1-to-1: What I Learned Helping Hundreds of People Succeed on Substack in 2023
In 2023, I worked one-to-one with over 250 people—helping them succeed on Substack. That means I’ve been behind a lot of dashboards and mentored a lot of different people—with different interests and goals—to
double and triple and quadruple and septuple their subscribers,
substantially increase their revenue,
build a readership with real engagement, and
be Featured Substacks—the pinnacle of quality on the platform.
Personalized guidance is the fastest, most efficient way to start and grow on here. I love strategizing and figuring out how a person’s talents, interests, and expertise will work best on the platform.
There’s nothing better than helping someone see how amazing they are and how Substack can help them have the life and career they want.
I’ve learned and know a lot about Substack.
Here are seven things I hope will bring you growth and joy on Substack:
What I learned helping hundreds of people succeed on Substack
1. Substack can be different things to different people
When I came on Substack, I thought of it as a platform for “writers.” That was a very narrow view. I’ve since learned how expansive the platform is.
I’ve helped
influencers,
activists,
marketing specialists,
organizations,
sex workers,
changemakers,
artists,
academics,
designers,
life coaches,
journalists,
those in the health and wellness space,
physicians,
psychologists,
grief counselors,
pastors,
philosophers and religious thinkers,
filmmakers,
people in tech,
real estate agents,
creative writers,
business people,
elders sharing their life stories,
fashion and beauty writers, and more.
(Check out some of my amazing clients here.)
Together, we’ve strategized and succeeded in using the platform to connect with their subscribers, earn an income, and advance their careers.
2. Define “success”
Success is different for each person, and Substack can be dizzying in all the ways we can judge ourselves: subscribes, unsubscribes, likes, comments, recommendations, earnings, badges, checkmarks, etc. If you pay attention to all the metrics, you will get more discouraged than is necessary.
Success, of course, can’t be quantified but relying on a metric can prevent us from feeling like failures. Pick one. Just one: x number of free subscribers, y click-throughs (when someone clicks a link), z number of times we connect with someone on Notes. The metric doesn’t have to be monetary or have to do with subscribers; it can be all about connecting with others, including your readers.
3. You're far more interesting than you think
I work with many people who think they aren’t “interesting enough” to succeed on Substack. Across the board, without exception (okay, one exception, but he’s not on the platform anymore), the clients I’ve met with have been curious, talented, passionate, wonderful humans.
Substack seems to attract them. Why? Because the people who run Substack are just that: wonderful humans, full of talent, wisdom, and curiosity.
My clients who thought they weren’t talented, wise, and interesting enough to be on here didn’t see that Substack is a place to discover all the ways they are those things and can share them with others.
Then—and this is the tricky part—you have to apply it to the platform, which is much easier to do with help.
4. Have a strategy
I’m not sure why people think they’ll be “discovered” on here. Being successful in any profession or endeavor demands having a strategy, especially on Substack. In our meetings, my clients and I come up with a strategy for them—not in a mercenary, salesy way but in an I-know-what-I-want-and-respect-my-readers way.
I make sure the strategies my clients and I come up with are proven—i.e., they’ve worked for multiple clients, not just once but often. And we create a strategy that will enrich their lives not drain them.
5. Recognize the four Substack emotions and allow for them
I do end up being a coach sometimes helping my clients through the four core Substack emotions:
Slow-growth frustration
New subscriber joy
Paid subscriber elation
Unsubscriber panic (studies show that people are more likely to be upset by a loss than pleased by a gain)
Allow for them—the moments of despair, moments of motivation, periods of I’m all in, stretches of Ugh, this isn’t working—and keep going.
6. Quality, not quantity
Substack is its own world, unlike anywhere else. For most people, being on here demands a total reframe and re-education. No more needing to churn out two thousand words for Google’s sake (which isn’t true anymore anyway). No more needing to scream to be noticed like on social. No more posting all the time to please an inane algorithm like on Medium.
Just quality posts that serve your readers.
The biggest tip not on this list?
Work with me 1:1:
People spend years flailing around on Substack, feeling frustrated or overwhelmed, not understanding the platform, following bad advice, and not seeing real growth.
⇢ Get personalized guidance based on the advice Substack gave me—helping you see how your gifts, talents, and expertise will work best on the platform.
These meetings are the quickest and most effective way to attract subscribers, generate income, and build an email list of loyal subscribers.
My mission is to help people use this amazing platform to bring their good work to the world. You can’t find this level of mentoring, attention, and expertise anywhere else.
The “Four Substack Emotions”. Haha love it! I’d add “Metric Melange” for when you feel both happy for and envious of a newsletter peer who outperforms you.
This is excellent Sarah Fay, thank you! I love the brilliant way you showcase your own work while lifting others up in an extraordinairy way.