Hey Reader,

We're celebrating our 10-month anniversary on Substack this month, and if I'm completely honest, these past few months have had a major impact on our business.

But we didn't start the Write • Build • Scale publication with big expectations.

In fact, we didn't know what to expect at all.

There was so much noise and misinformation about the platform that it was hard to see how exactly we could leverage it for ourselves.

Here we are, 10 months later, with 10k subscribers, an incredible community, and a Bestselling publication.

And if you’ve been feeling stuck on Substack (or any other platform) lately, I want you to know something:

It’s not your fault.

Most writers follow the wrong advice.

Not because they’re lazy or untalented, but because it's really hard to cut through the noise and learn how to actually grow your audience and income.

And we see the same problems on repeat—here's what's keeping most Substackers stuck:

1. You’re writing in isolation.

If you're publishing your posts, hoping someone finds them, and wondering why no one subscribes, I have bad news: growth doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

The best Substack creators collaborate to expand their reach.

2. You’re focusing on the wrong numbers.

Vanity metrics like followers don’t pay the bills.

Total subscribers don’t matter if they aren’t engaged.

A small, high-quality audience beats a large, disengaged one every time.

Remember: You need paying clients, not just more readers.

3. You don’t have a content system.

You wake up thinking, "What should I write today?"

Instead, you need a repeatable system that keeps your pipeline full of engaging content without the burnout.

4. You’re inconsistent.

Posting sporadically means people forget about you.

The most successful Substack writers show up consistently to prove that they care about their audience.

5. You’re waiting for people to find you.

Hitting "publish" isn’t enough.

Discovery happens through Notes, recommendations, and collaborations. If you’re not leveraging these, you’re making growth 10x harder for yourself.

6. You’re not giving people a reason to subscribe.

Why should someone join your email list today?

If you don’t clearly communicate the value of your newsletter (and make it easy to subscribe), you’re leaving readers on the fence.

7. You’re not leveraging recommendations correctly.

The right approach is to build relationships, recommend others, and become the writer people want to recommend.

8. You’re not monetizing early enough.

Many writers think they’ll wait until they have x subscribers before going paid.

But the truth is that you don’t need a huge audience to make money—you need the right system.

9. You’re trying random growth hacks.

Substack growth isn’t about gimmicks.

It’s about sustainable, repeatable actions that compound over time and lead to genuine relationships with your readers.

10. You’re second-guessing yourself.

If you feel like you’re "not good enough" or "not ready" to grow, your mindset alone will keep holding you back.

The best time to start taking Substack seriously was yesterday.

The second-best time is today.

How to Fix It: You're INVITED! 💌

I know these struggles because I went through all of them since starting to write online back in 2018.

When I started, I thought I needed more time, more content, or just a "big break."

But the truth is, growth isn’t about luck—it’s about having the right systems.

And I'll show you how to build your own growth engines so you can finally share your message with the world and get paid while doing what you love:

We’re hosting a LIVE Masterclass on May 15th to share how we’ve grown our Substack publication from zero to 10,000 subscribers in just 10 months.

The Masterclass is for you if…

• You want to write online but don’t know how to get started
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• You’re overwhelmed by all the platforms and opportunities out there
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• You feel like you’ve tried everything, but nothing has worked yet
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• You feel stuck and are worried if you should even continue to write
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• You want to finally understand how you can leverage Substack to grow your audience and income in 2025

I can't wait to meet you at the Masterclass!

Big love from my screen to yours,
Sinem from Write • Build • Scale

PS. Take a moment to reply to this email and let me know which of the problems from 1–10 resonates most with you.

I'll reply with a resource that'll help you fix it so you can already start to grow your audience while waiting for the live Masterclass! 📥