My First 12 Months on Substack
Stats, lessons learned, and other juicy stuff.
Writers should get paid for doing what they love, which is something few people are truly capable of: entertaining, educating and inspiring others through the written word. Become a paid subscriber to How to Write for a Living for just £8 a month to unlock every article in our archive and gain full access to the Member Resource Hub.
Let’s get right to it.
I joined Substack in June 2023. My first post - a short and sweet placeholder - was published on the twelfth day of the month, almost one year ago exactly.
I started from near-scratch with 49 subscribers imported from another platform (possibly Mailchimp?). It’d probably taken me a few months to gather those subs through my fledgling YouTube channel, which I promise I’ll start using again soon.
For the next 5 months, growth was a slow burn. I published on a weekly basis, usually repurposing content across from Medium or posting roundups that included recommendations, videos and personal updates. Many of those posts got little or no engagement. I wasn’t super consistent with my publishing schedule, either. There wasn’t much feedback to go on, so I didn’t really know what my small audience wanted from me.
However, my subscriber base did grow over those 5 months, even if the rate was snail-like at times. I got my first ever paid subscriber on October 7, which came as a bit of a surprise at the time. By the end of November, I had 187 subscribers in total. I’d also started publishing written interviews with both established and in-progress authors, which improved my online visibility a little each time they shared the post.
Then, at the start of December, two things happened.
First, I rebranded my main publication from #AmWriting (which was an accidental rip-off of another much larger pub) to How to Write for a Living. This simple change added a lot more clarity for potential subscribers - they now knew exactly what they’d get in exchange for booping the subscribe button.
And second, I started using Notes. To be fair, I’d used it a little before that point, but it felt very much like X/Twitter at the time (ie. whispering into the void) and I couldn’t see how it’d help build my following on Substack. I was still pretty locked-in to other social media platforms and assumed sharing my writing on them was the best approach.
Narrator: it was not.
Once I started making regular, substantial use of Notes, my subscriber growth rate began to tick up. And up, and up. I posted every day, often multiple times; I followed other users in my niche (lots of them); and I tried to engage with others by replying and restacking as strategically as I could.
It took a good deal of time investment, but it was well worth it. By the end of December, I’d gone from 187 to 646 subscribers on How to Write for a Living. I also started my second publication, The Solopreneur Stack, on December 22 and imported 182 subs from ConvertKit on December 30. By New Year’s Day 2024, I had 913 Substack subscribers in total.
The five-and-a-half months that followed have been incredible, not just in terms of growth.
As of today (June 13, 2024), I have 8,154 Substack subscribers across 3 publications. My third pub, David McIlroy Fiction, started on Feb 20. I’m considering starting a fourth soon to handle my horror fiction.
I’ve also picked up around 150 paid subscribers in that time. My free-to-paid ratio is low right now, purely because my free base has grown so quickly and paid subs haven’t yet caught up. I’m confident more subscribers will upgrade over time, especially as I add more guidance content to my Member Resource Hub.
Substack is generally just an amazing platform, too. It’s usually the first app I open every morning and the last one I check each night. 99% of the user base are friendly, encouraging and fun to be around, which is pretty unusual for the internet of 2024. I now get most of my news from former journalists who write here. It’s a fantastic information resource.
There are downsides, of course. Trolls are abundant on the platform, largely because it’s entering its explosive growth phase. Surprisingly, I’ve been trolled more regularly here over the last few months than during my 15+ years on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. But trolls are always gonna troll, and that’s what block buttons are for.
Substack could also do with improving its email functionality and analytics dashboard. It still trails behind other email platforms like ConvertKit and Beehiiv in that regard. I’d love to have more control over how and when I deliver content to my subscribers, especially new incoming subs.
Overall, though, my first year on Substack has been pretty great. I’ve got a good handle on how to grow consistently. I’m increasingly aware of exactly what my audience wants from me, and how they like to receive it. I’ve made fantastic connections with fellow writers and creators, all of whom I learn from every day. This place feels like home.
Naturally, I don’t know what the next 12 months will bring. Platforms change all the time. My organic growth might fall off a cliff overnight. Subscribers might get bored of me and drift away. I may never reach my goal of writing for a living on a full-time basis.
What I do know, however, is that I’m still bursting with ideas. I have goals. I have targets, some moving. I know what I want to achieve and I can see a pathway there. Ultimately, I want to keep delivering for the awesome community that’s springing up around my publications. I want to continue helping others as much as possible.
In light of that, I really hope this little update was useful. If you’re able to support me by becoming a paid member of How to Write for a Living, that’d be amazing. If not, I’m still delighted you’re here at all!
Before you go, please chuck a question into the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer it. And if you can, give this post a quick restack.
Cheers! 😊
![Table of Contents [Start Here]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff55bc14d-bcf7-4bc8-b217-8677a657fbda_1286x858.png)
A great and insightful read, David!
The only thing holding me back from deciding on Substack was all the bells and whistles of ConvertKit. Then I remembered what I always tell people: most of us don't need a Porsche, but something as reliable and useful as a VW.
Besides, more people fit into a regular car, and that's the best thing about Substack, I think: a great and engaged community.
I will use this post as a reference for my own growth (he says confidently).
Thanks for sharing David, been loving your content, and for every troll you encounter you have at least 100 people (like me) who appreciat what you're doing :)