How I’d Teach Substack Growth To A Complete Beginner
If you want to grow on Substack this year, read this.
I grew on Substack by treating it like a video game.
We can call this my “Secret” if we want to “Zhuzh” it up a bit.
I enjoy playing a little Diablo 3 from time to time. When you first start playing, you’re at Level 1, have no idea what you’re doing, your player is as basic as a PSL, and you spend most of the time smashing buttons trying to kill stuff.
You’re not there forever, though.
Soon you start to get the hang of the game. You get some items, learn some skills, and the more you play the more experience you get. As you start to level up you’re able to increase the difficulty. You can fight harder bosses and even go from Beginner mode to Intermediate or Advanced.
This is the approach I recommend for growing on Substack.
Start playing Substack like a video if you want to grow in the next 6 months.
Level up, increase the difficulty, and grow.
When you create your account, it’s like being at Level 1.
We’re not quite sure what’s going on. We have no posts on our profile, so we start clicking buttons to figure it all out. We start following people, write some posts and notes, and slowly get the hang of it.
Here’s how we start to level up.
The 5 levels of Substack.
Beginner Mode.
Post 1x Weekly Newsletter.
Intermediate Mode.
Post 1x Weekly Newsletter.
Post 3-5 Weekly Notes.
Advanced Mode.
Post 1x Weekly Newsletter.
Post 1x Daily Notes.
Engage — While Reading Notes/Posts.
Expert Mode.
Post 1x Weekly Newsletter.
Post 1-3x Daily Notes.
Post 10x Daily Comments.
Hardcore Mode.
Post 1x Weekly Newsletter.
Post 1-3x Daily Notes.
Post 10x Daily Comments.
Generate 'Recommendations'
Optimize Your Publication Theme.
The only way to level up is to keep playing.
Level 1: Beginner Mode.
Like a video game, this is where we all start.
And the only way to level up is to keep playing.
If I start Diablo 3 on Hardcore? I get demolished. It’s not fun at all. So I drop my difficulty back down to where I can make progress, while still enjoying the process.
The stakes are different on Substack:
We burn out.
We struggle to be consistent.
We cannot think of what to post.
We lose our passion and our drive.
Remember:
The point of a game is to have fun.
You don't need to increase the difficulty.
Increasing the difficulty too fast can backfire.
When the 'game' is no longer fun we stop playing.
The secret to long-term success in the game of Substack and all content creation is finding the sweet spot where we can be consistent while keeping it fun.
“I’m stuck on Beginner mode.”
No, you’re not.
You never have to level up.
I played on Beginner Mode for 9 months before I leveled up. Our journey is our own. Not to be compared with anyone else. Maybe we dabble with a different level, maybe we come back down. Just try to keep it fun.
There’s no right/wrong or win/lose.
For years I found myself striving to level up faster. I can relate to all who feel the same. Who feels “stuck on beginner” because I did too and still, at times, feel these thoughts creep in. I remind myself that my path is my own, I focus on being patient, consistent, and trusting in the process.
I wrote an article covering my 5 C’s of Consistency if you’d like to explore this topic more: https://landonpoburan.substack.com/p/unlocking-consistency-the-5-cs-of
The foundational habits of leveling up on Substack.
There is a set of fundamental habits that drive our ability to level up.
These habits are the cheat codes needed to keep playing.
Patience.
Radical incrementalism.
The longer you can play the game, the better.
If you can focus on these traits you’re setting yourself up for success. Without them, you might go from Beginner to Hardcore but fizzle out after a month. I’ve done this many times before with podcasting, YouTube, and TikTok.
Then I began to observe the people I was following…
The podcaster with 800 episodes.
A blogger who wrote 2,000 articles.
A YouTuber who’d published for 10 years.
I realized the throughline — Consistency x Time.
I created two mental frameworks that have allowed me to maintain consistency on Substack for almost 1 year.
The Consistency Threshold.
Minimal Viable Habits.
You can read more about The Consistency Threshold here and here.
Unlock your Minimal Viable Habit (MVH)
Simplify your habits to a form that is almost too simple that it can’t fail.
This allows you to keep making progress, feeling good, and building momentum.
It’s been my root of staying consistent.
My MVH is to put my hands on the keyboard daily.
Not 1,000 words.
Some days it’s 1,497 words. Others are 47.
I do this in all 4 key aspects of my life.
(Business) Writing.
(Pleasure) Learning Spanish.
(Mind) Meditating.
(Body) Exercising.
Consistency is key.
So I make my habits so simple it’s impossible to fail.
When you’re struggling with consistency, review your difficulty, and try to deconstruct your routine into MVHs.
I truly hope this helps you on your Substack journey.
If you have questions please drop them in the comments.
Landon
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I found that more frequent post (more often than weekly) also make a difference. I'm testing...
Amazing post, Landon, just shared it in my atomic newsletter on Convertkit.
Loved the gaming analogy and that Substack growth IS best seen as a game.
Level up as you feel comfortable. Have fun.
Make it so you want to return each day.