From Not Knowing About Substack to Gaining 45 Subscribers in 1 Month

Looking Back on the Eventful Start of My Creator Journey

Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash

It’s only been a little over a month since I joined Substack and I’ve had such an amazing experience. From connecting with inspiring writers to meeting new friends and growing a community of 45 subscribers in my first month (now 70+ at the time of this writing!)—I’m beyond grateful to everyone who’s been part of this journey 🙏🏻💗

It’s crazy to think that I didn’t even know about Substack at first and I never planned to become a writer here 😂

I thought it would be interesting to share how I ended up here and the lessons I’ve learned along the way!

The Beginning of My Journey

I knew I wanted to be a creator but I didn’t know how

At first, I was planning to be a YouTuber.

As I’ve shared in my introduction post, some of my biggest inspirations have been YouTubers such as Ali Abdaal and Aileen Xu.

I prefer long-form content and I thought it made sense to create on the platform where I also spend most of my time.

The biggest obstacle, however, is that I’m camera-shy and I can’t even imagine filming myself! 😅

I wondered if it was even possible to become a personal development YouTuber and not show my face… (That’s a bit hard—I guess it could work if I can draw and animate, but I can’t 🥲)

So I gave myself two options:

1. Go with personal development but I have to overcome my fear of the camera

2. Choose a different niche/topic where it’s normal not to show my face

At first, I went with option #2. I considered making Tagalog/Filipino language learning videos. My plan was to create presentation slides using Canva and just add a voice-over similar to how we made video presentations for our online classes during the pandemic.

I thought my problem was solved, but I didn’t feel satisfied with the idea of niching down to this topic and sticking to it for years.

I’m passionate about teaching, but I also love learning. I easily get bored when I feel like I’m not learning anything new. I want to be growing in the process of creating so I need a topic that is broad enough to cover my wide range of interests.

For me, that’s personal development, so I pivoted to option #1, but I thought of postponing my YouTube journey for at least one year until I’ve built the confidence to go in front of a camera and learn how to edit videos.

It was only when I came across Dan Koe’s videos that I found a better strategy. He says that the first skill you want to learn as a creator is writing because it will serve as your foundation in making other forms of content, such as videos, podcasts, and so on.

This idea resonated with me because I enjoyed writing papers in school, and even in my personal life, I’ve always loved journaling and writing letters.

Instead of forcing myself to make the huge leap of making videos which will likely lead me to procrastinate, I decided to start small and take the path of least resistance—writing online.

I knew I wanted to write online but I didn’t know where

Since I mostly spend my time watching long-form videos, I didn’t have that much exposure to social media platforms that are mostly text-based.

I don’t use LinkedIn, Medium, Quora, or Reddit… 😅

I use Twitter/X (but my existing accounts are just for fangirling over my favorite C-dramas and P-pop groups 😂).

I didn’t want to create a new account because they implemented this policy where new users from the Philippines have to pay a small fee just to post or engage (even likes are not allowed; you can only follow other users…) It’s not that big of an amount but I honestly didn’t like it, as well as the other changes they’ve been making on the platform recently… I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to invest my time and money there.

I thought, what if I started my own blog and newsletter?

I was inspired to do this ever since I started reading the blogs of my favorite creators and subscribing to their newsletters. Some of my favorites include:

• Ali Abdaal’s LifeNotes (previously called “Sunday Snippets”)

• Sahil Bloom’s The Curiosity Chronicle

• James Clear’s 3-2-1 Newsletter

• Dan Koe’s The Koe Letters

I knew that it would be smarter to start writing first on social media platforms where there’s already traffic, but it felt more aligned with me to write long-form blog posts even if nobody reads them at the beginning.

I’m not writing just for the sake of gaining views anyway, so I thought I might as well do what feels right to me.

My initial attempt at starting my own blog

At the start of November, I tried setting up my own website on WordPress and bought a custom domain.

Building a website isn’t new to me since I used to design Tumblr pages and free Wix sites for my favorite artists as a passion project.

I thought it wouldn’t be that difficult to create my own website, but WordPress was a lot more confusing and complicated than I expected. I also found it costly to pay for web hosting and a custom domain given that I’m not earning any money yet. I thought to myself that I’d just see it as an investment for my career and did it anyway.

While I was setting up my website, I thought of learning how to start a newsletter too so I can start building my email list early.

How I stumbled upon Substack

I watched Ali Abdaal’s tutorial on how to start an email newsletter and he recommended Substack—that was the first time I’ve ever heard about this platform. I decided to just create an account and see how it works so that I can plan how to integrate it with my WordPress site.

I started my experiment and I was surprised to discover that Substack is not just a newsletter platform but also a social media site! Another cool part is that it keeps an online archive of all your newsletter posts and you can design it like a blog.

My first impression was it’s like Tumblr for writers. I liked how it felt much more peaceful compared to other social media sites, and overall, it just fit with my vibe as an introvert.

I didn’t expect that my mini experiment would open up a completely new path for my content creation journey!

Going all-in on Substack

At the time I discovered Substack, I had not yet finished setting up my WordPress site.

Since Substack already has all the basic features I need as a new creator, I realized that it’s not yet necessary to have my own website as a beginner. It would take a lot of time, money, and effort to build and manage it when it’s much better to just spend these resources on writing and making content.

Thankfully, I was able to get a refund for the web hosting plan I purchased (though the custom domain fee wasn’t included).

I decided to go all-in on Substack since it already has a social media feature. I don’t have to spend a fee to create a new account on Twitter/X and worry about how to drive traffic to my blog and newsletter from an external site.

Maybe I’ll create on other platforms in the future too, but for now, I’m starting small and focusing only on Substack.

The Lessons I’ve Learned

You can never have it all figured out.

I spent hundreds of hours researching how to become a content creator thinking that by doing so, I could have it all figured out and avoid “beginner mistakes.” I procrastinated for so long because I was waiting to have the perfect plan.

Once I actually started my journey, I was redirected to a completely different path I never even knew existed, and it turned out to be so much better compared to the plan I had in mind.

Follow your energy, not guru advice.

If I strictly followed guru advice, I think one of two things would have happened:

1. I’d force myself to “just get over my fear of the camera” and forever procrastinate on making YouTube videos, or

2. I’d force myself to create on Twitter/X or other writing platforms that I don’t even use.

Just imagining it drains my energy already and I’m guessing that I’d just end up quitting early or not starting at all.

So instead, I decided to follow my energy. I tried creating my own website and newsletter even if that went against “common sense” or “expert advice” because it felt right with me—it aligned with who I am and what I value.

Sure, I realized that creating my own website was indeed not the ideal path, but it was thanks to that decision that I stumbled upon Substack.

I don’t consider it a mistake but a redirection.

Gurus tell us all the time to follow their advice so we can “avoid mistakes” but I bet they wouldn’t be where they are now if it weren’t for those mistakes they’ve made in the first place.

Mistakes are great learning opportunities—stop trying to avoid them.
It only leads to fear, overthinking, and inaction.

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."
— George Bernard Shaw

Start where you are with what you have.

Going outside of our comfort zone doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to force ourselves to do extremely hard things.

Your goal is not to go from 0 to 100, but to just go from 0 to 1.
Don’t underestimate that.

Going from 0 to 1 is already a huge leap—one that most people never even take because they’re so afraid of failing that they just never even try in the first place.

They don’t realize that the only real failure is never trying, never starting, and never making mistakes.

If you can take the tiniest step from 0 to 1, you’re already ahead of the vast majority of people who never take action.

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”
— Jimmy Johnson

The key is to start where you are with what you already have.

I didn’t start my content creation journey by making videos. I’m not yet comfortable going in front of the camera, I have limited video editing skills, and I don’t have the money to outsource that work.

What I do have is my love for writing and the years I’ve spent journaling and reflecting on my experiences in life.

I decided to take just one extra step of publishing my writing online.

Who would’ve thought that my amateur writing would resonate with others?

When I started out, I had zero expectations—I was preparing myself to face crickets. I had no problem with that because aside from me, nobody sees my notes and journal entries anyway. What difference would it make if I hit publish and nobody reads my work?

But it turns out, it did make a difference because I didn’t keep these lessons to myself—I shared them with others.

The amazing part was not simply getting subscribers...

I found a community.
I found new friends.
I found a home on the internet.

I hope that by sharing my story, you can also find the courage to embark on your own journey and pursue your dreams 💖

And always remember that it’s not about the metrics or society’s definition of “success”—it’s about living a life that is aligned with our values and spending our time and energy on what truly matters to us 😊

— Alea

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P.S. I’ve been wanting to try something new in my newsletter which is to curate some of my favorite content! I think you’ll find lots of value in them and I also want to support my fellow creators 🥰✨

I’m calling it my “Cabinet of Curiosities”—a collection of books, videos, and newsletters that have provided me value 💖

I hope you can also be inspired by them!

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✨ Alea’s Cabinet of Curiosities

📚 Books

• The Laws of Human Nature — Robert Greene
  (Thanks to

  Maïssane Benaim
  for the recommendation!)

• The War of Art — Steven Pressfield

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📬 Email Newsletters

• The Best Ideas of 2024 — The Curiosity Chronicle by Sahil Bloom

• The Right Grip — Brain Food by Shane Parrish

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▶️ Videos / Podcasts

• How James Clear Turns New Year's Resolutions Into Lasting Habits — Daily Stoic

• The Business Expert: The BEST Way To Make Millions (Sell THIS!) ft. Myron Golden | #TheDept Ep. 39 — Omar Eltakrori

• Guide To Personal Brand—Be Unapologetically You — The Futur

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✒️ Substack Reads

Challenging Conversations and Finding a New Approach

Reflections

how quitting my 9-5 lit a fire under my arse

Why Problems Make Life Meaningful

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Thank you so much for reading!
Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas! 🎄✨

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If my newsletter has brought you value and you’d like to support me, you can treat me to a coffee here~ (a Christmas present, maybe? 🎅🏼) It’s much appreciated but not required 🤍 Your presence is already a huge blessing! 💖