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Regardless of the publishing path you choose, I encourage you to prepare your author platform for sharing your writing or publishing a book way before you think you need it. Like, years before. Today I want to talk about why that is.

Preparation is great when you consider this from a business standpoint: how to encourage success for establishing your presence as a writer, developing a network, selling your book, and growing your career as a writer. Preparation is also great for mental health as you work through all of this — you aren’t rushing to do everything at the last moment.

Recently I received a note from a writer who has been following my work for awhile. She’s read my book and been following my advice shared here in this newsletter. A year ago, she decided to take action on developing her author platform. This is while her book was still being edited, before she found a publisher. Recently, things began moving very fast for her manuscript: a publisher was interested and sent her an author questionnaire to fill out, which asked all about her platform as a writer, her marketing plans, how she will talk to readers about her book, etc.

Was she a deer in headlights trying to figure all this out? Nope. She was prepared.

She simply copied and pasted from the work she had already been doing in developing her platform. But even more, she said she felt total confidence in this because she had taken the time to figure it all out. She wasn’t guessing or hoping, she knew. I mean, just imagine having that feeling in the moment where you sense that you are on the cusp of your writing goals becoming a reality.

Last week on Twitter I saw a literary agent who was opening to queries on September 1st. A day later she posted this:

“I may have to make adjustments to my response timeline – I received 403 queries today, and there are still a couple hours or so left in the day. 🥰
Normally, I think that number of queries is what an average agent sees in a month! Thank you all for querying me!”

And another day later she updated:

“An update on my query inbox – I’ve received a total of 564 queries since Sep 1st. I’ve answered 107. I’ve read amazing queries and pages and it is hard passing on so many great projects. I’m impressed by all and having to make really hard decisions. My plan was to sign one client this year (possibly two by the end of the year). That’s why this is so tough and why the decisions are so hard. I have several in my “maybe” pile that I need to read again and think about more. I’ve only sent two full requests so far, more to come.“

 

One author replied back:

“It is important for me to understand what I am up against. We hear how big the slush pile can be and can now see how hard it is to make an impression. Thank you.“

Of course, what matters most in this process is that you write a good book, and that it resonates with anyone you hope to reach, which may (or may not depending on your publishing path) include a literary agent.

It is useful to see the actual numbers. This agent’s goal is to sign one new client, and with days she has hundreds of requests. Even if you are pursuing a different publishing path, perhaps going hybrid or indie, the scale of numbers still applies. If your book is released on a random Tuesday, there may be hundreds of other books published that day, and bunch in your specific genre or topic. And let’s not even multiply that by how many others are published in the days before and after.

Now, I am not in any way shape or form trying to discourage you from creating and sharing. I’ve recently been revisiting why I do the work I do, helping writers share what they create and ensure their work connects with readers. And it’s this: I deeply believe that every single person can create and share their voice. I love — LOVE — that we live in an age that anyone anywhere has the option to write and have that work distributed to others. That what they publish reflects what they want to see in the world, whether that is fiction, memoir, nonfiction, poetry, etc.

This is why I focus so much on having a system for you to communicate and develop your author platform. It’s why I wrote Be the Gateway, why I developed Human-Centered Marketing (read more here and here), the Creative Success Pyramid, and why I continue to add to these systems every single week through the work I do with writers. It’s also why I’ve sent this email newsletter every single week for more than 15 years. See the archives here.

The other day I was speaking with a writer who has published many books for years, and when talking about her next book and how she will reach readers, she said to me: “This all feels daunting. This is my last ditch effort to reach people who want to read my books.”

This work that we do — writing and sharing — isn’t easy. It asks so much of you to share what matters most to you. To put it out there for others to see. To try to connect it in a meaningful way to another human being. But I am reminded, this is not work we have to do, it’s work we get to do. I grew up as an artist and my wife is an artist, and believe that what you create does not have to be shared. There is immense value in you creating just for yourself. In you simply immersing yourself in the creative process for its own sake.

But if you want to share. If you feel compelled to share for any reason, I encourage you to start early. Way earlier than you think. Develop a system for how you will communicate what you create and why, and how you will develop a sense of trust with others.

I want to end this message with a special moment that one writer is experiencing. This week I taught an online workshop and at some point within it I mentioned that people tend to really respond when you post a selfie on social media. That you will often get more engagement when people can see you. Well, author Diane Byington, Ph.D. emailed me the following morning saying this:

“You said something about how people respond better to personal things like photos, so I took a picture of myself and posted it on Twitter. I’ve now passed two thousand likes and nearly a thousand comments, and things are still going strong. I can’t believe that the response has been so big. Thanks for the encouragement. This is great!”

The results as of this morning? 22,000 likes, 7,000 comments, 1,000 people resharing her message. Here is the post:

 

She has also picked up hundreds and hundreds of new followers because of this update. What happened? We aren’t 100% sure yet, but clearly Twitter is recommending it to people. Her message and image obviously resonates with people, as does the prompt to wish her happy birthday.

The more you prepare, the more you are ready for these moments when they happen. To keep engaging those new followers. To continue your journey of sharing your writing, your message, and filling your life with conversations and experiences around the themes and ideas that matter to you.

Thanks.

-Dan

If you are a writer or creator who feels:

• You one day want your work to be read/seen
• You worry you just don’t have the network — the access — to others who create, who engage your ideal readers, and to your ideal readers themselves

Then I want to tell you about this truly incredible resource you have. It’s a power that I find many people (myself included) under-utilize. It’s this:

Be generous.

Okay, before you hang up! Before you stop reading because this sounds so vague and trite and like it isn’t going to help your Amazon algorithm, please bear with me…

Not long ago, I wrote about how Generosity Should Be Your Platform. In today’s post, I want to share a few examples which I’ve seen recently, and explore other ways that generosity can be helpful to your creative goals, and let’s face it, make everyone (including yourself) feel good along the way. Oh, and the nice thing is that all of these examples focus on BOOKS. This isn’t “be generous by giving away an iPad!”

I hear so many writers and creators bemoan that they just can’t seem to get attention or grow a platform. They see others who have a big online platform, and justify that it was easier years ago to get big on Twitter or Instagram or in a newsletter. But generosity is this amazing tool that helps get attention quickly. Why? Because one thing people value is to feel seen. To feel heard. To feel validated. To feel supported. To feel that someone else shares their enthusiasm, their goals, or their challenges. And generosity tends to address these things.

Let’s dig in…

What Generosity Looks Like

So here are three examples I wanted to share, each seems to have started with a simple social media post, someone exploring an idea that they didn’t know if it would truly engage people. The first is from author Allison Winn Scotch:

The results so far? Allison has identified 50 public and school libraries who have asked for support. These libraries are all over the US, including in Arkansas, North Carolina, Montana, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maine, Oklahoma, California, Nevada, Alabama, New Jersey and many other states.

The librarians let Allison know the kinds of books they are looking for, and she is managing a spreadsheet system to allow people to volunteer and coordinate direct donations of books to the librarian.

The second example is from author Jarrett Lerner:

 

I mean, just look at the stats at the bottom of that post: 1,100 comments, nearly 4,000 people resharing this on Twitter which has to mean it is now reaching… hundreds of thousands of people? Plus nearly 3,000 likes. You will also notice that Jarrett is giving away plenty of copies of his own books here too, plus that of many — many — other authors.

And the third example is from author Stacy McAnulty:

When I looked at the comments on this Tweet, I was blown away by the number of teachers who responded to Stacy, or people who tagged teachers they knew.What’s nice about these three examples is that they are varying levels of commitment. Allison is trying to recruit 50 volunteers and coordinate between 50 places. Jarrett is going to have a lot of mail to deal with in sending out those books. And Stacy will have a commitment throughout the school year. You get to choose the kind of experience you want to create.

Why Do This?

So for a moment, let’s forget about any aspect of these campaigns that are about doing good or feeling good. (I will note that I don’t think any of the authors above are doing this for “marketing” reasons. I think they just truly want to help out kids, readers, libraries, and classrooms, and that’s all.) But let’s ask the question that I have to imagine some of you may be thinking:

“Dan, I’m busy. I’m stretched thin with every resource: money, time, and energy. Why do you want me to now spend hours and hours to give away other people’s books? Or to donate my time when I’m still just tryin to write or get any exposure at all for it?”

Great question!

But… if we think about the value here strictly from a business standpoint, let’s look at some of the potential benefits:

• Generosity is something others tend to want to participate in and share with others. So if you are looking for an idea that others may pay attention to online, and perhaps share with their own networks, generosity is a great way to do it.
• Generosity is a nice way to access to those who feel influential to your ideal readership. It’s not uncommon for a writer to say, “I don’t have a platform, I don’t have a network as a writer at all, and why would anyone with influence even want to open an email from me?” Well, generosity is tends to break through to these people because it is about something they care about deeply.
• Generosity is a great way to build awareness of your very existence within your target audience.
• Generosity can give you exposure to your ideal readers and target audience. Many writers express to me that they don’t know anyone who reads the kind of work they write. Well, this could be a way to build those connections and create those conversations.
• Generosity can create word of mouth marketing and publicity. I mean, me writing this post has me writing about Allison Winn Scotch, Jarrett Lerner, and Stacy McAnulty.
• Generosity builds trust. That is such an important part of what it means to develop a platform as an author. Not just to be known, but for people to feel a sense of trust with you. I always think of this when I consider how someone develops a business. For instance, word of mouth marketing for a plumber tends to work like this: “You should hire ______, he’s someone you can really trust.” Versus “You should hire ______, he’s someone who has 3 years more experience than that other plumber.”

Maybe you are thinking that all of these examples focus on a certain kind of reader or a certain kind of donation or certain kind of place, and that isn’t a great fit for you. Wonderful! That means you can take an idea that you see working in other genres/topics/audiences, and ideate ways to apply it to your own!

Have you seen other examples of generosity? I’d love to see them.
Thanks.

-Dan

When you look at photos of people in public years ago, you see them looking at books, magazines, and newspapers. They are reading in the spare moments. Here is a photo by Danny Lyon from 1979:

 

The procurement, consumption, and maintenance of physical media used to be such a big part of our lives. What is “physical media”? Books, DVDs, magazines, CDs, newspapers, records, and the like. For much of my life, my biggest hobby was searching out music, scouring record bins for rare pressings, making long drives out to records stores I had never been to.

But now, I just open Spotify.

How people read and listen and watch has evolved a lot in the past decade. In the work I do of helping writers share their work, today I want to reflect on the pros and cons of physical media, and how that helps us understand reader behavior.

The Experience of Books and Art

How someone experiences your book is multifaceted. As the author, you can put what you want on the page, but the reader brings themself to it as well. They are reading your words through the lens of their life. I don’t think there is one clear split, but a simplistic way to say it is the book is 50% the author and 50% the reader. Of course, that can change line by line for each and every reader throughout the book. I mean, just this week I was reading a book and didn’t even register what I had read on a page because I was daydreaming. So I “read” the book, but not page 337. Other times, I am deeply immersed in what the the author is presenting. Our experience of books and art is infused within the rest of our lives. We multitask. We read while three other things are happening around us. Between activities. A few pages at a sitting, each a different time of day, a different mood, a different climate.

Sometimes it does look like this image from a painting by Deborah DeWit:

 

But sometimes it looks like this (from Reddit user @sgewux):

 

The Ownernship of Media

Recently I’ve been thinking about physical media; how we can own a copy of the books, movies, music, and video games that we love. I’m trying to look beyond sentimentality, although I have plenty of that. Ownership of media can at times be a reflection of how we craft our identity. I remember years ago people visiting my home and spending time looking through my music or books to get a sense of my interests and taste. But I’ve also been considering the qualitative difference that physical media can offer.

Streaming what we listen to and watch and read has compelling features, most notably convenience. Instant access to thousands of titles. You don’t have the cost of ownership with streaming, and perhaps even more importantly: you don’t have to dust a DVD every week that you haven’t watched in more than five years.

Yet with physical media, there are benefits. Here is some physical media at my studio: cassette tapes, VHS taps, books, CDs, and video game cartridges:

 

When I own a physical copy, I can choose what movie to watch without having to make a financial transaction of renting it digitally. I don’t have to spend time searching around to see what streaming services it is available on for free. I don’t have to worry about a 48 hour time limit on a streaming rental. But even more, physical media can at times offer a higher quality of experience. For movies this may mean visual quality or audio quality. Streaming can offer very high quality movie experiences. But by and large, a 4k blu ray disk offers better.

There are other benefits: for a personal collection of books, one can feel surrounded by the stories that inspire them. They can access them on a whim. They can feel that the physicality of these books help craft their identity and even decorate their home. In many ways, the art and stories and music we consume are the fabric of our lives. And physical media can remind us of this.

Creating a Haven for Immersive Experience

I’ve been thinking about how I can be more intentional in how I experience books, movies, and music. I’ve written previously that I used to have an entire room dedicated to listening to music. But that was a long time ago, and yes, before children.

My family hasn’t owned a TV in something like 15 years. Which means my kids have grown up entirely in a house without one. Of course, I have watched movies or even shows at home in that time, but it was always on the computer. And to be honest, mostly in a very small window on the screen, using the tiny computer speakers for all of the audio.

I’ve been considering how can I more often create an experience I love: the feeling of walking out of a movie theater, as if waking up from a dream. Being reminded of reality and emerging into the real-world still in the fog of whatever fantasy world that immersed me in that theater. So I’ve been creating a small home theater. I mean, I’m sure it’s pathetically common compared to what you have in your living room, but for me, this is a retreat for losing myself into the dreamworld of movies, and of course in sharing that experience with my family.

So I rearranged a room in our home — not the living room — but a much smaller more private room. I bought a TV for the first time in a long time, got a surround sound system and some new furniture. And now, I’m buying physical copies of movies. It feels old fashioned. To spend $12 or $25 on a movie that I now have to dust. I’m asking myself, how many times will I really watch this movie in the next five years?

But that is compared to what I’m truly buying: an immersive experience to lose myself in a movie. To close the shades, turn off the lights, close the door, turn the volume way up, and dive into a film.

So many writers I speak to barely have time to read, or don’t even read within the genre or topic they write. That is, of course, a choice that each of us get to make. But I would encourage you to consider the experience of what it means to read, listen, and watch. What are the qualitative factors that change how immersive it is for you? How do your ideal readers make these same decisions?

I’m curious: how do you feel about physical media? Books vs ebooks? A movie you hold in your hand vs one you stream? A physical copy of an album vs pressing ‘play’ on Spotify? Which do you prefer, when, and why?

Thanks.

-Dan

Today I want to talk about how I have evolved how I work with writers. For more than 12 years, my full-time focus has been to help writers feel they can effectively share their work in a manner that is meaningful and strategic. For some, that is developing an author platform, or identifying how to reach their ideal readers, or launching a book. That means every day for me is spent in conversation with writers, and in the trenches doing this work with them. It’s my dream job, and what I share every week in this newsletter is based on that practice, not vague theory.

I believe that how we share is a craft. That is part of what I am helping writers hone, their own ability to effectively communicate what they create and why. My own systems for how to do this are a craft as well. In the past few years I’ve evolved how I work with writers. I want to talk about specifically what has changed and why. And how it is continuing to change. When we show up for our creative work and how it connects with the world, we are in practice, constantly improving the systems we use and the effect it has in the world.

When a writer publishes their work into a marketplace, they may also embrace the idea of developing a career around this work. that is multifaceted in terms of possibilities and responsibilities. Do they want to manage an email newsletter, or social media, or develop a network with other writers, or show up at events, or otherwise participate in the marketplace?

Sure, a writer can just write. I grew up as an artist and creator, and I very much value the creative process as valuable in and of itself. To create, simply to create. To not worry about the output or what happens with it. You do not need to share your work. The creative process itself has incredible intrinsic value.

But if you hope that your work is shared; that it reaches readers; if you want your life as a writer to be part of your daily identity, then I would encourage you to embrace sharing as a craft too.

When I started this work in 2010, I took a huge risk. My corporate job of a decade had just ended, my wife and I were about to have our first child, and she was leaving her tenured teaching job at the bottom of the recession. Instead of taking a “safe” job that had a steady salary, health insurance, and other benefits, I founded WeGrowMedia. I mean, that’s a fancy name for me sitting in a room all day working with writers. We had been saving up for a house for years, and this decision meant delaying that for years more because I knew starting this business meant I couldn’t get a mortgage until I had established the company for 24-36 months.

Day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year, this has added up to working with thousands of writers. I’m getting emotional just writing that. It is a gift to be able to do this work with those who create. That my days are spent with those who feel compelled to share a story or information and who know that their message can brighten the lives of others. Thank you for being a part of this work.

Here are a few key areas that I have been evolving how I work with writers:

Deliverables

I have focused on in a big way in the past few years. “Deliverable” feels like a funny word, but I know it is important to writers working with me. To feel they are getting something tangible and meaningful that will help move them closer to their goals. When someone begins working with me, they are immediately given access to 15+ tab spreadsheet that acts as a strategic plan that we will personalize for them. Each of these goes deeper, with written material and videos as well, plus our collaboration. Now, I don’t love spreadsheets and I don’t think many writers do either, so my goal is not to mire anyone in a spreadsheet. Instead, we use this to develop a clear plan for us to work from, and that the writer can use for years to come. This is the opposite of simply leaving them with pages and pages of notes from our work together that may feel haphazard when they look back on it later.

These spreadsheets I use with my clients are the exact same ones I use for myself. They define:

• How to create a compelling message.
• How to make sharing our message easy and strategic.
• How to understand who our ideal audience is.
• How to expand our reach.
• How to launch a book.
• And so much else.

My system is always being stress tested and added to. I want them to be as concise as possible, yet inclusive of wherever we need to go for the writer’s platform. I do not want to add a single additional tab unless it adds meaningful value and doesn’t overwhelm the client. That is something I obsess about. If I wanted to, I could easily turn this into a “100 tab spreadsheet” with the hopes that it just sounds so impressive and complete. But I think the more valuable way to develop this is to focus on the essentials.I want to ensure that when I work with writers, they feel:

1. A sense of total clarity that there is a progression we will move through that makes sense to them.
2. The work we do is personalized to their goals and challenges.
3. They are only asked to pay attention to things that are incredibly meaningful for their goals.
4. They are supported at every step of the way.
5. They develop a process that will serve them now, but also for years to come. It is a mindset shift, but also establishes powerful new habits.

Which leads us to…

Processes

Of course part of why people work with me is for the insights that our work can provide. To know who they should reach and how to do so. But to truly grow over time, often we need to establish new processes for how we share. This is where the idea of craft comes in. This is not easy because invariably we are dealing with a complex set of emotions and psychology. For instance, many people are hesitant to even take a photo of themselves, let alone share it. So me saying, “you should share a selfie once a week with a book, and then do a video once a week where you talk about _____,” is not going to help someone who has deeply rooted feelings about being seen, about not appearing self-involved, about a complex sense of self, etc. This work I do with writers can go deep, and it is critical that we map out a step-by-step process that doesn’t just strategically work, but feels meaningful and authentic to the writer.

Likewise, this process has to fit within their otherwise busy life. Every single writer I work with has a delicate balance of attending to family, significant others, their other work, mental health, physical health, community, home, and so much else. Vague maxims of “spend 80% of your time writing and 20% promoting” fall flat when you realize the reality of how overwhelmed people feel just in their everyday lives.

So we work through this day by day, week by week, to not only find the right strategy but develop it in real time. To optimize, and ensure that it is integrated into their lives. No “cheat sheet” is going to do that for you. And it’s the reason why so many people attend to their physical health best when in a group class, with a friend, or a personal trainer. Sometimes, that social aspect helps focus, support, and motivate us in powerful new ways.

It’s common for me to share videos with a client where I answer their questions by showing them. So on one half of the screen they see me, and on the other half, they see my computer screen. Here I can showcase the nuances of how to focus on a specific aspect of the strategy we are developing.

And in the end, so much about honing processes is about determining what not to focus on. That frees up time and energy to do a few things really well. To me, how we share is a craft, not dissimilar to how we create. Which leads us to…

Actions and Outcomes

When I work with a writer, the goal is to take meaningful actions and focus on real outcomes. In other words, I don’t just want someone to have theory without practice, or to have a plan without execution. To ensure we build momentum quickly, I try to hone in on their goals, but also how they want to feel. It’s difficult to describe, but people can suffer when they feel there is a huge gap between their current reality and their goals. Bridging this gap is part of the work. Yes, to give them the skills and the strategy, but also to change their mindset. To go from, “I never thought this was possible,” to “It is really happening!”

That work begins before we start and in the first moments of our first official meeting. To identify the strategic path, but also what is emotionally or psychologically holding them back. We follow the model I have talked about here many times, The Creative Success Pyramid:

 

You can download the pyramid here and also watch a 1-hour workshop that explores The Creative Success Pyramid. Every call I have with a writer ends with specific homework — actions we will each take to make things happen right now.

Progress is measured in this manner: not on hours spent but on actions taken. On results achieved. Between calls, clients have unlimited access to me via email where we often work through specifics.

The results? Well, the writers I work with will say this better than I can:

 

“Working with Dan is a joy. He knows his stuff, but more importantly his approach to marketing is “human-centered” – that is, I don’t have to feel like a saleswoman. When we started working, I was all over the place with what I was trying to do. Dan helped me set up a system that I can carry forward, with relevant templates and detailed instructions. In other words, he is the best kind of teacher, helping me to understand the marketing system going forward. I’ll use his methods from now on with pleasure. Add to that – he’s incredibly kind!”
– Janet Fox

“Dan provides smart, creative, and meaningful marketing solutions. I appreciate his knowledge, authenticity and true desire to help. He kept me focused, moving forward and aligned to my message and goals. My websites, newsletter, Instagram, magazine column, book proposal and manuscript are leaps and bounds improved because of time spent working with Dan.”
– Allison Bruce

“Since completing a 90-day engagement with Dan and learning his system, I feel liberated from my own limiting beliefs about what marketing is and what it means to my freedom as a writer. I have a unified platform and know what I want to say. I feel safe in the social media world because I know what I share, what I don’t, and when. I have a path forward that gives me confidence for pitching my work. I have a foundation beneath me that no one else dictates. I have a path to identify and engage my target audience. Most importantly, my platform belongs to me because it’s a reflection of who I truly am and the relationships I’m creating. Thank you, Dan, for helping me build a system so that I can focus on what I love—writing and connecting with people who identify with and find value in what I share.”
– Naya Elle James

 

“I started working with Dan three months before the pub date of my first book. I knew nothing about marketing, including how it differed from publicity. And, then, social media was pretty much of a foreign country to me, as well. Dan was both a wonderful guide and a one-man support system. No question was too silly or far-fetched. He broke it all down to something I could get my mind around and helped me see what was worth doing and, most importantly, what was a good fit for my personality and aspirations. Best of all, he suggested goals that seemed way beyond my capacity–“Write on essay a week on the subject! You can do it!” when I’d previously struggled to write one every three months–but which I discovered I was able to meet. I can’t thank him enough — or recommend him more highly.”
– Elizabeth Marcus

 

“Working with Dan was a great way for me to gain clarity regarding my key messages. Previously, my messages and content were too diffuse to have enough impact. Our work together helped me focus on the most important information to convey to my audience. In addition, Dan helped me define my target market and perform a market analysis. I was left with a better understanding of my readers, an analysis of my role models, and informative marketplace research. Dan gave me clarity and direction where I lacked it previously. I appreciated Dan’s structured approach to the creative process and always felt like I knew what to expect. His communication was prompt, and his feedback was extremely helpful in taking my work to the next level. I’m proud of the work we did together and recommend him to anyone who needs help honing their creative work.”
– Melissa Lewis-Duarte, Ph.D

Of course, I can only work with a small number of writers, so I try to share my system and processes for free in my weekly newsletter, the 10+ years of archives on my blog, in my (mostly) weekly podcast, in free webinars and workshops, and in thousands of social media posts. Oh, and in my book! I saw this the other day on Instagram:

 

If you are curious about how I work with writers and seeing some case studies of writers I’ve worked with, click here. Thank you for your support and being here with me.

Thanks.

-Dan

If you are a writer hoping to develop your author platform or prepare for a book launch, newsletters are still a primary channel you should consider using. The reasons are the same now as they were years ago: a newsletter list gives you direct access to the people most likely to support your work. This is also how you encourage those people to take meaningful actions such as pre-ordering your book, posting a review for it, helping you identify book clubs, telling a friend, etc.

I’ve always appreciated how a newsletter aligns so well with what writers do… which is… um… write. It’s not a TikTok dance, it’s not a viral video, a clever meme, or so much else that confounds many writers.

Just write. Then send it to folks who asked to hear from you. In a nutshell, that’s a newsletter. With writers I work with, I’ve found it helpful if they think of it less as a NEWS-letter, and more as a letter to a friend. There is a lot we can discuss here, but to sum up my recommendations:

• Have an email newsletter.
• Start it way before you think you need to.
• Don’t worry about how many subscribers you have. Mine started with 9, all of whom I asked permission from in person.
• Send it weekly. (I know, I know, many of you will guffaw at this.)
• Focus each newsletter on one thing.
• Just consider how you can share something meaningful, authentic, helpful, or inspiring to your readers each week.

Recently, there has been a new newsletter service out there that has been really powerful for many writers I’m working with. It’s called Substack. In many ways, it is trendy to the point where people say, “Sign up for my Substack” instead of “Sign up for my newsletter.” But Substack is doing thing differently than many other newsletter services I have used. These are the results I have seen for writers I’m working with:

• They get more subscribers more quickly
• They earn more money from their newsletter

I don’t often talk about trendy tools here because I like focusing on the foundational elements of what it means to conduct what I call Human-Centered Marketing. But I think Substack is worth paying attention to. Here’s why:

• Substack encourages email list growth through word of mouth marketing.
• Substack has a huge focus on helping you to get paid for your writing.
• Substack makes it easy to connect a blog to a newsletter and vice versa.

I’ll note: I don’t use Substack for my own newsletter. And everything I write here is simply because I find it interesting. I’m not an affiliate or anything. Just do a web search for “Substack” to find it. I have quite a few clients who are using Substack, and I’ve set some up them up on it from scratch. This has given me a wonderful inside look at it from a variety of different authors and audiences.

Let’s dig into some specifics about why I find Substack interesting:

Newsletter List Growth

When you first sign up for Substack, one of the first things it asks is this: “Why not tell your friends about your Substack.” Which is very different than “SHARE ON SOCIAL” or “IMPORT YOUR LIST” messaging I remember from other newsletter services.

But the truly powerful thing Substack does to help you grow subscribers is to encourage Substack writers to recommend other newsletters. So what happens is if I sign up for a newsletter from an author on Substack, just after I complete the process, it will show me a list of several other Substack newsletters that the author themselves is recommending. Then with just a mouse click, I can subscribe to those as well.

This is just one example of how Substack encourages writers to share each others’ newsletters within their network. That is the heart of word of mouth marketing, which is really how any newsletter finds growth in subscribers.

Getting Paid

For many writers, they don’t start a newsletter with the goal of getting paid directly from it. In fact, they may be hesitant that sending a newsletter at all might annoy people. But Substack has normalized this idea that one can get paid for their newsletter. How it works is this: you can have a free version of your newsletter, then a second paid tier. Often the price is around $5 per month for someone to join the paid tier.

Substack makes it easy to offer exclusive content and features that only the paid subscribers will receive. But much like Patreon, I find that many people will opt for the paid version simply because they want to support the writer, not because they are weighing an exchange of value for “exclusive” content.

Are there potential downsides to Substack? Yep. And they include the reasons I haven’t moved my newsletter over to Substack — at least not yet. They include:

• Not as much freedom as I would like to customize the template for your newsletter. I prefer my newsletters to be flush left, and look as basic as possible. Even though Substack newsletters do indeed have a very simple design, they are not exactly the feel that I want for mine.
• I believe all of your posts (newsletters) also need to appear on what Substack calls your Publication page, which is basically a public blog. I like the ability to curate this more, having more nuanced control of what appears where.
• I don’t love the idea that my Publication page will live on their servers. I know, there are ways around this, but I have a website I’ve sent people to for more than 12 years, and I like the fact that I own my website Plenty of people use Substack as their website, which solves a huge problem for them. But it’s not for me.

Of course, I will continue to be looking into Substack and using it with clients, because it is a very powerful tool.

Do you “need” a newsletter? Nope. Are you missing out if you aren’t using Substack? Nope. As with everything I share here, all of these suggestions are choices that you get to make. I simply want to encourage you to be proactive about sharing your voice.

Thanks.

-Dan