The Grasshopper Sunday Money Edition 2/26/23: Going Viral

Growing gradually and then all at once

Photo by Janan Lagerwall on Unsplash

How do I get more subscribers, get more readers, followers, and comments, and convert them to paid? This is probably the number one question online writers grapple with. We all hear these stories of writers going viral, but how does it happen?

The first part is that you have to be in the game as an active participant. ‘Active’ is the important distinction. Readers reading you online are notoriously fickle, and very easily distracted. If you drop out of sight or get off your schedule on a regular basis, you probably won’t stay front of mind. And that is a requirement for attracting loyal readers.

In my case, as a Medium writer and Substack newsletter publisher, staying on a schedule with both has been the single biggest driver of growth. We’re competing with an unending flow of content coming at readers from all directions and it can be hard to stand out.