Writing, Substack, and Why Dopamine Hits Won't Get You the Platform or Creative Life You Want with Maya Popa
+ Our new podcast + why your Substack DNA matters
So much to discuss: Our new podcast, live with Maya Popa, and why your Substack DNA matters…
1. Our new podcast: Substack Live
Substack Live features conversations with Substack early adopters who continue to bring their good work to the world and in doing so, make the world a better place.
Plus, updates and expert guidance on the platform as it changes and changes again and again, so you can use it to fuel your creative, professional, and financial life without feeling like you’re on yet another platform you have to game and perform on.
2. Substack Live with Maya Popa: Writing, Substack, and Why Dopamine Hits Won’t Get You the Platform or Creative Life You Want
No better way to start than with the great
of the Substack on Writing, Substack, and Why Dopamine Hits Won’t Get You the Platform or Creative Life You Want.We talk about mindset, motivation, and the myth of “having it all together;” the financial realities of being a writer; Substack strategies, authenticity, and audience growth; the toxic dopamine loop, validation, and the writing process; revising, self-editing, and the value of patience; and so much more.
Listen ↑ or on here Substack here, which includes the video replay and ways to listen on Apple and in the app.
Maya is a poet, prose writer, exceptional human, and someone I’m so lucky to call a dear friend.
She did what I want for you: Used Substack to create opportunities. Her Conscious Writers Collective (CWC) is her online school and writing community that offers a rigorous, MFA-level education for writers without forcing them to take on the debt an MFA program would.
Our conversation is a must-listen for all Substack writers and creators.
3. Why your Substack DNA matters
Which is why we’re talking about your Substack DNA.
On a purely mercenary level, it’s really hard to get, engage, and keep subscribers if your Substack is vague or doesn’t feel like there’s a person behind it.
Those Substack creators who chase the latest “hack” and “trick” are missing out. Substack is so much richer than that. It’s deep work, the kind you find yourself in and achieve things you never thought possible.
I see it in my clients all the time.
And it requires knowing your Substack DNA.
What your Substack DNA is:
DNA is the genetic code that makes us different from anyone else. It’s the blueprint that defines our characteristics, appearance, and what we do.
Your Substack’s DNA is the part of you that is your Substack.
What your Substack DNA isn’t
It’s not the “stuff” you offer—posts, chat, whatever. It’s what makes the stuff you offer make sense.
It’s absolutely not your marketing “niche.”
DNA isn’t a perfect metaphor. Substacks can change (DNA supposedly can’t). We aren’t (I don’t think) trying to propagate our Substacks. And Substacks that have no DNA don’t cease to exist; mainly, they just flounder and atrophy.
But the idea that your Substack grows and develops when we establish the core of what we do, and can communicate it to others, holds.
How others have found their Substack DNA
One of the main things I do as a Substack strategist—in 1:1 Substack Strategy Sessions, in the Premier Membership, and now in the DNA Intensive—is help Substack writers and creators discover what will make their Substacks stand out.
When they discover their Substack DNA, their Substacks really grow.
To show you exactly how this might play out (in real life, not Substack-growth-hacker-nonsense land) here’s what happened with two of my clients.
Your Substack DNA may be narrower than you think: Petya Grady
is the creator of the amazing Substsack . Petya changed her Substack from Lifequakes, about life transitions, to A Reading Life—a wonderful Substack about how we can reclaim our intellectual and reading lives and take responsibility for our inner landscape.
Within a year of figuring out her Substack DNA, she went from 400 subscribers to over 7500.
In the eight or so months following, she was also featured by Substack three (3!) times.
A key moment came during one of our sessions when she realized she should focus on who she wants to be “talking with” rather than “talking to.” (I love this too.)
It happened when she stopped asking What am I an expert in? and instead focused on What am I most interested in? and (I love this) What activates my gossip nerves?
Once she identified her core interest in reading despite having a busy life, she simply decided to talk to the people who shared that interest.
That clarity made everything fall into place so easily. The logistics took care of themselves.
Your Substack DNA may be broader than you think: Emma Vivian
is a fantastic writer whose Substack is . Initially, her Substack was called Am I Cured Yet? but then she realized she didn’t want to write about cancer all the time.
It was wonderful and focused on her story of being diagnosed with breast cancer at 29, shortly after her best childhood friend was also diagnosed, and being the only one to survive it is remarkable and the topic of her memoir.
But she and her Substack, as we discovered while working together, is larger than that.
We talked through what her posts had in common. As Emma put it, “I had cancer. I am not cancer.” The experience shaped her outlook, which was far more interesting for a Substack.
The DNA, the core, of her Substack is her outlook on life: attempting optimism despite our natural human pessimism (and without toxic positivity).
Emma had two Notes go viral, which came after we pivoted away from her posting about cancer and instead tapping into her life more generally and the essence of always trying.
Viral Note #1: Introducing herself and her “new” Substack:
Viral Note #2: She had been posting Notes about cancer. When she went broader and more in line with Attempts at Optimism, her Notes got engagement and reached more people:
Having clarity about her Substack DNA gave her a framework that generated new ideas and made her excited about writing again. She didn’t worry about running out of things to say each week.
It didn’t change what she was writing; it just made her Substack clearer to readers and subscribers.
Substack is so much cooler than growth hacks and Notes and likes and dopamine hits.
It can offer you so much more.
All my best,
Sarah
Thanks so much for featuring my Substack in this post, Sarah! I'm so grateful to you for the work we did together. Six months on from discovering my Substack DNA, I'm still excited to write every week! :)
An excellent listen for any writer - whether you just started on Substack or have been writing ( and hoping to be ) published for years. Thanks, Sarah and Maya for telling it like it is.