For a long time, I believed growing my Substack, and my income, was straightforward.
– Write consistently.
– Improve quality.
– Grow free subscribers.
– Convert them into paid ones.
That was the model. It made sense on paper.
I wasn’t lazy.
I wasn’t inconsistent.
I wasn’t unclear about what I was writing.
And yet the results were fragile.
I did everything I was told:
– Three posts a week
– Two Notes a day
– Recommendation swaps
– Weekly Lives
Still, growth and income stayed unpredictable.
By the end of November 2025, I had to admit something uncomfortable:
The problem wasn’t my newsletter.
It was the way I was trying to build a business on top of it.
In December, I stopped trying to grow my newsletter.
And that’s when everything changed.
Instead of asking, How do I get more subscribers?
I asked, What am I actually building?
That question changed everything.
I stopped treating my newsletter as the product.
I stopped relying on paid subscriptions as the business model.
I stopped optimising for activity and started optimising for outcomes.
I wrote a book.
Not as a passion project.
Not as “content.”
But as an anchor.
That single decision did what years of consistency couldn’t:
It clarified my message.
It positioned me as someone with a point of view.
It gave people a clear reason to trust me—and pay me.
The newsletter didn’t disappear.
It became a support infrastructure.
Content stopped being scattered.
Offers stopped feeling forced.
Income stopped being accidental.
The mistake most creators make isn’t lack of effort.
It’s trying to build a business on top of content instead of building content around a business.
If your growth feels fragile, it’s not because you’re doing it wrong.
It’s because you’re building without an anchor.
And once you have one, everything else gets easier.
Category: Writing Books
Seven committed creators started something powerful today.
They didn’t talk about writing a book.
They didn’t wait for clarity or confidence.
They didn’t ask for permission.
They decided.
For the next 30 days, they are writing their books,
not as a hobby,
not as a someday dream,
but as the foundation of a serious business.
By the end of 30 days, they won’t just have a manuscript.
They’ll have:
– A clear position
– A defined audience
– A book that anchors their authority
– A path to turning that book into a six-figure business
While others are still “thinking about it,”
seven people are doing the work.
And that gap matters.
Because momentum compounds.
Decisions compound.
Finished books compound into opportunities.
7 Things I Will Be Doing In 2026
In 2026, I’m no longer treating my writing as a side project.
After six and a half years of writing online, I’ve learned something important: Consistency builds skill. But strategy builds a business.
If I want my writing to generate $10K/month, and not just admiration, comments, or “this resonated,” aren’t enough.
I have to operate differently.
So here’s what I will be doing in 2026:
1️⃣ Build my entire business on the back of one strategic book. The book isn’t a credential. It’s the foundation.
2️⃣ Design and lock in a clear offer stack. One audience. One core problem. A logical path from free to paid.
3️⃣ Prioritise high-ticket, high-impact work. Fewer clients. Deeper transformation. Sustainable income.
4️⃣ Write content that relentlessly reinforces my business niche. Everything points to one positioning: turning a book into authority and income.
5️⃣ Attach a clear next step to every piece of content. Not aggressive selling, just leadership and direction.
6️⃣ Work exclusively with committed creators. People who have decided. People who finish what they start.
7️⃣ Operate daily like a business owner not a hobbyist writer. Metrics matter. Revenue matters. Clarity matters.
This isn’t about working harder in 2026. It’s about building something intentional, where writing supports the business, rather than floating around in hopes of it turning into one.
If you’re rethinking how you use your writing this year, try treating it like a business this year, with a book at the centre of it, and see the difference.
Same writing. Different decisions.
When writing become a strategy
Five years of consistent newsletter writing barely moved my revenue.
Not because the writing was bad.
Not because I wasn’t showing up.
Because content without an anchor stays scattered.
One book changed that.
Three free webinars followed.
Six high-ticket clients committed.
They’re now writing their books in 30 days inside my OneBookTo100K Cohort, starting 15 January, using the same system I built my business on.
The shift wasn’t more effort.
It was clarity, positioning, and a single asset everything else could be built from.
This is what happens when writing stops being content and starts becoming a strategy.
Do you have a book in you?
80% of people say they want to write a book at some point in their lives.
Fewer than 1% ever do.
Not because they lack ideas.
Not because they aren’t intelligent.
But because intention rarely turns into action without structure, deadlines, and accountability.
The gap between wanting to write a book and actually writing one isn’t talent.
It’s decision and execution.
If you’re waiting to feel like a “good enough” writer before you start,
you’ll never write it.
Perfection is the most common—and quiet—reason books never get written.
After years of working with aspiring authors, I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly:
• The people who wait to “get better” never begin
• The people who begin, imperfectly, do get better
The five writers currently writing their books didn’t wait for confidence.
They didn’t over-polish their ideas.
They didn’t ask everyone for permission.
They made a decision.
They committed to:
– a container
– a timeline
– an outcome
Writing isn’t something you master before you start.
It’s something you learn by writing.
And here’s what most people don’t realise:
Writing a book without intention often leads to frustration.
Writing a book with a business lens creates clarity, authority, and momentum.
In the live webinar happening in two days, I’ll walk you through:
– Why “writing when you feel ready” keeps books unfinished
– How to scope a book you can actually complete in 30 days
– What Book → Authority → Income looks like in practice
Most people don’t fail because they can’t write.
They fail because they never decide.
P.S.: Write your book in 30 days here.
10 Things That Will Work For Writers in 2026
Everyone is talking about what will work in 2026.
Here’s my distilled view after digging into the data, trends, and creator behaviour, specifically for writers and newsletter creators.
1. Creator money will keep growing
↳ Because brands are moving budget to trusted, creator-led distribution—not anonymous media.
2. AI-assisted writing will become default
↳ Because AI will be everywhere; human judgment, voice, and credibility will become the premium.
3. Email newsletters keep winning
↳ Because owned audiences outperform rented platforms when algorithms reset.
4. Writing + video becomes the power combo
↳ Because one strong idea travels further when distributed across formats.
5. Micro-products outperform big courses
↳ Because buyers want fast ROI, not long commitments.
6. Communities get smaller and more serious
↳ Because people want accountability and progress, not noisy group chats.
7. Books will keep the authority power
↳ Because in an AI-dominated world, a book will become a credibility artifact.
8. Done-with-you will beats Do-it-yourself
↳ Because implementation, speed, and structure matter more than information.
9. Distribution matters more than writing skill
↳ Because great ideas still need reach to convert into income.
10. Writers will build businesses training humans for the AI era.
↳ Because people and teams will need to learn how to think, write, communicate, and build trust in AI-heavy workplaces.
The through-line?
Less content.
More clarity.
More outcomes.
More authority.
That’s why the smartest move for many writers in 2026 is still this:
Write a strategic book.
Not to “become an author.”
But to anchor your authority, attract the right clients, and build a business around something solid.
If you’ve been quietly thinking, “Maybe this is the year I write my book,” you’re probably right.
P.S.: Write your book in 30 days here.