Don’t worry this hack was for good. Our substack subscribers grew by 200% month on month 📈
Let’s Get Started
Before we dive into our Substack growth strategy, let us give credit for this week’s CTO diary to our marketing team who insisted on sharing their thoughts on -hacking Substack for the first 1500 subscribers & enable engineers & leaders like you to build your brand.
Our team is passionate about the role of personal branding and effective communication in career advancement. By showcasing the potential of Substack, we aim to illustrate how tech leaders & engineers like you can broaden their influence, share their expertise, and engage with a wider audience.
Engineers and CTOs are often pigeonholed into roles defined by coding and efficiency. While these technical skills are essential, today’s tech leaders are also recognized for their ability to communicate effectively, build personal brands, and shape industry conversations.
Let’s delve into how engineers can harness the power of Substack, inspired by insights from the groCTO community.
Finding Your Niche: A Deep Dive
The engineering landscape is vast, making it essential to identify your niche:
Leverage Your Strengths: What are you passionate about? What skills do you excel in?
Identify Market Gaps: Are there specific topics or technologies that need more attention?
Know Your Audience: Who are you trying to reach with your content?
Building Your Audience: The Power of Community
Growing a dedicated audience requires effort and strategy. Here’s how to build it :
Engage Authentically: Respond to comments, interact with your readers, and build genuine relationships.
Utilise Social Media: Share your Substack content on X, LinkedIn, Reddit, and other engineering platforms.
Collaborate: Partner with other engineers or influencers for cross-promotion opportunities.
Deliver Value: Consistently provide high-quality content that solves problems or offers valuable insights.
Creating Compelling Content: Keep it Real
Your audience values authenticity and valuable insights. Here’s how to deliver:
Share Your Journey: Be transparent about your experiences, challenges, and achievements.
Use Storytelling: Engage readers with captivating narratives and personal anecdotes.
Incorporate Visuals: Enhance your posts with images, code snippets, and diagrams.
Be Consistent: Maintain a regular posting schedule to keep your audience engaged.
groCTO Tip: Look for engineers on groCTO who share their journeys and success stories for inspiration in crafting your own content.
Measuring Success: Beyond the Metrics
While metrics like subscriber counts and engagement are important, consider additional measures of success:
Qualitative Feedback: Pay attention to reader comments and feedback for insights.
Network Growth: Track how your professional network expands as a result of your content.
Career Advancement: Evaluate how your Substack contributes to your career development.
Engineering Leadership Substacks
The engineering leadership space on social media platforms is growing. Here are some notable Substacks to consider:
Engineering Leadership |
: Provides insights into team building and technical decision-making.The Engineering Manager |
: Focuses on management, performance reviews, and career development.Crafting Tech Teams |
: Train tech leads how to improve delivery speeds and maintenance costs by exposing them to Tactical Agility, TDD.
Last Words
By leveraging the groCTO insights and these additional resources, you can create a successful Substack that enhances your personal brand, connects with your audience, and opens new opportunities for income.
We are inviting writers to join our community! If you’re interested in exploring these opportunities further, let us know in the comments.
Credits 🙏
Writers- Cheers to our super supportive marketing team
Sponsors- Thanks to our sponsors Typo AI - Ship reliable software faster
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