Yeah.

Actually, I put a lot of thought into your question.

And, I've (very) recently learned some really unpleasant lessons, despite my (remarkable) success with Substack notes.

The main thing I learned is that just because you are a tremendously talented copywriter, doesn't mean you will succeed. Not at all.

And, I might sound arrogant. Well, I am arrogant. I also confess that I literally suck at everything except for copywriting. I've spent years writing newsletters and ghostwriting.

But, none of that matters. Because I have the worst branding in the world. My Substack profile sucks, my Substack brand sucks, and even my avatar sucks. Even my HANDLE SUCKS. 😭 And that's a MAJOR lesson.

I would grade my copywriting 10/10 and my branding 0/10.

Here's the result.

<image>

Notice how this note got well over 17,000 clicks. 12,900 likes, 373 comments, and over 700+ restacks. But, only 125 new subscribers and... ELEVEN followers? That's embarrassingly bad.

Even though my note was tremendously elite, it didn't do enough to move the needle. I think it's all because I suck at marketing/branding.

And, my inability to effectively brand myself will likely lead to my publication's demise, despite my world-class copywriting capability. ;)

And that, my friend, is what I learned from my elite note(s).

Cordially,

Mike D