One of the greatest sales copywriters ever, Gary Halbert, started every newsletter with "Dear Friend,"
I loved that—so I stole it.
I imagine I'm writing every letter to 1 person.
Make it personal.
3/ Short newsletters = daily, long newsletters = weekly
Don't try to do daily, long newsletters.
Also don't think 1 short newsletter every week or 2 weeks is going to be valuable enough for readers.
4/ Only launch a paid newsletter if you have an audience elsewhere
This is Mistake #1 for most writers. There's no discovery function on Substack, so readers randomly finding your newsletter is slim to none.
Start free somewhere else, then move your free audience paid.
5/ If you want to grow, all efforts need to point to your paid newsletter.
A big reason my paid newsletter only did $10k year 1 is because I rarely push readers to it—because I have other products I'd rather point people to.
So, don't. All roads should lead to your newsletter.
6/ Your bio is where most people will discover your newsletter.
Your Substack link (or w/e platform) should be in your bio. Your bio itself should say, "I write about X every Wednesday, subscribe here 👇"
Make your social bios a Call To Action.
Here's an example:
7/ For every 3 paid newsletters, send 1 free to your entire list
Or, find the ratio that works for you.
But the majority of people who subscribe are going to be freebies. So you want to keep sending them tastes of your content—and encourage them over time to go paid.
8/ Even when you send paid newsletters, duplicate your post and also send the first 1/3rd to your Free list
This is something I do and it has worked extremely well.
Send a snippet of a paid post to your free list with a Subscribe To Keep Reading button.
Example:
9/ In conclusion: paid should be a 2ndary focus to your free content
If you have no at-scale / free content strategy, building a paid newsletter is going to be an uphill battle.
Ex: master Twitter threads, first. Then take all that attention and direct it to your paid letter.
BitClout is creating a new category—most just don't see it yet.
As with any early-stage, radically different, boundary-pushing project, Twitter is already calling BitClout a "scammy" project, and a "Black Mirror episode" manifested.
Here's what I see instead 👇
1/ Quick TL;DR history
BitClout is a super-stealth blockchain project where people can buy, sell, and trade Creator Coins—coins that represent the perceived value of a creator.
- @elonmusk has a coin
- @chamath has a coin
- As of today, I have a coin
Anyone can have a coin.
2/ Rumor has it there are some pretty big players involved (I won't name names yet), and BitClout has srs VC backing.
Like most high-flying projects that catapult out of Silicon Valley's elite network, BitClout has also been built & launched in 100% stealth mode.
So, here are 7 actionable ways to achieve that goal to produce that outcome 👇🏼
1/ Create without expectation
People can sense your intentions. And if your intention is to “build an audience” to quickly extract ($$$) value, you will repel more than you attract.
Give generously. Expect little in return.
2/ Keep your promises
If you say you’re going to write something new every day, do it. Show up. Let your actions speak louder than your words/promises/public announcements.
1. Write Atomic Essay 2. Post image on Twitter 3. (Bonus) Copy/paste text as thread 4. Find relevant Question on Quora. Copy/paste Atomic Essay + image. 5. Copy/paste again on Medium. 6. Again on LinkedIn 7. Win
Guide below ✍️🚢👇
Step 1: Write Atomic Essay
I really enjoy writing right inside the Figma template. It helps give me a good sense of exactly how much "real estate" I have/have left before my time us up and I'm out of space.
Once finished, I export the image and send to my phone on Slack.
Step 2: Post image on Twitter
Before I publish my Atomic Essay on Twitter, I use the Edit/Photo Markup function on the iPhone to highlight standout sentences.
These are usually power-phrases: things the reader skims and thinks, "That's interesting," prompting them to read more.
💸 The 5 Revenue Streams Every Writer Should Build For Themselves 💸
Today I have ~9 different revenue streams for myself, but these 5 are the big ones that have fueled my career for the past 5 years (and allowed me to quit my 9-5 & go all-in on writing) 👇🧵
1/ Writing as a service
This is without question the easiest revenue stream to build, and where most writers start.
The first big jump in my income as a writer came from ghostwriting. Once you learn how to provide writing as a service (and get paid $$), you're off to the races
2/ Write books/guides/etc.
My 2nd paid product online was a $30 "How To Become A Top Writer On Quora" course. My 1st was a eBook series called "Skinny to Shredded."
Create assets that can be sold infinitely at scale. Small numbers ($$$) add up over time.