Thank you so much for this perspective. I’m a newish writer on this platform (and a fellow coach) without a large social media following or email list to migrate. It is helpful to get an alternative view and inspiration for where I can be in a year.
This is useful. I am leaning into my creative side and that include starting my own sub stack. The main topics are chronic fatigue & Buddhism. However I have no answers to the questions you asked in this article. I also just essentially gave away my management consultancy business as too sick to work in regular business anymore. This leaves lots of ideas ruminating on where I want to be next given the health limitations I have. I know I want to work in more person or helping centred spaces ideally but other than that not sure.
Thanks for your feedback! Up until fairly recently I’ve been struggling with chronic migraines. So a slow and flexible publishing pace was important for me for a while. This taught me a lot of useful stuff about the neuroscience of pain (which no doctor ever mentioned), I recommend checking it out: https://www.curablehealth.com/ ❤️
Great resource Thankyou for sharing. Heading out to acupuncture session today as find that is helping with my pain at the moment. Glad you are having some relief from migraines at the moment 💜
Great resource Thankyou for sharing. Heading out to acupuncture session today as find that is helping with my pain at the moment. Glad you are having some relief from migraines at the moment 💜
I’m pretty new to Substack and really enjoyed this, thank you. Your work supporting system changers is fascinating and I’m looking forward to following you now!
fantastic article! I thank you for writing it and sharing it with us. 1 year ago my family and I left the comfort of our home in Patagonia and came to live in a motorhome to tour Europe and change the life we were leading for something much more spontaneous, less structured and full of learning. And I still haven't found the focus to write my Travel Diary, especially because I am a textile artist and entrepreneur, and I want to balance my interests when writing and not confuse my audience. I am taking note of your actions and learnings. Thank you very much once again.
Wow what an adventure! Some of the best Substacks combine lots of different things, I wouldn’t worry about confusing your audience. I’d love to read about your travels, textiles and entrepreneurship! Thanks so much for your feedback 🧡
I found this very useful, thank you! I published my first piece last week, and my second today. I agree that I’ve seen so much written success about writers who had huge blog databases to import, whereas I have no prior published work so have started from a true zero.
So glad to hear that Megan, thanks for letting me know. Just read your first piece and loved it, you have a really relaxed/flowy writing style 👌Look forward to reading more of your work 🧡
Thank you for writing this reflective and hugely inspiring piece Genevieve! I enjoyed following along and hear your approach! Saved it as a guide to come back to when I feel like I could polish my approach again and need some inspiration.
I wrote my first article on here 3 years ago but it felt so lonely that I left again (a few more times) before I returned this summer with a clearer vision and Substack also being much easy to navigate.
I’d love to read in a few months how writing this post has boosted your numbers because I came across your page because of it and will subscribe now 🥰 I’m sure many others felt the same.
Oh thanks for the feedback Carmen! I’m so glad you found it helpful 🙏
I feel you, I wasn’t here that long ago but in the early days I felt like I was speaking into a void! It all got easier/became clearer the more I showed up and tried. Don’t wait too long 😉
I’ve had 60 new subscribers since posting this piece which is a pretty big number for me in such a short space of time. Really motivating!
Make sure you introduce yourself in the intro thread, it’s great to have you here 🧡
What a great read, thank you for sharing. I'm very new to Substack, so reading that you took 2 years of 'noodling and research' to get started really helps. There's so much here to mull over and think about and I'm about to head off down a rabbit hole with all the links you've shared.
Welcome Hilary! I hope you’re enjoying it here so far 🙏
Two years was the right amount of time for me because I was settling in a new country and finding my feet in a new career during the pandemic 😅 I didn’t want to start something I couldn’t commit to, and I wanted it to be aligned to my new world of work. It was a podcast idea before I discovered the wonders of Substack!
I think the most important thing with regard to timing is to work out what’s best for you, striking the right balance with feeling “safe to try” and challenging yourself to just get on with it! I’ve learned so much more about what I want System Changers to be by experimenting. You can always keep it private or share it with a small group before you’re ready to share more widely.
Thanks Genevieve, that's really helpful. I'm halfway through an undergrad Creative Writing degree, still figuring out who I am as a writer, and attempting to find balance in this new life I'm creating for myself. I think challenging myself to just get on with it, whilst experimenting is great advice. Thank you.
I love this piece so much Genevieve it’s inspiring me to explore how to build out my substack as I’d trialled a couple’s publication with my husband. Have already subscribed and look forward to reading more of your work ❤️
Ah it's funny how that happens isn't it? You start noticing something everywhere... good to meet you and look forward to reading your writing as time goes on.
Thank you for this post, I subscribed to Substack a couple of months ago but only posted for the first time last week. I’ve been deliberating ‘how’ to move forward with my newsletter, and am currently in the stage where I am second guessing everything I do! So your ideas shared here have provided some helpful clarity and direction. Now a subscriber!
I really enjoyed this read Genevieve! So many great insights and a valuable post for anyone starting out. I started my Substack 3 months ago from zero as well and it's so great to hear from someone in similar stages of growth ✨ look forward to reading more of your work x
Really value this article. I have saved it for reference. As someone brand new to the platform without an audience brought from somewhere else, this type of insight is important. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
As a fellow coach/ positive psychology practitioner it was lovely to read something that was relatable to me of setting up on substack without having a huge writing following!
This is a fantastic post and I hope it gets all the attention it deserves.
My journey has been similar. I'm up to 780 subscribers now but it's always slow, steady, growth and gradually connecting with different people at different times. It's been fun to slowly figure out what does and doesn't resonate (but not be beholden to chasing popularity).
"I’m particularly interested in how people can do such important and demanding work without sacrificing their wellbeing and fulfilment in all areas of their life" - this line resonated. I'm looking forward to your future posts :-)
Thanks for your kind words Richard! I agree I really enjoy watching the growth and working out what resonates with people. Wishing you a great start to 2024 :)
Thank you so much for this perspective. I’m a newish writer on this platform (and a fellow coach) without a large social media following or email list to migrate. It is helpful to get an alternative view and inspiration for where I can be in a year.
So glad to hear that, you’re welcome! Good luck and let me know if I can be helpful at all 🫶
This is useful. I am leaning into my creative side and that include starting my own sub stack. The main topics are chronic fatigue & Buddhism. However I have no answers to the questions you asked in this article. I also just essentially gave away my management consultancy business as too sick to work in regular business anymore. This leaves lots of ideas ruminating on where I want to be next given the health limitations I have. I know I want to work in more person or helping centred spaces ideally but other than that not sure.
Thanks for your feedback! Up until fairly recently I’ve been struggling with chronic migraines. So a slow and flexible publishing pace was important for me for a while. This taught me a lot of useful stuff about the neuroscience of pain (which no doctor ever mentioned), I recommend checking it out: https://www.curablehealth.com/ ❤️
Great resource Thankyou for sharing. Heading out to acupuncture session today as find that is helping with my pain at the moment. Glad you are having some relief from migraines at the moment 💜
Great resource Thankyou for sharing. Heading out to acupuncture session today as find that is helping with my pain at the moment. Glad you are having some relief from migraines at the moment 💜
I’m pretty new to Substack and really enjoyed this, thank you. Your work supporting system changers is fascinating and I’m looking forward to following you now!
Amazing, thanks for your feedback and kind words Sara! 🙏
fantastic article! I thank you for writing it and sharing it with us. 1 year ago my family and I left the comfort of our home in Patagonia and came to live in a motorhome to tour Europe and change the life we were leading for something much more spontaneous, less structured and full of learning. And I still haven't found the focus to write my Travel Diary, especially because I am a textile artist and entrepreneur, and I want to balance my interests when writing and not confuse my audience. I am taking note of your actions and learnings. Thank you very much once again.
Wow what an adventure! Some of the best Substacks combine lots of different things, I wouldn’t worry about confusing your audience. I’d love to read about your travels, textiles and entrepreneurship! Thanks so much for your feedback 🧡
I found this very useful, thank you! I published my first piece last week, and my second today. I agree that I’ve seen so much written success about writers who had huge blog databases to import, whereas I have no prior published work so have started from a true zero.
So glad to hear that Megan, thanks for letting me know. Just read your first piece and loved it, you have a really relaxed/flowy writing style 👌Look forward to reading more of your work 🧡
Thank you for writing this reflective and hugely inspiring piece Genevieve! I enjoyed following along and hear your approach! Saved it as a guide to come back to when I feel like I could polish my approach again and need some inspiration.
I wrote my first article on here 3 years ago but it felt so lonely that I left again (a few more times) before I returned this summer with a clearer vision and Substack also being much easy to navigate.
I’d love to read in a few months how writing this post has boosted your numbers because I came across your page because of it and will subscribe now 🥰 I’m sure many others felt the same.
Oh thanks for the feedback Carmen! I’m so glad you found it helpful 🙏
I feel you, I wasn’t here that long ago but in the early days I felt like I was speaking into a void! It all got easier/became clearer the more I showed up and tried. Don’t wait too long 😉
I’ve had 60 new subscribers since posting this piece which is a pretty big number for me in such a short space of time. Really motivating!
Make sure you introduce yourself in the intro thread, it’s great to have you here 🧡
Oh I love this! What a generous and beautiful breakdown. So many great guidance points!
Yey thanks Kat! ❤️
What a great read, thank you for sharing. I'm very new to Substack, so reading that you took 2 years of 'noodling and research' to get started really helps. There's so much here to mull over and think about and I'm about to head off down a rabbit hole with all the links you've shared.
Welcome Hilary! I hope you’re enjoying it here so far 🙏
Two years was the right amount of time for me because I was settling in a new country and finding my feet in a new career during the pandemic 😅 I didn’t want to start something I couldn’t commit to, and I wanted it to be aligned to my new world of work. It was a podcast idea before I discovered the wonders of Substack!
I think the most important thing with regard to timing is to work out what’s best for you, striking the right balance with feeling “safe to try” and challenging yourself to just get on with it! I’ve learned so much more about what I want System Changers to be by experimenting. You can always keep it private or share it with a small group before you’re ready to share more widely.
Hope that helps 🧡
Thanks Genevieve, that's really helpful. I'm halfway through an undergrad Creative Writing degree, still figuring out who I am as a writer, and attempting to find balance in this new life I'm creating for myself. I think challenging myself to just get on with it, whilst experimenting is great advice. Thank you.
You're very welcome!
I love this piece so much Genevieve it’s inspiring me to explore how to build out my substack as I’d trialled a couple’s publication with my husband. Have already subscribed and look forward to reading more of your work ❤️
Thank you for sharing so openly also 🙏
So glad to hear that Rachael, thanks for letting me know! Hope you enjoy setting up!
Great to hear about the focus of your work. We need system changers more than ever!
Thank you Satya! Great to learn about your work too! Interestingly I’m seeing a lot of links to Buddhism in everything I’m exploring at the moment ✨
Ah it's funny how that happens isn't it? You start noticing something everywhere... good to meet you and look forward to reading your writing as time goes on.
Likewise Satya!
Fabulous read Genevieve and lots of great tips to take on board, thank you for sharing 🤎
You’re welcome! Thanks for letting me know 💛
Thank you for this post, I subscribed to Substack a couple of months ago but only posted for the first time last week. I’ve been deliberating ‘how’ to move forward with my newsletter, and am currently in the stage where I am second guessing everything I do! So your ideas shared here have provided some helpful clarity and direction. Now a subscriber!
You’re welcome, thanks for subscribing Sarah! 🙏
I really enjoyed this read Genevieve! So many great insights and a valuable post for anyone starting out. I started my Substack 3 months ago from zero as well and it's so great to hear from someone in similar stages of growth ✨ look forward to reading more of your work x
Thanks so much for letting me know! Hope you’re enjoying your time on here too ✨✨✨
I am ✨ it's been such a beautiful and quite eye opening transition from the bigger social media platforms.
Right? Hoping it lasts 🤞
Same 🤞🏼
Really value this article. I have saved it for reference. As someone brand new to the platform without an audience brought from somewhere else, this type of insight is important. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
You’re welcome Matthew! Thanks so much for the feedback 🧡
I loved this article and the prompts at the end were particularly helpful, thank you 🙏
So glad to hear that Ruth, thanks for letting me know!
As a fellow coach/ positive psychology practitioner it was lovely to read something that was relatable to me of setting up on substack without having a huge writing following!
This is a fantastic post and I hope it gets all the attention it deserves.
My journey has been similar. I'm up to 780 subscribers now but it's always slow, steady, growth and gradually connecting with different people at different times. It's been fun to slowly figure out what does and doesn't resonate (but not be beholden to chasing popularity).
"I’m particularly interested in how people can do such important and demanding work without sacrificing their wellbeing and fulfilment in all areas of their life" - this line resonated. I'm looking forward to your future posts :-)
Thanks for your kind words Richard! I agree I really enjoy watching the growth and working out what resonates with people. Wishing you a great start to 2024 :)