The 4 stages of my Substack journey:

1. Fearing to get started.

2. Grinding to keep going.

3. Dreading to come back.

4. Enjoying to keep going… forever.

The 7 Key moments (see attached visual):

1. Substack created.

2. First issue published (2 months after).

3. Burnout point reached (3 months after).

4. The comeback (11 months after).

5. WTF moment (2 months after).

6. WTF moment part 2 (1 week after).

7. The purge (1 month after).

The 15 Lessons I’ve learned:

1. Just start.

2. Don’t overthink.

3. Take it slow.

4. But sometimes double down.

5. Then take it slow again.

6. Substack works.

7. People care about your writing.

8. Find those people.

9. Recommendations is a great feature.

10. Collaborations are fun.

11. Likes and subscribers don’t mean money.

12. You need to pitch your email list.

13. You need to clean your email list.

14. You need to write to your core supporters personally.

15. You need to enjoy the ride.