Substack Diaries: Dashboard detox: Avoid the ups and downs of subscriber growth
Lessons from an absolute beginner :: Feb 2024
February was a bit of a rollercoaster. Let’s get into it!
The beginning
Coming into February, there was a lot of momentum! I was making amazing new connections and having awesome conversations in the comments. At the beginning of February I published, Substack Diaries: How the heck did I jump from 27 to 180 subscribers?! More people in the community, meant more lovely interactions, I was having the most fun!
The middle
Around this time, I decided that February was the month I needed to come up with a game plan for 2024.
The more pressure I put on myself, the more I felt like I couldn’t see the road ahead of me. I felt scattered and confused. I was going to bed late → I was tired the next day → I didn’t have the resilience to tackle the big jobs on my to-do list → I felt bad → I escaped into my phone → I went to bed late → I was tired the next day → and the cycle continued. My mind was full of existential questions.
It lead me to write: Are you still asking "what do I want to do when I grow up?"
Writing this post helped me to get the perspective I needed and importantly the grace I needed. It started the journey out of my funk.
I prioritised sleep, decluttered my bedroom, practiced gratitude, and took better care of myself.
I also did a dashboard detox!
With the new flurry of excitement at the beginning of the month, I found myself waking up every morning and instead of starting my relaxing morning routine. Usually, I don’t look at my phone until I do my morning pages and gratitude practice, but I started getting into a habit of checking my phone to see the subscriber count and then stayed on my phone. It’s kind of embarrassing to say that I got caught up in the dopamine hit.
But what do we know about dopamine, it doesn’t last forever.
I knew I needed to do a detox and stopped checking the subscriber count. If I had to go to the dashboard, I would cover the subscriber number, so I couldn’t see it (
and suggested bookmarking a different tab in your dashboard, so you don’t need to see your subscriber count. Genius!) This, combined with the other changes I made, meant I felt so so much better!The end
After getting back in alignment and with the dashboard detox, I felt inspired again. After reading that a lot of people were wondering how to get people to find them, I felt heart-led to create a space for people to find and be found by "their people". I decided to experiment and try out the "thread" post for the first time called Find Your Tribe. It led me to accidentally holding a huge Substack hangout/"speed dating" sesh! Lots of people are finding new connections and it makes me so happy to see the conversations happening over there!
So February was a bit of a wild ride for me. It got a bit rocky, but I’m happy I had the tools to ground myself.
In the meantime, thank you for being here, thanks for trusting me with your time. I know it’s precious, so it means a lot.
My February (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: 386
Started: 0
April-Nov: 7
Dec: 20
Jan: 163
Feb: 196 loooovely people joined! ☺️ Wow!!! Welcome! 👋
Total posts: 17
Apr: 1
Oct: 1
Dec: 6
Jan: 5
Feb: 4
I’ve been posting at least once a week since the start of December
Total recommendations: 30 (with 2 lovely written recommendations)
Dec: 1
Jan: 14
Feb: 15 AMAZING subscribers recommended musings by mika, thank you, thank you! 🥰
Total subscribers from recommendations: 20
Jan: 6
Feb: 14 of you joined through recommendations in Feb!
Revenue: $0
It is a totally free newsletter. I turned off paid subscriptions and pledges.
Things I tried:
Trying to get involved in posts where I can meet other writers. This could be the now retired “Office Hours” - they had their last one today, go head over!! or
’s “Substack Friday Threads”. Sometimes I get new subscribers from it, sometimes I don’t. It could be because my comment resonates (or doesn’t) and sometimes it’s just timing! Meaning, is your comment up the top enough for people to even see it?!Holding space for people. I’m so glad that I created a gathering space for others. Maybe you could create your own in a niche you’re interested in. e.g. a space for fantasy fiction writers or mothers in business.
Pinning different posts to my publication website. I’m working on redoing my Hero Post, so currently it’s not pinned to the middle. At the moment, my Find Your Tribe post is. I have also tried pinning the posts that have the best conversion to subscribers. (Go to Dashboard > Posts)
Embracing and trying out new Substack features. DMs (direct messages) were introduced this week! I really felt for the huge publications (#empath). I can image they could get inundated with DMs (some have rightly made it available only for their paid subscribers). For a little publications like me, I thought, what the heck, just embrace it! If anything, I thought people might be feeling a bit nervous about it, so I invited them to try it out on me! A lot of you took me up on that offer (hi!) and this morning I was chatting in the DMs with a lovely new writer who just started on Substack. (Hi
!)
What I learned:
Write what you want to write and let go of the outcome. One day your Newsletter or Note could get shared and get lots of interaction. The next day, you’re lucky if one person sees it. Whatever you do, DO NOT let the outcome of a Note, Post, Chat Thread or Subscriber Count dictate how you feel about yourself. Just have fun with it. 🥰
Take care of yourself, including getting enough sleep! When you put pressure on yourself, everything contracts, including your inspiration. When you give yourself grace and take care of yourself, everything expands and inspiration comes!
Don’t wait for them to find you, find them! I remember feeling like “how are people supposed to find me?”. Stop waiting, go comment on some writing that resonates with you. Go join a “networking event”, like my Find Your Tribe and comment on other people’s comments that sound interesting. Don’t just write your introduction in the comments and wait for people to find you. Go to them! (When you get involved in a “networking event”, it helps to have one introductory post on your publication (even if you haven’t got any other posts). Or if you’re not at that stage, just start finding awesome people to subscribe to, learn lots, and launch when you’re ready).
What I’m struggling with:
Feeling out of my depth. I had some amazing people reach out to collaborate. I feel so so grateful, at the same time, it can be hard to try new things and put yourself out there. I’m really embracing collaboration, and I’m really trying to invite it in and be open to it, but I feel a bit nervous. (As I write this, I remembered I had the best convo on zoom with
the other day, and it wasn’t scary and so so lovely. So, time to get your big girl pants on Mika, you’ll be fine!)
✍️ Let me know in the comments: How was February for you? Was it a roller coaster like me?
Want to read what happened before?
January 2024:
December 2023:
November 2023:
April 2023:
I've tried very hard not to get caught up in the numbers (hard as that is!). My mantra... If my words help or resonate with just one person, I'm happy, fulfilled and I've done my job. 🙏 You are doing so well Mika. Just keep being wonderful you 💕
I love that it’s all working out for you Mika!
I think I really struggled to find Substacks in the wellness space that were not completely established. But finding you at the beginning of your journey as you continue to grow exponentially has been so amazing. February has been my best month so far on Substack as well. I think the key here is to really be authentic and not getting absorbed in that dopamine hit like you said.
All the best✨