How I Grew My Newsletter to Bestseller Status with Smart Promotions and Audacious Publishing
Lessons learned from a year of growth, building trust and designing promotions that actually work
When I hit Substack bestseller status on July 13, 2024, it was a huge milestone: 100 paid readers.
It had taken me about a year of consistent publishing to get there, and since then, I’ve been adding about 20 new paid readers every month — growth that I’m proud to say has been intentional, not accidental.
This essay is a behind-the-scenes look at the strategies that fueled that growth, especially my approach to structuring my newsletter and using time-limited special offers to create momentum. Below the paywall, you’ll find:
A breakdown of the most successful promotions I ran this year — and what made them work.
The key changes I made to my newsletter strategy, from nurturing readers more intentionally to building trust through consistency and value.
The role my archive played in making promotional offers valuable.
Insights into how I’ll adjust my pricing and promotional cadence as I prepare for 2025.
And while this essay dives into the power of promotions, I have no doubt that hitting bestseller status happened because of something even more fundamental: consistent, intentional, audacious publishing and relationship nurturing.
I took a huge risk with my time and energy, designing a first-ever Substack Reader survey, which I talk about below the paywall — the time it took, the promotional energy and the last-minute boost that got me across the finish line.
Along with this, I had stopped tossing readers into my archive and hoping for the best — I was building a relationship, nurturing trust and showing them the value of sticking around.
If you’re building your own newsletter and wondering how promotions can fit into your growth strategy, this piece is for you.
Promotions and Building Seasons
In June, I realized I was officially in a building season. The focus wasn’t just on publishing consistently anymore — it was about scaling what I offer to build a one-stop, centralized hub, now called the Newsletter Launch Pad. I recently redesigned it to include free, paid and premium resources built around six core newsletter skills I think every creator should learn and grow inside. Knowing I had this strong foundation gave me the confidence to experiment with promotions in ways I hadn’t before.