The most common thing we hear from aspiring writers is, ‘I want people to read what I have to say.’

The truth is, it’s easy to get your words published and have some engaging content of yours out into the world in a few minutes. It might just look a little different from what you’ve imagined.

How? Start a newsletter for free.

In this post, we’ll show you how to hit publish on your writing by starting a free newsletter on Substack and we’ll talk through three powerful reasons for how it can help you grow as a writer.

You write because you want to share your stories with the world

But it can be quite difficult to press the button and to release your words and let them fly. We know it takes courage, but without hitting publish, so many doors will remain forever closed. We talked about this on our podcast recently in an interview with Fiona Thomas. It was a key step Fiona listed to help you earn money as a freelance writer.

A simple way for you as a writer to do this is by producing a free newsletter on Substack. Other newsletter platforms are out there, but in this post, we’re talking about Substack. If you want to learn how to hit the publish button more often, but you’re struggling to find some content to start with, then this blog post will help you.

Why Write A Regular Newsletter?

The reason for you to write a newsletter is to have new content available, connect with and build an audience that enjoys your work, and above all, get your writing read across the world. Building regular readers of your words, can open doors for your writing. But what can you write about in your newsletter?

The adage says, ‘Write what you know.’

We’d like to change that and say, ‘Write what you enjoy.’

Find Your Niche

What’s important with a newsletter is for you to write what you enjoy, to write what you like, and what you are passionate about. You do this by finding your niche.

This is one of the most important things about your newsletter. Make sure that you write about things that you care about. Your newsletter will become very boring for you to write and an audience to read if you don’t write about anything you care deeply about.

When you write articles that are focused on your interests, you’ll find readers who share your passion. Writers who are passionate about their words are the most successful writers in the world.

What could you write about with passion? What are you interested in? What gets you excited? What could you write about time and time again?

Is there a particular television programme that you enjoy?
Is there a particular sport or team you follow?
Is there a certain food that you enjoy? Could you create recipes?
Are there kinds of memorabilia or collections that you like to study?
What about your dog or the breed of dog you love? Do you have a dog with a character? Could you write from their perspective?
Who are your favourite bands? What’s their history? Who are the musicians? What’s their story? Write a post about each song, and how it speaks to you. How it connects with your life.
Where do you live? Write about the town or city where you live. Write about the street, things to do, places to see.

The important and critical thing here to remember here is this: write from and into a niche! But this niche can include the fiction you’re writing and the things you love.

It doesn’t matter what the subject is, it doesn't matter whether you have a vast audience. The important thing is to regularly write about something you care about. Get your work out into the world by hitting publish on your newsletter.

How Often Should You Write Your Newsletter?

This varies on the time that you have available and also the market that you want to write into. Try fortnightly, weekly, or even daily. It will depend upon the time you have to write. The important thing is to focus on the quality of your writing, ensuring you can stick to a regular schedule.

What Does Writing A Newsletter Have To Do With Being An Author?

As writers, it can feel like writing our book is a monumental task. We squeeze writing around work and family life. Writing a newsletter can feel like something else to add to our list. However, there are some powerful ways it can help us on our author journey.

It Helps You Build Your Email Subscriber List

It is important for you to create an email list as an author because it helps your writing career to be successful. When you build an email list, you can send your books, blogs or articles to a ready audience. The best thing about an email list is that it helps you to interact with your readers and followers.

If you are serious about becoming a writer, consider building your email subscriber list as soon as possible. You’ll find that this will help you earn more money in the future. Start the newsletter, then grow your audience subscriber by subscriber.

2. You Grow As a Writer By Committing To Writing and Publishing Regularly

As a writer, the more you write, the better your writing gets. The more you publish, the greater the impact your writing can have. The most important thing is to keep at it and be persistent. There is no such thing as an ‘overnight success’. Persistence and consistency are important. Setting targets, deadlines and a regular commitment to your audience it is one of the best things you can do to develop the tool of writing.

3. You Build An Online Portfolio of Your Writing

Your online portfolio is a great way to display your work, and a newsletter can act as a portfolio of your work. It helps you to get noticed. It helps you to create connections with other professionals, and it shows potential clients how good your writing is. It helps you to show off your skills. All of this is important if you want to establish yourself as a writer.

Why Should You Consider Using Substack As A Platform For Your Newsletter?

Reason number one - it’s free!

Substack is a simple and easy-to-use writing space. You can either copy and paste in your words or write directly into Substack. The simplicity of the web portal allows you to produce a newsletter within minutes. You have the facility of easily inserting images, creating links and sharing the newsletter on social media.

But it’s so much more.

You can turn your writing into a podcast simply. This has multiple benefits. You make the maximum use of the content you write by sharing it in different forms.

Also, there is the opportunity to expand your writing and turn your newsletter into a paid subscription. Do a quick search on the Internet and you discover that many people have created very profitable businesses from newsletter subscriptions.

Writing a newsletter is a great way to practise publishing your writing frequently, promote your online portfolio, and build your email subscriber list.

Writing a newsletter isn’t a one-time thing. It takes time and effort to grow your newsletter, so don’t give up if you don’t see immediate results.

Hit the publish button! We know you may fear putting your work into the world, but take courage and begin.