What most new newsletter writers get wrong
Including easy ways to avoid common newsletter mistakes.
When I first started my Substack newsletter, I made a lot of the classic mistakes. Some were harmless. Others might have derailed the whole thing.
The good news? Pretty much all of them are avoidable.
Whether you're just getting started or still finding your rhythm, here are five common traps I see new writers fall into - and how you can dodge them.
Prioritising monetisation immediately
Earning money from a newsletter is amazing. Having strangers online actually pay for your work is especially exciting. You dictate what you write about, how much you charge, how often you actually write. It might not become something you live off, and the idea that Substack or another newsletter provider is some sort of ‘Get Rich Quick’ scheme is simply untrue, but you can monetise even if it’s effectively pocket money.
Ultimately, to build up a paid audience, you are going to want to build a free audience first. It will be disheartening to start a Substack, paywall all of your content immediately, and then become discouraged by the lack of new subscribers. But even if you’re an experienced writer, you need to give people a reason to part with their money in order to read your content.
Paywalls can be challenging to determine, too. Personally, I think it’s always good to have something that you write that is for your free subscribers. On GYN, that means one actionable insight per week. It just means that everyone gets a taste of what a subscription to the newsletter might include.
But early on when running the FWN? Everything was free. At that point, for me, it was simply about growing an audience. I never planned to turn Substack into a business, and now I’m full-time on here.
But posting regularly, with lots of free and easy-to-read content (plus quite a lot of self-promotion), is what helped me grow. If I’d monetised everything from day one, I’m not sure I’d have been able to grow in the way that I have.
Try to think about your newsletter objectively. If it wasn’t you running it, would you pay immediately to read all the content? Think about how established your newsletter is, what your audience looks like and the sort of content you might actually monetise before doing so.
You can always convert free subscribers to paid at a later date with quality and consistency.
Inconsistent posting schedule
I think this is one of the most obvious mistakes that new newsletter writers make. They write, post, and promote and then feel discouraged by the lack of growth. But it’s at this challenging point that it’s important to keep going!
Imagine you are browsing through Substack for a new newsletter to read. You find one that sounds interesting, so you look at the posts. There was one last week, but the one prior to that was three weeks earlier. And prior to that, months ago. You read on the profile that they post regularly, but there is no evidence of it. So why sign up?
Growing a newsletter takes time. But consistency is a huge part of creating something reliable and memorable for your readers. It’s easier said than done but you have to keep going. Keep writing, keep posting. Even if one week it’s something short or simple. Just something that shows you’re serious about what you’re doing.
If you really want to focus on an early success metric, I would choose open rates. I have actually found this a challenge because as my subscriber list grows, my open rate - very slowly - decreases. But in the early days, my open rate was amazing and this was a really motivating boost to encourage me to keep writing. When I had 70 subscribers but I knew 50 of them opened and read the content, that was a big reason for me to keep going, even on the days it felt difficult.
And even 50 is a lot, when you think about it. A few dozen strangers taking the time to subscribe to and read your content? That’s something to be proud of. I know I was at the time - I would excitedly text my Mum every time I hit a new milestone, even when it was before triple digits!
Neglecting the details
Have you written a newsletter bio? Have you written your short description? Do you have a publication theme? Developed your ‘About’ page? Changed the layout of your Substack site? Well, if not… Why not?
The simplest advice I can offer for this is to head over to your Substack website, click on your publication settings and go through every single thing, one at a time. I actually kept mine rather basic for a while and I regret not honing in on the details earlier than I did.
Have a browse through your settings to check you have everything covered. You might play around with the content and keep changing it until you’re happy, which is all fine. But getting these details covered early can help improve the professionalism of your newsletter, which in turn is helpful when potential new readers see it for the first time.
Something smart and professional is encouraging because it helps your work seem trustworthy and shows that you really care about what you are writing. It doesn’t take long, either. Just a few simple sentences about your work is helpful.
Failing to promote it
Lack of views is the most common complaint I have among writers I speak to either via chat or through my 1-2-1 courses. They spent hours writing a post, proudly published it and then… Nothing happened. Well, what have you done to promote it? Substack is a hosting website at its core, even with social media-like features, and you have to be active in sharing your writing.
Notes really is a great place to start. You can share there, repost your latest work and share with those who might want to read it. But what else can you do? Well, I always take the time to share my latest post on Twitter, Bluesky and LinkedIn. I’ve built social media followings on all three from 0 to thousands with time and consistency.
I might also share posts in relevant online communities. For a while I would share relevant posts on Reddit (in places where self-promotion was allowed). I would DM those who might be interested. You do have to put in the work to find your readers, they are unlikely to just arrive at your doorstep after you’ve published.
Don’t wait for them to come to you. Be proactive. And build those social networks beyond just the newsletter. Only a couple of my social media posts each week are my actual newsletter posts. Otherwise I’m tweeting, engaging, commenting and liking within the community. That helps build visibility and in turn can bring more readers.
Trying to do too much
It’s tempting to want to post every single day. To write thousands of words. Pack in multiple topics. While the enthusiasm is great, too much can be both overwhelming for your readers (leading to them unsubscribing or to lower open rates) or simply cause burnout, especially without immediate success.
I always advise new newsletter writers to stick to one or two key topics in their posts. And the overall newsletter to stick within some kind of topic (this might differ if you want to use your space as a personal blog, though you might still want consistent themes).
Your posts themselves needn’t be too long, either. 800-1200 words is the sweet spot for me, especially with a blog style post. Making them a little shorter or a little longer at times is fine too. But you want something that’s easy to read. If you’re just starting out, why bombard your readers with too much?
Create something manageable. Easy to read. Accessible to newbies. Of course there are some newsletters (if you are gradually sharing a novel, for example) where readers expect more. But broadly, keep the length manageable and it will benefit your readers, as well as saving you time.
Readers will often engage more with content that feels streamlined and intentional. You don’t have to share everything in a single email - you always have the next issue to cover something else!
What mistakes did you make when starting your newsletter? Is there anything you wish you knew earlier? Share your thoughts in the comments!