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Why Substack growth posts work (and yours don't)
Learn why successful growth posts on Substack gain traction while yours struggle, and discover the four key barriers preventing your posts from reaching their intended audience.
5 Substack 'Secrets' To Take Your Publication To The Next Level
Effective strategies to grow and monetize your Substack faster than ever in 2025.
The Secret Power of Book Reviews: Why They Matter and How to Get Them
It doesn't have to be so hard to get reviews. Today, we're gonna show you how to get stacked with reviews for your next, or last, book.
How to Hook Readers by Stealing Television’s Binge-Worthy Secrets
Learn how to make your novel unputdownable by borrowing binge-worthy storytelling secrets from television, including five essential scenes that will keep readers hooked from start to finish.
Why 45% of Substacks go inactive, and other findings from combing through 75k newsletters
Uncover the surprising patterns behind newsletter longevity, creator challenges, and the strategies that separate thriving publications from the rest.
How not to f*ck up your newsletter
Or: how to navigate the increasingly dark and deep sea of 2025 “growth hack” listicles
How partnerships change over time (and why we've been thinking about them all wrong)
Why picking the right partners at the right time matters for career success
"Triaging" your business with our Hapitalist framework
This is our "quick start" triage guide to building your business and getting you on the right track, filled with practical strategies for balancing productivity, monetization, and more.
Newsletter growth stages
I was talking with a newsletter operator a little while ago and got to talking about newsletter stages, and places where writers get stuck in their growth journey. This is my answer.
Your first sale probably won't (and shouldn't) be your membership
There are better ways to introduce your subscribers to you than your membership. If you're having trouble converting paid subscribers, you might be looking in the wrong place.
How to trick yourself into moving forward as a creator
Thinking on the mental tricks creators use to keep going in the face of self-doubt, fleeting attention, and constant audience churn.
2024 advertising analysis
I spent almost $50k on growth this year and went over 1,000 paid members this month. Did it help my bottom line?
The problem circling sustainable productivity (that nobody's talking about)
We talk about sustainable productivity and making work at a pace that won't burn us out, but by doing so we're missing a big piece of the puzzle.
Author Nation understood the assignment
The inaugural Author Nation conference brought changes to the indie author event scene, offering both improvements and challenges compared to 20 Books Vegas.
I made a weird goal this year...
It's relatively easy to be grateful and thankful (or at least performative say you are) one day a year. It's considerable harder to make gratitude a way of life.
The publishing industry is broken, but it doesn't have to break us
There are three words that can help, but you're probably gonna gag when you hear them. In fact, you are likely gonna have a lot of feelings reading this one.
Bouncing back: The defining feature of successful creators
Discover the key strategies successful creators use to bounce back from setbacks, embrace chaos, and maintain steady income streams in an unpredictable business landscape.
Debrief of our $13,551 "12 Concepts for Authors to Make $8333/Month (6-Figures/Year)" campaign
Another campaign in the bag. How did it go?
Are you running a low touchpoint or high touchpoint subscription?
There are two questions we don’t talk about much when it comes to creating a subscription. They impact how much energy you invest, how you price your offering, and how it fits into your strategy.
Tortured genius
As we toil away in obscurity, it’s normal to fantasize about being a tortured genius who will be appreciated in the future, maybe even after their death, like so many great writers of yesteryear.
Yes, writing a great book people read is marketing, too
Sorry to burst your bubble, but you're not too cool for marketing just because you "only wanna write the next book". You just love a different kind of marketing.
Letters to villainous ghosts
"You wear the crown, be toasted in the town And I'll take the fall when the wall's coming down Darling, If you're looking for a villain, I'm willing."
Your debut will probably flop
Your debut will probably flop, whether you are an indie or trad pubbed...and that's good news.