I agree, although the switching cost between writing and marketing is real. It isn't just a question of the time spent creating and the time spent promoting, there is the time spent switching between the two (very) different mindsets. It's that switching cost that I think leads many to not make it, since the expectation is that it should happen immediately and when it doesn't they give up.
This is a very important perspective to keep in mind. If you value your own time and content you should not be ashamed to share it with anyone who may benefit or enjoy it!
Love this discovery: "What was really important for me was to decouple the creation process from the amplification process."
I used to highly couple the two together as well — and the down-energy from trying to amplify when I was feeling excited from finishing a piece got me stuck for a couple years.
hi Scott. incredible content and congrats on your exit. I think we connected ages ago via Justin. great to see a SaaS founder's perspective on growing substack. you mentioned most writers spend 80/20 on writing/promoting. what would you say a better ratio would be for a new substack?
Mar 14, 2023·edited Mar 14, 2023Liked by Scott Britton
Thank you for this article! I love this idea: "treat the promotion of that work as a completely separate process that's independent from the actual artistic expression." This is a great way for me to look at writing on Substack. I realize that you can't just write and hope people will somehow see it and that you have to market your work. But promoting the work felt like it got in the way of writing. I'm going to look at the process as two steps and that both are creative as you write about here. Excellent advice!!
I agree, although the switching cost between writing and marketing is real. It isn't just a question of the time spent creating and the time spent promoting, there is the time spent switching between the two (very) different mindsets. It's that switching cost that I think leads many to not make it, since the expectation is that it should happen immediately and when it doesn't they give up.
This is a very important perspective to keep in mind. If you value your own time and content you should not be ashamed to share it with anyone who may benefit or enjoy it!
Thank you, Scott! This is really good advice.
Love this discovery: "What was really important for me was to decouple the creation process from the amplification process."
I used to highly couple the two together as well — and the down-energy from trying to amplify when I was feeling excited from finishing a piece got me stuck for a couple years.
hi Scott. incredible content and congrats on your exit. I think we connected ages ago via Justin. great to see a SaaS founder's perspective on growing substack. you mentioned most writers spend 80/20 on writing/promoting. what would you say a better ratio would be for a new substack?
Thank you for this article! I love this idea: "treat the promotion of that work as a completely separate process that's independent from the actual artistic expression." This is a great way for me to look at writing on Substack. I realize that you can't just write and hope people will somehow see it and that you have to market your work. But promoting the work felt like it got in the way of writing. I'm going to look at the process as two steps and that both are creative as you write about here. Excellent advice!!