PinnedMember-only65 Weeks on Substack, $6.5 KLessons learned on the way to $6.5K I’m celebrating a newsletter milestone this week: 65 weeks of publishing, 65 paying subscribers, $6,500 in yearly revenue. It feels amazing to finally be earning ‘real’ money doing what I love every week. …Newsletter7 min readNewsletter7 min read
Mar 18Member-onlyHow to Start a Substack in 20 MinutesIt’s never too early to get started Building a newsletter audience takes time. Bigger audiences mean more opportunities for you. So the earlier you start an email newsletter, the better. In this post, I show you just how easy it is to get started on Substack. …Substack6 min readSubstack6 min read
Mar 13Member-onlyIs Substack Better than Medium?… and should you start a Substack if you want to make money from writing? — A favourite Medium writer of mine just published a Medium versus Substack article, in which he said there is literally no comparison because Medium is so much better than Substack. Not true. Comparing Medium and Substack, he said, is like asking which is better: Coke or Pepsi, which (he said)…Email Newsletters6 min readEmail Newsletters6 min read
Feb 17Member-onlySubstack Tips: Get More Subscribers by Making the Most of Your On-screen Real EstateHow to get the most from your publication homepage — Today I want to share a very hard-working Substack homepage and see what we can learn from it. This homepage has 13 tabs across the top. Thirteen! Most have just three. The newsletter, AI Supremacy, is making about $20,000 per year. So its owner is obviously doing something right! …Substack5 min readSubstack5 min read
Feb 2Member-onlyEverything You Need to Know About Substack PledgesHow they work and one urgent action you need to do immediately — You’ve got to admire the guys at Substack; they churn out new features like a veritable sausage factory. This week it’s Pledges. In this post I explain what the Pledges feature is on Substack and why you urgently need to review it and — perhaps — take action to prevent…Newsletter7 min readNewsletter7 min read
Jan 13Member-onlyHow to Use AI to Create a Monetized NewsletterWarning: It ain’t pretty! — Today someone left a comment on an old Substack post of mine. I clicked through to learn more about the commenter and fell into a wormhole of weirdness, which led me to a disturbing place. The comment was inflammatory, radical, victim-centric nonsense, and completely unrelated to my post. At first…Substack8 min readSubstack8 min read
Dec 30, 2022Member-onlyGnomes: A New Year Resolution for Your SubstackBanish the gnomes in 2023 — If you have a Substack newsletter, I have the perfect new year’s resolution for you. This cute concept in business planning could help you in 2023, and I want to quickly share it with you. It could be the new year’s resolution you need. It’s the underpants gnome. Underpants gnomes The underpants…Newsletter Marketing3 min readNewsletter Marketing3 min read
Dec 27, 2022Member-onlyAI Writing Tools Will Destroy the InternetWe are laying a great big turd in the pool of human knowledge — I rely on the internet for my income. And much of my work involves writing. AI writing tools matter to me. Professional writers are blowing up the airwaves right now, discussing whether AI writing tools like Chat GPT, Jasper.ai and the rest, are a threat or a blessing. Some writers…Ai Writing5 min readAi Writing5 min read
Dec 23, 2022Member-onlyHow Do Substack Referrals Work?And should you use them? — If you have paying subscribers on Substack, you might be given the chance to activate ‘referrals’ in your publication. Sounds like a great idea, right? But Substack referrals are not quite the same as most other referral programs. In this article, I’m going to explain what the Substack referral feature…Substack7 min readSubstack7 min read
Dec 22, 2022Member-only5 ReasonsYour Newsletter is DoomedSubstackers be warned — So you’ve started an email newsletter? Good for you! And it’s going to make you money, one day. Are you sure? I’m living proof that it's possible to make money with a Substack newsletter. But I’m in the minority. …Substack4 min readSubstack4 min read
