#Boost your audience on Substack

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Section 9: How to Use Substack Boost Options

Summary of my Udemy Course “From Zero to Substack Hero.” Purpose of this Series for New Readers This is a new series upon request from my readers. I recently developed a course titled “From Zero to Substack Hero” and published it on Udemy and shared it on Content Marketing Strategy Insights owned by Dr Mehmet Yildiz who kindly allowed me to use his Substack Mastery book to design the…

[i-miss-2013]

How has it been starting your own Substack? I always have ideas for these types of things but get insecure before posting. How do you manage those types of feelings? It’s honestly so inspiring

(PS if you do music I would love to see True Romance by Charli XCX on there since that was a pretty big tumblr album)

Awww thank you! This is such a beautiful question!! ♡ And yes, I will keep that album noted! Thank you for the suggestion 😝🫶

Anything creative like this, anyone is likely to get insecurities, so first-most; it’s totally okay! Starting my Substack has been so fun!! Getting able to have this much creative control is totally up my alley! It’s basically just like Tumblr! 💗

But when I first started posting content online, there would be that little voice in the back of my mind wondering, ‘will anyone care? Will people like this?’ But over time, I’ve learned it’s okay to feel a bit insecure—it just means you care about what you’re sharing! I try to remind myself that I’m not writing for everyone, just for the people who truly connect with what I have to say!

I genuinely enjoy making my mag posts and writing about fashion, beauty and lifestyle! So it’s easy to produce, plus even if no one reads my content; I’m still happy with the process of creating and reading my own content! 😝 So if you enjoy what you make, then that’s all it should matter!

It helps that I do have a loving community and every comment, message and like gives me an extra boost of motivation! I’m so lucky to have my audience! 💕💕 So sharing with at least someone you know could help!

I totally get that insecurity about posting, but your ideas are valid and worth sharing. The first post is the hardest, but once you start, it really does get easier. Trust yourself, you’ve got something amazing to shareI hope my words resonated with you! Sending much love! <3

[boostbite2025]

💰 Writers making $40M+ on Substack while everyone chases TikTok fame.

One writer: $0 → $15K/month in 1 year.

Formula: 1,000 subs × $10/month = $100K/year

Own your audience. No algorithms. Direct payment.

Takes 12-18 months. Most quit too early.

#Substack #Newsletter #CreatorEconomy

[alexeidj]

Crypto Marketing Playbook: Growth Hacks for Web3 Projects

The Web3 revolution is in full swing, but building a game-changing product is only half the battle. The other half? Getting people to notice it. That’s where a strong crypto marketing strategy comes into play. In the fast-paced world of blockchain and decentralization, traditional marketing doesn’t cut it. Web3 projects need innovative, data-driven, and community-led growth hacks to gain visibility and traction.

Welcome to the Crypto Marketing Playbook — your go-to guide for boosting awareness, engagement, and adoption in the decentralized era.

1. Build in Public: Transparency is the New Trust

Unlike traditional startups, Web3 projects thrive on community participation. Openly sharing your project’s journey—successes, failures, updates, and even your roadmap—builds trust and makes users feel like they’re part of the mission.

Growth Hack: Use platforms like X (Twitter), Mirror.xyz, and Farcaster to post dev updates, host AMAs, and drop behind-the-scenes content. Tag niche communities, ecosystem DAOs, and respected thought leaders in your space to boost visibility and spark organic amplification. Make them feel like part of the story—not just an audience.

2 Tap Into Community-Led Media & Web3 Content Creators

In Web3, influence isn't centralized—it lives in niche communities and creator collectives. Instead of chasing traditional influencers, focus on collaborating with independent Web3 storytellers, YouTube educators, Twitter thread-makers, and newsletter curators who are deeply embedded in the ecosystem.

Growth Hack: Partner with creators from platforms like Paragraph, Substack, or decentralized content hubs like Mirror.xyz. Sponsor a deep-dive article or co-create a video explaining your protocol in plain language. Reward content creators in tokens or NFTs, and let their communities engage through a bounty or referral mechanic.

3. Gamify Onboarding with Quests

Users want to interact, earn, and explore—not scroll through PDFs. The best way to explain your project? Let them experience it firsthand. Make onboarding fun with gamified missions that reward exploration.

Growth Hack: Use platforms like Galxe, Zealy, or QuestN to create a series of tasks: join your Discord, interact with your dApp, follow your socials — and reward users with NFTs, tokens, or XP points.

4. Cultivate a Community-First Culture

Airdrops may give you users, but community gives you evangelists. A strong, engaged community is your greatest marketing engine.

Growth Hack: Appoint community managers from within your own Discord or Telegram. Offer them tokens or NFTs in exchange for organizing events, moderating chats, and creating memes or educational content.

5. Harness the Power of Token Incentives

Tokenomics isn’t just about price speculation—it’s a marketing lever. When done right, token incentives can drive usage, referrals, and retention.

Growth Hack: Launch a referral program where users earn governance tokens for inviting others. Use smart contracts to automate rewards and make the system transparent and trustless.

6. Launch with a Hype Loop

Don’t just announce—orchestrate. A successful Web3 launch is more like a well-timed campaign than a one-time tweet. Layer your hype across platforms, formats, and community touchpoints to build narrative tension that peaks on launch day.

Growth Hack: Use a countdown strategy:

T-7 days: Post teaser visuals.

T-5 days: Tease the Alpha – Leak Select Insights & Roadmap Nuggets

T-3 days: Run community contests.

T-1 day: Host a live AMA.

Launch day: Drop a big announcement with a call-to-action and clear next steps.

7. Partner With a Niche Crypto Marketing Agency

Sometimes, the best growth hack is to work with people who’ve done it before. A niche crypto marketing agency understands the Web3 audience, the right channels, and how to avoid costly mistakes.

Growth Hack: Vet agencies by their community engagement, past campaign metrics, and how well they understand your tokenomics. Don’t just hire marketers—find Web3-native growth hackers.

Final Thoughts

The rules of Web2 don’t apply in Web3. The crypto world is tribal, fast-paced, and community-led. To succeed, you need more than just marketing—you need a playbook tailored for decentralization.

By implementing these growth hacks and tapping into the power of community, tokens, and on-chain behavior, your project can cut through the noise and build a loyal following.

Whether you’re launching a DeFi app, NFT project, L2 solution, or DAO, remember this: The strongest projects don’t just build — they market smart.

Want a custom strategy for your project? Consider working with a crypto marketing agency that understands the game and plays it well.

[negiseogaurav]

Top Blog Submission Site List in 2025 to Boost Your SEO and Traffic

Blog submission is a powerful off-page SEO technique to gain backlinks, improve visibility, and drive traffic. Here's a direct list of the best blog submission sites for 2025:

What is Blog Submission?

Blog submission involves sharing your blog posts on various third-party platforms, directories, or communities. The goal is to increase the visibility of your content, gain backlinks, and attract traffic from readers who browse these platforms for new and useful content.

Benefits of Blog Submission

Increases website traffic

Builds high-quality backlinks

Enhances search engine rankings

Boosts brand awareness and authority

Drives targeted niche audiences to your site

Top Blog Submission Sites List in 2025

Here are some of the best blog submission platforms you should consider in 2025:

Medium – DA 96 A popular blogging platform with a massive readership, ideal for long-form content and thought leadership.

Blogger (Blogspot) – DA 100 Google’s own platform. Easy to set up and beneficial for SEO as it's directly linked with Google indexing.

WordPress.com – DA 92 Offers free blogging options with built-in SEO tools and access to a large community.

Tumblr – DA 86 Great for visual and microblog content; supports easy re-sharing and social engagement.

LinkedIn Articles – DA 99 Professional platform for sharing blogs with industry experts, marketers, and business professionals.

Ghost – DA 82 Minimalistic and performance-oriented blogging platform ideal for serious writers and content publishers.

Substack – DA 81 Perfect for turning blogs into email newsletters and monetizing your content.

Blogarama – DA 61 A reliable directory where you can list your blog and reach niche-specific readers.

BlogEngage – DA 63 A blog submission community that allows content sharing, voting, and engagement with fellow bloggers.

AllTop – DA 70 Curates the best content from top blogs in every category, giving your content extra exposure.

Get 250+ Blog Submission Sites With High DA, PA

Tips to Maximize Blog Submission Results

Customize Titles & Descriptions: Avoid generic summaries; tailor them for each platform.

Include Keywords: Ensure your titles and descriptions include relevant keywords.

Add Images: Visuals can significantly improve click-through rates.

Be Consistent: Make blog submission a part of your monthly content promotion strategy.

Track Results: Use tools like Google Analytics or UTM tracking to see which platforms perform best.

Final Note

Use these top blog submission sites to maximize your blog’s reach in 2025. Submitting your blogs on high-authority platforms not only helps with SEO but also boosts credibility and traffic. Start now and build strong backlinks for long-term results.

[ameliasoulturner]

How I’ve Been Successfully Selling Short eBooks for Over a Decade (And How You Can Too)

There’s something magical about short eBooks. They’re quick to write, easy to consume, and—if done right—surprisingly profitable. I’ve been in the game for more than ten years, and I’ve seen the landscape shift dramatically. From the early days of Kindle Direct Publishing to the rise of platforms like Gumroad and Substack, short-form digital content has never been more in demand.

If you’re wondering whether it’s still worth jumping into the eBook world—especially the shorter format—let me reassure you: absolutely. But like anything, it takes strategy, consistency, and a bit of hustle.

In this post, I’ll share how I market and sell short eBooks after over a decade of trial, error, and success. Whether you’re brand new or just need a refresher, you’ll find plenty of actionable advice here.

Why Short eBooks Work So Well (Even in 2025)

Attention spans are shorter than ever. People want bite-sized content they can finish during a commute, over lunch, or in one sitting before bed. That’s where short eBooks shine.

But there’s more to it than just convenience:

They're faster to write and publish

They're often priced lower, which attracts impulse buyers

They allow you to test ideas without committing to a full-length book

You can build a library of content, creating multiple income streams

I’ve written everything from 15-page how-to guides to 50-page productivity books, and I can tell you this—some of my highest earners were the shortest ones.

Step 1: Pick a Topic That Solves a Problem (Fast)

If you're selling a short eBook, you're selling a solution. Period. That means your topic needs to be laser-focused. You’re not writing the definitive guide to photography—you’re writing “How to Take Stunning Instagram Photos Using Just Your iPhone.”

The key is specificity. Think about what your audience Googles when they’re desperate for an answer. That’s your book idea.

Here are a few examples that work great:

"How to Meal Prep for a Week in Under 90 Minutes"

"A Beginner’s Guide to Freelance Copywriting"

"10 Quick Ways to Boost Your Credit Score"

Don’t overthink it. Ask your audience (or browse Reddit, Quora, or TikTok comments) to see what questions pop up again and again.

Step 2: Outline Like a Pro (And Keep It Lean)

Short eBooks don’t need fluff. You’re aiming to deliver value quickly. I usually stick to a structure like this:

A personal or relatable intro

Set the reader’s expectations

Actionable content broken into clear sections

A call to action or bonus tip

For a 25-page eBook, I’ll usually write 4–5 core chapters, each around 700–1,000 words. That’s enough to deliver substance without overwhelming the reader.

Step 3: Design Matters More Than You Think

People do judge a book by its cover—especially a digital one. I’ve seen books with brilliant content flop because the cover looked amateurish. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Invest in a professional-looking cover. Use Canva Pro or hire a designer on Fiverr or 99designs.

Stick to bold fonts, legible titles, and clean imagery.

Design the interior with readability in mind. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points.

When in doubt, mimic the design of bestsellers in your niche. There’s no shame in drawing inspiration from what’s already working.

Step 4: Pricing Strategy—Keep It Simple

I typically price short eBooks between $2.99 and $9.99. It’s the sweet spot—cheap enough for an impulse buy, high enough to earn decent royalties.

On Amazon KDP, $2.99 gets you a 70% royalty. On Gumroad or Payhip, you keep even more. I sometimes bundle several short eBooks and offer them at a discount to boost value.

Here’s a trick: test multiple prices. Start at $4.99. If it doesn’t sell, drop it to $2.99. If it sells like crazy, try bumping it up to $5.99 or add a bonus to justify a higher price.

Step 5: Marketing—This Is Where Most People Get It Wrong

Most writers think their job ends when they hit “publish.” Nope. That’s when the real work begins.

Here’s how I market every short eBook:

1. Build a Launch Team: Even if it’s just 5–10 people, having folks ready to buy and leave reviews makes a huge difference, especially on Amazon.

2. Email List = Game Changer: If you don’t have one, start now. I’ve built a simple list using ConvertKit. Every time I release a book, I email my list with a story, a benefit, and a link to buy. It’s the #1 driver of sales.

3. Tease on Social Media: I post tips, behind-the-scenes snippets, or mini-stories related to the eBook topic. On TikTok and Instagram Reels, even short clips like “3 lessons from my latest eBook” can drive serious traffic.

4. Repurpose Like a Boss: Turn a chapter into a blog post. Share a quote on Pinterest. Record a YouTube Short. These micro-moments build awareness and keep your eBook top of mind.

5. Use Affiliate Boosts: Some platforms like Gumroad allow affiliate selling. That means others can promote your eBook and take a cut. It’s a win-win and has helped me sell books I never even marketed myself.

Step 6: Go Beyond Just One eBook

Here’s where the real magic happens: when people buy one eBook and come back for more.

Think in series. I’ve created mini-series like:

“Side Hustle Starters Vol. 1–3”

“Quick Fix Finance Guides”

“Mindset MicroBooks”

Readers who enjoy one book are 3x more likely to buy your next. You can even bundle older eBooks or sell them as a membership through platforms like Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee.

And don’t forget upsells—offer a short video course, a checklist, or a workbook for $7–$27. People love a deeper dive when they trust your content.

Common Pitfalls I’ve Learned to Avoid

After 10+ years, here are some lessons the hard way taught me:

Don’t wait for “perfect.” Publish when it’s good enough and fix things later.

Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Specificity sells.

Don’t ignore customer feedback. Reviews can guide your next edition or future topics.

Don’t forget your bio and call-to-action. Every book should tell readers where to find more of you—website, email list, social media.

Final Thoughts: This Isn’t a Get-Rich-Quick Game (But It’s Worth It)

Selling short eBooks isn’t about chasing trends or gaming the system. It’s about building trust, delivering real value, and showing up consistently. Some of my books sell a few copies a week. Others sell hundreds a month. It’s the collection of efforts that makes this a sustainable business.

If you’ve got knowledge, a story, or a solution to share, there’s someone out there willing to pay for it—especially if it’s wrapped up in a neat little eBook.

So whether you’re writing your first book or your fiftieth, keep it simple, solve a problem, and share it with the world.

Because short eBooks might be small in size—but they can make a big impact, both for your readers and your bank account.

[socialreputationpro]

Enhance Your Digital Presence: Why You Need an App Store Optimization Company and ORM Services in Delhi

In a highly competitive digital landscape, a multi-faceted approach involving ASO, ORM, and user reviews can elevate your app above the rest. Whether you're looking for a reliable app store optimization company or an experienced ORM services company in Delhi, having professional guidance can make all the difference. Partner with Social Reputation Pro to build and maintain a stellar reputation for your app, boosting visibility, driving engagement, and building trust with your audience.

[iksoikotbd]

Ready to elevate your writing game?

In today’s digital landscape, simply publishing your content isn’t enough. To truly shine on platforms like Medium, Vocal Media, and Substack, you need expert promotion strategies that connect you with your target audience.

Our professional content promotion service empowers writers by enhancing visibility and fostering connections, leading to increased engagement and success.

Don’t let your hard work go unnoticed!

👉 Amplify your voice and boost your content's visibility today!

Fiverr-- 

Upwork--

Join us and watch your readership grow—Amplify Now!

[kristenbrady]

Are Social Media Influencers Getting Rich or Barely Getting By?

So the Wall Street Journal just put out an article entitled, “Social-Media Influencers Aren’t Getting Rich — They’re Barely Getting By.” They are basically saying that “platforms are paying less for popular posts, brands are pickier about partnerships and a possible TikTok ban looms.”

The article goes on to say that “Many people dream of becoming social-media stars like YouTube’s MrBeast or TikTok’s Charli D’Amelio. But for most who pursue careers as content creators, just making ends meet is a lofty goal.”

So, is this true?

Well, most of us are members here on Medium.com. Are your earnings decreasing? I’ve heard a mixed bag from different writers here on this platform. Some say they actually left the platform because of low earnings month after month, and I’ve heard some say that their earnings are only getting better month after month.

Speaking only for myself, last month I had my highest earning month on record on Medium. But this month, I seem to have hit a brick wall. No matter how much work I put into it, I can’t seem to get the numbers to move up significantly.

I have not been able to sell any eBooks on Gumroad and I lost 3 paid subscribers on Substack last week.

So, what’s going on? Is the competition for an audience growing fierce? Is the content creator industry getting oversaturated, so these platforms are deciding to pay less?

According to Forbes magazine, in 2021, the creator economy was valued at $104 billion, and it is projected to reach nearly half a trillion by 2027.

I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna stay on the content creator train and see how far it can take me. With that said, let’s go over 4 great places for content creators to hang out:

Heepsy

Heepsy is a social media influencer marketing solution made for agencies and brands. Users can gain access to millions of social influencers worldwide, in addition to the tools needed to discover the proper one for your campaigns on social media.

Not only will Heepsy provide the choice for brands to locate influencers, it’ll also introduce the choice of a Marketplace in which influencers may sift through campaigns that are published by brands. There, creators possess the flexibility to pick campaigns matching their interests that have features enabling them to filter based on the network for the promotion, the campaign’s location, the category being promoted, and much more. It ensures that social influencers are able to conveniently find campaigns aligning with their target audience’s preferences, as well as their own style of content creation.

Grin

Grin is a platform for creator management that helps e-commerce businesses construct more valuable brands using the power of content-creator partnerships.

Mention

Mention is a marketing platform that enables agencies and brands to recognize audience perception around social media and the Internet while additionally providing the capability of organizing their campaigns on social media.

By using this social media marketing platform, it’s easily possible to monitor what’s being said on the internet about a product or brand, gain analytics on their industry, as well as calculate the impact of your PR and marketing activities.

Current

Current is a platform for brands that want to maximize their influencer marketing, build their ambassador programs, as well as boost their revenue.

So, which is it for you? If you are a writer here on Medium, how’s your earnings going? Let me know in the comments section.

🍉Kristen is a contributor on Medium. Sign up here to catch every story when she publishes.

Continue reading on Medium

[literateleah]

hi! sorry if you answered this before but i was wondering if you had any tips on writing a newsletter, how you pick the topic etc. or if it's just, going for it and that's it lol. i love your work (currently putting off the latest babylon one since i haven't seen it), hope you have a nice day <3

hi!! no prob at all thanks for sending this! when i come up with ideas they’re usually in response to something (a review, connecting multiple pieces of media to start a broader discussion) or a personal essay inspiring by one event or topic! from there i usually outline my thoughts before i start drafting and write the piece one section at a time from there. in terms of the writing, i try to maintain a casual and colloquial style but balance that with analysis it’s both accessible and sophisticated depending on the topic or review of course! it’s tough to find your individual voice, but i found that practice and time helped me develop it more than anything else!

as far as getting started, i really did just go for it!i found substack and found that it was the easiest platform to use to get my work out, and made sure to cross promote on multiple platforms (my audience here helped first then boosts from ig and twitter helped) and the right people found my work through mutual networks! my biggest advice is to just try and feel it out for yourself since it’s really the most fluid customizable experience, so much fun

[mehmetyildizmelbourne-blog]

Do You Need a Blogging Directory for Visibility?

An Aspiring and Inspiring Community Initiative Here’s Why I’m Creating a Blog Directory and How Bloggers Can Benefit from It. Invitation to submit your blogs to a new blog directory I will create and distribute in my network as a give-back activity to the writing community Dear Subscribers, If you are tired of blogging alone in the dark, I have a light to share. If blogging feels like…

[colorisbyshe]

Tbh your post about Twitter is so important bc I kept thinking about all of the sex workers and poor ppl who rely on Twitter to get traction and how they'll have to take more risks now and it makes me so desperately sad. Like yeah Twitter was and is a bad bad bad place and a nightmare source of political discourse, but it was also so much of a livelihood for ppl who experience marginalization.

Exactly!

I love to dunk on twitter because... it's an awful place that gives a lot of awful people platforms but... in the same way, sometimes via the same lack of moderation, it has also given a lot of marginalized people platforms.

The solution to the former was never burning it down but rather... doing more to stop hate speech and misinformation, so the latter could continue to have their livelihoods.

I have watched so, so many people go from small time artists to having actual self run shops. They built a following where they could feel safe charging what they deserve as opposed to meager prices just to get ahead. Something... they wouldn't really be able to do elsewhere, even here, where storefronts are harder to manage and are given less of a boost. Add in sexuality, on any level, and LITERALLY twitter is it, at least when it comes to spreading the word.

Like people were able to gain an audience for their OF or cam work through having twitter personas.

Twitter was SUCH a great space to divert people to your business elsewhere by offering bite size, easily spread tweets to lure people in for more. This is how I got a lot of my news--through following trusted voices, seeing their immediate reactions to issues as they happen, and then waiting for them to post links to their research, their think pieces, their Official Position after they've thought about it a bit and gotten the facts together.

I'm not going to remember to check the websites or email lists of 20+ voices attached to different organizations and platforms in the same way. I watched htem SCRAMBLE to find a way to retain their audiences last night. With some going "Yeah, idk how mastadon works but I'm there now" or "I know I sent a substack once a month but... well... see you there more often, I guess."

I'm actually deeply concerned about news in general because so many official statements by companies or whatever are released on twitter. Like, obviously, big stories are always gonna be asy to find, but what about the smaller shit? How much stuff is gonna be swept under the rug or forgotten without a space where people can continue to talk about it and refuse to let it be forgotten?

Fuck twitter but fuck its slow destruction more.

[tlbodine]

Things That Do (And Don’t) Sell Books (in my experience)

I’ve just finished reading this book:

I am both amused and a bit disheartened to have read the whole thing and discovered that I knew pretty much everything in it. Amused, because I guess I’ve picked up a lot of knowledge over the years. Disheartened, because it clearly has not led to me becoming the break-away success I always dreamed of. Ah well. Live and learn. 

I’m all about transparency in this business, so I wanted to talk honestly for a while about book marketing and what I’ve experienced in terms of what does and does not seem to work. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so chime in with your own experiences! 

Branding and Audience 

The first third of Burke’s book is dedicated to this aspect, and it’s an important marketing step that’s easy to overlook. The idea is basically that you can’t market a product unless it has a brand identity. To create your brand, you need to do the following: 

Identify the audience who you are trying to reach with your work, or who would be most receptive to what you’re writing

Identify your dreams and goals so you have a clear picture in mind of what you want to accomplish 

Figure out how to position yourself in such a way that you a.) stand out from the competition but b.) people can still relate to and understand at a glance

Find a way to communicate your brand consistently in terms of the language used, your aesthetic, the way you act online, and so forth. 

When it comes to brand-building as an author, I think I’ve got a bit of a corner nailed down. I at least hope to be perceived as someone level-headed, thoughtful, generally positive/empathetic and humanist, but also critical and looking deeper into the meanings of things -- all of which are traits I personally possess and which are baked in to the work I do. In support of that branding, I curate my activity online as best I can: I post things that are of a certain horror aesthetic that I feel overlaps with my own interests/style; I give writing advice and boost people in the community where I can; I wade into discourse selectively and thoughtfully; I give media reviews and analysis that I think would be interesting to like-minded people. 

The “identify the audience” part is much harder for me. I’m still honestly not sure who my ideal reader is, or where exactly to go to find my audience. At this point I’m kind of scattering crumbs of myself out into the wind and hoping it will attract people who will, in turn, be interested in the work that I do (and both willing and able to support it financially). 

Things I’ve Done With Varying Degrees of Success: 

Aforementioned blogging activities. I have slowly but steadily grown my following her on tumblr and other social media sites as well as my author newsletter on substack, but it’s not clear to what extent that following translates into book sales. My writing advice posts vastly out-perform all of my other content, but I haven’t seen compelling evidence that the people interested in my writing advice are especially interested in my fiction -- it seems to be two separate groups, with maybe a sliver of overlap. 

Content marketing with more short fiction. This seems like it should be the safest, surest way to find more readers, but it’s time-consuming and discouraging because of the discoverability cycle. My horror flash fiction posts don’t get nearly as many notes as my advice posts. My attempts to get into the big anthologies that pop up have so far amounted to little, although I do need to write more. It’s just that coming up with new ideas and writing them all the time is a lot of work, and if it’s not paying off maybe I’m still better off dedicating that work to my novels. 

Sending ARCs to book bloggers/reviewers/booktube etc. I sent out dozens, if not hundreds, of these and got next to no response. I do think part of the problem is that, at the time, I had no Twitter presence, and -- like it or not -- there seems to be a bit of cliqueishness to this aspect of the book world. Now that I’ve spent more time on Twitter ingratiating myself with the horror community, I suspect I’ll have a somewhat easier job securing blurbs and reviews at least from the people in my extended social circle. But I won’t know until I try it again. *I also know I would have greater success with this if I’d been sending paperback ARCs instead of digital. I didn’t, because the cost of buying more author copies + shipping was prohibitive. 

Author Newsletter. I maintain mine in conjunction with my Patreon account. I send a monthly news round-up, making a point of shouting out both industry news and the milestones/achievements of others in the community as well as providing what I hope to be value-added or interesting content (in the form of blog posts my patrons vote on). It does OK. I average a couple of new sign-ups per month this way and tend to hover around a 25% open rate, which isn’t terrible. But it’s not great, either, and I won’t know for sure whether any of those opens will actually yield sales at any point. 

Interpersonal relationships/community building. Hands down the most successful “marketing” thing I’ve ever done is make friends with people. My writing discord group is small but very close-knit and interacting with them is one of the genuine highlights of my day. I didn’t really make it with mercenary intentions of selling books, but it has directly resulted in sales. Similarly, there are a handful of authors from Twitter and Wattpad that I’ve developed genuine friendships with, and we buy each other’s books and support one another. This whole community aspect is extremely rewarding and I’d do it whether or not it sold books, but it’s also not exactly easy to scale. I can only maintain genuine friendships with so many people. 

Posting in reading groups. The books that allow self-promo are so saturated with it that nobody pays any attention. The good groups do not allow self-promo, unless it’s in the form of getting down in the comments and recommending a book on a per-person basis to people looking for a specific thing, and only then if you’re not being spammy. Again, this is time-consuming. You could spend your entire life in these groups, hand-selling books to these people, and maybe picking up a few sales. They do seem like a good place to identify trends, though, so they’re good for market research if not direct selling. 

Things I Have Not Done, But Which I Suspect Would Sell Books 

Paid promotions. The golden ticket for book sales still seems to be landing a BookBub promo. If you’re unfamiliar, this is where you price your book at 99 cents or free and then pay bookbub to include it in their deals newsletter. Bookbub is very popular and moves a lot of copies. Ideally, you want to set it up so that your cheap book is the first in a series, and people snap that up and then come back to read the rest. This requires you to have written a series. Also bookbub is expensive because these are premium ads. We’re talking hundreds of dollars for one ad. There are other book promos that are cheaper but don’t have the same buy-through rate. 

Ads on facebook/amazon. I’m only dimly familiar with the ins and outs of these ads. They can be relatively cheap, but the amount of visibility they have is tied to your budget -- so the more you can spend on a campaign, the better your performance will be. 

Calling bookstores/libraries and asking them to order. I should do this. I have not done this purely because I am a coward. 

I am not certain what more I can do to promote my books without spending money. 

I understand the “spend money to make money” concept, but I also understand the “I have a limited budget and cannot spend it willy nilly on things that still might not actually pay off, especially considering how expensive self-publishing is when you want to do it right.” 

...This post ended up in a much more bitter place than I meant for it to. Sorry. I’ll check in if I remember additional points that could be successful strategies. 

[shadowfromthestarlight]

The moment a group of people stormed the Capitol building last Wednesday, news  companies began the process of sorting and commoditizing information that  long ago became standard in American media.

Media firms work backward. They first ask, “How does our target demographic want to  understand what’s just unfolded?” Then they pick both the words and the facts  they want to emphasize.

It’s why  Fox News uses the term, “Pro-Trump protesters,” while New York and The Atlantic use “Insurrectionists.” It’s why conservative media today is stressing how Apple, Google, and Amazon shut down the “Free Speech” platform Parler over  the weekend, while mainstream outlets are emphasizing a new round of  potentially armed protests reportedly planned for January 19th or 20th.

What happened last Wednesday was the apotheosis of the Hate Inc. era, when this  audience-first model became the primary means of communicating facts to the population. For a hundred reasons dating back to the mid-eighties, from the advent of the Internet to the development of the 24-hour news cycle to the end of the Fairness Doctrine and the Fox-led  discovery that news can be sold as character-driven, episodic TV in the  manner of soap operas, the concept of a “Just the facts” newscast designed to  be consumed by everyone died out.

News companies now clean world events like whalers, using every part of the  animal, funneling different facts to different consumers based upon  calculations about what will bring back the biggest engagement kick. The  Migrant Caravan? Fox slices  off comments from a Homeland Security official describing most of the  border-crossers as single adults coming for “economic reasons.” The New York Times counters  by running a story about how the caravan was deployed as a political issue by a Trump White  House staring at poor results in midterm elections.

Repeat this info-sifting process a few billion times and this is how we became, as none other than Mitch McConnell put it last week, a country:

Drifting apart into two separate tribes, with a separate set of facts and separate realities, with nothing in common except our hostility towards each other and mistrust for the few national institutions that we all still share.

The flaw in the system is that even the biggest news companies now operate under the assumption that at least half their potential audience isn’t listening. This leads to all sorts of problems, and the fact that the easiest way to keep your own demographic is to feed it negative stories about others is only the most  obvious. On all sides, we now lean into inflammatory caricatures, because the  financial incentives encourage it.

Everyone monetized Trump. The Fox  wing surrendered to the Trump phenomenon from the start, abandoning its  supposed fealty to “family values” from the Megyn Kelly incident on. Without  a thought, Rupert Murdoch sacrificed the paper-thin veneer of  pseudo-respectability Fox  had always maintained up to a point (that point being the moment advertisers  started to bail in horror, as they did with Glenn Beck). He reinvented Fox as a platform for  Trump’s conspiratorial brand of cartoon populism, rather than let some more-Fox-than-Fox imitator like OAN sell the  ads to Trump’s voters for four years.

In between its titillating quasi-porn headlines (“Lesbian Prison Gangs Waiting To Get Hands on Lindsay  Lohan, Inmate Says” is one from years ago that stuck in my mind), Fox’s business model has  long been based on scaring the crap out of aging Silent Majority viewers with  a parade of anything-but-the-truth explanations for America’s decline. It  villainized immigrants, Muslims, the new Black Panthers, environmentalists —  anyone but ADM, Wal-Mart, Countrywide, JP Morgan Chase, and other sponsors of  Fortress America. Donald Trump was one of the people who got hooked on Fox’s  narrative.

The rival media ecosystem chose cash over truth also. It could have responded to  the last election by looking harder at the tensions they didn’t see coming in  Trump’s America, which might have meant a more intense examination of the  problems that gave Trump his opening: the jobs that never came back after  bankers and retailers decided to move them to unfree labor zones in places  like China, the severe debt and addiction crises, the ridiculous  contradiction of an expanding international military garrison manned by a  population fast losing belief in the mission, etc., etc.

Instead, outlets like CNN and MSNBC took a Fox-like approach, downplaying issues in  favor of shoving Trump’s agitating personality in the faces of audiences over  and over, to the point where many people could no longer think about anything  else. To juice ratings, the Trump story — which didn’t need the slightest  exaggeration to be fantastic — was more or less constantly distorted.

Trump  began to be described as a cause of America’s problems, rather than a symptom,  and his followers, every last one, were demonized right along with him, in  caricatures that tickled the urbane audiences of channels like CNN but made  conservatives want to reach for something sharp. This technique was borrowed  from Fox,  which learned in the Bush years that you could boost ratings by selling  audiences on the idea that their liberal neighbors were terrorist traitors.  Such messaging worked better by far than bashing al-Qaeda, because this enemy  was closer, making the hate more real.

I came  into the news business convinced that the traditional “objective” style of  reporting was boring, deceptive, and deserving of mockery. I used to laugh at  the parade of “above the fray” columnists and stone-dull house editorials  that took no position on anything and always ended, “Only one thing’s for  sure: time will tell.” As a teenager I was struck by a passage in Tim  Crouse’s book about the 1972 presidential campaign, The Boys in the Bus, describing  the work of Hunter Thompson:

Thompson  had the freedom to describe the campaign as he actually experienced it: the  crummy hotels, the tedium of the press bus, the calculated lies of the press  secretaries, the agony of writing about the campaign when it seemed dull and  meaningless, the hopeless fatigue. When other reporters went home, their  wives asked them, “What was it really like?” Thompson’s wife knew from  reading his pieces.

What Rolling Stone did in  giving a political reporter the freedom to write about the banalities of the  system was revolutionary at the time. They also allowed their writer to be a  sides-taker and a rooter, which seemed natural and appropriate because biases  end up in media anyway. They were just hidden in the traditional dull  “objective” format.

The  problem is that the pendulum has swung so far in the opposite direction of  politicized hot-taking that reporters now lack freedom in the opposite  direction, i.e. the freedom to mitigate.

If you  work in conservative media, you probably felt tremendous pressure all  November to stay away from information suggesting Trump lost the election. If  you work in the other ecosystem, you probably feel right now that even  suggesting what happened last Wednesday was not a coup in the literal sense  of the word (e.g. an attempt at seizing power with an actual chance of  success) not only wouldn’t clear an editor, but might make you suspect in the  eyes of co-workers, a potentially job-imperiling problem in this environment.  

We need  a new media channel, the press version of a third party, where those  financial pressures to maintain audience are absent. Ideally, it would:

not be aligned with either Democrats or Republicans;

employ a Fairness Doctrine-inspired approach that discourages       groupthink and requires at  least occasional explorations of alternative points of view;

embrace a utilitarian mission stressing credibility over ratings, including by;

operating on a distribution model that as  much as possible doesn’t depend upon the indulgence of Apple, Google, and Amazon.

Innovations like Substack are great for opinionated individual voices like me, but what’s  desperately needed is an institutional reporting mechanism that has credibility with the whole population. That means a channel that sees its mission as something separate from politics, or at least as separate from politics as possible.

The media used to derive its institutional power from this perception of separateness. Politicians feared investigation by the news media precisely because they knew audiences perceived them as neutral arbiters.

Now there are no major commercial outlets not firmly associated with one or the other political party. Criticism of Republicans is as baked into New York Times coverage as the lambasting of Democrats is at Fox, and politicians don’t fear them as much because they know their  constituents do not consider rival media sources credible. Probably, they  don’t even read them. Echo chambers have limited utility in changing minds.

Media companies need to get out of the audience-stroking business, and by extension  the politics business. They’d then be more likely to be believed when making  pronouncements about elections or masks or anything else, for that matter.  Creating that kind of outlet also has a much better shot of restoring sanity  to the country than the current strategy, which seems based on stamping out  access to “wrong” information.

What we’ve been watching for four years, and what we saw explode last week, is a paradox: a political and informational system that profits from division and  conflict, and uses a factory-style process to stimulate it, but professes  shock and horror when real conflict happens. It’s time to admit this is a  failed system. You can’t sell hatred and seriously expect it to end.

Matt Taibbi is one of the only people I subscribe to. He’s one of the few journalists I like because I actually believe he’s genuine.

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Americans opposed to President Trump are constantly asking some version of this question: “Why won’t Republicans break with Trump?”

The personalities on Fox News are largely standing with the president amid the controversy over the Trump administration pushing Ukrainian officials to investigate the business dealings of Joe Biden’s son. So are Republicans in Congress. Vice President Mike Pence and others inside the Trump administration are also defending the president’s actions involving Ukraine (a shift from when one-time Trump advisers like Dan Coats would sometimes signal disagreement with the president’s stances).

But looking at Trump’s standing only among people currently inside of powerful Republican-controlled spaces — the party itself, Fox News, the White House, etc. — presents an incomplete picture and understates opposition to Trump among Republican politicians and activists. Almost by definition, that opposition can’t happen within the obvious GOP spaces — the president and his acolytes have accumulated enough power that it’s increasingly hard to be both be anti-Trump and a Republican in good standing at a major conservative institution.

So Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan left the GOP and became an independent. Former Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina lost in a primary last year to an opponent endorsed by Trump after speaking out against the president. And just last Friday, Fox News anchor and occasional Trump critic Sheppard Smith resigned,1 as did Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, who had occasionally clashed with the president.

Indeed, widen your lens and you can find all kinds of anti-Trump sentiment in conservative and right-leaning circles. This anti-Trump bloc, in addition to Republicans still supporting the president, might have lots of sway as impeachment unfolds — if they can reach GOP voters.

The media

You could create your very own conservative, anti-Trump TV network if you hired all the Trump-skeptical Republicans who regularly appear as talking heads on CNN and MSNBC. CNN, for example, has Amanda Carpenter, Charlie Dent, John Kasich, and Mia Love. MSNBC boasts Carlos Curbelo, Susan Del Percio, Elise Jordan, Mike Murphy, Jennifer Rubin, Joe Scarborough, Michael Steele, Charlie Sykes, Nicole Wallace, George Will and Rick Tyler.2

Yes, most conservative pundits on Fox News are heartily pro-Trump, but not all conservative pundits are on Fox News.

Elected officials

There were 241 Republicans in the U.S. House in early 2017, at the start of Trump’s tenure. Since then, more than a quarter have either been defeated at the ballot box, in last November’s elections (29), or retired (36).3 Some of them, such as former Rep. Mia Love of Utah, blame Trump’s unpopularity for their defeats. Others, such as Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, hint that they are leaving Congress in part because they are uncomfortable with the direction Trump is taking the GOP, as the Washington Post recently reported in a story detailing the exodus of House Republicans.

There is also a group of Trump-skeptical governors and senators — most notably former Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona and former Gov. John Kasich of Ohio — who left their posts after 2018. And then you have figures like former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois , ex-Gov. William Weld of Massachusetts and Sanford, all of whom are running long-shot primary challenges to Trump. Former Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina, who has publicly come out against Trump, is suing his state’s Republican Party in an effort to overturn its decision to cancel next year’s Republican primary, a move designed in part to boost the president.

So, in addition to that conservative, anti-Trump cable channel, you could also piece together a Senate majority (51 people) from Republicans who have previously served in either the House or the Senate but who have been publicly wary of Trump.

Senior Republican staffers

OK, if you’re going to have a shadow, anti-Trump GOP Senate, you need some experienced Republican operatives to staff it. You won’t have to look too hard.

In a clear and public rebuke to Trump, chiefs of staff for Republican presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush recently told the New York Times that the presidents they served would never have asked for help winning an election from a foreign government. A group of conservative lawyers, many of whom served in top positions in the Department of Justice under Reagan or one of the Bushes, are supporting the impeachment inquiry.

Moreover, plenty of people who served in senior roles in the Trump administration itself, including H.R. McMaster (national security adviser), Anthony Scaramucci (communications director) and Rex Tillerson (secretary of state) have distanced themselves from the president.

Again, the Republican staffers currently in the White House are defending the president, but that might mask some broader disagreement among senior-level Republican staffers.

Conservative institutions

Many organizations on the right, such as the Heritage Foundation, are in lockstep with the president. But others — the Cato Institute, the Niskanen Center — are fairly critical of him

Or, take the white evangelical conservative movement as a whole. It is often portrayed as totally behind the president, and news stories often cite people like Jerry Falwell Jr. who are closely allied with the president to show that. But white evangelicals aren’t completely aligned with Trump — a generational gap has begun to open up. And really, people like Falwell, who runs a small Christian college (Liberty University), are more accurately described as evangelical leaders who support Trump, rather than evangelical leaders. overall. J.D. Greear, head of the Southern Baptist Convention, is more clearly a “leader” of America’s evangelicals — and he is kind of lukewarm about Trump.

So it’s important to understand that many conservative organizations and power centers on the right are strongly behind Trump, but also that increasingly “conservative” has come to mean “pro-Trump,” a narrative that writes out of the story organizations and people who had what were considered fairly rightly-leaning views pre-Trump.

OK, I admit this is an imprecise exercise. What overall percentage of elite Republicans — conservative media figures, current and former members of Congress, current and former administration officials, etc. — oppose Trump? That’s basically impossible to quantify.

But I think it’s higher than often portrayed — because some opposition lives in non-GOP spaces where people aren’t looking, and because much of it is also hidden from view, as elected Republicans face strong incentives to stand by Trump publicly.

All of this helps explain why Republican voters are among the most loyal-to-Trump constituencies in the Republican Party. Surveys have long suggested that between 85 and 90 percent of Republican voters approve of the president. Only about 13 percent of people who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 said that they disapproved of Trump in a poll conducted in late 2018 and early 2019 by the Democracy Fund Voter Study Group. According to FiveThirtyEight’s average of impeachment polls, about 14 percent of Republicans support impeachment.

I wrote recently about how rank-and-file voters often follow cues from elites, noting that impeachment support increased among Democrats after the party unified around the idea. So maybe if we had full data on the views of all Republican elites, we’d find that about 10 to 15 percent oppose Trump, perfectly in line with voters.

But I think that the safer assumption is this: Trump has in many ways successfully purged his critics from the power centers of the GOP. So a potential resistance to him among Republican elites doesn’t just face the obvious challenge that he’s the president and popular among GOP voters. Republican elites who are wary of Trump are also not well situated to make their case to rank-and-file Republican voters. They are working in lobbying shops or boardrooms instead of on Capitol Hill, speaking to audiences on CNN and MSNBC instead of Fox News, and outside of the administration instead of inside it.

The facts of the Ukraine case, or its politics, could open more doors for those anti-Trump voices in those pro-Trump spaces. That would likely have profound effects on the views of GOP voters.

For now, though, the Trump-skeptical bloc in Congress remains a small part of the overall Trump-skeptical conservative coalition.

[ameliasoulturner]

3 Best Platforms for Aspiring Writers to Launch a Solo Business and Break Free in 2025

If you've ever dreamed of turning your passion for writing into a full-time income and finally saying goodbye to your 9-to-5, you're not alone. Thousands of people are making the leap every year, using their writing skills to build solo businesses that give them freedom, flexibility, and financial stability.

The good news? You don’t need a traditional publishing deal or a journalism degree to make it happen. In 2025, there are more opportunities than ever for writers to carve out their own paths and make real money doing what they love. The internet has leveled the playing field—and with the right tools and platforms, you can create your own lane, attract a loyal audience, and turn your words into income.

But with so many platforms out there, where should a new writer begin? In this article, we're diving into the three best platforms for aspiring writers in 2025—whether your goal is to build a personal brand, create a steady stream of income, or simply do meaningful work on your own terms.

Let’s break it down.

1. Substack: Your Launchpad for Independent Publishing

If you enjoy writing essays, newsletters, or commentary and want to build an email-based audience, Substack is your best friend.

Substack allows writers to create and send email newsletters to their readers, monetize through paid subscriptions, and build a direct connection with their audience. What makes it so appealing is its simplicity. You don’t need to know how to build a website or learn marketing funnels—just write, publish, and share.

But here’s where Substack really shines: it lets you own your audience. Unlike social media platforms where algorithms control who sees your content, Substack delivers your writing directly to inboxes. And in 2025, email is still one of the most powerful tools for building trust and loyalty.

Why It Works for Solo Writers:

Direct Monetization: You can start with free content and slowly introduce paid options as your audience grows. Substack handles payment processing, so you can focus on writing.

Community Tools: You can host discussions, comments, and even podcasts, building a real community around your work.

No Gatekeepers: No editor telling you what to write. Your voice, your topics, your rules.

Writers making anywhere from $500 to over $10,000 per month have built their businesses one email at a time. The key? Show up consistently, be authentic, and deliver value.

Best For: Writers who want to build a loyal readership, share their thoughts or expertise, and get paid directly by subscribers.

2. Medium: Reach a Built-In Audience While You Learn the Game

Medium is like the digital version of a glossy magazine mixed with a public journal. It's perfect for new writers who want to find their voice, test ideas, and reach people without worrying about promotion or SEO right out of the gate.

With Medium’s Partner Program, you can actually earn money based on how much time paying members spend reading your stories. This performance-based model means that high-quality, engaging content can get rewarded—even if you're just getting started.

In 2025, Medium continues to be a top pick for new writers because it takes care of the technical side of blogging. No hosting. No themes. Just you and your writing.

Why It Works for Solo Writers:

Built-In Exposure: Medium’s curated content system can help you reach thousands—even tens of thousands—of readers if your content resonates.

Monetization Without Selling: You don’t need to pitch anything or sell a product. Just write, and if your content performs well, you get paid.

Credibility Boost: Medium content ranks well on Google, so it’s a smart way to build authority in a niche or industry.

A well-written story can live on Medium for years, continuously driving traffic and passive income. That’s not just side-hustle potential—that’s digital real estate.

Best For: Writers who want a clean, focused platform to build a portfolio, grow their reputation, and earn based on content performance.

3. Fiverr: Turn Your Writing Into a Freelance Business

While Substack and Medium are great for content-driven business models, Fiverr is the fast track to getting paid for your writing services.

Fiverr has evolved a lot since its early days of $5 gigs. Today, it’s a thriving marketplace where writers are earning serious money offering services like blog posts, email copy, product descriptions, LinkedIn bios, and more.

What sets Fiverr apart is its reach. Millions of buyers are already looking for help with writing projects. All you have to do is show up with a strong profile and quality samples, and you’re in the game.

Why It Works for Solo Writers:

Immediate Income: You can start earning as soon as someone places an order. No need to build an audience first.

Skill-Based Scaling: As you get more orders and positive reviews, Fiverr ranks you higher in search, which means more visibility and better-paying clients.

Niche Opportunities: You can specialize in areas like resume writing, technical writing, or even writing social media posts. There's room for everyone.

Some freelancers earn $2,000 to $5,000 per month on Fiverr alone. And with the right strategy, you can turn one-time gigs into recurring clients and long-term contracts.

Best For: Writers looking to get paid quickly, build a service-based business, and grow into a full-fledged freelancing career.

Bonus Tips for Building a Sustainable Writing Business

Choosing the right platform is important—but equally crucial is how you show up. Here are a few quick tips to make your writing business thrive in 2025:

1. Niche Down Early: Pick a niche that matches your skills and interests. The more specific your content or services, the easier it is to attract loyal followers or buyers.

2. Focus on Quality Over Quantity: Writing every day won’t matter if it’s not useful, interesting, or original. Take your time, research deeply, and make each piece count.

3. Build Your Brand: Whether it’s your tone, your story, or your values—make sure people know what you stand for. A strong personal brand is what separates you from the crowd.

4. Diversify Your Income: Don’t rely on just one source. You can write on Medium, run a Substack newsletter, and freelance on Fiverr—all at the same time. Diversifying your income streams adds stability and growth potential.

5. Invest in Learning: From SEO and digital marketing to storytelling and productivity, investing in new skills can 10x your results. The more value you bring to the table, the more you can charge—and the faster you grow.

Final Thoughts: Why Now Is the Best Time to Go All-In

There’s never been a better time to be a writer. The barriers are lower. The tools are better. The market is global. And if you play it right, you can build a writing career on your own terms—one that pays the bills, fuels your creativity, and gives you the freedom most jobs never will.

Whether you’re sharing your voice on Substack, building authority on Medium, or landing clients on Fiverr, you have everything you need to launch a solo business in 2025. So if you’re sitting at a desk right now, dreaming of quitting your job—this is your sign. Start writing. Start building. Your solo journey begins now.