How to launch and grow on Substack

Description

I’ve been a freelance journalist for over 15 years, writing for the Guardian, the Observer, Forbes, Grazia, Red Magazine, Stylist, Metro, the Telegraph, the Independent, the Evening Standard, Refinery29 and more.

I’m also the author of three non-fiction books: Raise your SQ (Radar, 2023), Shy (Fourth Estate 2021), The Freelance Mum (Fourth Estate 2019).

Plus, I’m a Sunday Times-bestselling ghostwriter for celebrities and I write poetry that goes viral on Instagram.

And I love these parts of my writing career but the main focus for me, week-to-week, is now my Substack. It’s my bread-and-butter income (I earn a decent five-figure income from it) and it offers me proper flexibility.

I have two platforms on Substack: Annie Ridout and We Hyperfocus.

The Substack under my own name is where I experiment.

I write personal essays, self-development pieces and share business tips. It’s ever-evolving, as I connect with my growing community. There, I have 10,000+ free subscribers (readers) and hundreds of readers who pay for my weekly essays.

Then, over on We Hyperfocus, there’s a very clear niche. Neurodivergence and creativity. All the content is tailored to that audience. Having a niche means the organic growth is much quicker – people come knowing exactly what they’re going to get. Everything is free to read, but people can contribute if they’d like to.

So, having tried – and continuing to work on – both approaches, I can now teach you how to launch and grow on Substack, whether your writing fits neatly into a niche, or is more experimental.

Either way, this is about having fun with your writing and building a platform so that you can start to earn a recurring monthly income directly from your readers.

And by the way: a ‘writer’ is someone who writes. I welcome writers of all levels and experience onto this course. And I’ll be bringing in coaching exercises to help you build your confidence and come up with lots of new ideas.

What I bring

I mentioned that I’m a freelance journalist and author, as well as running two Substacks and being a bestselling writer on the platform. But alongside writing, I’ve launched digital magazines and businesses that have boomed. Reaching 100,000 views a month; bringing in six figures a year. So I can teach both writing and business.

And that’s what we want, isn’t it? To be writing and earning a living from it.

The details

• Start when you’re ready.
• You’ll have access to the entire course from the first day.
• It’s entirely online and you can work in your own time, no live elements (so very flexible).
• You can continue to access the course for one year (and longer, if you send me an email asking to extend).

What course participants are saying:

“I’ve started your course today. Thank you for making it available all in one go. I am definitely someone who likes to take a deep dive. I’m already feeling inspired about possibilities with Substack and have changed the layout of my home page [as per your recommendation] which aesthetically feels great. Thanks for all your incredible work.” – Harriet Frew

“So so so glad I’m on this course! It’s so good already. Just printed out the workbook as I’m more of a physical paper and pen type, love that you give that option.” – Lucy Davis

“Your course has been such a source of inspiration as I start thinking ahead to 2025. Thank you for being such a guiding light and inspiration. I’m so excited about what 2025 holds, and I’m grateful to have you leading the way.” – Emily Kerr