Insane ideas about growing on Substack
I can't believe I get to beta read this book
Holy Crap, I've Been Using Substack All Wrong.
Alright, I'll admit it. I've been an idiot for the last 7 months.
There I was, typing away on Substack, thinking I was hot stuff. Boy, was I wrong. Dead wrong.
Dr Mehmet, the chief editor of one of the biggest publications on medium.com is about to drop this information-filled book about growing on Substack that’s already on Amazon’s top-seller list. I freaking met him on Substack. The same platform I've been fumbling around on like a drunk at a keyboard.
He is a kind and humble human being. Just the amount of meaningful content he produces each day is in itself a mark of a true maestro. He invited me to write for his medium publication which I immediately got excited for and applied(I’m now a writer for Illumination). Here's where it gets wild: He invited me to beta-read his book.
Let me tell you, this book is not just good. It's "holy crap, how did I not know any of this" good. It's "I've been living in the Stone Age" good.
Every page is a slap in the face, reminding me of all the opportunities I've been missing. Engagement strategies, Monetization, and Community-building, it has information about all you need to start and thrive on Substack. With every chapter I think to myself, I can’t believe I get to beta read this before it is released on Amazon!
And the worst part? All of this has been right under my nose. On the very platform, I've been using to post my half-baked thoughts.
But now: I'm not mad at myself for being naive. I'm excited. Excited to learn and produce amazing pieces of writing each day after learning from this new book.
Because now I know. Now I have the keys to mastery. I'm about to go on a rampage of growth and make up for my previous 7 months’ stupidity.
To Dr Mehmet: Thank you, you taught me a lot. :)
To my fellow Substack writers: If you wish to read Dr Mehmet’s book, released chapters are available on Illumination’s page on medium.com. If you are not a member of medium.com, it is also available on his website.
And to Substack: Sorry that I underestimated you.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a platform to conquer. :)
Hi Ana, thank you so much for this inspiring story, which touched my heart. I am glad Dr Broadly found it here, and he shared it with me on our editorial channel on Slack when I was writing an important story about blogging and offering free guest blogging services to our writers. I believe it would be a game changer, as I explained in Chapter 11 of the book with empirical evidence. I just completed the story and published it on Medium so I want to send my gratitude to you and share the story for interested readers here. I will also share it on Substack tomorrow. The free version is already on my website as I started my original content on my site and repurpose on Medium because Medium does not distribute these types of important stories for unknown reasons which I can guess but will not not waste my time as it is very disappointing and frustrating. They are shooting themselves in the foot metaphorically. I mentioned you in the story and linked your excellent review there. Thank you once more and I wish you the best in your writing journey. My Slack is unmanageable, but you can contact me on Notes, where I mentor my proteges. Dr Broadly, Aiden, Lawson Wallace, and Britni are my backups, so please feel free to contact them for related issues. I spend 90% of my time on Substack for compelling reasons, which I covered in a previous story. https://medium.com/illumination/why-my-wise-mentors-advised-me-80-substack-15-newsbreak-5-medium-for-my-writing-effort-e1bf33b4e4b7
G'day Ana! First of all, nice to meet you, and I'm pleased you've joined ILLUMINATION pubs, where I also serve as a volunteer editor and content curator. You know what? You're absolutely right about this book—it energized me like a bunny in my old age! Until I met Dr. Yildiz, I didn't even know what Substack was, and I was pretty upset with Medium for censoring my public health stories, as well as contributions from several medical doctors in my Health and Science section. I tried to express my feelings but Medium put me in distribution jail.
When I had lost hope, Dr. Yildiz reached out, and after a one-hour training session on the phone, he got me hooked on Substack. But it wasn’t until I started reading his entire book—since he wanted me to edit it—that everything truly clicked. I finished the whole book in three days and began applying its nuances. OMG, all my stats turned green! I even wrote an honest review of it on Medium and left a 5-star review on Goodreads. For those who don’t believe me, check out my story on Medium, which I'll link here. https://medium.com/p/0b34190e83aa
Thank you for introducing this book—it could truly be a game changer. Many writers love it, and I’ve seen several great notes from Britni Pepper, who, like me, fell in love with the books as she reckons it is first of of kind. She’s also a beginner and now enjoying her "honeymoon" on Substack, no longer worried about the constraints of Medium. The best part is Dr. Yildiz is sharing his premium content for free on Substack and also on his website blogs, which I joined as a guest blogger as he reckons blogging is the holly grail, as he articulated, I think, in Chapter 11. His blogs are open to the public and free to use https://digitalmehmet.com/blog-posts/ Bye the way, if you are part of Illumination's Slack you can DM me there when you need support I also serve as a volunteer moderator there and I love it. Cheers, Ana 🙌