Before You Write Your First Substack Post, Answer This
New to Substack and wondering how to start writing? The first question isn't about writing at all. Here's what to decide first.
One of the questions I get most often from people new to Substack:
How do I start writing?
They want a format. A first post idea. A schedule. Something they can do today. Anything they simply don’t know.
And I get it. Writing feels like the obvious first move. You’re on a writing platform. So you write.
But every time I’m asked this, I give an answer that gives them an a-ha moment.
I don’t tell them what to write.
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Three Substacks, three different sets of rules
There isn’t one Substack. There are at least three, and they barely have anything in common.
The first one is a hobby. You write because you like writing. You want a small corner of the internet that’s yours. No pressure, no offer, no targets. That’s a real and good reason to be here, and if that’s you, most monetization advice you read will just stress you out for no reason.
The second one is social. You’re here to read other people, leave comments, find your people, build a few real friendships. Also learn new things. The newsletter is almost a side effect.
The third one is a business. You want this to earn money. Maybe a little, maybe enough to matter.
These three look identical from the outside, but the person running a hobby and the person building a business should make a very important decision on day one.
So before you write anything, pick which one you’re building.
The writing comes later than you think
If you picked option 1 or 2 - don’t ask me for advice, I’m a business person. And you’re free to do whatever you like - Substack is a great place for hobbies too.
But if you picked the third one, you want this to make money, right?
This is where most people go wrong.
They start writing, build an audience, get a few hundred subscribers, and then start asking “ok, how do I make money from this?”
By then it’s hard. Because they’ve spent months attracting readers who have no idea what I was selling.
Guess what?
When I finally made an offer, I got zero sales.
Zero.
Because if you want to build a business, writing without an offer is like advertising a store without products. A huge waste of money, and energy.
So the order I’d give you is this:
Figure out how you’ll make money first. Paid subscriptions? A course? Coaching? Then design that offer, even roughly. Then write content that’s connected to it.
It feels backwards, but it isn’t. Writing about your offer is what pulls in the readers who’ll actually buy from you later.
You don’t need the offer fully built before post 1. You need to know what it is. A direction is enough to start. That’s how you make sure you build the right audience.
So, how do you start writing on Substack?
You don’t, yet.
Figure what you’ll sell and then start writing about the problems it solves.
First you decide what Substack is for you. Hobby, social, or business. Three different things with three different rule books.
If it’s a hobby, write whatever you want. You’re already doing it right.
If it’s social, go live in Notes and stop worrying about your post schedule.
If it’s a business, work out how you’ll make money before you write, and then write toward that.
The blank page isn’t your first problem. The undecided strategy is.
Pick your one, and the writing gets a lot easier.
Yana
P.S. In this post I break down exactly how to start a $5k/month Substack with a blueprint you can print and start implementing today.
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