Substack Mastery Book: Chapter 7
How to Increase Paid Subscribers Case Study #1: Social media is good for promoting Substack, but nothing can beat LinkedIn in converting free subscribers to paid ones based on my experience
Non-members can read this chapter for free here. I also offer it for Medium beta readers. Thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing, and I hope many will benefit from this educational and inspirational book. If you want educational content from me, please subscribe; if not, please unsubscribe. I only provide valuable content to interested readers. The number of subscribers does not matter to me.
Dear beta readers,
I trust this story finds you well. Thank you for your valuable feedback on previous chapters, which is helping refine this book and enhance it as a valuable resource for fellow writers. I have covered six critical aspects that have helped many readers jumpstart their Substack journey. Receiving gratitude messages daily warms my heart and inspires me to make this book a valuable knowledge source for the community.
As I mentioned in the purpose of this new book, I am not here to tell you what to do and how you do it. Instead, I will share what has worked for me and what some successful people have done. I hope that you can draw inspiration from these examples to craft a strategy that aligns with your own goals, needs, and aspirations.
What follows is a summary of how I approach growing my audience, meeting their needs, and maintaining a sustainable writing business. We are all unique, and what works for me may not work for everyone. However, certain principles and values can be thoughtfully adapted to fit many different situations.
Please remember to leave feedback on this post if possible, as the purpose of sharing this book on this platform is to refine the final version of the book to make it a valuable knowledge source.
As I shared in a previous post, this book has already hit the top 100 bestseller list in multiple categories in various Amazon marketplaces. Thank you, my loyal readers, for making this book a success and a valuable knowledge source for the community.
How My Unpublished Book Hit the Best Seller Rank in Global Marketing Topic in 5 Days
The power of networking, generosity, abundance mentality, and a mailing list to reach a broad audience and build a…medium.com
Welcome to Chapter 7 of Substack Mastery for Beta Readers💡
Chapter 7: How to Increase Paid Subscribers #1 Case Study: Social media is good for promoting Substack, but nothing can beat LinkedIn in converting free subscribers to paid ones based on my experience
Links to Previous Chapters of Substack Mastery Book
Preface of “Substack Mastery” for Beta Readers
Substack Mastery Book: Chapter 1
Substack Mastery Book: Chapter 2
Substack Mastery Book: Chapter 3
Substack Mastery Book: Chapter 4
LinkedIn Is Goldmine for Substack Creators
I have been using social media tools since their inception, leveraging my background as a designer of social systems in technology and enterprise architecture roles years ago. Social media is a double-edged sword — when used correctly, it can bring tremendous benefits, but when misused, it can lead to serious health issues.
In my writing journey, I have used social media to create visibility for my content, including articles and books. One of the most intriguing aspects has been experimenting with various social media platforms to market my Substack newsletters and posts. I started with LinkedIn, Quora, X Premium, Facebook, and Reddit.
However, it didn’t take long to realize that while these platforms are great for visibility, LinkedIn stands out as the most effective for converting free subscribers into paid ones. This insight comes not only from my own experience but also from anecdotes shared by my collaborators.
While I plan to cover social media tools comprehensively in a future chapter, today, I want to focus on LinkedIn's key strengths, supported by practical examples.
What I’m offering to beta readers is not exactly how the book is structured but rather an adaptive approach. To ensure it is useful to a broad audience, I have rearranged the sequence of chapters and tailored the content to highlight the most effective tools based on readers’ needs.
Why I Consider LinkedIn as a Powerful Conversion Tool
On LinkedIn, professionals connect, learn, and invest in personal growth. The platform’s focus on business thought leadership and professional development means the audience is already primed for high-quality content. They seek value, expertise, and insights to help them in their careers or businesses.
I have relatively more followers on LinkedIn than on other social media platforms. A few months ago, when I introduced my newsletters and shared my Substack posts on LinkedIn, I noticed something remarkable—80% of my paid subscribers came from LinkedIn. You may wonder why.
LinkedIn users see the value in investing in content that delivers actionable insights and in-depth analysis from trusted content developers. They are cautious about their time, understand the worth of quality information, and are willing to pay for getting the optimal value.
LinkedIn’s algorithm is designed to boost content that engages and educates. My posts reached a relevant audience, leading to meaningful interactions, discussions, and, ultimately, conversions.
The credibility I have built over years of sharing knowledge on LinkedIn on my expertise areas directly translated into trust, making it easier to convert readers into paying subscribers for my three newsletters covering technology, content strategy, and health/wellbeing matters.
While other social media platforms play their role in building awareness, LinkedIn’s professional environment and the intent-driven nature of its users make it unparalleled for driving paid subscriptions.
If you are serious about growing your Substack and converting subscribers to paid ones, you might focus your efforts on LinkedIn. It is a platform where content meets commitment, and that’s a winning combination for anyone looking to turn readers into paying members.
What I Did Differently on LinkedIn
LinkedIn offers many remarkable features that make it easy for professionals to showcase their work and create visibility for their content.
One of the most impactful features for me has been the ability to add my Substack newsletter to my experience section. This simple yet powerful addition allows me to present my newsletters to my followers, subscribers, and anyone visiting my profile.
As shown in the screen capture below, I have added Substack as my self-employment company and linked it to my three newsletters, each with its respective start date and a brief explanation. This approach has been instrumental in reaching a wider audience and converting free subscribers into paid ones.
The Power of LinkedIn Newsletters
As a great content dissemination platform, LinkedIn also offers a free newsletter service where creators share their articles directly with their subscribers. Recently, I created a free newsletter and started sharing my articles and curated collections regularly.
In a short time, the newsletter gained over 3000 subscribers who got my posts in their inboxes. New visitors can also see them in article format on the site and can subscribe to it. When subscribers share the posts, it makes a ripple effect as the more sharing and engagement a post gets the more it is amplified by the platform.
Here is how my newsletter looks on my LinkedIn profile.
The only problem with LinkedIn newsletters is we cannot change names, or it is not recommended by Linked as they think that it would confuse the subscribers and they might unsubscribe. So, I followed their advice and kept the original name as I couldn’t create a new newsletter with a name. My intention was to call it Substack Mastery, which is the name of my book.
The Power of LinkedIn Collaboration Groups
Another fantastic option I discovered on LinkedIn as a supplementary resource for my newsletter is LinkedIn Groups. This powerful feature adds a more interactive and collaborative dimension to the platform.
Two weeks ago, I created a group and invited about 2,000 connections out of my 25,262 followers. Remarkably, over 1,700 have already joined, eager to share their work and engage with the Substack newsletters of other writers.
Although I only launched the group a few weeks ago, it’s been growing rapidly as more Substack writers are drawn to this community activity.
Linked it provided me a snapshot of job titles who joined my group. As you can see, some of them are writers, editors, publishers, company founders, and CEOs. They are all professionals compared to X or Facebook.
How to Post to LinkedIn Groups
First, you need to join the group. Some groups are private, so some diligence and approval are required. However, I made my group public so anyone can join and network. Unlike Twitter or Facebook, I have never had any issues on LinkedIn, so my trust is high on this platform to open my group to the public.
Once you join the group, all you need is to copy and paste the link of your story or Substack newsletter with a brief note in a message box on the top of the group, as shown below.
As you can see from the message box, you can do three things. You can link your article or newsletter, which LinkedIn can embed as a great-looking post. You can add media like photos, videos, or podcasts. You can also create a poll, as I will show below.
Here is a sample post I shared in the Substack Mastery featuring an interview I conducted with
.If you missed the interview on this platform, here is the link. This is a community-building activity as Veronica shared her strategy and approach to converting her free subscribers to paid ones. She earned $10,000 last month, as I linked the artifact in the interview story.
Interview with Veronica Llorca-Smith
Professional Speaker, Award-Winning Author, Bestselling Substack Creator, Ironman Triathlete, Polyglot (6 Languages)…medium.com
How to Create Media-Enriched Posts to Get More Impressions
Here is a media example for a LinkedIn post. I added the cover of my book with relevant links to it. You can add photos and videos via the media option. From my experience, any post with media is better distributed by the LinkedIn algorithm. They perform much better than simple link embeds. So please take advantage of this excellent feature to reach a broader audience by getting more impressions that can lead to conversions.
Creating Pools to Learn from Collaborators
In the previous survey, 12% of writers prefer Medium as their sole platform, 42% lean toward Substack, but the good news is that 46%, like me, prefer using both platforms.
Inspiring and Uplifting Your Teammates
You can also post inspirational messages for your friends and colleagues as
kindly do it for me. These types of easy-to-create posts can create serendipity while uplifting your friends, colleagues, and collaborators on LinkedIn. You can also amplify them on their social media platforms like X, Facebook, Quora, Reddit, or Instagram. You can even share them on Substack Notes by linking newsletters of your favorite writers.Conclusions and Key Takeaways
There are so many features of LinkedIn that will go beyond the scope of this chapter. So I suggest you start exploring all those features. One of our inspiring writers,
, articulated the value of LinkedIn for creators, and he even created a training program about it as it is a very effective platform with a proven track record.Tim made a significant impact on Substack, like Veronica being a best-selling Substack author. Therefore, I interviewed Tim again to pick his great brain and give my readers insights into his amazing experience. Here is the link to his inspiring and empowering interview which he shared his experience generously.
Why Did I Interview My Aussie Friend Tim Denning Again on Medium & Substack?
This highly followed writer, known for his viral content on Medium, is now getting 50 times more views on Substack…medium.com
You can find many more inspiring interviews like Tim’s in the below collection.
Interviews with Writers on Medium
Featuring inspiring writers of ILLUMINATIONmedium.com
I will write a more comprehensive story about other features of LinkedIn that I use for personal and professional growth. I see it as a serendipity machine any creator can use and benefit from. It is free and well-moderated.
LinkedIn Is Goldmine for Substack Creators! Social media is good for promoting Substack, but nothing easier can beat LinkedIn in converting free subscribers to paid ones. The next good one is YouTube which is a bit harder than LinkedIn.
To this end, our hardworking and brilliant team has now created a Substack YouTube channel to leverage the power of videos, audio, storytelling, and blogging. Our media coordinator Aiden (Owner of Illumination Gaming) will be leading this initiative. He created a short video with some descriptions of the services we will provide. Join our exciting journey to reap the benefits of community spirit.
Here’s Aiden’s introduction to this service in a recent story.
How to Use the ILLUMINATION Substack Mastery YouTube Channel to Grow Your Audience
Practical tips for uploading your videos to our community channel as writers on Medium, Substack, and other platformsmedium.com
Here’s How I Sold 1,000+ Books in a Month with Minimal Investment First Time.
Practical and unique marketing techniques for creative freelancers leading to profitable sales with concrete examplesmedium.com
Many thanks to beta readers who started leaving honest feedback on this evolving book on Goodreads today. If you enjoy and benefit from this book, I’d appreciate leaving an honest feedback on Goodread as the Amazon version is not ready for reviews yet.
Substack Mastery: Insider Secrets from a Content Strate…
Read 3 reviews from the world’s largest community for readers. Why I Wrote This BookWelcome to a journey that could…www.goodreads.com
Related to this story, you may also check out my monthly progress on eight different platforms in August 2024 as a content developer and marketer, which might surprise you.
An In-Depth Performance Review of 8 Major Platforms I Contributed to This Month: Key Insights and…
Discover an independent and comprehensive analysis of my contributions and performance across multiple platforms…medium.com
Community Building on Substack Bridging with Other Platforms
Integrating Substack with Medium is a wonderful idea. To this end, as a community builder, I created a philanthropic organization that will empower creators, freelance writers, and content entrepreneurs with a commercial arm. I documented the strategy and high-level plan in a story. Please feel free to ask questions and provide feedback. Refraining from perfection, I choose a progressive path.
How I Architected a Charity Organization & Why I Will Run It Like a Business
Outline of my draft plan for creators, freelancers, and entrepreneurs empowered by the Substack networkmedium.com
Here are our draft service definitions for creators, freelance writers, and content entrepreneurs. We will explain the details in our upcoming newsletter.
ILLUMINATION Substack Community Support — Dr Mehmet Yildiz
This is a summary of 3-tier service offerings for creators, freelance writers, and content entrepreneurs on Substack…digitalmehmet.com
Good News for Those Who Can’t Use Stripe on Substack
I heard that many writers cannot use Stripe due to restrictions and even suspensions. Thus, I have good news for those who cannot monetize their content on Substack due to Stripe issues.
produced a viable solution and documented it clearly in an e-book available on Gumroads. I shared the link to her intellectual property. Please share this story with those affected by the problem. There is a viable solution. My book will include the details.If Substack Does Not Support Your Country via Stripe, There Is an Alternative Monetization…
I interviewed a freelance writer who solved this difficult problem as a workaround with rigor, successfully implemented…medium.com
If you want to purchase the book at a reasonable price or gift it to someone you care about, you may preorder it via various Amazon markets. If the editing process is complete on time, I can get it published faster.
The funds generated from this book will be donated to the management of the Substack Mastery site for the ILLUMINATION community. This education site also amplifies the newsletters of freelance writers.
If you are a writer on Medium and Substack, we have a new publication called Substack Mastery. You are welcome to join and share your Substack experience with your fellow writers and discerning readers. ILLUMINATION-Curators curate, feature, and promote newsletters of our contributors in collections like this one. Being part of a community can bring many benefits, such as a fast-growing audience.
For advanced writers, we also have a publication called Curated Newsletters, which replaced the former ILLUMINATION-Curated. As I resigned from the boost program, I now allocate more time to support writers in extending their services to Substack or other platforms.
Substack Mastery: Insider Secrets from a Content Strategist & Seasoned Author: Learn the Basics…
Substack Mastery: Insider Secrets from a Content Strategist & Seasoned Author: Learn the Basics, Stay Motivated, Grow…www.amazon.com
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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I publish my health and wellness stories on EUPHORIA and share distilled versions on SUBSTACK. My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
If you are a writer, you are welcome to join my publications by sending a request via this link. I support 31K writers who contribute to my publications on this platform. You can contact me via my website. I also have another profile to write and curate tech stories. Friend Links to My Sample Boosted Stories for Non-Members of Medium.
You can read the distilled version of this story on Substack for free.
You are welcome to join the ILLUMINATION Community on Medium and Substack and our education tool, Substack Mastery, curated by ILLUMINATION-Curators. Here is the Importance and Value of Medium Friendship for Writers and Readers
Join me on Substack, where I offer experience-based content on health, content strategy, and technology topics to inform and inspire my readers.
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This chapters was educational and inspiring for me. I also like LinkedIn but was not very active there. Your stories encouraged me to put more time and energy to that platform. My goal is to combine LinkedIn with YouTube to increase my subscribers and conversion rate to paid members.
It is clear that you get more out of LinkedIn than I do, so I will have to reconsider... Thanks for the info. Helpful as always.