Hapitalist

* Listen/subscribe on Apple* Listen/subscribe on Spotify* Listen/subscribe on Pocketcasts* Listen/subscribe on YoutubeThis is the recording from December’s Path of Least Friction presentation. While I didn’t record the breakthrough sessions, I took a video of the presentation bit for you.It breaks down your path of least friction, the place where your natural strengths, joy, and effort align to produce disproportionate results with less unnecessary struggle.After working with authors, creators, entrepreneurs, tech companies, and even street performers, I’ve found that everyone essentially faces the same challenge: they keep hitting blocks and have no idea how to move through them or where to start.PDF slide downloadDownloadIndividual slidesAnimated GIF: 10 second timer This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit podcast.hapitalist.com

* Listen/subscribe on Apple* Listen/subscribe on Spotify* Listen/subscribe on Pocketcasts* Listen/subscribe on YoutubeI ran a live breakthrough session at Author Nation, which meant I needed to introduce the whole Hapitalist system to people who’d never heard of it before. If you want to download that presentation, including a framework for running your own breakthrough session, you can do so here. Otherwise, here is the vibe of what’s in the video if you just want to read it. I’ve been writing about and studying creative businesses for 15+ years, and this is everything I’ve learned about building a successful creative career, condensed into one digestible system.Most authors feel stuck not because writing is hard, but because they’re solving the wrong problem with the wrong strategies.You’re pouring energy into building an audience when your real bottleneck is clarity about what you’re writing. Or you’re agonizing over your next book idea when what you actually need is a monetization strategy that doesn’t make you feel like a sellout.Hapitalist is how we break that cycle.* What we really mean when we say “why is this so hard?” isn’t “why can’t this be easy?” Easy is a measure of difficulty, and if we wanted something easy, we wouldn’t become authors. What we actually mean is “why is there so much friction?” Easy measures difficulty, but ease measures friction.* Easeful work removes unnecessary struggle, aligns with your natural strengths, and makes your effort matter. It’s still work, but it’s the right work, moving you forward instead of spinning your wheels in place. Most “this is hard” moments are actually “why am I stuck?” moments. The difficulty isn’t the problem. The friction is. When you’re stuck, more effort just digs the rut deeper.* Getting unstuck means finding the path of least friction that increases meaningful progress without eliminating effort entirely. Imagine yourself as a Jenga tower. Frictionless growth is when you find that block that slides out with barely a touch.* There are five paths we’ve watched authors repeatedly use to achieve frictionless, easeful growth: Virality (writing to market/social media), Thought Leadership (blogs/podcasts.speaking), Big Spectacle Launches (Kickstarter/virtual summits), Evangelism (ARC teams, Influncer marketing, referrals), and Partnerships (shared worlds, anthologies, publishing deals).* At least one of those paths will very likely give you frictionless growth. You can succeed with any of these, but spending 100% of your time in the most frictionless path will lead to the most growth in the least time. You might get growth from several strategies, but one will give you the most growth, which is where you should focus. * This is almost certainly the one that’s also the most fun for you and the one you enjoy most, because you’ll be getting a positive feedback loop, possibly for the first time in your entire career. Once you have one flowing beautifully, the other paths amplify and augment your growth.* It’s not that you can do anything, but that there’s something inside that you already love, which can lead to frictionless growth, and we just have to find it. Think of it a bit like Anton Ego’s famous line from Ratatouille “Not everything inside you can lead to frictionless growth; but frictionless growth could come from anywhere.”* Each of those paths has five stages. In Stage 1, you’re too overwhelmed/paralyzed with fear to do anything. In Stage 2, you are doing things, but none of them work particularly well. In Stage 3, you’ve found one thing that works really well, but you’re weighed down with a bunch of stuff that doesn’t work. In Stage 4, you’re honed in on what works, but capped out on how much you can grow. In Stage 5, you’re expanding and thriving.* If you’re in Stage 1, then your goal is to do anything. If you’re in Stage 2, then your goal is testing all the thing to find something that works. If you’re in Stage 3, then your goal is to shed things that don’t work. If you’re in Stage 4, then your goal is to start expanding into new paths. If you’re in Stage 5, then your goal is to build your team. * It is nearly impossible to grow your audience and monetize your work at the same time. The growth side means investing to reach more people and lower friction. The monetization side means maximizing revenue now through paywalls, premium pricing, and exclusive access, which inherently raises friction and limits reach. Both are valid, but they directly contradict each other. To grow, you need to reduce friction. To monetize, you need to increase friction. Pinpoint where you are on this spectrum, choose your path, and do it completely. Are you in a growth era or a monetization era? * Author business challenges usually show up in four buckets, which we call the HAPI Compass. (H)eart challenges come from the ideas, projects, and creative work that light you up and resonate deeply with who you are. (A)udience challenges come from the people ready to champion, amplify, and ultimately buy your work. (P)rioritization challenges form around choosing (or failing to choose) one high-leverage move at a time, letting wins compound, and buying yourself runway for the next right thing. (I)ncome challenges revolve around the revenue that funds your life and fuels your creative work.* Your biggest challenge will almost certainly form around one of those buckets, but we’re horrible at recognizing which one is really blocking us. We constantly misdiagnose them in ourselves. Misdiagnosis leads to solutions that make things worse. You double down on marketing when you need to clarify your message. If you have a challenge growing your audience, you can’t fix it with solutions designed to make you more money. They’re at odds with each other.* You can only solve challenges by using solutions designed to fix them. (A)udience solutions won’t fix (H)eart challenges, (I)ncome solutions won’t fix (P)rioritization challenges, etc. If you want to solve your biggest challenges, you need to use the right solutions, which means you need to know what your biggest challenge is right now, and almost nobody does, especially about themselves.The Hapitalist approach helps you pinpoint the most easeful path forward, narrow your place on the growth-monetization spectrum, identify your true bottleneck, and match the right solution to the right problem.Do this well, and you solve the vast majority of author business challenges without expending any additional effort. In fact, you’ll probably save effort by cutting back on things that don’t work for you.Yet it’s impossible to see this in ourselves, and to keep ourselves on track, which is why you need a community, preferably one trained on the same methodology as you and run by somebody who knows what they are doing. * Hence the bi-monthly breakthrough sessions to make sure you’re on track and to course correct. * Hence the digital brain to give you feedback between sessions and show you what to do next in real time. * Hence the collection of world-class resources to help you make the most of the path you choose to achieve the most frictionless growth possible.Every author joins us with something holding them back, whether that’s a mindset block, a marketing problem, a confidence issue, or a missing skill. That’s your lock. But everyone also shows up with keys from things they’ve already solved, overcome, or mastered. You might not have the key for your own lock, but you absolutely have one that can open someone else’s. And in doing so, you often find the clarity to open your own. The real magic happens when we use our keys and start unlocking each other’s locks.Why is community strategically important, instead of just feel good vibes? Because if you’re in stages 1-3, then you’re lock will probably be opened by somebody in the same success path but further along on their journey. If you’re in stages 4-5, then your lock will probably be opened by somebody in a different ecosystem doing something completely different than you. You are one human, going through one lived experience, consuming one person’s media, with one person’s brain. You’re gonna miss things, discount important things you don’t understand, and have questions that make perfect sense to somebody else. Sure, you could study things and maybe figure it out, or you could ask a group of people trained on the same methodologies as you, who know what to look for, and they can give you the right answer in a few minutes. You’re not stuck because this business is “hard.” You’re stuck because you’re solving the wrong problem, or solving the right problem with the wrong strategy, or solving the right problem at the wrong time.You’re stuck because you’re trying to do it alone.The path forward isn’t about working harder. It’s about working in alignment with your strengths, your season, your actual bottleneck, and the ecosystem where your particular gifts thrive.That’s what easeful means.And yes, it still takes effort, but it’s effort that compounds into momentum instead of friction that grinds you down. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit podcast.hapitalist.com

* Listen/subscribe on Apple* Listen/subscribe on Spotify* Listen/subscribe on Pocketcasts* Listen/subscribe on YoutubeRecently, Substack added drip campaigns for “bestsellers”, which means it will probably be launched to everyone in a month or two. Claire Venus ✨ and I jumped on a call (because we’re nerds about this stuff) and talked through the new feature we’ve both been waiting for this for… years, honestly.Drip sequences are standard on basically every email platform—ConvertKit, MailerLite, ActiveCampaign, you name it. Substack, on the other hand, has always been more minimalist. For better or worse.Until now, if you wanted automation, you had to jerry-rig it with Zapier and some elbow grease, which is what I had to do. I built my own system off-site just to do basic onboarding.Now, Substack finally lets you do it natively, which means you can now…* Greet your new subscribers properly* Introduce them to your world without chaos* Let your back catalog breathe againAll without manually onboarding every new reader, which is tedious and unscalable. The only thing worse is dropping new subscribers into the middle of your newsletter with zero context. If someone lands on your publication from a promo, a podcast, or a book backmatter, they’re not necessarily going to “get it” right away.If they don’t know your vibe, your values, or your universe, they’re just confused.And confused people unsubscribe.Drip campaigns help solve that. They let you:* Slowly onboard people into your world* Share the why behind your work* Build a relationship over time* …without having to remember to do it every timeThis doesn’t have to be a great burden either. I walk you through how to take your About page, slice it into 3–5 short emails, and schedule those as your welcome sequence very quickly.This doesn’t have to be some elaborate, 12-email sales funnel. This isn’t ClickFunnels. It’s Substack. You’re building trust, not closing a $10,000 coaching deal.Drip campaigns won’t magically 10x your revenue or convert 43% of subscribers into superfans overnight. (If it does, call me.)But it will:* Clarify your message* Reduce churn* Make new people feel like they belong* Let you step away from your laptop and breatheThat last one? Kinda matters.🎯 Key Takeaways from the Podcast EpisodeTopic: Substack Drip Campaigns* Drip campaigns help you make a better first impression.New readers shouldn’t have to guess what you’re about. A welcome sequence sets expectations, shows off your best work, and builds trust from day one.* Substack finally lets you automate onboarding—natively.No more Zapier hacks or outside platforms. You can now guide new subscribers through your ecosystem without lifting a finger after setup.* You don’t need a complex funnel—just 3–5 solid emails.Break up your About page. Highlight a few core ideas. Point to key posts. Invite people to go deeper. That’s enough to start.* Automation ≠ cold or impersonal.Done well, it’s actually more considerate. It’s the difference between ghosting your readers and greeting them at the door.* If you don’t onboard readers, you’ll lose them.People unsubscribe when they don’t “get” your work. Drip campaigns reduce churn and increase engagement.* Use this sequence to soft-sell without sounding salesy.Once someone understands your mission, they’re more open to becoming a paid subscriber, buying a book, or joining your world long-term. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit podcast.hapitalist.com

Let’s be real. Most advice about growing on Substack feels either too vague to be useful or too hacky to feel good. That’s why we decided to do something different.We’re not outside observers. We live in this ecosystem. We talk to creators every day, see what’s working in real time, and watch what quietly fizzles out once the hype dies. So instead of theorizing, we sat down and gave each strategy a gut-level, real-world rating, based on what we’ve actually seen succeed (and what’s quietly destroying people behind the scenes).This is not a list of silver bullets. It’s an honest look at what’s getting traction right now, what’s sustainable long term, and what’s just noise. Every tactic we rate below came up in our conversation, and got scored on a 10-point scale.Easy is without difficulty, easeful is without friction. So, what can you do without friction?1. The "X More Subscribers Until Y" Notes StrategyExample: “Only 17 more until I hit 1,000!”Russell: “It works. It’s dumb, but it works.”Erin: “I’m on the fence, but I’m going with six. It does work.”This is the ‘milestone begging’ strategy. It leverages urgency and social proof—just enough to make people think, "Oh sure, I’ll help you hit that number.”We’ve seen it pop. But it’s got no longevity. It doesn’t build trust or excitement. It’s a party trick.* Our Take: While this strategy can offer a quick "jolt" of new subscribers and create a sense of excitement , we've found it's generally not effective for long-term engagement. It can feel a bit "dumb" if overused, and historically, this type of plea hasn't sustained growth across platforms.Our Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (6/10)Summary: A shallow bump. It’s a sugar high, not a growth plan.2. Posting 3-10 Times a Day on NotesAKA “The Blitzkrieg of Content” strategyRussell: “Maybe a 10/10 at the beginning… but it’s probably a 6/10 for the long haul.”Erin: “If it burns you out and makes you miserable, it’s just not worth it… I might go six.”This is the most chaotic-good strategy on this list. It works, especially if you’re in launch mode, if your energy is high, or if you’re trying to build early momentum. It creates visibility. It feeds the algorithm. Sometimes one Note pops, and the rest don’t.But the toll? Brutal. This is where burnout grows legs.* Our Take: The effectiveness here heavily depends on your energy and the context. If it burns you out and makes you miserable, it's simply not worth it, as there are better alternatives. While it can lead to new followers and potential subscribers, overexposure can lead to your audience gets saturated and turns away. It can be a 10/10 at the beginning to ride an initial wave, especially when leading up to a specific launch or program, but it's unsustainable as a 24/7 strategy.Our Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ (6/10)Summary: Use in sprints, like leading up to a launch. Not your forever strategy.3. Niching DownNarrowing your content focus to a very specific topic or audienceRussell: "I'm going to rate it a nine of 10."Erin: "Yes, totally. Agree."Niching down isn’t just smart, it’s survival. Especially early on, it tells the world what bucket to put you in. It makes it easy for others to recommend you: “Oh, you should read them, they’re the X person.” More importantly, it makes you legible inside the creator ecosystem. Other writers know what you do and what you don’t. That creates space for collaboration instead of competition.Can you niche back up later? Sure. But until your voice becomes the brand, specificity is your best friend.* Our Take: Niching down is a powerful growth strategy, provided you understand its core purpose: to help people easily categorize and recommend you ("you're the X person"). More importantly, it helps the broader ecosystem, including other creators and collaborators, know exactly where to "slot you in". This allows you to offer additive value without overlapping with existing content in the ecosystem. While it's crucial at the start, you might eventually "niche back up" as your platform grows.* An Exception: An exception exists for exceptionally strong writers with a highly recognizable voice, where their personality becomes the niche, rather than a specific topic. Honorable mentions to Alex Dobrenko`, Badreads, and Ash Ambirge.Our Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ (9/10)Summary: If you have big growth goals and you’re not niching down, you’re making it harder for people to share you.4. Creating Pop-Up Publications for Specific ProjectsTemporary Substacks tied to launches, summits, or special eventsErin: "At least a nine out of 10. I think it's so effective."Russell: "Yeah, 10 out of 10. I think it's killer."This strategy hits hard. Think: a Substack just for a summit, an anthology, or a collaborative project. We’ve both seen this explode reach. Why? Because it creates a focused, time-bound container that people can get excited about without having to commit long-term.Even better: it lets you explore topics that don’t fit neatly into your main publication, without diluting your brand. And pop-ups often become a gateway—people show up for the event and stick around for your other work.* Our Take: We're huge fans of this strategy. We've seen it work incredibly effectively for projects like the "Sparkles on Substack Summit" and the "10K Secrets" anthology. It's a killer strategy because it allows you to hyper-focus on a specific project, even if it's not meant to last forever, leading to exponential growth. It integrates well with niching down by allowing you to pursue topics outside your main publication. These pop-ups also serve as excellent entry points for new readers who might be intimidated by a broad publication with years of content.* Hot Tip: Funnel the people you attract with these pop-up publications toward your ongoing newsletter, or the next pop-up you have on deck!Our Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★ (10/10)Summary: High-leverage, low-risk, wildly effective. Do this.5. Focusing on Free Subscribers First, Then PaidBuild the free list before you pitch anythingRussell: "That is an enormous, like, successful win. 7 out of 10."Erin: "It just makes it so much easier when you go to launch anything paid."This one’s all about playing the long game. The bigger your free list, the warmer your paid leads. Simple as that. We’ve seen creators like Tom Orbach grow huge free lists (think 40k+), then flip on monetization and rake in five figures in a week.But the trick is you need a real offer. You can’t just hope people throw you money because they like your vibes. The free-to-paid pathway only works if it’s paired with intention, timing, and clarity.* Our Take: This is a nuanced strategy, but it can be highly successful. We've seen examples like Tom Orbach building a 40,000-person free mailing list before launching a paid product and generating significant revenue in a short time. The key lies in having a clear launch plan and a specific paid offer. Continually generating free subscribers fills a "bucket" of potential paid leads, making conversion much easier. While typical conversion rates are 1-3%, a much higher rate might indicate you're not expanding your reach enough. Ultimately, having a paid offer, even if small, allows for crucial experimentation and avoids the pressure of needing a massive launch later.Our Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7/10)Summary: Grow the free list first, but only if you’ve got a paid plan to follow it up.6. The "Recommend for Recommend" (Reciprocal Recommendations) StrategyReciprocal recommendations without authentic alignmentErin: "I think that's like a two out of 10."Russell: "Agree. It’s not a real community."This one lives at the intersection of cringe and collapse. It sounds good in theory—“I’ll recommend you if you recommend me”—but in reality, it builds nothing. It’s the equivalent of those “follow for follow” trains that ruined Instagram.If you genuinely love someone’s work? Recommend them. But don’t turn it into a transaction. That erodes trust, both with your audience and your peers.* Our Take: This strategy involves agreeing to recommend other publications in exchange for them recommending yours. We disapprove of this approach. It’s disingenuous unless you genuinely appreciate the other person's content, comparing it to unhelpful "everyone recommend each other" dynamics found in some social media groups. Authentic recommendations don't require a quid pro quo.* An Exception: If you have had previous positive interactions with the person you want a recommendation from, and if you both are just starting out or have near-equal subscriber counts, you may be able to get away with this strategy. The trick is to already be recommending their newsletter before reaching out for reciprocation. Bonus points if you keep it super low-pressure and send them a specific article of yours they might be particularly interested in.Our Rating: ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (2/10)Summary: If you have to ask for it, it probably doesn’t belong in your sidebar.7. Collaborative Articles / Guest Posting / Guest SwapsWriting for other publications or hosting writers on yoursRussell: "Somebody, someone letting you post on their publication is like about the biggest form of trust and validation that you can get... 11 out of 10. I think people should be doing this at least once a month... you are missing the best growth engine."Erin: “I’m with you, 11/10 for me. Collaborations for the win.”This is the most underrated power move in the ecosystem. When someone lets you publish on their Substack, that’s not just exposure—it’s endorsement. It’s trust transfer. You’re being introduced to a warm audience by someone they already believe in.Guest swaps are the real magic. You both write for each other, you both win, and it cuts your weekly writing load in half. Especially powerful between creators at the same stage of growth.* Our Take: This strategy involves contributing content to other publications ("writing for other people") or hosting others on your own. Collaborations are truly the biggest form of trust and validation. Aim for doing a collaboration at least once a month, as it connects you with new audiences and fosters relationships with other creators who can then recommend you. While growth primarily comes from your content appearing on other publications, guest swaps (where you both write for each other) are highly recommended, especially for creators at similar levels, as they provide mutual benefits and reduce weekly writing load.Our Rating: ★★★★★★★★★★★ (11/10)Summary: This isn’t a growth hack. It’s the growth engine.8. Sending Marketing Emails to Free Subscribers (While Avoiding Friction)Converting free readers into paid subscribers via emailErin: “I’ve seen these work really well. To do a really good marketing email, a few things have to be in place. 1) Have a reason: only email when there’s something new and cool happening that you want to tell them about. 2) Use cohorts: only send emails to new free subscribers who’ve signed up in the last 2-12 weeks (depending on when you sent your last marketing email). 3) Space them out: send these emails monthly to quarterly.”This one wasn’t rated explicitly, but it came through loud and clear: marketing emails to free subscribers, when timed right and when trust has been built, lead to conversions!Quarterly marketing emails to a cohort of newer free subscribers can be particularly effective in converting “warm leads,” which are folks who are the most likely to upgrade to paid.Summary: Email doesn’t build your list—but it absolutely builds your business.* Our Take: This strategy focuses on using email marketing to convert free subscribers to paid ones, specifically by making the process seamless and low-friction. The key is to offer clear, direct calls to action within the content itself, rather than relying on external links or complex payment processes. It's about optimizing the user journey from free content consumption to paid subscription. While not explicitly rated in the provided text, the emphasis on directness and avoiding friction suggests a high value placed on effective conversion pathways within the email environment.* Hot Tip: There’s a sweet spot for leads that are new to your newsletter but not so new that they are too unfamiliar with your work to convert. When cohorting, think of two-to-eight-week-old leads as your sweet spot, depending on how frequently you publish and email.Our Rating: 0/10 for overall list growth, 10/10 for paid growthSummary: Email doesn’t build your list—but it absolutely builds your business.The Meta-Strategy: Ease and ExperimentationUnderneath every tactic we’ve rated is a deeper truth: the best growth strategy is the one you’ll actually do.Choose What Feels EasefulRussell: “The stuff that feels good is the stuff you’ll keep doing.”It doesn’t matter how ‘effective’ a tactic is on paper if it makes you feel gross, drained, or creatively dead. You could copy someone’s exact strategy and still get wildly different results—because your energy matters. The sustainable wins come from strategies that align with how you like to show up. That’s where consistency lives. That’s where real growth starts.Adopt a Testing MindsetErin: “Everything is a test.”When you treat your strategy like an experiment, the stakes drop—and your clarity goes up. You stop judging every Note or post by whether it ‘worked,’ and start asking better questions: What did this tell me? What do I want to try next? That curiosity is the engine of long-term growth. Not perfection. Not hustle. Just iteration.Growth Has a Shelf Life (And Sometimes a Cliff)Russell: “People talk about Notes as if it's a permanent growth engine. It's not. It's got a curve.”There’s a clear arc to visibility-based growth: it spikes, plateaus, and sometimes falls off a cliff. We both pointed out that what works today might not work next month. That means smart creators don’t just pick strategies, they plan for when those strategies stop working.This mindset helps people avoid panic when their follower rate slows down or when their Notes engagement tanks. It’s not failure. It’s a normal phase shift in the cycle.Depth × Duration = GrowthErin: “Do a somatic check. See if it actually feels good in your body to send that marketing email, to engage in that collaboration. Ask yourself if you can really sustain this effort. That’s the only way you’ll see if it’s really going to work.”TL;DR If it feels good, you’ll keep doing it. If you keep doing it, it’ll grow.Sustainable growth doesn’t come from intensity. It comes from repetition and relationship-building over time. You don’t need to go viral. You need to go consistent.That means you can “fail” publicly a dozen times and still win, as long as you’re learning and showing up. It reframes the goal—not to make every strategy work, but to stay in the game long enough for the right ones to work.Key takeaway: Depth is slow. But it compounds if you let it.Don’t Use Leaderboards as StrategyRussell: “It just breaks the leaderboard. It doesn’t help you grow.”This one was specific to Notes, but it’s worth calling out as a principle: don’t chase metrics at the expense of trust. Leaderboard strategies (like flooding Notes or asking friends to like your posts) might create visibility, but they rarely create real fans and often hurt the ecosystem.If your growth depends on tricking a system rather than building a connection, it won’t last.Key takeaway: Growth that breaks the system breaks your future.Our Biggest Piece of Advice? Stay in the RoomAt the end of the day, none of this is about chasing magic numbers or cracking some mythical code. Growth on Substack is messy, human, and nonlinear. The tactics help, but only when they’re rooted in your energy, your values, and your willingness to play the long game.The real strategy is staying in the room long enough to be seen.Top takeaways:* Test everything.* Pay attention to what feels good.* Build trust instead of chasing clout.* Give it time.* Let yourself be seen.What do you think?* What’s your current go-to growth strategy on Substack—and how’s it actually working for you?* Which of these tactics have you tried, and what would you rate them out of 10?* What’s one strategy that totally bombed for you—but everyone swore would work?Let us know in the comments.If you enjoyed this one, I highly recommend checking our archive, with over 600 exclusive member-only posts about how to help you build your own author career, including our course, fund your book on Kickstarter. You can take it for free with a seven-day trial, or give us a tip if you want to support us without committing long term. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit podcast.hapitalist.com

* Listen/subscribe on Apple* Listen/subscribe on Spotify* Listen/subscribe on Pocketcasts* Listen/subscribe on YoutubeThis is our first joint live broadcast since the end of Writer MBA, and we’re kicking it off with a bang. Joining Russell Nohelty are two powerhouse guests:* Monica Leonelle, author, strategist, and creator of The World Needs Your Passion—and longtime advocate for author empowerment.* Greg Keogh, Head of Creator Partnerships of Curios, a direct sales platform helping authors regain control of their digital revenue, reader data, and distribution.This wide-ranging, tactical conversation dives deep into the changing landscape of indie publishing—and what comes next. We talk about how authors are being squeezed out of the digital economy by big tech platforms, and how Curios is stepping in to provide a viable alternative.If you’ve ever felt like Amazon, Audible, Spotify, or KU were siphoning off too much of your work for too little return, this episode is for you.🔍 What We Talk About* Why the ebook and audiobook markets are starting to resemble the streaming music industry (and why that’s a huge problem)* How platforms like Kindle Unlimited and Findaway Voices are quietly leading authors down a path of diminished profits and control* The origins of Curios, a tech-forward platform that gives authors:* 100% of their sales revenue* full ownership of reader data* a clean, discoverable storefront* and cash incentives to try it out (seriously, you get paid to test it)* Monica’s take on why this moment mirrors what happened in the music industry 15 years ago—and what authors need to do now to avoid the same fate* Russell’s case for “going wide with everything” and treating author visibility like musicians treat gigging and guest spots: be everywhere, own your data, and diversify your attention* Why owning the chain of custody of your reader relationships is the most important move an author can make in 2025💡 Key Takeaways✅ Digital direct sales are not just viable—they’re essential. Platforms like Curios remove the middlemen and give authors the data, money, and flexibility they need to build sustainable careers.✅ The streaming model is dangerous for authors. Kindle Unlimited and audiobook streaming pay micro-cents per interaction—authors are trading control and profit for scale, and the math doesn’t work out.✅ Being early matters. Just like early adopters won Substack Notes and built empires on Kickstarter, authors who join platforms like Curios now will be best positioned as discoverability grows.✅ Author success is increasingly collaborative. The era of solo career-building is over. Sharing tools, knowledge, and platforms is how we survive and thrive.✅ Test everything, invest wisely. Even if you’re already on Amazon or Substack or WooCommerce, trying a new platform with zero downside (and a $50 upside) is a strategic play.🎧 Listen now if you’re ready to rethink your digital strategy, reclaim your reader relationships, and explore what the post-Writer MBA era of authorship really looks like.🛠️ Want to check out Curios? Visit Curios (and get paid for setting up your store).📬 Subscribe to The World Needs Your Passion by Monica Leonelle for deep dives on writing and direct sales.✍️ And of course, subscribe to The Author Stack to stay on the bleeding edge of indie publishing strategy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit podcast.hapitalist.com

* Listen/subscribe on Apple* Listen/subscribe on Spotify* Listen/subscribe on Pocketcasts* Listen/subscribe on YoutubeThis week on the show, Russell Nohelty is joined by none other than Tyler James, creator of the ComixLaunch podcast—an essential resource for indie comic creators navigating Kickstarter. In this candid conversation between two seasoned creators, they peel back the curtain on what it really takes to succeed in the crowdfunding trenches.🔥 Episode Highlights🎯 Why ComixLaunch ExistsTyler created ComixLaunch in 2015 with one goal: to be the world’s leading podcast on comic book crowdfunding. He accomplished that by niching hard into the Kickstarter space before anyone else was doing it—and built an empire from there. Weekly episodes, masterclasses, coaching, masterminds—he's done it all.📚 Turning 10 Years of Wisdom Into a BookFor years, fans asked Tyler, “When’s the book coming?” Now, to mark the 10th anniversary of ComixLaunch, Tyler’s finally pulling back the curtain on his full system. After running nearly 40 successful campaigns, he’s creating the resource he wished he had at the start: a book that captures everything he’s learned so far.🧠 Launch Smarter, Not HarderEven after dozens of campaigns, Tyler still prints out his planning worksheets, daily journals, and post-launch debriefs. Why? Because repetition doesn’t equal mastery—reflection does. He shares how systematizing your launch not only reduces stress, but amplifies results.🤝 Sustainability Over BurnoutBoth Russell and Tyler are obsessed with long-term thinking. They’ve seen creators crash and burn chasing one big hit. This episode reinforces the ComixLaunch ethos: launching is a skill, not a gamble. If you can learn it, you can scale it.🛠️ The Power of Process Over InspirationDespite his experience, Tyler still relies on structured tools like daily journals, planning templates, and post-launch debriefs for every campaign. He emphasizes that success isn’t about getting inspired—it's about following a consistent, repeatable process that evolves with each launch.🛠️ Creator Takeaways from This Episode* Niche until it hurts. Dominate a narrow category before trying to scale.* Build systems, not just strategies. Having a repeatable plan will keep you sane and productive.* Document everything. Each campaign teaches you something—only if you reflect.* Teach what you do. If you’ve launched successfully, someone else wants to learn how. Capture and share your knowledge.📚 The ComixLaunch Book is Coming…Tyler’s upcoming book isn’t just another how-to—it’s a legacy project. Ten years of field-tested, creator-first Kickstarter strategy, distilled into one complete manual. If you’ve ever wanted to stop winging your launches and start mastering them, this will be your new go-to resource.Back the Kickstarters here: * Comic Book Crowdfunding Planner 🚀 Workbook by ComixLaunch* How to Thrive as a Writer in a Capitalist Dystopia This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit podcast.hapitalist.com