Saturday Morning Coffee ☕ #67

We're such clever Toads.

➡️ My 1K Daily Writing Challenge - a 30-day email course designed to get you writing 1,000 words a day, every day - is almost ready! Join the waitlist here.

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Hey friend!

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⬇️ In case you missed it:

211: Growing a writing business with purpose and consistency (featuring Derek Hughes)

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👀 Something you might like:

Want to write Notes that actually grow your audience?

Derek Hughes

gained 2,000+ subscribers in 6 months — now he’s giving away his secrets.

Grab his free Substack Notes Playbook and start writing Notes that convert. 👇

Want to work with me to grow your audience and generate more income? Here’s how.

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💡 Your questions, my answers:

I received a couple of questions in this week’s Q&A Chat thread - here’s my stab at answering them:

1. Are curse words allowed in your posts and notes on Substack? I’m new here and I want to know because using curse words are a part of my writing style.

Yes, they are. According to Substack’s community guidelines, you have the freedom to set your own rules for your publication’s content and writing style. Personally, I’ve seen plenty of writers swearing like sailors in Notes and posts, so it’s pretty common.

2. How can we think about the future of writing as expression and profession? I am considering the decreased use of written word, the condensed manner of it even in long text formats, and the limited capacity of the market to absorb writers.

I think the future of writing is what you make of it. Even though most online writing skews towards the shorter end of the scale, there’ll always be a place for longform content (for want of a better phrase). I also think the onus is on us as writers to keep writing and publishing in the face of mounting pressure to communicate absolutely everything through video. The world needs writers more than ever.

Any thoughts on these questions/answers? Do you have any of your own?

Drop them in the comments! 👇

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🙂 Can you support me?

Paid subscriptions make up the bulk of my revenue as a writer. The more paying subscribers I have, the more time and effort I can invest in Substack. That’s more time spent writing articles, recording podcasts and videos, running webinars, and creating digital resources designed to help you succeed.

On the flip side, if I don’t get enough financial support, it becomes more and more difficult to maintain my presence here. I’m a one-man band, after all.

So if you enjoy my work and can afford to support me as a paid sub (and want to keep me on Substack for the long-haul), do consider upgrading to my paid tier. The sheer amount of content, insight and ongoing support you’ll receive will pay for your subscription many times over, especially if you become an annual subscriber.

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📖 This week’s juicy reading material:

• How to Get Your First Paid Newsletter Subscribers by

  Mark Wils

• The System That Sold 1,000 Books (Now You Can Steal It for only $0.99) by

  Chris Stanley

• How Use a Custom Domain with Substack by

  Casandra Campbell

• Substack's Secret: Billionaire Backers and the Future Ahead by

  Kristina God
  by
  William A. Finnegan

• The Silent Readers: Why 99% of Your Subscribers Never Comment by

  Ana Calin

• The "evil genius" way to STEAL customers from competitors by

  Tom Orbach

• Why Most Writers Fail (And How I Beat the Odds) by

  Derek Hughes

• What I do when I have no clue by

  Anna Mackenzie

• If Your Substack’s Not Growing… This Is for You by

  Claudia Faith

• Forget Going Viral. Here's How You Actually Build An Audience by

  Matt Lillywhite 🇬🇧

• The Real Growth Happened When I Stopped Listening to Everyone Else by

  Yana G.Y.
  and
  Kathleen Thorne RN, LMT

• How Much Does Publicity Cost? by

  Kathleen Schmidt

• Have you already downloaded your $10k Secrets e-book? by

  10k Secrets

• Celebrating 8000+ Subscribers Milestone. Plus, Mini Masterclass: What to Do If You Have Less than 500 Subscribers & Want to Grow Quickly by

  Wes Pearce

📖 Contributions from Paid Members:

• Nine Years in Sydney With a Birthday Discount by

  Gunnar Habitz

• Are Carbs Really That Bad? Here’s What Diet Culture Got Wrong by

  Julene Cole

• Please Stop Saying “Call me if you need anything” by

  Jennifer Hacker

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📺 Something from YouTube:

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🗒️ Something from Notes:

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☑️ Go deeper:

• The first rule of solopreneurship (and why you need to break it)

• 10 Surprising Tips That Make Your Online Writing Ten Times More Memorable

• No Following? No Problem (How I Went From 0 to 1.2k Subscribers in 3 months)

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Have a brilliant weekend, gang! ⌛

PS. Don’t forget to grab my free 3-page guide, Sharing Without The Cringe, before you go.

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🤷‍♂️ What’s next?

I’m ready and waiting to support you in the next stages of your creator journey. Here’s how I can help:

1. Start Your Podcast on Substack: A complete course guiding you from concept to launch, based on everything I’ve learned so far during my own podcasting journey. Learn to plan, brand, record, edit, publish, and promote your podcast while building an audience. Perfect for creators eager to share their voice with the world.

2. Sustainable Scalable Social Strategy: This 6-part, online, self-driven course will guide you through the same process I used to develop a strategy for my social media management. When you finish, you’ll have a sustainable social strategy in place that will help you scale your business properly.

3. One-To-One Coaching: Live coaching sessions over Zoom plus a full video audit of your Substack publication. Ideal for those who want to grow their online presence, identify their key strengths, and develop a long-term business strategy. Upgrade to VIP Membership for full access.

4. Promote to 19,000+ readers: Get yourself in front of a highly-engaged online audience via email, podcast and social media.

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