I came across a quote from Joe Schriefer, a high-ranking executive at Agora Financial Publishing, one of the world’s most successful paid newsletter brands.
His words resonated with me, particularly in relation to my experience as a best-selling author on Substack, where I have gained hundreds of paid subscribers within three months.
I’ve observed numerous individuals positioning themselves as Substack experts. When evaluating marketing advisers, I always scrutinise their practical experience.
From my observations, the majority of Substack trainers appear to have limited real-world experience, merely repackaging information from Substack’s help files and formulating theoretical principles for managing a paid newsletter.
Intriguingly, some of these self-proclaimed experts have fewer subscribers than I do. This situation underscores the importance of thorough research before accepting advice from individuals who may excel at self-promotion but lack substantive achievements.
Joe Schriefer’s statement encapsulates this issue succinctly: “Most teachers of marketing are nothing but wannabes. They fake their guru status because they’ve never actually made anything work.”
This assertion rings particularly true in the context of self-publishing books or running a paid Substack newsletter.
Caveat emptor!