why talking to readers matters so much.

When you understand what people ACTUALLY struggle with, writing becomes easier because your content finally feels relevant.

Not generic.

Step 3: Create a Strong “Start Here” Post

Most writers ignore this.

Huge mistake.

Your “Start Here” post is basically:
“Why should someone care about this newsletter?”

It introduces:
your story
your mission
your best content
your transformation

Without this, new readers often feel lost.

And confused readers usually leave fast.

Step 4: Start Posting and Interacting

Everyone here will give you hundreds of things to do to optimize your page, grow faster, attract new readers, write better hooks…

But honestly, that’s not the essential part.

The only 3 things you really need are these:

• Post enough short Notes (at least 4 a day)

• Comment and interact with people in your niche (at least 20 times a day)

• Stay consistent long enough

That’s it.

And the more consistently you do those 3 things, the more subscribers, readers, and momentum your newsletter will naturally build over time.

The Part Nobody Wants to Hear

I’m going to be honest with you:

Starting on Substack is actually the easy part.

The hard part is continuing long enough for people to remember you.

Because yes, this 4-step system helps you start simply.

But it will not magically grow your newsletter overnight.

Because growth on Substack is rarely about ONE post.

It’s the system behind it.

And that’s usually where new writers get stuck.

At first they think:
“If I just write good articles, people will come.”

But then new questions appear:

• how do I actually get readers consistently?

• how do I make people come back?

• how do I build relationships with other writers?

• what do I even say in DMs?

• how do I turn engagement into subscribers?

• how do I stay consistent without burning out after 2 weeks?

• how do I grow without spending 9 hours a day online refreshing analytics like a stock trader

That’s the real game.

Not just writing.

But building:

• consistency

• relationships

• systems

• trust

But even that is only one part of the bigger picture.

Because if you only understand 10% of the system, eventually you hit another wall:

• your subscribers don’t stay

• engagement drops

• motivation disappears

• growth becomes random again

That’s exactly why I created Newsletter Growth Lab.

A free community where I share the complete systems behind:

• audience growth

• engagement

• monetization

• AI workflows

• relationship-building

• and building a newsletter people actually care about

Join Now!

Not fake “go viral in 24 hours” advice.

Real systems I’m personally testing while balancing school, training, writing, and life at the same time.

Because I genuinely believe more writers should have access to this information instead of trying to figure out everything alone for years. (For FREE)

Inside Growth Lab, I break down things like:

• how to consistently get readers on Substack

• how to build real creator relationships

• how to write DMs without sounding fake

• how to create engagement loops

• how to turn readers into loyal subscribers

• how to build systems instead of relying on motivation

And way more reward, checkpoints, Lives and Note Boost!

And honestly? The writers learning these skills now are going to have a huge advantage later.

Because while most people are still posting randomly and hoping for growth…

Others are quietly building communities readers actually trust.

Huge difference.

So if you’re tired of guessing, restarting every 2 weeks, and feeling like growth is completely random…

Join us. 🔥

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

The Newsletter Growth Lab is completely free, and it’ll probably save you months of confusion.

Final Thought

You’re probably way closer than you think.

Most writers are not failing because they lack talent.

They’re failing because:
nobody sees their work
they rely on platforms designed against writers
or they quit before momentum starts building.

Substack gives writers something rare right now:

a chance to build slowly, honestly, and sustainably.

Without needing to become a full-time influencer.

And honestly?

I think that matters more than ever.

Because while everybody else is chasing viral attention…

writers are quietly building audiences that actually care.

Big difference.

And if you want help building that kind of audience, subscribe below 🤝

Subscribe now

Every week, I break down:

• what actually works on Substack

• growth systems

• real experiments

• and lessons from balancing writing while being a student-athlete trying not to lose his mind refreshing analytics every 12 minutes

See you next post,

— William😁

Leave a comment

And honestly?

It’s probably why so many talented writers quit after 3 months.

Because they start thinking success means:

• daily long-form content

• perfect posting schedule

• viral hooks

• fast editing

• trendy subjects

But you’re not an influencer.

You’re a writer.

And writers grow differently.

That’s why I believe most writers are growing with the wrong ideas in mind.

Instagram, TikTok, even Twitter sometimes… they reward attention addiction.

Substack rewards connection.

Big difference.

And once I understood that, everything changed for me.

Because instead of trying to become an internet entertainer, I started building systems around writing itself:
emails
relationships
notes
community
trust
consistency

And suddenly:

• more readers started coming back

• more people replied

• more subscribers turned into actual supporters

and eventually… products started selling too.

Not because I became a better influencer.

Because I finally started acting like a real writer.

And today, I want to show you how to truly take advantage of that connection… so you can build the kind of trust, audience, and momentum that puts you ahead of almost every writer in your niche 5 years from now.

Let’s go!

Subscribe now

Why Substack Is Different

Substack is not just a newsletter app.

It’s basically:
social media + email marketing + community + monetization

all combined together.

And the most important part?

You own the connection.

If someone subscribes to your Instagram?
Good luck ever reaching them again unless the algorithm decides to bless you for 14 seconds.

But with email?

You land directly in their inbox.

That’s powerful.

Because now your audience isn’t rented attention anymore.

It’s real.

And the Notes feature on Substack makes this even better.

Notes are basically short-form posts, but unlike traditional platforms, the algorithm is WAY more human.

If people engage with your content early:
likes
comments
restacks

Substack pushes it to more readers automatically.

Meaning small creators can actually grow fast without already being famous.

And luckily for you, I’m about to share the biggest thing I learned about Notes (and no, it’s not hooks… and honestly, it’s not even a secret).

Hey! If you don’t know me, I’m William, a 20-year-old creator who spent months posting into the void before figuring out how to actually grow on Substack 😅

Since then, I’ve grown my newsletter to 1,500+ subscribers, helped 40+ writers improve their growth, built the Growth Lab community, and tested hundreds of growth experiments while juggling school, work, training, and content creation at the same time.

Now I’m documenting everything I’m learning so you can grow faster without wasting months figuring it out alone.

Every Monday, I break down big Substack creators and why they grow. Every Wednesday, I share a practical growth article. And every Friday, we have real conversations inside the community. Subscribe and build with us 🤝

The First 2 Hours Matter More Than You Think

One thing most people don’t realize about Substack Notes:

The first 1–2 hours after posting matter A LOT.

If your note gets engagement quickly, Substack starts testing it with more readers.

50 interactions (likes, comments) can lead to 100 new readers seeing your Note.

That’s a lot of new potential readers.

That’s why relationships matter so much.

But the sad truth is that it’s rare that a Note reach that numbers. (you basically can’t control it)

But there’s a way to optimize it…

Engagement and partners.

First, engage with around 30 writers in your niche. (You’re basically teaching Substack what kind of readers and creators you want to be associated with.)

Start real conversations. Naturally, some people will begin interacting back.

Then, for a few of them, send a simple DM and ask if they’d like to partner up and recommend each other.

You only need 4 solid partners. And the goal is simple: consistently engage with each other’s Notes and comments so you all reach more people together..

That creates momentum. (and more chances of gettin your 50 interactions)

When I started understanding this, I stopped posting randomly and disappearing like a ninja

And my growth became WAY more predictable.

Not because my writing suddenly became magical.

Because distribution improved.

A lot of writers are trying to fix “content problems” with better hooks…

when the real issue is nobody sees the content long enough to care.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab🚀 for FREE and unlock a growing audience of loyal readers in the next 90 days. Include: mini-courses, real growth breakdowns, experiments, and a community of writers building together instead of trying to figure Substack out alone. Free for early members before it becomes paid.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

The Simple Strategy I’d Use If I Restarted Today

Now here’s your advantage:

You understand that growing on Substack is mostly about connections and visibility, not just “writing better.”

So even if you started late, it honestly doesn’t matter that much, because you now know what actually moves the needle.

Here’s how I would add this strategy to my content if I had to restart from 0 subscribers today:

1. Start Ugly

Most writers waste months trying to perfect:
their bio
their branding
their logo
their banner

Meanwhile someone with a terrible profile picture is out there posting consistently and growing 😭

Your first goal is not perfection.

It’s proof.

Proof that people actually care about your ideas.

So launch fast.

You can always improve later.

2. Study 30–50 Notes in Your Niche

This changes everything.

Stop guessing what works.

Go study:
what gets comments
what gets restacks
what creates emotion
what hooks people fast

You’ll start noticing patterns everywhere.

And no, this is not “copying.”

It’s research.

Athletes watch game film.
Writers should study writing.

3. Batch Your Notes

This helped me so much as a student-athlete.

Because some days you have:
school
training
life
work
zero motivation
and a brain that feels like mashed potatoes 💀

So instead of creating content every day manually, batch it.

Write 20–30 notes at once.

Schedule them.

Now consistency becomes way easier.

And consistency matters more than random motivation spikes.

The Part Nobody Wants to Hear

I’m going to be honest with you: this strategy alone will not magically fix your engagement.

Most writers will try this for a few days, maybe leave a couple comments, maybe send 1 or 2 DMs… then stop when they realize readers don’t instantly become obsessed with their newsletter

But that’s the mistake.

Because getting engagement on Substack is rarely about doing ONE thing correctly.

It’s the system behind it.

Now you’re probably becoming more “problem aware.”

You realize the issue might not actually be:
“my writing sucks”
or
“the algorithm hates me.”

It might simply be that you haven’t built systems that create real relationships with readers.

Because yes, commenting more and talking to people helps.

But what happens when:

• you don’t know what to say in DMs?

• conversations die after 2 messages?

• readers subscribe but never engage again?

• your newsletter gets attention but no loyalty?

• you disappear for a week and momentum collapses?

• other writers build deeper relationships while you’re still trying random tactics?

That’s where most writers stay stuck.

Not because they’re untalented.

Because they only focus on isolated tactics instead of the full system behind audience growth.

It’s like trying to build IKEA furniture with only 10% of the instructions and then wondering why you have 3 screws left and emotional damage.

The writers growing the fastest right now are not always the smartest writers.

They’re the ones who built systems that keep working even when motivation disappears.

Systems that create:

• familiarity

• trust

• loyal readers

• opportunities

• products

• communities

That’s exactly why I created Newsletter Growth Lab.

A free community where I share the complete systems I personally use to grow on Substack while balancing school, training, writing, and life at the same time.

Join Now!

Not fake “go viral tomorrow” advice.

Real systems.

Real testing.

Real execution.

Because I genuinely believe more writers should have access to this information instead of trying to figure everything out alone for 2 years.

Inside Growth Lab, I break down things like:

• how to get readers consistently

• how to write comments and DMs that actually build relationships

• how to turn attention into subscribers

• how to create engagement loops

• how to use AI without sounding robotic

• how to build systems instead of depending on motivation

• how to grow without spending your entire life refreshing analytics 💀

And I’ve already seen these systems work for other writers too.

One creator inside the community, Growth Canva, went from around 400 subscribers to over 1,100 subscribers while making her first money online.

Not because she suddenly became “more talented.”

Because she stopped guessing and started following systems consistently.

That’s the real difference.

And honestly? The writers learning these skills now are going to have a massive advantage later.

Because while most people are still posting randomly hoping something works…

Others are quietly building communities readers actually care about.

So if you’re tired of overthinking, consuming endlessly, and growing painfully slowly…

Join us! 🔥

Growth Lab is completely free.

Join the Newsletter Growth Lab!

And your future audience is probably built by the systems you start creating today, not the posts you overthink for 3 hours and never publish.

Final Thought

Stop trying to become an influencer.

You do not need:
perfect editing
millions of views
or daily dopamine content

to build a successful writing business.

You need:
good ideas
real relationships
consistent publishing
and systems that help readers trust you over time.

That’s the game.

And honestly?

I think writers have a massive advantage right now.

Because while everyone else is trying to go viral…

writers are quietly building audiences that actually care.

Big difference.

And if you want help building that kind of audience, subscribe below.

Subscribe now

Every week I break down:
what actually works on Substack
growth systems
real experiments
and lessons from building while balancing school, training, work, and life at the same time.

See you next post,

— William 😁

Leave a comment

Growth tactics. Engagement strategies. Monetization frameworks. Collaboration playbooks. Notes consistency. Article frequency. Welcome sequences. Referral programs. Paid tiers. Bundles. Cross-promotions… (it never ends)

Every week, a new thread goes viral claiming to have cracked the code. Every week, a new “what I did to grow from 0 to 10K” post tells you to do something completely different from the last one.

And so you do what any rational person does: you try to do all of it.

You spend two weeks going hard on Notes, then someone tells you Notes are dead and comments are everything.

So you pivot to comments.

Then you read that collaborations are the real lever, so you start drafting outreach.

Then you wonder if your welcome email is broken, because your open rates dipped.

Then someone posts stats about posting cadence and suddenly you’re rethinking your publishing schedule entirely.

You’re not procrastinating. You’re not lazy.

You’re drowning in an endless stream of conflicting, context-free advice, and none of it knows where you actually are.

I know because I lived it for a year.

One full year of building this Substack. And if I’m honest with myself, I probably switched directions fifteen times.

Growth. Visibility. Monetization. Engagement.

Each time I committed to a new strategy, I’d start seeing tiny signals... then abandon it for the next thing I read.

I lost subscribers over bad decisions I made in a rush. I wasted months on tactics that weren’t wrong, they were just wrong for where I was.

The problem was never effort. It was clarity.

And the frustrating part?

Most creators never realize this.

They spend another 6 months tweaking headlines.

Another 6 months testing Notes.

Another 6 months chasing strategies that were designed for someone completely different.

They don’t fail because they’re bad writers.

They fail because they never figure out what stage they’re actually in.

When you don’t know what to focus on, you focus on everything. And when you focus on everything, you move nowhere.

And that’s why in this article, I want to share the personalized roadmap you should follow based on your goal (seriously, what’s below can save you months of wasted time ↓)

Go get it!

Subscribe now

Hey if you don’t know me, I’m William 👋

Substack growth nerd & full-time student athlete

Welcome, genuinely happy you found this. Every week I break down what actually works on Substack: subscriber acquisition, engagement systems, and monetization, without the fluff or the recycled thread content.

I went from 0 to 1 700 subscribers in 1 year as a full-time student with zero followers and zero free time. I spent months analyzing 20+ Substack creators with over 5,000 subscribers to understand what separated them from everyone else. That research, combined with my own failures and wins, is what I bring to this newsletter every week.

During that year, I made almost every mistake possible.

I followed growth advice that didn’t apply to me.

I copied creators whose situations were completely different from mine.

I wasted months focusing on the wrong metric.

Eventually I realized something:

Most Substack advice isn’t wrong. It’s simply being given to the wrong person at the wrong time. And now it’s what I expose…

Beyond the weekly posts, I run a private Skool community and a full growth course called the Substack Accelerator, because sometimes a newsletter just isn’t enough when you want real results fast.

Quick question before we dive in, are you more of a “I have a plan and I’m executing it” type, or a “I’m figuring it out” type? (No judgment. I know which one I was.) 😄

The fix

Here’s what I’ve learned after a year of painful course-corrections: the thing that moves the needle isn’t doing more, it’s knowing which one thing to do next.

A beginner doesn’t need a monetization strategy. Someone with 2,000 engaged readers doesn’t need to obsess over their profile photo. Someone whose open rate is 18% needs something entirely different than someone plateaued at 800 subscribers for six months.

The advice isn’t always wrong. It just isn’t written for you, in your situation, at your stage.

That’s exactly why I built the 10K Substack Roadmap.

The 10K Substack Roadmap your personalized next step, in under 3 minutes

After analyzing 20+ Substack creators with 5,000+ subscribers and combining it with my own experience, I built a short assessment that gives you a completely personalized roadmap based on where you actually are, not where someone else was when they wrote their viral thread.

The assessment identifies:

• The biggest bottleneck currently slowing your growth

• The one area that will create the biggest growth over the next 90 days

• The exact next actions you should be taking right now (not six months from now)

• What to stop wasting time on, the errors that quietly kill your growth

• Clarity on whether you should be focusing on subscribers, engagement, or monetization first

• Works for total beginners, stuck-at-500 creators, and advanced writers ready to monetize

People are already loving it, because clarity isn’t just motivating, it’s the one thing that actually makes you do the work.

If you’re tired of jumping from strategy to strategy and wondering whether you’re working on the right thing...

Take the assessment!

Take the 10K Substack Roadmap

In less than 3 minutes you’ll know exactly where you are, what’s slowing your growth, and what to focus on next.

Because the goal isn’t more information.

It’s clarity.

Stop switching tactics. Stop consuming more advice. Get clarity on the one move that matters most for you, right now. Everything gets easier from there.

Hope it will be valuable.

Let your thoughts below. What did you think of your roadmap?

Leave a comment

- William