What I've learned running this newsletter (2024 edition) | Following the yuan

As creators, it’s easy to write off the hours because we are passionate about it. But we have got to stop thinking this way.

From the author: This post is created for my fellow Substackers and those who are thinking/planning to start publishing their content somewhere soon.

For those who are new here: Hi, I’m Yaling. I believe that aside from the politically charged news headlines and data, a business and finance audience could also benefit from being in the loop for consumer trends and human-centered stories.

I write the newsletter to cover exactly that, while providing research and strategy services for brands and financial institutions through my consultancy ApertureChina.

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I kicked off my regular publishing journey of this newsletter at the end of 2022. Back when I exited my full-time journalism job. Now, I’ve clocked over 100 posts. While I’m not yet profitable on here, I’ve picked up a few insights along the way.

The truth is, few Substackers stick around, and not many of them who do would see a profit.

I have had active stages on multiple platforms including WeChat Official Accounts (the publishing platform of the super app that greatly inspired Elon Musk; around 2015), Caixin Blog (2015-2018), Clubhouse (2021) and Twitter/X (2020-2023), I’m no longer starry-eyed about one certain platform.

Not only our interest may fade, but there are many things outside our creators’ control: change of ownership, change of algorithms, as someone with deep ties in China, I also have additional censorship and safety concerns. For example, I posted a lot less on X now as China has ramped up tech capabilities to surveil the platform, seeing it as a rendezvous for anti-Beijing advocates and dissidents (which I’m NOT, please don’t arrest me!).

What I’m saying is, we should give it our best shot while we are at it. Without further ado, here are my three learnings:

1. Be conscious of investment of time, energy and money to avoid burnout and ensure sustainability

The most common business model of media is based on exploitation of young/free labor, I arrived at this cynical-sounding observation after realizing how expensive it is to run a publication at the level I wanted. (Or maybe, that’s the essence of capitalism?)

As journalists or anyone in the arts and culture realm, it’s easy to write off the hours because we are passionate about it. Our value is not just measured by financial gains but also by societal value and artistic value. But we have got to stop thinking this way.

It’s one thing if you want to run a free newsletter/content product to just express yourself, it’s another story when you want to make it into a business. If you’re the latter, you should at least factor in your own hours and energy, as if you are a project manager with a budget in mind.

Here is what may happen if you keep it as a passion project and you do care about engagement: you spend hours day in and day out, but engagement remains low, your passion wears off, you wonder why you spend the night writing this thing rather than doing something more fun. You say to yourself that you’re going to put it on hold for a few weeks, then a few weeks turn into a few months, and after that, you realize you don’t want to pick it up anymore.

I know this pattern well because that’s what happened to my first ‘newsletter’ on WeChat, Italian learning, the CFA exam, the Coursera public speaking course, and many more.

Splice Beta 2023 in Chiang Mai. Image: author

Side note: Two excellent program & conference I’ve participated in CUNY’s Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program, run by

Wonder Tools

’s

Jeremy Caplan

, and Splice Beta, an annual media startup festival hosted by Asian media accelerator Splice.

2. Think about your value proposition. Think again.

I toyed with the idea of creating a platform for Chinese reporters, but most recently I decided to call it quits.

I realized that I’m simply not equipped to make that happen.

I originally had the idea, based on the belief that there must be other Chinese-native reporters who want to build their portfolio in the consumer beat, especially after the closure of The China Project (aka SupChina, where I also contributed a couple of pieces early on). I’d love to provide a harbor for them.

Big reality: A feature piece costs at least 3,000-4,000 RMB for a reporter and editor, which may double if there’s reporting trip expenses involved, it’d increasingly become a big toll as my current work that is China research & strategy isn’t lucrative enough to fund it.

I can’t compete with big publications on labor and funds, which means I can’t provide as wide a coverage as I wanted. I also could ask for free work, but it defies what I stand for.

Result: I thought hard about the reality and what I could really do as one person with a freelance social media manager (thank you Valerie!). I decided that it’s my takes and perspectives. And ultimately, newsletters are a personal format; not every subscriber might be keen on posts from guest writers, who they don’t know.

Having said that, if you have a vision and funds to start something I described above, I’m happy to be your thinking partner or consultant. 😃

3. Use Substack features well (this will get into the nooks and crannies)

Substack is different from online media, not just in the delivery form, but also in features like the byline (where the guest writer’s name would appear in your subscriber’s mailboxes).

Imagine receiving a stranger’s email from that of an acquaintance, the likelihood of opening the former one is much lower, unless the publication itself boasts great credibility.

That leaves Substackers like me two choices, 1. use my own name in the byline and clarify the author at the top (but you know, it feels wrong). 2. give the author a byline, have low expectations on open rate, and hammer down on social media promotion, which is what I chose to do with the recent HeyTea piece with

Yuhao Yang

.

I also happily realize that Substack Notes is getting more traction, which makes it a great way to gain followers who can be later converted to free/paid subscribers.

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I’ve tried many other things over the last year: cross-posts, getting on platforms like Seeking Alpha to expand the reach (failed), short videos (still struggling), podcast (on hold).

After giving many solicited and unsolicited pieces of advice to companies this year, it’s time for me to look at my own practice and see where I can improve. 🔚

You may also be interested in a reflection in my initial months: