Sinem, some of the things I like best about your writing are:
Your frankness and humility;
Your sincerity;
And perhaps the fact that you always come across seeming surprised that you've been as successful as you have been!
But I have a couple of questions that've been bugging me....
First, it seems like you have a team of people that write together, and of course that enables encouragement from each other, brainstorming, and helping to turn good ideas into super ideas.
But what if you're just a lone writer? (And, I'd like to know how your team came about!)
Another thing is that I've noticed is that the ppl that seem to be growing fastest, have lots of digital products for sale, workshops, coaching, etc ... all seem to be writing about one main topic: "How to grow your Substack community faster & better" (or a variation of that, like "how to be a better writer," "how to convert subscribers to *paid* subscribers," etc.).
But what if that's not your topic?
In my case, I write about "how to get more out of life," "how to enjoy your life more," and especially, "how to be successful at anything you want.". (Aka, "How anyone can be anything they want!").
You'd think more ppl would be interested in my chosen topic, but it doesn't seem so! Granted, I am learning how to present my material better (as you say, practice makes us better!), but still...y'know?!
So anyway, rather than embarrass myself in a public comment, I thought about writing a "private" email to you with these questions. But, I've never shyed from embarrassing myself (yuk, yuk), and since I always say my sincerity is one of my superpowers, I figure I'd put it out here where everyone can see it. (I don't feel the need to hide!)
So, wha'dya think about my questions?
Cuz seriously, I've been wanting to get some heartfelt engagement going, but all I get are "likes."
To me, that's almost as bad as "no comment!". It just doesn't lead anywhere!
The only engagement I get is when I comment on other ppl's posts, and then other readers will "pile on" and like my comments, etc. But, NO engagement from MY postings! Arrrrgh! 😱 😪
I have two co-founders who run the business with me, but I basically started as a lonely writer and published over 150 long-form pieces on Medium before I gained traction and people started to pay attention. So everything I say is based on the fact that I started this way. It doesn't make sense to compare what I'm doing right now to what a new writer should do when they're just starting out.
The thought that the people growing the fastest are writing coaches is common because that's the majority of the content you see if you are looking for advice on how to grow, but it's just not the truth. If you look at Substack's audience in total for eg. their traffic numbers and the most popular publications, you will quickly see that writing education is only a tiny part of it and that the platform is incredibly diverse. Your topics are incredibly broad, and of course, there is a lot of people who are interested in them, but just like with writing education, you have a lot of competition too because there are a lot of people who write about self-improvement and how to get the most out of your life.
So the biggest challenge for you is to find out what your competitive edge is and why people should subscribe to you in particular instead of going for one of the thousands of other newsletters and creators that talk about very similar topics. This is true for most niches and creators though it's very rare that I talk to someone who has an idea that doesn't already exist, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you see other people being successful in the niche that you want to serve, you basically know that it's possible and that there is a space worth serving. You just have to find out how to stand out through your unique voice, perspective, and experiences.
I was wondering the same thing like Jeff. I am pretty new to Substack. But what I see people with success and loads of engagement or internal growth are those who are in the niche of writing. It is good to hear that the Writing niche is only a small part in Substack. However, I doubt if people writing in other niches are able to grow internally in Substack.
This is possible for people in writing niche because other writers are their audience. But in other niches, I think most audience are not writer themselves and may not be spending as much time in the app. Most of them probably are just reading newsletter directly from their email.
With that said, it looks like it is very hard for new writers to rely solely on substack. If someone has zero subscriber and start in Substack, they will need another growth strategy outside of Substack. And if the person has no other social media present and is a complete newbie (no followers/ subscribers on any other platform), it is going to be more difficult.
I am interested to hear what you think and if you agree with this.
Hi Sindy! :) Sorry for the late reply, I only discovered your comment now.
I've been writing online since 2018 and have seen lots of platforms be trending and then go down again. I agree with not relying on one single platform but for most new writers, growing your audience on Substack is much easier right now than building an audience on more popular social media platforms.
Take Linkedin, X, Instagram, etc. - growing from scratch is much harder on any of those channels than on Substack.
The truth is that the beginning is uncomfortable and messy. Starting with zero subscribers isn't sexy but it's what we all did. It's tempting to compare yourself to creators with much more experience and get frustrated but the bottom line is that you have to push through the beginning stages, no matter what platform or strategy you choose.
Most established creators I see right now (ourselves included) are using Substack as a growth channel instead of relying on other social networks and that's how I'd recommend beginners to use it as well.
Right?! That question is such a game-changer. 🌟 It flips the focus from just “what should I write?” to “what impact do I want my words to have?”
Asking “What conversation do I want to start?” feels like planting a seed—it shifts the mindset to something bigger than ourselves. Are we sparking curiosity? Challenging assumptions? Building connection? The possibilities are endless, and it’s such a powerful way to guide your writing journey.
Sinem, some of the things I like best about your writing are:
Your frankness and humility;
Your sincerity;
And perhaps the fact that you always come across seeming surprised that you've been as successful as you have been!
But I have a couple of questions that've been bugging me....
First, it seems like you have a team of people that write together, and of course that enables encouragement from each other, brainstorming, and helping to turn good ideas into super ideas.
But what if you're just a lone writer? (And, I'd like to know how your team came about!)
Another thing is that I've noticed is that the ppl that seem to be growing fastest, have lots of digital products for sale, workshops, coaching, etc ... all seem to be writing about one main topic: "How to grow your Substack community faster & better" (or a variation of that, like "how to be a better writer," "how to convert subscribers to *paid* subscribers," etc.).
But what if that's not your topic?
In my case, I write about "how to get more out of life," "how to enjoy your life more," and especially, "how to be successful at anything you want.". (Aka, "How anyone can be anything they want!").
You'd think more ppl would be interested in my chosen topic, but it doesn't seem so! Granted, I am learning how to present my material better (as you say, practice makes us better!), but still...y'know?!
So anyway, rather than embarrass myself in a public comment, I thought about writing a "private" email to you with these questions. But, I've never shyed from embarrassing myself (yuk, yuk), and since I always say my sincerity is one of my superpowers, I figure I'd put it out here where everyone can see it. (I don't feel the need to hide!)
So, wha'dya think about my questions?
Cuz seriously, I've been wanting to get some heartfelt engagement going, but all I get are "likes."
To me, that's almost as bad as "no comment!". It just doesn't lead anywhere!
The only engagement I get is when I comment on other ppl's posts, and then other readers will "pile on" and like my comments, etc. But, NO engagement from MY postings! Arrrrgh! 😱 😪
Hi Jeff! I appreciate your thoughtful comment!
I have two co-founders who run the business with me, but I basically started as a lonely writer and published over 150 long-form pieces on Medium before I gained traction and people started to pay attention. So everything I say is based on the fact that I started this way. It doesn't make sense to compare what I'm doing right now to what a new writer should do when they're just starting out.
The thought that the people growing the fastest are writing coaches is common because that's the majority of the content you see if you are looking for advice on how to grow, but it's just not the truth. If you look at Substack's audience in total for eg. their traffic numbers and the most popular publications, you will quickly see that writing education is only a tiny part of it and that the platform is incredibly diverse. Your topics are incredibly broad, and of course, there is a lot of people who are interested in them, but just like with writing education, you have a lot of competition too because there are a lot of people who write about self-improvement and how to get the most out of your life.
So the biggest challenge for you is to find out what your competitive edge is and why people should subscribe to you in particular instead of going for one of the thousands of other newsletters and creators that talk about very similar topics. This is true for most niches and creators though it's very rare that I talk to someone who has an idea that doesn't already exist, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you see other people being successful in the niche that you want to serve, you basically know that it's possible and that there is a space worth serving. You just have to find out how to stand out through your unique voice, perspective, and experiences.
I hope this is helpful! :)
Sinem,
I was wondering the same thing like Jeff. I am pretty new to Substack. But what I see people with success and loads of engagement or internal growth are those who are in the niche of writing. It is good to hear that the Writing niche is only a small part in Substack. However, I doubt if people writing in other niches are able to grow internally in Substack.
This is possible for people in writing niche because other writers are their audience. But in other niches, I think most audience are not writer themselves and may not be spending as much time in the app. Most of them probably are just reading newsletter directly from their email.
With that said, it looks like it is very hard for new writers to rely solely on substack. If someone has zero subscriber and start in Substack, they will need another growth strategy outside of Substack. And if the person has no other social media present and is a complete newbie (no followers/ subscribers on any other platform), it is going to be more difficult.
I am interested to hear what you think and if you agree with this.
Thanks!
Sindy
Hi Sindy! :) Sorry for the late reply, I only discovered your comment now.
I've been writing online since 2018 and have seen lots of platforms be trending and then go down again. I agree with not relying on one single platform but for most new writers, growing your audience on Substack is much easier right now than building an audience on more popular social media platforms.
Take Linkedin, X, Instagram, etc. - growing from scratch is much harder on any of those channels than on Substack.
The truth is that the beginning is uncomfortable and messy. Starting with zero subscribers isn't sexy but it's what we all did. It's tempting to compare yourself to creators with much more experience and get frustrated but the bottom line is that you have to push through the beginning stages, no matter what platform or strategy you choose.
Most established creators I see right now (ourselves included) are using Substack as a growth channel instead of relying on other social networks and that's how I'd recommend beginners to use it as well.
Thanks a lot for taking your time to answer ☺️
I found this helpful. Thank you.
What conversation do I want to start? Genius. I love this. 🙌
Right?! That question is such a game-changer. 🌟 It flips the focus from just “what should I write?” to “what impact do I want my words to have?”
Asking “What conversation do I want to start?” feels like planting a seed—it shifts the mindset to something bigger than ourselves. Are we sparking curiosity? Challenging assumptions? Building connection? The possibilities are endless, and it’s such a powerful way to guide your writing journey.
Thinking more about the conversation you want to start is genius. Thanks Sinem...
Super helpful!
Thank you!
Really good article. Really appreciate your tips and advices.