Substack Diaries: Why numbers don’t tell the whole story
July 2024 recap and numbers
July was a whirlwind of activity. When life gets this busy, newsletters go unread, and the Substack app stays closed. (I'm guessing some of you enjoying a summer break can relate.)
This likely caused a dip in some growth metrics on Substack.
But let's be honest—metrics rarely tell the whole story.
This past month:
I had really interesting conversations in the comments and DMs.
I got to contribute to my second guest post (this time with
on the theme of Being Enough).I loved what everyone had to say when I asked, “If you had to name this chapter of your life, what would you name it?” on “Find Your Tribe.” I was also so so happy to see so many of you connect!! (
did her first interview with , whom she connected through and Find Your Tribe. It’s a great read!)I got a lot of great book recommendations after I talked about 5 books that helped fuel my creativity.
And I can’t forget:
The late-night chats into early hours of the morning at our place.
Using our new guest room (our son has moved out) for three different visitors in July!
The delicious meals at restaurants.
Attending my sister-in-law’s engagement party to a lovely guy.
Fun birthday parties and playing at the arcades like a kid.
Landing the winning shot at pool when my hubby and I went on a double date with our daughter and her boyfriend.
This amazing view! One of my besties visited from Australia and she showed me a secret spot! (She’s a kiwi so knew this area well)
Views over Wellington, North Island - with the South Island mountains in the distance
Metrics can be deceiving—they have the power to boost our ego or make us doubt ourselves.
So if your metrics dip during your summer adventures or winter hibernation, don’t worry. Keep focusing on what truly matters, and the rest will follow.
Monthly check-in
Things I tried:
I rescheduled my Subscriber Chats.
I had been running free weekly ‘Substack Accountability Corner’ and ‘Light ups’ since the beginning of the year - I love cheering people on and connecting with everyone! We have regulars and we also have new people joining in. It’s really supportive and I find it super helpful to keep me on track or make me smile!
The Accountability Chat backed onto my weekly newsletter and I wondered if it might be a bit much for people’s inboxes. So I moved the Accountability Chat to Monday (NZ) and Light Ups to mid week. My weekly newsletters are still on Friday (NZ).
I recently added an Inner Circle Chat for my paid subscribers on Tuesdays (NZ). I’ve been experimenting with different themes each week, the most popular were the Ask me Anything sessions and the session where I asked where everyone’s from and what they’re currently working on.
If Chats are new to you, this post by
is really useful!
What I learned:
Try to keep to the regular posting schedule as much as possible.
I know I just said I rescheduled my chats and now I’m saying to keep to the regular the schedule…so hear me out.
Since my guest post was published at the beginning of the month, I moved everything to the following week, including “Find Your Tribe.” (So it was posted on the 3rd Friday, instead of the 2nd Friday).
I decided against emailing everyone about the change and instead mentioned it in my Subscriber Chat and a Note.
Some people were still wondering if it was happening in July.
In future, I won't move my Substack Diary and Find My Tribe posts, as people are starting to expect them at the beginning of the month.
There’s a website where you can easily find out the time of an event across multiple time zones
www.everytimezone.com is a website that helps you quickly compare different time zones around the world. It displays a visual chart showing the current time in various locations, making it easier to see what time it is in different places without having to calculate the differences yourself.
Not only that, you can set a time for an event and then send the link, so everyone will be able to see what time that event is in their time zone.
What I’m struggling with:
Turning an idea into reality
Last week I talked about the wall I often create when I try new things.
I've been toying with the idea of creating something that combines my art with encouraging words for a while now.
This August, I'm declaring that it's time to make it happen! Sometimes I need a little external motivation to get things moving!
July (real) numbers
I love it when people open up about their journey, especially the nitty-gritty details of starting something new. Here's me, sharing it all, stepping into the Substack world with no email list to my name.
Total subscribers: 1520
Started: 0
April-Nov: 7
Dec: 20
Jan: 163
Feb: 196
Mar: 175
April: 161
May: 355
June: 244
July: 194 loooovely people joined! 🥰 Thank you and welcome! 👋
Total posts: 38
Apr: 1
Oct: 1
Dec: 6
Jan: 5
Feb: 4
Mar: 4
Apr: 4
May: 5
June: 4
July: 4 (including a guest post with
about my thoughts on Being Enough)
I’ve been posting every week since the start of December. I took a week off in March.
Total recommendations: 124 (25 written recommendations)
Dec: 1
Jan: 14
Feb: 15 (2 new written recommendations)
Mar: 13 (4 new written recommendations)
Apr: 18 (4 new written recommendations)
May: 36 (8 new written recommendations)
June: 21 (7 new written recommendations)
July: 6 AMAZING subscribers recommended musings by mika, thank you, thank you! 🥰
Total subscribers from recommendations: 654
Jan: 6
Feb: 14
Mar: 50
Apr: 78
May: 151
June: 181
July: 161 of you joined through recommendations in July! 😱
Total paid subscribers: 12
May: 4
June: 6
July: 2 of you decided to upgrade! It means more to me than you know.
Total net revenue: US$295.06
(After 10% Substack fees, 2.9%+30 cents per transaction Stripe fees)
May: Net US$86.43, £67.53, NZ$139.30
June: Net US$175.91, £137.86, NZ$287.62
July: Net US$32.72, £15.15 NZ$54.95
✍️ Let me know in the comments: Are you noticing that you're spending less time on Substack during the winter/summer months?
If you’ve found the Substack Diaries helpful, and you’re in a position to do so, here is the link to upgrade (currently NZ$55 a year (as of today US$34/£27)). If you are unable to, or are happy to stay on the free subscription, that is totally ok with me too! I’m just glad you’re in our supportive community.
Want to read what happened next?
August 2024: Coming soon! Published on the 1st Friday (New Zealand) of the month
Want to read what happened before?
June 2024: The impact of recommendations
May 2024: How May became a month of transformation
April 2024: One year on Substack (kind of)
March 2024: The power and pressure of celebrating milestones
February 2024: Dashboard detox: Avoid the ups and downs of subscriber growth
January 2024: How the heck did I jump from 27 to 180 subscribers?!
December 2023: What do you do if you're not growing as fast as others?
November 2023: The turning point: Resurrecting and restarting my Substack
April 2023: Did I just have a mini meltdown from setting up Substack?
Aw, Mika! Thank you for the kind mention! I am so glad you enjoyed the interview. But that is not the reason I am commenting. I must say that your words of encouragement are coming in such a good time. Metric vice, July was the best month; my numbers doubled June's data. Yet, I am doubting myself. You are SO RIGHT in writing, "Metrics can be deceiving—they have the power to boost our ego or make us doubt ourselves." Thank you for sharing! I am glad you got to do many amazing things outside of Substack.
I always love seeing your metrics and the honest commentary you make. Like on regular scheduling. Thanks, as ever, for sharing!