Saturday Morning Coffee ☕ #73

Choo choo!

➡️ Stop overthinking and finally publish that article — join The 5-Day Article Sprint that gets you from idea to inbox in under a week. Get it here.

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Hey friend!

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⬇️ In case you missed it:

How to promote your next book like a pro marketer

How to turn what you’ve already written into a paid product (without starting from scratch)

How to promote your paid offer without feeling like a pushy salesperson (5 steps)

215: How to find your true newsletter niche and get paid for it (featuring Ciler Demiralp)

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👀 Something you might like:

Whether you’re starting from zero or want to accelerate your growth and monetisation engine on Substack, this Masterclass by

Veronica Llorca-Smith

provides a clear roadmap to help you create a strategy that gets results.

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 few questions in this week’s Q&A Chat thread - here’s my stab at answering some of them:

What are your most effective strategies for consistently generating fresh, marketable story ideas as a full-time writer?

I don’t like the word “hack”, but here’s one from me: open up your phone image gallery and scroll.

You’ll come across photos from moments in your life you’d completely forgotten about, and as soon as you see them, the stories associated with those images will come flooding back.

I’d be shocked if you weren’t able to pick out half a dozen really memorable, marketable stories from a few minutes of phone-scrolling (though in fairness, most of mine would involve dogs).

Hi David. I am very new to Substack but have been writing all my life. Thing is, I don't just focus on one or two topics, my mind is so full and I'm curious, so I write about so many things! How do I find the 'right people', or the correct audience for the different posts? Ok, I only have 4 so far (but loads of writing I'm too nervous at this stage to publish).

First off, please don’t be nervous to publish - if you’ve written anything and you’re at least 70% happy with it, hit that publish button!

The best way to find and connect with the “right” people is to browse through Substack’s categories, open up a few articles that catch your eye, and dive into their comments sections. Reply to some people, leave comments of your own, follow other users and subscribe to their publications if you like the look of them.

If you spend a little time engaging like that for a while each day, you’ll very quickly form a network of like-minded readers and writers on the platform. It definitely worked for me when I was starting out, anyway.

Need a good marketing strategy for Substack. Written notes? Photos? Videos? Looking for loyal fans, not just folks looking to market their own newsletters

This really depends on what you’re comfortable with. If you enjoy being in front of the camera and feel energised after creating a video, try going Live on Substack or recording some content for YouTube (which you can share onto Substack and other social media platforms).

On the flip side, if you don’t enjoy that sort of thing and prefer writing, focus on posting Notes with a strong story-based structure that convey something about you as a person. The more you share about who you are, your experiences and your struggles/successes, the more you’ll draw genuinely-interested people into your personal orbit of influence.

Experiment with a few mediums for promotion on Substack and lean into the one(s) that feel more natural.

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

Drop them in the comments! 👇

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Want a signed copy of my book?

I have a limited number of physical copies of my horror novel The Substitute available to buy directly from me (if you want to bypass Amazon). Each book will come signed with a personalised message, which can be for you or someone you’re gifting it to.

You can grab your copy right here.

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📖 This week’s juicy reading material:

• Stop Building New Stuff (and Finish What Pays) by

  Sean Mize

• The Art of Saying No by

  Guy Kawasaki

• How To Make Income from Ghostwriting by

  Natasha Tynes
  and
  Taylin John Simmonds

• If you want to recover from burnout, read these 10 books by

  Jana

• The Two Types of Author Substacks by

  Virtually Annie

• How to Earn $30K/month Hustling Online by

  Jenny Ouyang

• You Still Matter — Even If You Feel Like a Mess by

  Derek Hughes

• Easily Explode Your Print Books Reach by

  Michelle Buck

• The death of thoughtful creation (& how to get ahead of everyone else) by

  DAN KOE

• How I Actually Make a Living as a Writer by

  Katherine Clements

• Steal Their Secrets: 23 Newsletters That Will Help You Succeed on Substack by

  Casandra Campbell

• 7 Habits To 10x Your Productivity As A Solopreneur & Online Creator by

  Jari Roomer

• 10k subscribers and one giant lesson by

  Anna Mackenzie

• The mainstream media is no longer mainstream by

  Simon Owens

• Escape the Inbound vs. Outbound Trap by

  Pierre

📖 Contributions from Paid Members:

• Not All Regency Heroes Wear Titles by

  Sara Adrien

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📺 Something from YouTube:

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🗒️ Something from Notes:

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☑️ Go deeper:

• The Amazing Growth of Bloggers and Influencers (And How to Become One)

• How to Help Readers Discover Your Writing Online

• Turning Professional as a Writer

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Have an amazing weekend, gang! ⌛

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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. The 1K Daily Writing Challenge: Build a consistent habit by writing 1,000 words daily for 30 days. Along the way, you'll get encouraging video prompts, accountability support, and plenty of inspiration to ignite your creative spark. Nail your rhythm. Find your flow. Transform your writing journey forever.

3. One-To-One Coaching: A live coaching session 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 23,000+ readers: Get yourself in front of a highly-engaged online audience via email, podcast and social media.

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