Be interesting enough for long enough around enough people
Do you wanna really know how to grow your Substack? There is really only one piece of advice.
Do you wanna really know how to grow your Substack? There is really only one piece of advice.
Be interesting enough for long enough around enough people.
The who, what, where, why, and how of doing that more quickly without burning out is the work we do, but the advice is really pretty simple. If you want more like this, I recommend these articles for you:
The first step to getting interesting is to develop your voice. There are two main types of writers:
Wake the F*ck Up (WTFU)
Chill the F*ck Out (CTFO)
There are positives and negatives of each.
For instance, WTFU writers can get people to subscribe really quickly to their publication, usually because they can cause big feelings in people that churn them into action. I’m going to give you some really good examples of this kind of writer.
I am only sharing publications I adore, so there is no shade here. I will talk about problems that come up with both of these types, but I don’t think these publications fall into those traps.
It’s hard for me to think about this kind of writer without bringing up
. Not only do so many of their posts wake me up, but the title of their publication is tailor made for making you stand up and take notice. Plus, Sarah created a whole series of books with this same voice. punches you in the mouth with just about every title they put out, and their posts are back to back gut punches. It’s often a rush from beginning to end with nowhere to stop for air, and when there is, you are laughing too hard to catch your breathe. is a really interesting case. They are the best example of what I think most writers should do, which is punch you in the mouth sometimes but mostly chill the f*ck out and let people groove on your publication. The punch in the mouth posts bring in the most attention, and then you get a chance to settle.
All three of these people do a really good job of mixing punch in the mouth with a chance to catch your breath. Sometimes, that’s because they publish rarely, waiting until you miss them to sock you in the mouth again. Others just have a wide array of posts they write to vary up their jabs.
This is one of the most important strategies to develop for WTFU writers because it’s really tiring to be constantly told to wake up and do things, so they tend to overwhelm people and make them run away before too long.
The main thing with WTFU writers is they like to make you feel uncomfortable and out of your comfort zone, or show you something familiar in a way that unsettles you and makes you look at it a different way. A lot of humor authors fall into the latter category, and a lot of these writers use humor in their writing to break the uncomfortable tension they are creating with their work.
Meanwhile, CTFO writers can keep people on their email list forever, but they have problems getting new subscribers since they aren’t waving something exciting in front of their face. They are writing a warm blanket that you can wrap yourself in every article. CTFO writers love having templates because that allows their readers to know exactly what to expect.
Here are a couple great CTFO articles. Again, these are publications I love, which is why I’m sharing them.
writes a lot of articles that pull you out of your comfort zone, but not in an unsettling way. Their articles feel like a lovely guide who takes you on a gentle tour in a quaint town. has a formula they use for every article, so you know almost exactly what to expect. Like Mike, M. E. acts as a travel guide to show you places you might not know, or show you places you know in a new way. is one who I love because they always makes me feel like I’m wrapped in a warm hug. I always slow down when I read her work, and everything about their publication down to the name is about chilling out.
Do you see how this second set of articles is tonally almost diametrically opposed to the first set? They are all great and I love them all, but they deliver a totally different experience.
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