The Biggest Mistake I See People Making on Substack in 2026

+++ The Minimalist's Guide to Substack & the magic of the Golden Nugget Post

May 05, 2026

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Yesterday, I did a Substack training for the team at Fortier PR about how they can help their authors use Substack to sell books. It was a blast. At the end, Mark Fortier said, “You make Substack simple.”

Yes. Yes.

The biggest mistake I see on Substack is people making it way too complicated.

I’ve been on here long enough to know that the surest way not to grow is to try to do everything. So begins our new series for paid subscribers: “The Minimalist’s Guide to Substack.” Declutter your Substack brain and life, so you can actually grow in what is an increasingly crowded Substack landscape.

Take posting. I’ve written a lot about exactly when and how much to post based on people’s actual online reading habits and what actually works on Substack.

Don’t fall prey to clickbait titles of people saying they “analyzed” x number of “top Substacks” and that somehow should influence how often, when, and (especially) what you post.

No. How much and how often depends on your category, life, goals, subscribers, paid subscription (if you have one), and (of course) your Substack DNA.

The first guiding principle of the savvy Substack minimalist

Principle #1: Post when you have something worth sending. That does not mean it’s perfect.

Each post should pass two tests:

Test #1: Is this something people need right now? If not, it’s a no.
Test #2: Is this something they could get from ChatGPT? If so, it’s not something people will value or pay for.

That doesn’t mean you don’t post…

→ → → Enter the Golden Nugget Post /Article

I know Golden Nugget might make you think of food or Las Vegas. It makes me think of Ferrero Rocher chocolates and the epic artist Angelica Hicks, who recreates runway and red carpet looks using whatever is lying around. (Love!)

The Substack Golden Nugget is a type of Substack article I developed with my private clients when I saw how stressed they were about posting.

It’s an easy, short post (written, maybe audio or video) you can create when you don’t have time for a full, high-quality post.

A gift—a book, a song—something that doesn’t ask readers to do anything
A moment of true connection
A full post/article, not a Note, that comes from a genuine desire to share one thing that means something to you right now, not a roundup of 10 things or even a recommendation
No call to action, no questions for comments—don’t make readers do any work

Types of Nugget posts/articles

Written: 100-300 word share of one thing (book, movie, food, etc.)
Image: Just one
Brief video: Simple visual sharing

But! A Golden Nugget Post/Article isn’t about you

It’s a gift to your readers—something they can absorb without much effort. The Nugget gives you and your readers breathing room while maintaining connection.

For the next year, I’ll be giving you simple, minimal, less-than-five-minute next step to take now.

Create (or ideate) a Nugget Post for your Substack

Before you begin: Take a breath. This isn’t about performance or perfection.
Choose your Nugget: What book, song, food, film, etc. this week genuinely touched?

Answer: Why this book/song/etc.? Why now?
Include how/when you came across it and what made you stop and pay attention.
Give them the thing. Don’t just tell them about it (like including song links or book excerpts).