How to grow on Substack without wanting to die
Read my latest HubSpot guest post about achieving Substack success without burning out
For the HubSpot Blog, I wrote about achieving success on Substack without sacrificing my wellbeing. Whether you have a newsletter or just enjoy reading them, I believe there’s value in approaching creativity at your own pace. We have enough reasons for burnout. I refuse to let Substack be one of them.
This feature is special to me because there’s a time where I wouldn’t have been considered for a site like HubSpot unless I was writing about something related to my marketing career. And while that’s something I’ll likely explore more in the future, this post helps validate that I’m more than my 9-to-5 job and so are you.
A preview:
The newsletter platform and social media site, Substack, has become one of the hottest spaces for online creators—and now brands and celebrities are joining the bandwagon. Boasting more than five million paid subscribers across the platform, Substack invites creators like myself to build an audience, make money, and connect with other readers and writers.
My name is Alex Lewis, and I joined Substack in December 2022. My newsletter, Feels Like Home, is now home to more than 3,500 subscribers and receives over 20,000 monthly reads. I started the newsletter to explore some of my favorite things (like music, sports, and pop culture) and to have a creative outlet outside of my 10-year career in social media marketing.
Here are the steps I took to grow my newsletter by 7,000% in less than three years and how it continues to help me avoid burnout and maintain my love for writing. Let’s get into it.
1. I wrote about what I enjoy.
The beauty of Substack is you can write about whatever you want, and there’s a good chance you’ll find people who actually want to read it.
When starting my Substack, I set out to write about things I love and the people and moments that have shaped me. This ensured that my writing would always be personal and always feel enjoyable because I’m writing about topics that I’m genuinely interested in, such as NBA basketball and healthy masculinity.
Consistency is much more attainable when writing and publishing feel like less of a burden. I get excited to return to the page because I’m following my curiosities—and what I often find on the other side of this pursuit are people who love the same things and feel seen, as well as people who aren’t as familiar with the topic but gain a newfound appreciation for it.
The rest of my guest post includes:
A list of some of my favorite Substackers
Tips for starting your own publication
Click through to HubSpot to read the full post (and if you want to share it with your people, please share the HubSpot link).
P.S. In case you missed it, I wrote a guest essay for Katie Heindl’s newsletter series, Exits. My essay explores Nikola Jokic as Atlas, the trick (and fortitude) of time, and the Denver Nuggets’ path to recovery.
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Thanks for sharing this, Alex. This was something I didn't know I needed but it gave my heart and soul a little confidence boost. Going through the list, I realized I'm, in some way, already doing these things, so this was a reminder to stick with what I'm doing here.
The work you do on Substack has blessed me but seeing your words across the internet puts a smile on my face every time. Thank you for showing up in the ways only you can.