78 Comments
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Rob's avatar

Really appreciate this playbook! I loved video games as a kid too, so this writing style clicked easily with me.

I'm bouncing between levels 2 and 3. It's reassuring to know what I'm doing is consistent with those further into the game. Otherwise it's like feeling around in the dark.

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Thanks Rob. How long have you been at it?

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Rob's avatar

Just a couple weeks mate. Early days :)

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Good stuff, keep at it!

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Faye Chapman's avatar

Love this and the fact it's game themed 🎮

Quick question - what if you post newsletters consistency but nobody reads them? (Or rather, they don't get pushed because you don't have an audience yet TO read them?)

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Thank you :)

Step one, read this: https://landonpoburan.substack.com/p/why-most-substack-writers-are-invisible ;-)

Once that habit is in place (1 long-form a week) start on Notes. That's where the distribution is. Share your work to Notes. Post Notes.

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Faye Chapman's avatar

Got you! Thanks 😊

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Lo Schroeder's avatar

Excellent read, thanks so much for your tips!

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Landon Poburan's avatar

You're welcome!

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Janice | Travel & Photography's avatar

Brilliant deep dive into growing and being consistent on Substack, thanks for sharing, very helpful to beginners on Substack like me.

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Landon Poburan's avatar

I'm so happy you found it helpful!! I'm here if you have questions.

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William Meller's avatar

It was very helpful, Landon! Consistency is the key for everything in life! :)

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Thank you for the kind words Will!

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Trish Sammer's avatar

Helpful! I appreciate the measured approach. Too few people realize the value of building on momentum and the risk of burning out. I actually just started a 100-day creativity project with a friend and our goal is 10-30 minutes a day. That's it. Consistency has always been my downfall. Ten minutes a day? That seems doable. So I'm trying to build those muscles first.

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Consistency is a beautiful muscle to build! My fav. The book 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman was a gamechanger for on the off chance you're up for a good read.

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Trish Sammer's avatar

I listened to the audiobook last year. Really great. Probably worth giving it another listen as we start our project.

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Geetika's avatar

Thanks for this post. It really helps to get advice from a variety of experts such as you. Some things I have been doing instinctively (yay me) and other things I am inspired to do. For instance, I am slowly working towards 2 posts a week. And engagement on Notes - I never thought I'd enjoy that as much as I am. Thanks again!

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Grateful you enjoyed it! Best of luck on your journey.

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Dito Ferrer's avatar

This long guide is extremely helpful for beginners!

Thank you for writing it.

I'll save and share it.

x

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Happy to help my friend :)

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First Saturn Return's avatar

Thanks for this updated version! I have a question about comments (Levels 3 to 5). Do they refer to comments in Notes or newsletters? Thank you again, and congrats on your growth!

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Could be both, but I'd personally focus that attention on Notes.

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First Saturn Return's avatar

Great! Thanks for the clarification.

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Mohamed Bakry's avatar

Super helpful advice. thanks for sharing

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Thank you for the kind words.

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Nicholas Wilson's avatar

This was really helpful, thank you!🙏🏽

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Thanks for reading Nicholas :)

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Rich Langton's avatar

This is super helpful - especially the way you describe burnout and how to recognize it. After about 2 years of writing on Substack I can sure look back and see times it’s been easy and others when I’ve been just pushing too hard to keep going - wish I had your article then!!

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Thank you Rich :) Well, now you have it to better recognize it next time!

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Edie's avatar

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I just posted my first newsletter today!

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Landon Poburan's avatar

Yes!! So happy to hear that. Welcome to the Substack fam.

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Dr. Portia Preston, DrPH's avatar

Thank you for this! I was happily plugging along to level 2 when my subscribers were purged by Substack. I lost momentum but I am now rebuilding. This will help. I do plan to message those I lost because they were friends and former clients . Just thinking I should do it individually.

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Landon Poburan's avatar

As long as we keep going, we're constantly in momentum. There will always be "something" there to test you :)

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Miloš Joker's avatar

Thank you for the advice! 🍀🐻

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Landon Poburan's avatar

You're welcome

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Shivansh Shekhar's avatar

Thank you so much !!

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Landon Poburan's avatar

You bet

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