I Studied 100+ Substack Posts. Here's The #1 Mistake Killing Your Newsletter

And an easy fix how you can save it

Credit - Midjourney

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Struggling to grow on Substack?

Derek Hughes

added 2,000 subscribers in 7 months—his Notes played a big part. Now, he’s broken down his 14 best-performing Notes into simple, plug-and-play templates.

If you want your Notes to stand out. I recommend you grab his free Notes Playbook here.

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Here's The #1 Mistake Killing Your Newsletter

I often look at my newsletter posts and wonder why does some of my best writing literally get 0 engagement and some of my worst writing gets flooded with interaction.

Does that sound like you?

Well, then I’ve got something for you today that might hint at why your best newsletters may forever be left for the crickets 🦗.

I looked at over 100 Substack posts that performed well and the ones that did not, analyzed the data, and came up with 1 big change that everyone should do.

Here's what everyone misses... The best newsletters aren’t just filled with lots of value, they grab your attention with clever design.

It turns out that when you nail the design of your newsletter, readers get more engaged and are more likely to share, even if the words themselves don’t change much.

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If you’re looking to get paid for your words, here are some posts to help you achieve that:

Weekly Resource List:

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How to Design Your Newsletter

One major thing I see people not paying attention to is to make articles easy for the eyes.

If an article begins with a block of texts, I’m already dropping out without having even started.

Our attention spans are decreasing. Don’t expect people to read through your entire post. Prepare for skim reading, which is what our brains are more accustomed to nowadays.

Prepare your articles in that style so that people can get the main information quickly.

The biggest tip I have comes from Nicolas Cole who suggests following the 1-3-1 method. It’s basically like this

• 1: one sentence to get people interested in the topic

• 3: a paragraph of 3 lines with the main insides

• 1: one strong sentence containing your main lesson.

Let me give you an example:

1: By using the 1-3-1 system, readers effortlessly slip into a comfortable reading flow.

3: That's because you make it easy for them to navigate your writing without having to focus too hard. This method provides a clear structure for your sentences. This middle part is used as an explanation or descriptive part.

1: Your words have power. Use design elements to emphasize what you want to say.

Try it out. You’d be surprised how different your flow will be.

Additionally, breaking things up into sections with titles and subtitles helps organize your content.

Sometimes, it makes sense to use bullet points which are easy on the eye. Always think about your reader and how you can make their lives easier while reading through your writing.

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➡️ Check out my products that helped over 5,000 Substack writers make their first $1,000 with their newsletter:

• Grow Your Substack Course

• 11 Substack Key Lessons

• Notes That Pay Guide

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