Ask me a question! (October edition)
Hey there! This is my regular Q&A feature that allows readers to ask me questions that I can answer in a future newsletter. Last month I managed to devote several newsletters to answering some really good reader questions, and so I’m excited to keep this going.
So if you’re reading this right now, consider this a personal invitation: ask me a question. Obviously, I’m most knowledgeable on media industry stuff, but I’m also happy to field questions on other topics as well.
Here’s the thread where you can ask your question :
Thanks!
What makes a question good for my newsletter?
Two things:
1. Don't ask a question about Substack: I over index on Substack-related questions. Instead, maybe consider broadening your question so it's more about the larger newsletter ecosystem.
2. Don't ask hyper specific questions: I get a lot of people who ask questions about their very specific situations. That doesn't translate well for my newsletter audience. Remember, I'm answering these questions for 7000+ subscribers who work in the media and Creator Economy. Consider asking something about broader trends within those industries.
WHAT MAKES A QUESTION GOOD FOR MY NEWSLETTER?
Two things:
1. Don't ask a question about Substack: I over-index on Substack questions. Instead, maybe consider broadening your question so it's more about the larger newsletter ecosystem.
2. Don't ask hyper specific questions: I get a lot of people who ask questions about their very specific situations. That doesn't translate well for my newsletter audience. Remember, I'm answering these questions for 7000+ subscribers who work in the media and Creator Economy. Consider asking something about broader trends within those industries.
Hi Simon. I'm a relatively new subscriber to your newsletter, so my apologies if you've answered these before! (I intend to spend some time digging through your Substack archive - along with several other newsletters - but haven't yet managed to find a chunk of time to do this without other things popping up that need to take priority.)
1. Obviously, the key to growing your audience on a platform like Substack is consistency - in an answer to another comment on this post you say posting every week for at least 50 weeks is an important part of getting started. But if posting every week is a given, how important is it to post on the same day and the same time every week? And if that is important, how do you work out which day and which time to publish?
2. If you're a writer/single person (rather than a big media organisation) putting out consistent weekly newsletter content, are there disadvantages to scheduling content in advance? I.e. sitting down at the start of the month and writing four newsletters to go out over the next four weeks? How important is it - especially for newsletters trying to grow their audience - for topics to be relevant the current conversations happening that week and maybe offer commentary on current hot topics?