12 Common Mistakes with 40+ Practical Solutions in a Comprehensive Checklist

Newsletter Success: A supplementary chapter for the next version of Substack Mastery for Beta Readers

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I published this article for my followers and subscribers on Medium. This post will be long for an email, so you may need to read it on your browser to benefit from it.

This 18-minute audio podcast is an interactive and educational podcast about this special chapter of the upcoming version of Substack Mastery.

Image designed by the author

Why I Wrote This Supplementary Chapter for Substack Mastery

Thousands of freelance writers read Substack Mastery, and hundreds gratefully provided generous feedback during and after its publication, making it a best seller in its category. Discerning readers provide constant feedback to help me release the next version in a few months.

One of the prominent requests is to add a chapter about common mistakes clearly and provide a checklist to address them based on the current content of the book to make it more relatable and helpful to readers.

So, based on this valuable feedback, I decided to write this chapter because I know how challenging freelance writing can be, especially when you are trying to grow beyond platforms like Substack and want your newsletters to reach a broader audience using different mailing platforms such as Beehiive, Convertkit, Ghost, or others.

Over the years, I have worked with freelance writers at different stages, like those just starting, those trying to build momentum, and those looking to turn their writing into something sustainable.

I have seen how small mistakes can make the journey harder. I wanted to raise awareness by creating something simple and practical to help in the next version of Substack Mastery reflected on my Content Marketing Strategy Insights.

This practical checklist reflects what I have learned through decades of experience as a writer, editor, curator, educator, book author, and mentor. Fixing mistakes is critical, but our strategy and plan must go beyond avoiding pitfalls.

We need to add tools and processes to grow confidently, no matter where you are in your writing journey. Therefore, I will add another similar chapter with detailed best practices.

If you aim to connect with more readers, create reliable income from freelance writing, or leave a meaningful legacy behind, these principles addressing mistakes and adhering to best practices will guide you. I designed these supplementary chapters to be helpful and flexible.

You can use this checklist as a roadmap for your strategy and plan to stay on track, refine your focus, and discover new opportunities. My goal is to make it feel like I am right here with you, sharing what I know in a way that feels relatable, helpful, useful, and inspiring to you.

Writing is a deeply personal and rewarding craft, but figuring out what works best is not always easy. I wrote this chapter to save you time, help you avoid everyday struggles, and give you the clarity and confidence to take your next steps.

My next 12-month goal is to make readers of Substack Mastery and the A Powerful Toolkit for Advanced Substack Newsletter Mastery a master on this platform and become a newsletter ninja with the support of my publications like Magnetic Newsletter Pro, Curated Newsletters, and SYNERGY (Newsletter Booster) and other ILLUMINATION publications supported by around 35,000 writers and 200,000+ readers on Medium and Substack.

As I articulated in mistake #4, I underpriced my content for four years, giving all my premium newsletters for free. So until June 2024, I earned ZERO dollars from Substack and did not even turn on monetizing my content, which was a big mistake until my mentors like Tim Denning told me to do it.

Consequently, Substack did not promote my newsletters. This might sound simple, but it is a huge mistake. Only after turning on monetization and giving 20% paid and 80% free have I gained over 25K new subscribers since July 2024. I lost 40% of my paid subscribers in early December, but I gained 10% growth, which delighted me. Ups and downs are inevitable.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also don’t want to overcharge my loyal readers or potential customers. I don't charge my clients in any of my business clients unless I put 100% effort into it and offer substantial value exceeding the investment costs. I still provide 80% of my content as free to help my audience. Honesty and transparency build trust. And trust opens all doors no matter the circumstances.

But you may wonder why I put this post behind the paywall today. I did it as an example of what premium content means to freelance writers, as mentioned in #4 of this chapter. Let me explain transparently.

For example, writing and refining this book chapter with feedback from hundreds of beta readers took me at least 8 hours of effort. And my hourly ghostwriting price is a minimum of $100 for long-term customers.

So, this effort means that I offer an $800 value for my content with a potential $5 subscription, which needs at least 160 subscribers this month. However, as a realistic person with no expectations, I know it is not feasible. However, it is an intangible investment for the future because the more I give, the more I receive in the long run.

This brings me to an offer for my subscribers. As a New Year present, I decided that any new subscribers to my Content Marketing Insights will be automatically updated to my Founding Member tier, Tier 3 of Substack Mastery Boost Program Pilot, which will be in production in January 2026, aiming to serve thousands of freelance writers as a low-cost education and marketing support. Currently, 137 founding members reap the benefits on a small scale as part of the pilot.

As I cannot support too many founding members in 2025, I will only give this special offer to current free subscribers until 31 December 2024. If you join as a basic member, please leave a message on this post, and you will find yourself in my customized Slack workspace channel supporting you for Medium, Substack, Patreon, and other platforms with my daily insights and promotions in my vast network.

Thank you for being my subcriber and part of my joyful and supportive network. My goal is to make you a master freelancer in 2025 if you are willing to do the work and be part of a supportive community. I allow my loyal free subscribers to unlock this post for free as a New Year’s gift.

As every reader is important to me, I will continue my free subscribers as part of Tier 1 of Substack Mastery and our new program, Friends of ILLUMINATION, which will coordinated by the team of Friends of ILLUMINATION Support.As most of my loyal readers know, on multiple platforms for decades, I don’t write for money but to help others. All my writing income goes to altruistic activities.

Now, let’s discuss the most common mistakes and potential solutions, as also articulated in the interactive audio. There are many more, but I did not want to overwhelm you in this post, so I only covered the most obvious ones, which can easily be fixed. I will cover details in the final version of this chapter in the next version of Substack Mastery, which will be released in February 2025.

Listen Now: Audio Version of Substack Mastery Available for Subscribers!

12 Common Mistakes with Viable Solutions in a Condensed Checklist

I allow my loyal free subscribers to unlock this post for free as a New Year’s gift.