What makes a hit newsletter post?

I've written close to 50 posts. They vary from <200 views to 19K+, and have helped me grow from 0 subscribers to close to 5000 in the last 9 months.

Learnings from reverse-engineering hits and misses:

Does this post have a distinct category?

Popular posts are relatively easy to categorize. They clearly stand for something, whether it's career strategy, a step-by-step framework, or a "how I did it" story vs. stream of consciousness indulgence.

They fit into people's lives, and are more likely to be shared. Each category gives hints on where the article should be distributed. Example: "how I did it" effective for some subreddits and FB groups; "step-by-step framework" can make for a good tweet thread.

Does this post offer A+ entertainment or A+ practical value?

You only need one home run to get decent traction (e.g., How to develop your talent stack). Getting both makes a smash hit (e.g., How I got a $375K Instagram PM offer).

It takes a lot of reps to get to A+ on either dimension, so if you're starting off, recommend publishing consistently so you get there faster.

How to come up with ideas consistently?

Habit of publishing gets easier, but coming up with quality topics does not. The more readers you have, the more suggestions you'll get.

While helpful to crowdsource, I keep a running list and only pursue what I'm most interested in.

Writing burnout is a real thing! To stop this from feeling like a job, follow your instincts for what's interesting.

You end up having more fun, and it will show through. The world doesn't need another half-hearted piece.

Full-time practitioner > full-time creator

Ironically, best-performing posts were also the fastest to write - they always come from firsthand, vivid experiences.

When you run out of ideas, go do things that interest you, then report back. When an idea strikes, write as much as you can on the spot.

Creating consistently is a compounding force

A post that used to get a few dozen views when I first started will now get at least 4-5K views.

Just a tiny speck in the Internet galaxy, but a long way from starting at 0!

SEO?

I'm still learning about SEO, and I don't want to write something purely around keywords. Feels soul-less?

But I'm fascinated by the idea of creating an easily searchable library of content. Could be a healthy balance of attracting new readers while retaining existing readers with a steady supply of new content. Means I'll need to move off Substack!

Thanks for reading to the end! If you found this interesting, you can follow my journey on Twitter, and read more here.