Hip hip hooray!
We are two days away from my 3-monthiversary here on Substack, so I thought this would be a great time for an update. What a ride it’s been!
If you’ve no interest in Substack as a platform, and are only here for the usual whimsy, then please just scroll to the end and cast your vote in the ’10 vs Arthur’ poll, I won’t take up any more of your time, thanks in advance… unless you’d vote for Arthur in which case, why not pop off now, there’s nothing more for you here. I shall see you on Sunday when normal service will be resumed.
Back to those six figures on Substack
We all love peeking under the hood and having a good nosey at everyone else’s Substack growth, so here are my favourite 6 figures1 to share with you, after my first three months, since launching Off on a Tangent with Kate Darracott:
67 = all subscribers
15 = paid subscribers
57% = email open rate
23 = posts published
179 = top number of views for one post (Secret Satan)
16 = most likes on a post (Secret Satan)
Note 1: Yep, I know, but as soon as I thought of doing it, I couldn’t resist it… which has been my downfall on many occasions. Not least of which, was at my Dad’s funeral, when I made a joke (which fell flat) just before my poetry reading… I’ve never lost a room so fast.
The journey
Despite not being able to move on Substack without bumping into a ‘How I reached 500 subs in less than 10 minutes’ type of post, I’m actually pretty pleased with how it’s going, given it was from a standing start.
No social media, no imported list (as yet), and given my Mum’s knitting circle is only village-based, I think I’ve done pretty well.
Significant events in the journey:
Nov 9: First subscriber who I’ve never met in real life!
! (We bonded over ‘still not being grown-up enough to wear white trousers’, in the comments section of one of her posts.)
Thank you so much9 Dec to 9 Jan: Christmas break followed by a holiday.
My twice weekly posting schedule (Thurs & Sun) went a bit South from this point and I haemorrhaged my pre-written Post reserves trying to keep up with it. Team that with not doing any engagement on the platform itself and it was tumbleweed.9-13 Jan: Nurse the screens!!! My graph has flatlined!!!
I mounted a panicked surge of activity on Notes and Comments to try and rectify the situation, and it worked! Netting another eight subscribers to get me back in the game! Phew!14-17 Jan: Blimey O’Reilly! No reserve posts left!
I’d better focus on the writing again, only Kenneth Branagh & Tina Fey can save me now!19 Jan onwards: with a burst of New Year optimism I decided to make it a new Micro Goal to try and get one new subscriber every day! Steady, achievable, and great to see growth (however small) every day. So far so good.
In fact what I’m finding is, the more I interact with other writers on the platform, the easier I’m finding it. Whereas at the start, I would over-analyse every single comment I was about to make, and very often not make one at all. I now just dash them out whenever a post resonates with me, apologies for any typos!
I’m also getting better at ‘finding my tribe’ on Substack and have discovered some absolute corkers that really make me laugh. Hats off to:
The LucyVerse, Terrible at Titles and All Grown Up, keep ‘em coming! Great to have some tortilla and chickpea chat with some likeminded souls.Output is better than perfection
The beauty of online publishing is that you can always pop back and edit if you spot something awry or just want to update an older post, it doesn’t have to be perfect, which I know is something we all stress about in the early days.
This rule has taken me a long time to learn, particularly after so many years producing artwork for print, where it really does matter that a signed-off proof is perfect, otherwise someone’s head will roll and hopefully it won’t be yours!
Follow the crowd
This month I have also signed-up with Substack Pro’s
and who both run online writing groups to build community and educate on Substack.I’ve attended a Zoom work group with each so far, and although I do find it a little odd when everyone just journals together in stony silence (whilst staring boot-faced at their screens), I’m sure I’ll get used to it. I have already gained connections and learned new things in each. Thank you so much!
Finding my voice
My intention with this was always to have a slow start, as I work out the platform and find my voice. After many years of writing in the voice of a brand, rather than my own, it’s quite difficult to unlearn all that restraint, and risk a thumpingly unkempt strapline like “Just buy one FFS!!!”… but I’m getting there, one shoddily written piece of dialogue at a time.
Off on a tangent
Which reminds me of an early Dudley Moore film ‘Crazy People’ in which a bunch of psychiatric hospital patients are let loose on advertising campaigns, in a bid to cut the bullshit.
They came up with such classics as… “Volvo – they're boxy but good”. Aaah, the freedom of creative control!
And speaking of Dudley Moore2 this could be a perfect time to settle one of mine and Mr.D’s Long Running Disputes… please cast your votes:
I would vote for ’10’, and I suggest you do the same! Who can forget Dudley brilliantly falling down the hill after his dentist appointment, while the phone is ringing. Or Mrs Kissell swaying with that fully laden tea tray. Just hilarious!
Mr.D would vote for Arthur, as he can never resist a collection of painfully obvious one-liners, which I guess is why he married me.
I’m sure there will only be three votes anyway, and two of them will be mine!
Thank you muchly!
K8x
PS: I’m not sure if the Poll voting (not to be confused with Pole vaulting) is only available in the App, and not email:
PPS: If you’ve only just joined us and aren’t sure who I am or why I’m here, here’s a quick introduction:
Yep, I know, but as soon as I thought of doing it, I couldn’t resist it… which has been my downfall on many occasions. Not least of which, was at my Dad’s funeral, when I made a joke (which fell flat) just before my poetry reading… I’ve never lost a room so fast.
Love this Kate. I'm too scared to do paid subs yet, I keep saying when I get to 100 I will, but Im at 77 now (all hard earned) and equally terrified to do it as I was at the very start! Thanks for your candour.
Well done, Kate. You're doing great. I laughed when I read the ‘How I reached 500 subs in less than 10 minutes’ type of posts - I know exactly what you mean. They're so disheartening but you have to ignore them. Well. I've learned to anyway for my own sanity.