We invited writer and art witch Amanda Yates Garcia, who writes Mystery Cult, to share her insights on switching to Substack to focus on rituals; not marketing; finding and using one’s voice; and how she reached six figures in less than a year by understanding what her subscribers needed.
Ok, so she “had a mailing list of 10,000 (on Mailchimp) before I joined Substack and an Instagram following of 50,000”. Well that’s great: good for her. It makes Substack look great too (which it is, I’m not knocking it)...
HOWWWWEVER...
What about accounts that started from 0 followers on instagram and 0 followers on Substack? Are there any success stories with those demographics? Those who grew from nothing? I think you’d be hard pressed to find one, especially a poetry account. Lemme know if you find one.
I don’t mean to whine but rather to manage expectations. If you bring a following from another account or have an already huge email client base, odds are you will do well on Substack.
So what is an outlier poet doing with 17 instagram followers and 110 followers on Substack? Reading posts and interacting with others as much as time will allow (like I am right now). Following those who follow me, post poems when I can (these full time jobs sure get in the way of that dang it!). I’m not going to set up subscriptions because I don’t produce enough content to warrant that. As of now I’m a part time poet in search of full time glory. I’m extremely grateful for the subscribers I have and am thankful they’re getting something out of it.
"First of all, don’t worry about what other people are doing; explore what only you can do. Your background, your experiences, your interests are uniquely yours, and no one else has your voice—use it, celebrate it, feed that voice, make it so that your readers only have one place to go to get what you have to offer." Needed to hear this!
Inspiring post to encourage me to show up as I am, instead of a marketing strategy. Substack continues to amaze me with their platform and the people here are warm and inviting. ❤️
I feel Amanda's advice that you need to both simply write about what interests you while also providing something that people need. Like she says, in a way it's contradictory but I have found that what interests me also apparently (and amazingly!) is something that other people need or want. In my case, with almost no marketing on my part, people who want to dig deeper into myth, history, or even their own Hellenistic practice have found me on their own.
I’m curious how you are able to give your voice and your offerings so freely when you have so many harsh voices attacking you. It’s beautiful that you found your audience and that you e grown so much. It was shocking to me to see so many negative comments. Having monthly moon rituals isn’t demonic, it’s being in touch with the moon and the earths cycles.
Substack isn't the only news outlet pushing witchcraft!! If you go to Google News and put in "Witchcraft" you will find articles this week from: NBC, Newser, Axios, New York Post, Daily Mail, Wired Magazine and NPR among others. So sad to see Substack participating in a weird creepy PR push for witchcraft across multiple platforms. That is what I came to Substack to escape from.
Celebrate! Love the advice for writers and the subject matter of your Substack! It's funny how people are scared of witchcraft and animism - I think its fascinating and I'm glad you're writing about it!
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:11 KJV
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Isaiah 55:6 KJV
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7 KJV
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 KJV
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7 KJV
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 KJV
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6 KJV
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9 KJV
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36 KJV
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20 KJV
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:3 KJV
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:25 KJV
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38 KJV
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Deuteronomy 4:39 KJV
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:21 KJV
I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: Isaiah 45:5 KJV
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Acts 16:31 KJV
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18 KJV
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19 KJV
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22 KJV
I received this in an email from the company. I never subscribed to this. This is not neutral material to send to customers. You wouldn't send out an interview with a Muslim imam or an evangelical pastor, right? Because you are sending out unwarranted ideological content, I will completely stop using your site, and I encourage others to do the same.
It's great testimony and I see how this can work. However, substack does not cater for Africa to earn a living it is designed for America, Asia and Europe. I say this because last week I had a reader who wanted to pledge. I had not turned on my publication for substack for payments. When I did try to turn it on, stripe was the only way to get paid and my country South Africa was not included. Stripe Atlas requires an American Address and security number which I do not have. So that is a problem it means I can never earn money for my writing. So this platform needs to be more inclusive and find other ways to include us. D.E.I is paramount for all of us in this world. So substack please find a way for African writers to earn a living too. This is a good platform and I believe it can always be great.
Wow! Was not expecting such harsh comments after such a fun, delightful interview! I'm cheering you on, Amanda! Also want to add that you're a great writer. Even on Substack, many folks seem to forget the importance of that when complaining that they can't seem to get more subscribers.
Ok, so she “had a mailing list of 10,000 (on Mailchimp) before I joined Substack and an Instagram following of 50,000”. Well that’s great: good for her. It makes Substack look great too (which it is, I’m not knocking it)...
HOWWWWEVER...
What about accounts that started from 0 followers on instagram and 0 followers on Substack? Are there any success stories with those demographics? Those who grew from nothing? I think you’d be hard pressed to find one, especially a poetry account. Lemme know if you find one.
I don’t mean to whine but rather to manage expectations. If you bring a following from another account or have an already huge email client base, odds are you will do well on Substack.
So what is an outlier poet doing with 17 instagram followers and 110 followers on Substack? Reading posts and interacting with others as much as time will allow (like I am right now). Following those who follow me, post poems when I can (these full time jobs sure get in the way of that dang it!). I’m not going to set up subscriptions because I don’t produce enough content to warrant that. As of now I’m a part time poet in search of full time glory. I’m extremely grateful for the subscribers I have and am thankful they’re getting something out of it.
"First of all, don’t worry about what other people are doing; explore what only you can do. Your background, your experiences, your interests are uniquely yours, and no one else has your voice—use it, celebrate it, feed that voice, make it so that your readers only have one place to go to get what you have to offer." Needed to hear this!
I have no interest in her demonic writings, which is what she advocates. Another evil person in this evil Godless world.
Inspiring post to encourage me to show up as I am, instead of a marketing strategy. Substack continues to amaze me with their platform and the people here are warm and inviting. ❤️
Inspiring post. Shows the power of following your own vision and being consistent.
I feel Amanda's advice that you need to both simply write about what interests you while also providing something that people need. Like she says, in a way it's contradictory but I have found that what interests me also apparently (and amazingly!) is something that other people need or want. In my case, with almost no marketing on my part, people who want to dig deeper into myth, history, or even their own Hellenistic practice have found me on their own.
I’m curious how you are able to give your voice and your offerings so freely when you have so many harsh voices attacking you. It’s beautiful that you found your audience and that you e grown so much. It was shocking to me to see so many negative comments. Having monthly moon rituals isn’t demonic, it’s being in touch with the moon and the earths cycles.
Substack isn't the only news outlet pushing witchcraft!! If you go to Google News and put in "Witchcraft" you will find articles this week from: NBC, Newser, Axios, New York Post, Daily Mail, Wired Magazine and NPR among others. So sad to see Substack participating in a weird creepy PR push for witchcraft across multiple platforms. That is what I came to Substack to escape from.
Celebrate! Love the advice for writers and the subject matter of your Substack! It's funny how people are scared of witchcraft and animism - I think its fascinating and I'm glad you're writing about it!
Amanda is the absolute best! I was lucky enough to have a healing session with her a few years back. I wrote about it in my latest Stack.
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:11 KJV
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Isaiah 55:6 KJV
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7 KJV
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 KJV
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7 KJV
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 KJV
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6 KJV
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Romans 10:9 KJV
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36 KJV
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20 KJV
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:3 KJV
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: John 11:25 KJV
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38 KJV
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Deuteronomy 4:39 KJV
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:21 KJV
I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: Isaiah 45:5 KJV
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Acts 16:31 KJV
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:18 KJV
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19 KJV
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22 KJV
I received this in an email from the company. I never subscribed to this. This is not neutral material to send to customers. You wouldn't send out an interview with a Muslim imam or an evangelical pastor, right? Because you are sending out unwarranted ideological content, I will completely stop using your site, and I encourage others to do the same.
It's great testimony and I see how this can work. However, substack does not cater for Africa to earn a living it is designed for America, Asia and Europe. I say this because last week I had a reader who wanted to pledge. I had not turned on my publication for substack for payments. When I did try to turn it on, stripe was the only way to get paid and my country South Africa was not included. Stripe Atlas requires an American Address and security number which I do not have. So that is a problem it means I can never earn money for my writing. So this platform needs to be more inclusive and find other ways to include us. D.E.I is paramount for all of us in this world. So substack please find a way for African writers to earn a living too. This is a good platform and I believe it can always be great.
Great post. Loved her advice about staying in your lane, sort of speak, and not focusing on what everyone else is doing.
I also liked how she focused on providing content instead of marketing tirelessly on Instagram. It's inspiring for my own work.
Just another sexual tease, using her sexuality to promote her paganism
Wow! Was not expecting such harsh comments after such a fun, delightful interview! I'm cheering you on, Amanda! Also want to add that you're a great writer. Even on Substack, many folks seem to forget the importance of that when complaining that they can't seem to get more subscribers.