As ever, your post is really insightful and helpful. I honestly feel that you are speaking directly to me every time! I started my Substack and have grown my list without looking for paid subscribers, purposefully toward the idea that if I have a group/community who enjoy my weekly writing, interact with me, then there is some hope of selling my book when it finally appears. the bonus has been how much I have enjoyed writing every week, how the discipline has improved my writing and how the Substack has taken on a life and meaning of its own. Now I am coming up to publishing the book I am beginning to think of some extras I can offer, whilst keeping the main, weekly post free. It's a bit of a voyage of discovery but engrossing and interesting and challenging.
You're so kind, thank you, Jennifer! And I love that feedback - makes me smile. I love how Substack has helped you grow, too. Wonderful.
And that's what is so fun about being here - it's what you make of it. Do what you can, when you can; no guilt allowed. If you can't get to something, it will still be there tomorrow. x
I think this is a terrific post. It's very helpful to understand the importance of subscribers as opposed to being preoccupied with sales which are so often disappointing. I also appreciate the advice on how to develop subscribers. A big thanks!
Trying this again (it didn't like my last reply lol). Thank you, Sheila! I appreciate your thoughts. Sales can be disappointing; that's very true. It's helpful to look at the long-term.
Thank you for sharing this — helpful to see how others think about subscriber growth.
For me, the heart of my work is still community and connection rather than numbers, so I haven’t even thought seriously about offering a paid tier yet. But I appreciate the clarity here.
Glad you find this post helpful, Birgit! A lot of creators feel that pressure when they haven't yet built their platform. It's okay to wait til whenever you're ready (or not).
Totally agree. Free subscribers tell you with their feedback what moves them and that tells you more about how your story should go assuming there is convergence of their sense and yours into similar interest in how your story goes in an acceptable way past the usual critic suggestions. And your views go up steadily the more you interact with your readers and link them to other social media. I post once a week and do a marketing post once a week from repurposed older post with a short excerpt from my novel with purchase details. Views for my post seem to go up after I post my marketing note. As long as my views aggregate steadily higher, I have a chance of a book sale or more over time.
I love repurposing content! I have an article coming up about that, in fact. It's interesting how consistent small efforts add up. Sounds cliché, but it's true.
It can be the little stuff that makes the difference at a restaurant, with one's friends or life partners. Wisdom is recognizing little patterns and applying by gradually becoming more in tune with the whole process. That sounds like a great article on repurposing. Will be looking for that one.
I love this post and the sentiment it conveys is so smart! I often think about Socrates who scratched out The Dialogues of Plato into a rock, which was only "discovered" 1,000 years later and translated by medieval monks so it could become one of the most important books in western civilization. I truly believe that in a very real sense great writing is most sincerely accomplished when the target audience has not even been born yet. Although I'm a contrarian and I routinely break many rules in the book - I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid!
Ty!
Thank you for reading, Nenapoma
As ever, your post is really insightful and helpful. I honestly feel that you are speaking directly to me every time! I started my Substack and have grown my list without looking for paid subscribers, purposefully toward the idea that if I have a group/community who enjoy my weekly writing, interact with me, then there is some hope of selling my book when it finally appears. the bonus has been how much I have enjoyed writing every week, how the discipline has improved my writing and how the Substack has taken on a life and meaning of its own. Now I am coming up to publishing the book I am beginning to think of some extras I can offer, whilst keeping the main, weekly post free. It's a bit of a voyage of discovery but engrossing and interesting and challenging.
You're so kind, thank you, Jennifer! And I love that feedback - makes me smile. I love how Substack has helped you grow, too. Wonderful.
And that's what is so fun about being here - it's what you make of it. Do what you can, when you can; no guilt allowed. If you can't get to something, it will still be there tomorrow. x
I think this is a terrific post. It's very helpful to understand the importance of subscribers as opposed to being preoccupied with sales which are so often disappointing. I also appreciate the advice on how to develop subscribers. A big thanks!
Trying this again (it didn't like my last reply lol). Thank you, Sheila! I appreciate your thoughts. Sales can be disappointing; that's very true. It's helpful to look at the long-term.
This great! Very insightful 🖤
Thank you, S.H.!
Thank you for sharing this — helpful to see how others think about subscriber growth.
For me, the heart of my work is still community and connection rather than numbers, so I haven’t even thought seriously about offering a paid tier yet. But I appreciate the clarity here.
Glad you find this post helpful, Birgit! A lot of creators feel that pressure when they haven't yet built their platform. It's okay to wait til whenever you're ready (or not).
Totally agree. Free subscribers tell you with their feedback what moves them and that tells you more about how your story should go assuming there is convergence of their sense and yours into similar interest in how your story goes in an acceptable way past the usual critic suggestions. And your views go up steadily the more you interact with your readers and link them to other social media. I post once a week and do a marketing post once a week from repurposed older post with a short excerpt from my novel with purchase details. Views for my post seem to go up after I post my marketing note. As long as my views aggregate steadily higher, I have a chance of a book sale or more over time.
I love repurposing content! I have an article coming up about that, in fact. It's interesting how consistent small efforts add up. Sounds cliché, but it's true.
It can be the little stuff that makes the difference at a restaurant, with one's friends or life partners. Wisdom is recognizing little patterns and applying by gradually becoming more in tune with the whole process. That sounds like a great article on repurposing. Will be looking for that one.
Awesome, thank you! Little by little becomes a lot.
I love this post and the sentiment it conveys is so smart! I often think about Socrates who scratched out The Dialogues of Plato into a rock, which was only "discovered" 1,000 years later and translated by medieval monks so it could become one of the most important books in western civilization. I truly believe that in a very real sense great writing is most sincerely accomplished when the target audience has not even been born yet. Although I'm a contrarian and I routinely break many rules in the book - I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid!
Thank you, Dr. Alexander! I appreciate your insight and comments.