A Regular Person's 1st Month on Substack

10 Tips for Regular, Non-Famous, People

Photo by Robert Anderson on Unsplash

I just hit my 1 month anniversary here on this lovely, fascinating, quiet, secret, wonderful place. Here are my stats, in case you’re interested in that sort of thing:

As of 1 month:

Posts: 10

Subscribers: 72

So far, my most popular post was: Me + My 1 Follower

In it I talked about getting my first subscriber (& it wasn’t even my Mom!) My first subscriber was a complete stranger. The generous Pamela Leavey. Thank you Pamela. She is a photographer + writer at Words and Pictures by Pamela Leavey. I think you’ll like her home on “the Stack”—you should check her out.

You see, I’m a regular, non-famous, person. If this is you too, I hope this article helps you. There are two different experiences on Substack. They are polar opposites. One, is when a famous person/author creates a Substack. They get subscribers on day 1. Why? Because they reach a lot more people on other platforms, including their books. Those followers come on over here to Substack and become “subscribers.” From what I’ve seen, the famous people have a fraction of their followers on other socials become “subscribers”, but they still have a lot of “subscribers” compared to us regular people.

The second experience is when regular, non-famous people, (like us) begin a Substack. We start with zero subscribers. We see every subscriber who chooses to come along with us on this journey. Our first, second, third…tenth, twenty-fifth, and hopefully our hundredth and beyond.

Since I’m one of those regular, non-famous people, I thought it may be helpful to share what I’ve learned about Substack during this first month. When I was starting, I found these types of articles extremely helpful. I hope you do too!

Here are 10 tips for the regular, non-famous, person who is starting a Substack. Maybe this will help you take the leap?

1. Set it up! Creating a Substack is very easy. I can say this with confidence because I am the non-techiest person alive. If I can do this, you can. It was a very simple start up process. It’s one of the things that I love here. The ease of use is outstanding.

2. Write a “Welcome + What to Expect” essay. “Essay” is the term Substack uses for post or article. I wrote mine with just a few sentences describing me and the space. Upload a picture of yourself. I understand for some people, this may seem less than appealing, but the truth is people want to know who you are. I uploaded a picture of myself to figure out how to do it. It’s EASY! Then, explain what your reader should expect from your Substack. You’ll probably have to update this as you figure out what works for you, but that’s okay. Feel free to check out mine if it helps you:

   Welcome + What to Expect

3. Don’t stress about Subscribers. My first post went to 3 people. Myself, myself (yes, I tested it to a second email of my own,) and the lovely Pamela, mentioned above. Also, as you can tell by my early essay,

   I didn’t even know the correct Substack terminology. I meant “subsrcibers.” Substack has “followers” too, but I meant “subscribers.” I *think* if someone follows you on Substack, they don’t get your newsletters, but they can see you in their home feed on the app. (Don’t quote me on that though, I could be completely wrong.)

4. Start writing.

   Again, a little louder, START WRITING! Writers write. Sometimes it’s a piece of garbage. Sometimes it’s a gem. Sometimes you can polish up your garbage and reveal a gem underneath. Other times it’s garbage that just can’t be polished up. It truly is garbage, but that garbage serves a purpose, it is helping you to develop and hone your writing style. Don’t try to be perfect, just start writing.

5. POST what you write. Sometimes our own fear paralyzes us. Trust me, most people aren’t thinking about you as much as you think they are. No one is going to criticize you (at least to your face, lol.) Dare yourself to be courageous and share your work. I posted 10 times in this first month. I’ve since settled into a twice a week rhythm, I’ll be posting 8 times a month going forward. Figuring out the balance is part of it. Remember, your subscribers want to hear from you, but no one wants to hear from you every day. Even your Mom, alright mayyybee your Mom would like to hear from you every day, but trust me, no one else does.

6. Decide what you’d like your space to be about. “Shouldn’t this be number one?” you may be thinking. NO! I think it’s better to just start. If you have a vision, great. If not, you’ll figure it out. Honestly, I’m still figuring mine out and imagine it’ll be something I continue to tweak as it morphs into a final version.

7. Figure out a posting schedule that works for you & try to stick with it. Consistency is important for your subscribers. You can adjust this as you go. I quickly established a routine of posting on Tuesdays and Saturdays. I’ve already got my next month planned out. Planning ahead helps me. Helpful tip: Let your audience know what to expect in terms of emails from you. How often + what will they be? Tell them this on your Welcome post and on your About page.

8. Engage on Substack. I don’t know with certainty how Substack works compared to blogs of the past, facebook, instagram, and twitter. However, one thing I’d guess is that like these other platforms, Substack wants you to use their features.

   Subscribe to others. Comment on their posts. I’m not suggesting any sort of formula ie. 10 comments a day. No one wants this space to turn into the hustle that social media became. Instead I’m saying, take your time subscribe to writers who interest you. Read + interact on their posts. Like, comment, restack in notes. Be the reader you wish to attract.

9. Share your writing with your IRL (in real life) people. Maybe you’ll email them? Maybe you’ll post on your facebook or other social media? Maybe you’ll tell people via word of mouth? I didn’t share my first few posts with my IRL people. I don’t know why? I think imposter syndrome mixed with still figuring this space out kept me from sharing. When I finally did, I got the nicest encouragement from friends and family, many of whom became subscribers. Most likely, your people want to encourage you.

10. Have fun! After all, if this isn’t bringing you joy, is it somewhere you should be spending your time?

Thanks for reading. I wish you the best of luck here on Substack. If this post helps you, would you consider liking it & re-stacking it in your notes?

Xo,

K