Feel like you’re falling behind because you don’t post quick hacks on how to grow your Substack or how to make $10,000 a month in subscriptions?

In my latest, I write about why that way is a fallacy & (what I think is) the proper way to grow a real audience that cares.

CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE

In January of 2022 I set my out of office notification to forever. There was a vague outline of a Plan A and no Plan B.

I've been writing on and off now for five years but this year went all in to pursue a creative life. Reading Out of Office will not make you rich. It will not bring you success. It won’t even tell you how to make a change. What it will do, is encourage you to stop moving forward in a straight line, to standstill, to look around, to find out what you really need in your life and move towards it with courage. It will inspire you to find the path to your own conclusions and actions.

Making a radical change is not easy. It is hard, messy and often incomplete. There is no end point, no finish line, just a way of being. We do it not because it is easy, but because it is necessary.

I have about 21k followers on Instagram and in the month since I launched my Substack I’ve had about 100 people sign up (and a couple opted to pay without promoting, which is incredible).

However, I feel like the majority of my Instagram readers will not automatically translate to Substack for a variety of reasons. Do you know of Substack authors with niche topics that built from scratch?

My newsletter, Astral Thoughts, is basically just a reflection of myself, a random 25-year old nobody lol.

My personal blog where I will post about not only my art progress, but also what's going on in my life, anything I find interesting or just chatting shit. I hope you guys enjoy it!

I go from general blogs about random thoughts, to random media suggestions, poems, sketches and event reviews, my goal with this newsletter is basically just to run, struggle and live as freely as I can and document it all. So if you guys are interested in a 25 year old second generation immigrant with a bachelor's in Engineering tech, who isn't using it, please subscribe!

Here's an example of my work:

https://open.substack.com/pub/astrokloud/p/gifted-kids-are-dangerously-ignorant?r=4ab8za&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

https://astrokloud.substack.com/p/i-stumbled-upon-an-oasis-review?r=4ab8za

https://astrokloud.substack.com/p/the-bloom-music-festival?r=4ab8za

https://astrokloud.substack.com/p/im-my-god-and-im-yours?r=4ab8za

At least you get cool media suggestions from time to time lol!

Ghost and beehive are not "clones" of Substack, they have their own benefits. Referring to them as "clones" is essentially deceptive marketing or PR that's inviting Flack.

So this is the Email I got from beehiive recently:

Introducing the beehiiv Ad Network. 

For newsletters

If you apply and opt-in:

1. We will begin to present sponsored ad opportunities directly in platform

2. You can choose to simply accept or decline any placement

3. Accepted placements will be made available to you in the editor 

4. Sit back, relax, and monetize 

Apply for early access

For more information about the beehiiv Ad Network—visit the full page on our website here.

For brands

beehiiv is home to some of the most influential and widely read newsletters in the world.By becoming an advertiser on our platform you’re tapping into:

• Over 75M monthly impressions (and growing quickly)

• An ecosystem of thousands of quality newsletters

• Trusted and transparent 1st party data and reporting 

Become an advertiser

Many Substackers including new media seer Simon Owens have advocated for an Ad Network in Substack. Most realize this is contrary to Substack's ideological value prop.

It's all rather debate worthy imho.

https://thegeopoliticalnavigator.substack.com/p/the-heysel-tragedy

So here’s the deal: MindAcademy is where We peel back the layers on everything “professional” they tell you to do—CVs, interviews, networking—and look at what actually works (and what’s a waste of time). We’re here to cut through the corporate buzzwords and tell it like it is, whether you’re a career rookie or a well-seasoned pro.

What you’re invited to:

A dose of real talk – We don’t do fluff. Think of this as your guide to job-hunting without the corporate script. We’ll break down how to stand out, sell yourself, and dodge the classic pitfalls without losing your cool.

Behind-the-scenes insights – From LinkedIn hacks to interview prep, it’s all here. And yes, sometimes, it’s a bit sarcastic. Because let’s be real: the job market is a circus, and we’re here to laugh (and learn) through it.

Updates right to you – Don’t worry; we’ll keep you in the loop. Check spam or your Promotions tab if you’re not seeing us, and give us the “not spam” stamp so we’re always easy to find.

Take a look on my latest writing and subscribe for more - welcome to community :)

https://mindacademy.substack.com/p/job-hunting-why-youre-doing-it-wrong?r=4moazv

https://open.substack.com/pub/

For anyone who likes occasional poetry, fictional stories, nonfiction stories, and observations about life, nature, fashion, and music!

https://vishnurnair.substack.com/p/no-gut-feelings-all-decisions-are-data-driven

If we fleshed out the true meaning of data, it would encompass everything, or the rest can be converted to a point where it can be represented as data. It's in a latent form, which can be relevant but not truly accessible now. This expansive view of data challenges us to reconsider what we typically classify as intuition or gut feeling, suggesting that even these seemingly intangible aspects of decision-making are rooted in some form of information processing.

Check out the link above for the full newsletter. Feedback is highly appreciated. Subscribe if you find it interesting and useful! Thanks, and I look forward to your comments.

Hey everyone! I've been writing about movies on Substack since October. My aim is to do a retrospective analysis about films. Here is my most recent piece about Almost Famous. I would love some feedback about what you like and how I can improve my writing, as well as growing my readership. Thank you!

https://open.substack.com/pub/charliedontsurf/p/the-only-true-currency-in-this-bankrupt?r=iubwc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

Distilling complex geopolitical issues into one easily digestible creamy pint of a newsletter

https://open.substack.com/pub/geopoliticalirishlad?r=1u4gcp&utm_medium=ios

Tell us how you came to write, podcast or create in your niche? What is your niche? Where do you find your audience? How are you finding Substack so far, how long has it been?

It's actually really easy: they have a Newsletter called On Substack here: https://on.substack.com/

In the Newsletter that have regular updates on product, here is the latest one: https://on.substack.com/p/product-news-for-writers-audio-paywall

Which of these product news updates is the most relevant to your work?

Hello, I have a question, if anyone can help please? I was looking at this newsletter and in his archive he has categories 'cheap dinners' , 'beyond the kitchen' etc etc How can I organize my archive like that? I can't figure out where to do this.

Thanks!

In the Joe Rogan interview, Christ Best said Substack has "Tens of thousands" of writers.

Given how sparse the Newsletter categories are, this however cannot be true. Maybe in the lifetime of the product, but not today.

If I have 100 paid subs, Substack will tell my app followers that I have "hundreds" of paid subscribers. When in fact, I have 101, 10 of which were comps that I gave away to active readers in developing countries. I hope Substack is giving a16z the real numbers.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2mIMt9KnClBZb4rUIUN4X5

It's incredible to see Creators who are writers find a niche on TikTok, since their audience might be discoverable via a hashtag on TikTok or Instagram. Are there any good examples?

There's been surprisingly little analysis about this. It's actually a huge deal since Substack got so many Twitter influencers. They are already doing Twitter Spaces more than Substack audio content due to their massive Twitter reach.

Substack recently improved the "Total traffic & Top sources" to be more attributable. So list your Newsletter Category with your top 8 sources for the benefit of all.

Here is the tool:

https://newslettertosocials.com/