Be Useful First
Writers understandably want to announce their work. A new book, a new newsletter, a course — the instinct is to tell people immediately. But readers who've never heard of you have no reason to care yet. You haven't earned that moment.
The writers who build real audiences do something simpler and slower: they show up consistently and give something away. A sharp observation. A useful explainer. An honest account of how something works. They do this before any launch, before any ask, sometimes for months. By the time they have something to sell, a portion of their readers already feel the quiet pull of reciprocity — not because they were manipulated into it, but because they've genuinely received value and remember who gave it.
This isn't a funnel strategy dressed up in softer language. It's just how trust works between people. Think about the writers whose books you've pre-ordered. Chances are you'd been reading them for a while. You already knew their voice, their angle, the particular way they saw things. The sale was almost incidental — a chance to get more of something you'd already decided you liked.
On platforms like Substack or Ghost, the mechanics favour exactly this. A newsletter reader who's opened your last ten emails is a warmer audience than a thousand followers who followed you on a whim. Depth beats width. Growing a readership without losing your mind means accepting that this process takes time and trusting that it compounds.
The practical move is embarrassingly straightforward: before your next launch, ask yourself what you can give. An essay, a chapter, a resource, a genuine recommendation. Make it good. Make it free. Show up for the reader you want, before you ask them to show up for you.