I love your personality - your Substack that especially captured me (bc I’m not a financial person) is the adventure you were undertaking by leaving Canada and living in another country - that takes guts! I wish I could do that (im sure there are a lot of your readers that agree). Also, the takedown of the professor. Keep going after people in power that that corporate media ignore. Also, keep us abreast of your adventures - you have such a interesting, authentic voice. And I also plan on becoming a paid sub - I’m just on a tight budget at the moment.
It was the Seth Smith article. Extremely moving. You were right, this sad story never made the news, surely because it does not fit the woke race narrative.
I'm familiar with the relative crime stats with race as one variable. Yet facts have been resoundingly unsuccessful in conversations on the subject. You personalized the issue with a sensitive, thorough article. This is journalism at its best. You present a non-mainstream view about a serious issue, and explain it with a story, not just data.
Substack is revolutionizing journalism, with writers like you. - Your fan
One of your new subscribers. There was a link to one of your articles; forget from where. Astral Codex? Common Sense? Reason? I don't subscribe to many and the article of yours I read was a standout. You must have used data and had original ideas. Glad to support.
Congrats on your success! I was wondering if you could elaborate more on how you were able to achieve that growth in numbers. Was it organic growth? Did you use social media or other marketing techniques? I definitely can see your point about the benefits of Substack. Thank you so much for your inspirational story.
With the caveat that business smarts ain't my shining quality, I'd say you or any writer is best off not trying to earn a living through Substack unless they're just transferring over their "brand." (I hate that term and concept but for shorthand's sake...)
Satisfying the desires of a paying audience will inevitably pull you away from what you most want to do, and turn you into a marketing machine.
I'm close to 50 subscribers now, which is a heck of a lot more than the two I started with (and those two were the guys who encouraged me to start in the first place). I was tempted to set up a paying option, and then I realized I don't want to be forced to play to what the market demands. I want to write what I want to write, and hope the audience that will appreciate that manages to find me. Almost all of my subscribers have come from other Substacks where people thought my comments interesting enough to see what else I might have in my head.
But I'm not young; I'd love the lakeside estate but I ain't gonna try whoring out my antique self in the hope of some imaginary big bucks. Young people will have a different perspective.
Not interested in the audio. Let me read it and not have your inflections get in the way I hear language in my head.
Voice over would be Interesting, sometimes I like to read on the bus, or while doing other things, but end up putting them down and forgetting to come back to the articles I’m reading (by anyone, not specifically yours). Podcasts I always keep on
I think I found you from a citizenfreepress.com link? I don't remember. I don't have any paid subscriptions on substack because there are too many authors. I wish there was a way to "tip" based on a good article. You would have earned a couple of $2 - $5 tips from me. But I read fifty six different authors on substack so subscriptions would be prohibitively expensive.
I don't listen to podcasts so the voiceover feature is lost on me. If I were you, I would use youtube as an advertising platform. Create a youtube advert a week or two in advance about your next paid article. Then embed that youtube video in your free articles to generate interest. Edward Slavsquat is doing a good job using telegram and youtube to augment his substack articles.
Ouch! Not personal yet I can see why it would feel that way. I read many articles a day and source amnesia means I don't often recall where I encountered an idea. Now I will look through your posts and tell you which one and why. Fair enough!
How have you found the difference between like, having a direct and focused niche (like, a journalism beat) vs "people are subscribing for Karl"? Is there a marked difference?
I love your personality - your Substack that especially captured me (bc I’m not a financial person) is the adventure you were undertaking by leaving Canada and living in another country - that takes guts! I wish I could do that (im sure there are a lot of your readers that agree). Also, the takedown of the professor. Keep going after people in power that that corporate media ignore. Also, keep us abreast of your adventures - you have such a interesting, authentic voice. And I also plan on becoming a paid sub - I’m just on a tight budget at the moment.
It was the Seth Smith article. Extremely moving. You were right, this sad story never made the news, surely because it does not fit the woke race narrative.
I'm familiar with the relative crime stats with race as one variable. Yet facts have been resoundingly unsuccessful in conversations on the subject. You personalized the issue with a sensitive, thorough article. This is journalism at its best. You present a non-mainstream view about a serious issue, and explain it with a story, not just data.
Substack is revolutionizing journalism, with writers like you. - Your fan
Keep it up 🏆
One of your new subscribers. There was a link to one of your articles; forget from where. Astral Codex? Common Sense? Reason? I don't subscribe to many and the article of yours I read was a standout. You must have used data and had original ideas. Glad to support.
Congrats on your success! I was wondering if you could elaborate more on how you were able to achieve that growth in numbers. Was it organic growth? Did you use social media or other marketing techniques? I definitely can see your point about the benefits of Substack. Thank you so much for your inspirational story.
What are the two big jumps in traffic in 2021 and one in 22, articles that got picked up somewhere?
Do you use sections for separate subscriptions or just to sort things?
Thanks for sharing your journey. I too am rooting for the freedom decentralized platforms will give us in the future. Congrats on your headstart.
great job so far
i hear a lot of ppl do like to hear the article read to them. i don't do it yet, but i might
With the caveat that business smarts ain't my shining quality, I'd say you or any writer is best off not trying to earn a living through Substack unless they're just transferring over their "brand." (I hate that term and concept but for shorthand's sake...)
Satisfying the desires of a paying audience will inevitably pull you away from what you most want to do, and turn you into a marketing machine.
I'm close to 50 subscribers now, which is a heck of a lot more than the two I started with (and those two were the guys who encouraged me to start in the first place). I was tempted to set up a paying option, and then I realized I don't want to be forced to play to what the market demands. I want to write what I want to write, and hope the audience that will appreciate that manages to find me. Almost all of my subscribers have come from other Substacks where people thought my comments interesting enough to see what else I might have in my head.
But I'm not young; I'd love the lakeside estate but I ain't gonna try whoring out my antique self in the hope of some imaginary big bucks. Young people will have a different perspective.
Not interested in the audio. Let me read it and not have your inflections get in the way I hear language in my head.
Voice over would be Interesting, sometimes I like to read on the bus, or while doing other things, but end up putting them down and forgetting to come back to the articles I’m reading (by anyone, not specifically yours). Podcasts I always keep on
Congratulations! You're doing really well. Keep grinding.
I think I found you from a citizenfreepress.com link? I don't remember. I don't have any paid subscriptions on substack because there are too many authors. I wish there was a way to "tip" based on a good article. You would have earned a couple of $2 - $5 tips from me. But I read fifty six different authors on substack so subscriptions would be prohibitively expensive.
I don't listen to podcasts so the voiceover feature is lost on me. If I were you, I would use youtube as an advertising platform. Create a youtube advert a week or two in advance about your next paid article. Then embed that youtube video in your free articles to generate interest. Edward Slavsquat is doing a good job using telegram and youtube to augment his substack articles.
Ouch! Not personal yet I can see why it would feel that way. I read many articles a day and source amnesia means I don't often recall where I encountered an idea. Now I will look through your posts and tell you which one and why. Fair enough!
Big congrats!
How have you found the difference between like, having a direct and focused niche (like, a journalism beat) vs "people are subscribing for Karl"? Is there a marked difference?