The AI hype train is already over before it even got a chance to get started.

Remember when Steve Jobs would get up on stage, and there was thunderous applause, followed by silent tension so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, because everybody knew that whatever came next was going to blow their minds?

And that wasn’t all.

Whatever blew their minds first was often followed by a, “But wait… there’s more.”

And you knew that when you heard those words, your mind was going to be completely incinerated by whatever Steve Jobs showed you next? And that show went on for years, with every new release and every new design blowing our minds, even if you were someone like me who was never really an Apple fan in general.

Where is that with AI?

Sure, our minds were blown a year or two ago with ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity when they all first came onto the scene. Next came images, and that was impressive, but we knew video was coming. And when it did, it delivered, and has only improved since.

But then OpenAI recently hosted it’s 5.0 release for ChatGPT, and there was a palpable level of excitement leading up to the release. It was being hyped up by AI influencers and people in the tech industry, as well as by OpenAI itself, hosting a full-blow presentation with a live audience and everything.

But afterwards, it was just…. Womp womp womp.

A big nothing burger for the average person.

Sure, there were some changes on the backend that got some tech people engaged, but the broader audience felt like there was little to nothing new in this release –– if anything, what followed was an experience that felt like they’d downgraded the system, and that things had regressed from where they had been just hours prior to the ‘upgrade’.

This was followed by apologies, roll-backs, updates, and more. And yeah, sure, it’s great that OpenAI is “listening” to its customers, but at the end of the day… it feels like the hype train has already ended.

There is no sustained suspense. No lines wrapping around the block waiting for the new release. No breathtaking moments as our minds are collectively blown by the next big thing.

… or maybe we’ve just grown accustomed to our minds being blown every 10 minutes with self-driving cars, taxis, and freight trucks, and AI already saturating every moment of our day, and all of our experiences from robo-taxis to videos and images that we’re constantly having to discern if they’re real or not, and maybe it’s overwhelming… and maybe AI has already become a nuisance rather than something we look forward to.

Whatever it is… it feels like it’s already gone.

I wrote a deep-dive article anyway.
Nothing crazy. Just a simple, straightforward, best-practice piece.
One page answering exactly what I knew people wanted to know.

I also threw in a fun analogy to make a slightly more difficult topic easy to understand — in layman's terms rather than industry jargon.

Since everyone else saw "0 volume"...
They ignored the topic.
Which also means they never wrote about it.
So I ranked FAST.

Within a few days:
🔹 Top of Google
🔹 30–40 organic visits per day
🔹 #1 spot for well over a year

Eventually, keyword tools caught up.
Bigger brands swooped in and muscled their way into outranking me.

But it taught me an important lesson:
It’s good to follow data...
But it’s essential to trust your instinct.

As AI becomes even more prevalent, and “best practices” become run-of-the-mill, standardized processes...

The brands that truly break out will be those led by people with strong instincts; grounded in real experience and industry knowledge.

That will often outperform even the best of the best data available.

If your gut says it's relevant, but the data says it isn't...

You might be early, not wrong.
Trust yourself.
And you might just find your own blue ocean.

Ever ignored the data and won?
Tell me about it! 👇

You depend on 'intent' and 'signal data' tools like 6sense, warmly, or others to spy on your website visitors, de-anonymize them (identify them without their permission), put together a profile on them (without their consent), and enhance that profile with another tool like Clay (using more data about them stolen from other sources where they didn't realize they were being de-anonymized).

Could you imagine if this were done on medical sites? Financial sites?

It’s bad enough that companies such as Meta listen in on peoples private conversations in the confines of their own homes, and surface ads related to things they’ve spoken out loud. But to standardize that level of invasiveness in day-to-day marketing strategies and tools? Oh, no… no no no.

That's not warmly anything.

It's not a 6th sense.

It's cold and calculated. It’s invasive. It's a spy-tool, and you’re dabbling in the dangerous industry of intelligence.

You're treating people more like opponents in War Games instead of prospective customers and clients.

You're not a marketer.

You're an aggressive door-to-door sales representative knocking on digital doors with "No Soliciting" signs out front. And when nobody answers, you start taking notes and pictures of the exterior of the home, hop the fence into the backyard trying to open the back door and fiddling with the windows to see if any of them were left unlocked.

It’s just a numbers game. Eventually you’ll find a home to get into.

Once you make it inside, you start recording all of the family photos, sifting through documents in the office, collecting all the information you possibly can before they get home, and discover you've invaded their house.

That kind of story doesn't usually end well.

I can't see how yours fares any differently.

If you’re using any of these kind of ‘marketing tools’ … you’re not a marketer.

You’re a stalker.

It sparks.
It pops.
Then it’s gone.

But if you want compounding traction (not just momentary likes), you can’t treat high-performing content like a one-night stand.

You need to squeeze every signal out of it.

Here’s how.

🧠 Signal Isn’t Just What You Say. It’s How You Scale It.

A single winning post (or Substack Note) is a signal goldmine — if you know where to dig.

Your job isn’t just to hit publish.

Your job is to turn that signal into a syndicated ecosystem.

Let’s break down how.

🔁 The Signal Stack™

Turn 1 Winning Post into 10+ Pieces of Strategic Content

Here’s a repurposing map we use inside The Signal Syndicate to turn one post into a full suite of assets across the journey:

🎯 Start With the Post That Worked

It could be:

• A LinkedIn post with high comments/save rate

• A Substack piece that drove new subscribers

• A tweet that got shared by your ICPs

Now break it down into these assets:

1. Awareness Fragment (Pattern Interrupt)

• Turn the hook into a tweet, meme, or stat graphic

• Format: “Most creators do X. But the ones making $$ do Y.”

2. Authority Angle (Explainer or Framework)

• Turn your insight into a carousel, teardown, or loom explainer

• “Here’s why this works →”

3. Activation Asset (Mini Win or CTA)

• Create a cheat sheet, checklist, or shortcut

• Or: “If this clicked → do this next”

4. Email Echo

• Send it to your list with a fresh subject line

• Add 1 extra layer: story, stat, or “what I’d do differently”

5. Retargeting Ready

• Add a visual + voiceover version for ads

• Use the Contrast Effect and Anchoring Bias to boost recall

🔌 Distribution Layers That Don’t Burn You Out

Most creators post once, then say, “It didn’t work.”

What they mean is:
“I didn’t plug it into a system.”

Use the 3-Layer Distribution Stack:

LAYER 1: Owned

• Email, Substack, Community → always gets first dibs

LAYER 2: Borrowed

• LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Threads → adapted for native tone

LAYER 3: Amplified

• Retargeting Ads

• Email Sequences

• SEO / Pillar Post Linkbacks

Pro tip: Reuse high-performance hooks across layers with different formats.
A carousel on LinkedIn = a reel on Instagram = a cold email PS.

🎯 Metrics to Track Signal Strength

Don’t just look at likes.

Look for leverage indicators:

• Save rate / dwell time = signal of depth

• Replies / DMs / shares/restacks = signal of resonance

• SEO impressions / backlinks = signal of search demand

• Subscriber spikes (free or paid) = signal of conversion intent

Tag and label every breakout post in a simple Airtable or Notion log.
This becomes your “Signal Vault.”

(I’m building a system for this right now.
Message me if you want early access to kick it around and test it out)

Neuromarketing Layer: Why This Works (in plain English)

This entire approach works because it taps into how our brains naturally respond to information:

✅ Framing Effect — When you control how the message is presented, you influence how it’s interpreted. Think: same picture, different caption = different feeling.

✅ Endowment Effect — Giving people a quick “win” (like a useful insight or tip) makes them feel like they already own the value. People protect what feels like theirs.

✅ Mere Exposure Effect — The more often someone sees or hears from you, the more they start to trust you. Familiarity builds comfort and credibility.

📌 Great content does two things at once:
It feels fresh enough to stand out and familiar enough to trust.
That combo is how you become the brand people default to.

✨ TL;DR: You Don’t Need More Ideas. You Need More Leverage.

“Content isn’t king. Consistency isn’t queen.

Compounding is the kingdom.”

If you’ve ever felt burned out by the pressure to constantly create...

It’s because you haven’t extracted all the signal from what you already created, and what already worked in its original format.

🪜 Next Steps

Step 1: … go back, right now, and review all of your posts, notes, and emails and identify which content already performed the best. If you don’t have a way to track this, send me a message, or comment below. I’m working on a tool that I think you’ll find useful. I’ll get you early access to it – just message me, or comment below.

Step 2: Start identifying ways to rehash and repurpose it in different formats, on different platforms, and in different ways for your audience to consume it.

Turn a high-performing post into a video. Adapt a strong email into a Twitter thread. Spin a long-form piece into bite-sized visuals or a podcast segment. Remix, reframe, and redistribute so your best ideas keep compounding.

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🚀 Next Up in the Series:

The Signal Syndicate Ad Stack
→ How to retarget by signal type, not just clicks.

Subscribe now to get:

✅ 50% off forever
✅ Access to The Signal Vault
✅ The next 3 posts before anyone else

👇 Let’s build your content flywheel 👇

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It sounds like content marketing.
It feels like “value.”
But it’s missing the sequence that creates momentum.

If your audience isn’t moving?

It’s because your message isn’t rotating through the right types of signal.

Let’s fix that.

Get 50% off forever

🎯 The 3 Content Modes that Drive Action

To create conversion without pressure, your content should rotate through these 3 modes:

1. Awareness Posts — “I never saw it that way.”

These are pattern-breakers. They name the itch before it becomes a pain.
Your job: create relevance before readiness.

• Shine a light on invisible problems

• Expose hidden costs of inaction

• Debunk the common myths or wrong paths

• Use curiosity, story, or stats to provoke

🧠 Neuromarketing Layer: Awareness content taps into the Contrast Effect and Framing Effect — reframing their worldview so you’re remembered as the source of the insight.

🔁 Example Rotation:

“Why ‘just post more content’ is the worst advice in 2025.”
“The unseen tax creators pay when their offer isn’t clear.”

2. Authority Posts — “This person gets it.”

These build trust. Not by flexing credentials — but by showing command over your category.

• Share your unique framework (like SIGNAL(S), PASTA, or BCG’s 4S)

• Teardown others’ mistakes (with insight, not ego)

• Explain the why behind the win

• Layer in social proof, visuals, or stats

🧠 Neuromarketing Layer: Authority content leverages Anchoring Bias (you set the standard) and the Rule of 3 (use trio-style frameworks to become memorable).

🔁 Example Rotation:

“Here’s the actual CTA format I use in 7-figure funnels.”
“The ‘Performance Ostrich’ Effect: Why your ads stop working (and what to do instead).”

3. Activation Posts — “Let’s do this.”

These are invitations — not pitches.
They give readers permission to take the next step, without the cringe.

• Offer a mini-win, cheat sheet, or shortcut

• Tell a micro-transformation story (then show them where to get theirs)

• Use “lightbulb” style phrasing: “If this clicked… do this next”

• Always connect to the core outcome you mapped earlier

🧠 Neuromarketing Layer: This is where the Endowment Effect and Power of Free shine — give them something simple they can use or claim.

🔁 Example Rotation:

“If your content isn’t converting, try rotating these 3 post types for 30 days. Then join The Signal Syndicate for the next level.”
“Steal my mini-funnel checklist (no opt-in) — it’s what I use before every post.”

🚀 Want your content to convert — without getting stuck in the “posting friend zone”?

Subscribe to Send The Signals and unlock:

• Full and first access to this entire content series as it’s released

• Templates & behind-the-scenes breakdowns in The Signal Vault

• FREE access to every course we drop — now and in the future

💡 Built for creators who want magnetic content that moves people.

Subscribe here — 50% off forever 👇

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🔁 How to Rotate Content Without Burning Out

Think of this like a flywheel, not a funnel.

• Week 1: Post an Awareness idea (problem naming)

• Week 2: Layer in Authority (framework, teardown, proof)

• Week 3: Activate (mini-win or CTA)

• Repeat with fresh angles, examples, and formats

🧠 Pro Tip: Stack formats within each type.
e.g., Awareness ≠ just tweets — it could be a short story, stat, or even a meme.

When you rotate like this, you stay memorable and move people.

✨ TL;DR: Great Content Isn’t Loud — It’s Sequenced

If you’re stuck in the “friend zone” of content?

You’re likely over-posting Awareness-type content...
...without following through on Authority and Activation.

📌 Remember this:

“People don’t need more info.
They need a reason to care, a reason to trust, and a way to act.”

That’s the sequence that primes them to say yes.

💥 Next in the Series:
How to Build Infinite Signal from One High-Performing Post
(Repurposing map + distribution layers that build leverage)

👇 Ready to rotate your content with strategy, not guesswork?
Join The Signal Syndicate, unlock the full Signal Syndicate playbook, and turn your content into cash.
Subscribe now.

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Today? The term’s been hijacked by hustle culture cosplayers and resale reskin artists armed with Canva templates and a ChatGPT prompt.

Welcome to the Wild West of Marketing Theater.

While this may be a mild departure from my usual content, it’s an important detour. Especially for those of you building brands, selling expertise, or trying to navigate the noisy ecosystem of growth advice online.

Because here’s the thing:

There’s a critical difference between marketing—the discipline—and the hacks who merely sell marketing assets, or worse, perform marketing theater that passes as expertise.

And understanding that difference might be the single most important filter for protecting your reputation, your budget, and your brand equity.

💥 From PLR to Pretenders: What Went Wrong?

Private Label Rights (PLR), Master Resell Rights (MRR), and Resell Rights (RR) weren’t always dirty words. Originally, they were frameworks—shortcuts for content repurposing, licensing, and scaling. But over the past decade, they’ve been twisted into something almost unrecognizable.

What used to be smart content leverage has morphed into:

• 📦 Cloned funnels repackaged as “coaching programs”

• 🧠 AI-scraped eBooks pitched as “thought leadership”

• 🏴‍☠️ Stolen intellectual property with new covers and bold claims

• 🤡 Fake expertise with no training, strategy, or accountability

These aren’t marketers. They’re middlemen in disguise.

🎭 The Great Pretend

The barrier to entry is nearly zero. All you need is a Wi-Fi signal, a handful of affiliate links, and the nerve to call yourself a “7-figure marketer.” What we’re seeing now is the rise of:

• Fake Authority: Emoji-filled bios claiming “growth expert” status based on copied screenshots.

• Zero Strategy: No segmentation, no funnel design, no ICP insight—just spammed DMs and fake urgency.

• Stolen Goods: Templates, courses, and swipe files lifted wholesale, then re-listed under new names.

Imagine calling yourself a contractor because you bought a hammer.

That’s where we are.

📜 Real Marketers Know the Difference

Great marketing isn't about selling someone else’s script. It’s about orchestrating trust, timing, and transformation. Here’s what the pros know:

• PLR is a starting point, not a finished product. Use it as a draft—never the final delivery.

• Copywriting ≠ words. It’s psychology, behavior science, and structured testing. See: Neuromarketing principles like the Framing Effect or Endowment Effect.

• Marketing ≠ Monetization. Building a business means building systems—positioning, acquisition, retention—not just pushing digital files.

🚨 The Fallout: What This Trend is Costing Us

The rise of untrained resellers parading as strategists isn’t harmless—it’s damaging the whole industry, and it might be damaging your brand if you’ve unknowingly fallen prey to their schemes:

• ❌ Client Confusion: They don’t know who to trust—and many get burned.

• ❌ Eroded Trust: The signal-to-noise ratio in marketing has collapsed.

• ❌ Wasted Budget: Real marketers spend the first half of client engagements unteaching what bad actors taught.

It’s no longer enough to be good at what you do—you have to unseat the loudest voice in the room to earn trust again.

🧰 If You’re the Real Deal—Here’s Your Move

Don’t let resellers define the industry and give it a bad name as if it were a used-car sales lot. Instead:

1. Own your methodology. Whether you're leveraging the NBD-Dirichlet modelor running creative analysis based on scroll stop rate, show your work.

2. Share proof, not platitudes. Go beyond ROI screenshots—share thinking, frameworks, trade-offs, and failures.

3. Educate your audience. Teach the difference between marketing strategy and marketing theater.

🔥 Bottom Line

If digital marketing is a toolbox, the fakes are swinging the hammer and yelling “I build houses.” Meanwhile, real pros are designing blueprints, sourcing materials, and overseeing projects that actually last.

The industry doesn’t need more noise.

It needs fewer resellers and more architects.

It need authenticity.

It needs better, stronger signals.

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But really?

They have a funnel fluency problem.

They don’t know how to turn their message — the thing they deeply believe — into a natural path that leads to a “yes.”

So what do they do?

• Post free tips and value bombs.

• Cross their fingers someone asks for more.

• Get stuck in the “friend zone” of content.

Here’s the truth:

💡 You don’t need to be pushy to convert. You need to be clear — and compelling in sequence.

Let’s fix your fluency problem — the magnetic way.

🧭 Step 1: Know What You’re Really Selling

Start here:

You’re not selling your service. You’re selling what their life feels like after.

This is the emotional transformation you [hopefully] mapped in your messaging. Now you’re going to:

• Show it in content.

• Prove it with moments.

• Anchor it in desire.

✅ Create a sticky core outcome phrase:

“After working with me, you’ll _____.”
Make that your north star — every piece of content should point to it.

🎯 Step 2: Map Your Message Arc (Soft Funnel Structure)

Think of your content as a gentle invitation, not a sales pitch.
Here's the sequence that pulls people in:

1. The Pain

“You’re posting nonstop, but nothing’s converting.”

2. The Shift

“The problem isn’t your effort. It’s your messaging. Your signal is off.”

3. The Belief Bridge

“You don’t need to sell harder. You need to guide better.”

4. The Glimpse

“Imagine messaging once and hearing: ‘This is exactly what I needed — how can I work with you?’”

5. The Invitation

“That’s what I help creators do inside The Signal Syndicate.”

This is the same formula I use in newsletters, threads, and sales pages — it builds trust and curiosity.

📄 Step 3: Build a “Mini Funnel” Inside Every Post

Every great post should carry the DNA of a funnel — without feeling like one.

Here's how:

This is where we go deeper. Subscribe now to unlock the rest — including real CTA frameworks, content sequencing templates, and exclusive Signal Syndicate strategies.

🎁 Just $24/year (50% off) for the creators who want their content to convert without selling out.

Get 50% off forever

You don’t need a “launch.” You need a lead magnet that feels like a lightbulb moment.

💬 Step 4: Soft CTAs that Convert Better

Most people ruin a great post with a jarring CTA. Don’t break the vibe.

Use emotion-first, low-pressure invitations, like:

• “Ready to make your message convert? Join us inside The Signal Syndicate.”

• “Want to turn your content into clients — without the cringe? Start here.”

• “This is just the surface. The deep dive’s inside the membership.”

Remember:

🧠 CTAs don’t need to yell. They just need to feel right.

✨ TL;DR: Magnetic Funnels = Messaging in Sequence

You don’t need to sell harder.
You need to sequence your content around these 3 things:

1. What they feel now (the pain or frustration)

2. What they want to feel (the transformation)

3. How you bridge the gap (your offer or system)

If your content naturally flows through those three — without forcing, pushing, or pitching — you’ll convert without even “selling.”

💥 Next Up in This Series:

The 3 Types of Content That Prime Your Audience to Say Yes
(Awareness, Authority, and Activation posts — and how to rotate them)

🔁 If this helped...

• Share it with a friend stuck in content limbo.

• Restack so more creators can finally break free of “posting with no path.”

• Subscribe now for the next post in this series — and access to premium trainings inside The Signal Syndicate.

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We say things like:

“I help people with productivity.”
“I teach fitness and nutrition.”
“I do copywriting for solopreneurs.”

It’s all true.
But that’s not what people buy.

People don’t buy what you do.
They buy who they become after working with you.

Let’s break down how to flip your messaging, so that it finally lands.

🎁 Liking this? Get 50% off — just $24/year (normally $49) and join The Signal Syndicate. Paid subscribers unlock deeper, more actionable insights every week — plus free access to premium courses.

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🧠 Step 1: Being a Resource Isn’t Enough

You’re doing this from love.
You want to help. You want to serve. You want to be a resource.

But here’s the truth:

🟨 “People don’t follow coaches because of what we are. They follow us because of what they become with us.”

If your message isn’t centered around transformation, it’s not cutting through.

Ask yourself:

• What changes for my people because of me?

• Who do they become?

• What identity are they stepping into?

That’s your real offer. Not the feature. The future.

🏋️‍♀️ Step 2: Stop Selling the Gym. Sell the Result.

Nobody signs up for a gym because they love dumbbells.
They sign up for how it feels to be strong.

When you talk about your service, ask:

• What pain does this remove?

• What power does this unlock?

Instead of:

“Join my 8-week health program.”

Try:

“Feel energized, confident, and back in control — in just 8 weeks.”

🟢 Reminder:

Your program is the tool. The transformation is the message.

🔄 Step 3: Flip It — From You → To Them

Here’s a quick test:

Old:

“I help people with fitness and nutrition.”

New:

“You’ll feel stronger, energized, and clear — every single day.”

It’s the same work. But the second version frames their future self.

And that’s where connection begins.

🚀 Ready to flip your messaging for real? Join The Signal Syndicate — just $24/year (normally $49) for 50% off. You’ll get weekly deep dives, premium courses, and the clarity to convert scrolls into clients.

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✍️ Step 4: The 4-Word Test

Someone asks what you do. Instead of rattling off your job title… try answering in 4 words:

❌ Not:

“Fitness and nutrition coach.”

✅ Instead:

“Fueling confident, clear lives.”
“Clarity, confidence, every day.”
“Helping bold voices scale.”

Short. Specific. Emotionally charged.

🟨 If your message doesn’t fit on a T-shirt, it’s not yet a brand.

🎯 Step 5: Craft a Tagline That Sticks

If your audience remembers one thing about your brand — what do you want it to be?

Make it:

• Emotional

• Outcome-driven

• Easy to say

Your tagline should sound like something they’d whisper to themselves in a moment of doubt.

Examples:

• “Build a business that doesn’t burn you out.”

• “From ideas to income.”

• “Rewrite your habits. Reclaim your energy.”

You want them to read it and say:

“That’s exactly what I need.”

🧠 TL;DR: From What You Do → To What They Get

Here’s your cheat sheet:

You’ve seen how to shift from what you do → what they get.

Now let’s make it personal — and I’ll reply with feedback.

Try this in the comments:

👉 Before:
I help people with ____
👉 After:
You’ll feel ____ after working with me.

Bonus: What’s your 4-word test tagline?

Let’s sharpen it together.

🔁 If this helped…

• 📨 Send it to a friend who’s struggling to describe what they really do.

• 🖥️ Subscribe to get the next piece in this series:
  “How to Turn Your Message into a Magnetic Funnel (Without Being Salesy).”

• ♻️ Restack to share it with your audience, and help more creators clarify their message.

Let’s end the era of “I help” statements, one transformation at a time.

🔓 Want in? Join The Signal Syndicate today for just $24/year (50% off).
Weekly deep dives. Premium course access. Messaging that actually moves people.
Let’s turn clarity into momentum — together.

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Now, I get it—doesn’t exactly sound like the kind of sexy tool that’s going to blow up your content strategy. But make no mistake: it’s the single most powerful visibility lever you have. And if you’re not using it (like so many other blogs and newsletters aren’t), you’re flying blind.

Most people don’t realize this...

→ The gap between what’s obvious and what’s visible online?
That’s your leverage point.

And while others are sleeping on organic visibility, you could be building authority.

Learn to play the attention game, and it won’t be a level playing field—
It’ll be your home turf.

Start now.
Because the ones who win online?
Aren’t always the best.

They’re just the best at being seen.

Let’s get you set up on Google Search Console—so you can stop playing blind and start showing up 24/7/365 like the All-Star that you are.

I’ve created a step-by-step instructional guide for Substack writers so that you can get your Google Search Console account set up for better website insights. Access both the video instructional and the step-by-step tutorial on how to set up Google Search Console in Substack here:

Access The Short Tutorial

You will also need a Google Analytics Account set up. That guide is also available here:

Google Analytics Setup Guide

📅 May 2025 Update: If your Substack account was created before May 2025, you might still see an option to set up Google Search Console directly in your Analytics Settings via a slightly easier option than the one linked above. For reasons unknown, Substack has removed this specific option for newer accounts.

Either way, you can still set up Google Search Console using the instructions above, regardless of when your account was created. But, just in case the old option is still available to you, here are the original setup instructions:

Step 1:

Go to Google Search Console (free account required), and select “+ Add Property.”

Step 2:

Copy your Substack URL. If it’s a subdomain, it will look something like “https://sitename.substack.com”

If it’s a custom domain, such as SendTheSignals.com, it will be, “https://mysite.com”

Step 3:

Paste that URL into the Google Search Console pop up window that came up after you clicked “+ Add Property” under “URL Prefix.” Hit continue.

Step 4:

Select the “HTML Tag” option.

Step 5:

Follow the instructions on that box that tell you to copy the tag by hitting the “Copy” button.

Step 6:

Go to your Substack Analytics in your Settings menu, and paste that HTML Tag into that box.

Step 7:

Hit “Save"

Step 8:

Go back to your Google Search Console window and click “Verify”

Step 9:

The site should verify and you will be taken back to your dashboard. Keep in mind, you won’t see any data for a day or two (maybe more) because it won’t retroactively track organic search data for your site. It will only start doing that going forward.

If nobody is finding your content through organic search on Google, then you also won’t see any data populate on your dashboard until that happens.

Keep writing–eventually people will start finding it through keyword searches you probably didn’t even intend to write for and you’ll find a wealth of information to help you continue fine tuning your signal.

📡 Ready to build your signal?
As a paid subscriber to SendTheSignals.com, you’ll unlock every article I’ve ever published—practical, proven strategies to grow your brand and turn your content into a 24/7 growth engine.

Plus, you’ll get exclusive access to:
✅ Quarterly 1:1 strategy sessions with me
✅ Live AMA sessions to ask questions, get feedback, and stay sharp

I’m just getting started—and right now, you can lock in the launch price for life.

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You’re not alone—and you’ve probably heard everything from “it’s a must for branding” to “just forward it and you’re set.”

But here’s the truth most articles skip:

👉 The wrong domain setup can quietly kill your SEO, stall your growth, and lock you into Substack forever.

This guide cuts through the noise. No jargon, no opinion-based garbage—just what actually works (and what traps to avoid) if you care about building a future-proof brand.

🚦 Quick Answer

• Use a custom domain if you care about building your brand long-term.

• Stick with Substack’s default URL if you want fast growth with no tech setup.

• Don’t bother forwarding your custom domain name— this is recommended by people who claim to be “tech savvy” but it only looks and sounds nice. In reality, it doesn’t help your SEO or future-proof your work. It sets you up for long-term failure.

  Don’t do it.

  

  Hybrid Mode: Buy your custom domain now (so nobody else does), but start building using Substack’s default URL first. Then, once you’ve gained traction, set up your custom Substack domain. In the meantime, you can also set up your custom domain as a “landing page” for your substack subscription offer.

✅ What You Get With Substack’s Default URL (yourname.substack.com)

• 🚀 Instant visibility: You benefit from Substack’s discovery engine, Substack newsletter recommendations, and built-in subscriber network.

• 📈 Google boost out of the box: Your writing rides on Substack’s strong SEO benefit and domain authority, helping your Substack publication show up in search results faster.

• ✉️ No setup: You don’t need to touch DNS settings, domain registration, servers, or anything techy—Substack handles it all.

Great for:
• First-time newsletter writers
• Creators focused on audience growth now
• People who just want to write and not worry about domain settings or tech setup

🧱 What You Get With a Custom Domain (yourname.com)

• 🔒 You own it: It’s your brand identity, your space—outside of any single blogging platform.

• 🌱 You grow long-term SEO: Google starts associating your domain name with your writing, boosting your search engine presence.

• 🔄 You can leave Substack later without breaking your old links or losing subscribers.

Think of it like buying vs. renting your home. Substack is a great neighborhood—but your own custom domain means you’re the landlord.

But there are a few tradeoffs:

1. You may see a small dip in traffic while Google reindexes your pages—this is temporary. And by temporary, I mean usually just a few weeks, at most. You can help speed up the process by refreshing your sitemap in Google Search Console, or requesting updated indexing for each substack post (though this is a bit more technical in nature).

2. You might not show up as often in Substack’s internal recommendations (though that’s changing, and isn’t as much of a problem as it was a few years ago—more on that below)

❌ Why “Domain Forwarding” Isn’t a Smart Hack

Some creators suggest you just forward your yourname.com domain to your Substack URL. That way, it “looks” branded—but here’s the catch:

👉 Forwarding = a visual band-aid.

It’s a wannabe SEO “hack.” Don’t fall for it.

It doesn’t help your Google rankings, brand equity, or future plans.

📬 What About Email Deliverability?

Good news: You don’t lose anything.

If you keep using Substack’s built-in email system:

• ✅ Substack still sends your emails for you

• ✅ They’ll arrive reliably in inboxes

• ✅ You don’t have to mess with scary-sounding things like SPF or DKIM

Only change your email settings if you want to send from an address like newsletter@yourdomain.com using tools like ConvertKit or Mailchimp.
For 99% of people? You’re all set.

For example, here on SendTheSignals.com, I just use Substack’s default domain email delivery setup. I don’t utilize any third-party emailing system (at the time this article was published).

🔍 What About Substack Discovery?

This used to be the big reason people avoided custom domains. In the past, using one meant losing access to Substack’s homepage, recommendations, and “From Substack” emails.

But today?

• More custom-domain newsletters are showing up in all of those places

• Substack seems to prioritize engagement and content quality over domain name

• There’s no official rule—but evidence shows custom domains can still win discovery

It’s no longer an either/or situation—but outdated advice is still everywhere. Many older articles (on Google and Substack) were written when custom domains did limit discovery, and newer posts often echo those claims without realizing the Substack algorithm has changed.

👤 Real-Life Creator Examples

Here’s how different types of creators might approach this decision:

🧠 Bonus insight: This taps into what psychologists call the Endowment Effect—people value something more when they own it.

📊 Simple Domain Setup Comparison Table

🧭 Final Verdict

Choose a custom domain if you:

• Want to build a serious long-term brand

• Care about owning your SEO and content footprint

• Might leave Substack someday

Stick with the default if you:

• Want fast growth now

• Don’t want to touch domain settings

• Just want to write and see what happens

✅ Either way: Don’t just forward your domain. It looks nice, but doesn’t help with Google or growth.

🧠 TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read)

• Substack works great out of the box.

• A custom domain = more control and future growth.

• You won’t lose email delivery either way.

• Forwarding your domain is a dead end—it’s branding theater, not strategy.

🛠️ Tools & Help

• 🔗 Substack’s official domain setup guide →

• 🧪 Test email settings if needed →

Based on fact-checked insights from Substack docs, SEO experts, and first-hand creator experiences–including my own (SendTheSignals.com is a custom domain on Substacks platform). Built for clarity, not clickbait.

👇 Spread the word–share this post, or just click the re-stack button 👇

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I loved writing poetry when I was a kid, all the way into my teens. I don’t remember when I developed a passion for it, but it was strong. Unrelenting.

I had rhymes pouring out of my head that I couldn’t write down in my notepads fast enough. And I had a lot of notepads. You know the ones with the white and black stripes over the cover – the Mead Composition Book.

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I would finish filling one, and continue writing in the next. Stacks of them built over the years.

And then I graduated highschool and real life began. The first few times I moved, I made a point of bringing them all with me. As life sped up, my writing slowed down.

As adult responsibilities took up space in my mind and priorities were rearranged, the rhymes seemed to slow down. They showed up less frequently, and they seemed to carry less weight. Not as much emotion. Dull, if you will.

Eventually…

I just… stopped writing.

I don’t know when that happened, exactly.

Maybe it was when I moved off completely on my own on a business adventure that put significant distance between me and my immediate family.

Maybe it was when I got married and my attention became consumed by the one I love.

Or when I had my first kid and the responsibilities of being a dad for the first time controlled every moment of my day–and night.

Or was it when I had my second kid, and was juggling the responsibilities of an infant and a toddler at the same time, as well as a full-time job, marriage, and my other hobbies and passions that seemed easier to focus on than writing when…

The rhymes and rhythm of life had silenced the rhythm and rhymes in my head.

Don’t get me wrong–

Simultaneously there were beautiful rhythms and rhymes in my heart. It was overflowing, but for entirely different reasons. My life was full of joy and happiness. I had a beautiful wife and kids, and moments of clarity of what life was truly about.

But my mind had stopped taking note of those moments and putting them into words.

I felt them, but I didn’t write them.

Years later, my career had taken me on an unexpected path into an unexpected field in unexpected ways.

But this time, it was different.

My words weren’t derived from inspiration.

Writing was a significant part of my new role, and yet… the words weren’t there.

My rhythm was off.

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I suddenly noticed the silence… Where had the rhymes gone?

Now my mind started racing. I panicked. Tight, shallow breath, tension.

Who even was I? How had this happened? What had I become?

Oh–it was clear what I had become. I just didn’t accept it. I couldn’t… accept it.

Rather than take life by the horns, I had allowed life to consume me.

The responsibilities, the fears, the doubt, the discontentment. Things I’d never struggled with as a child or as a teen, but now? Oh, now they were in control.

I had a family who needed a roof over their head.

I had kids who depended on me for their very survival.

I had a wife who loved me, and wanted me to be successful – but what if…. what if I failed?

What if I couldn’t meet any of these expectations… what if I was a failure…

Suddenly, I snapped out of it.

This isn’t me. This isn’t how I operate. These thoughts will not control me, this doubt will not hold me down, my fear of failure will be the fire that burns uncontrollably, fueling my momentum to achieve the unachievable and take life by its horns.

One foot will be placed in front of the other, one letter will be written just before the next, each rung of the ladder will be the one I step on until I reach the top.

Because when I look back at who I was ten years ago, the silence in my head wasn’t because I lost my edge.
It wasn’t because I lost my passion.
It wasn’t because I had become dead inside.
It wasn’t because the responsibilities of life had taken over, or fear had drowned out my dreams, it was because I had become focused on what mattered in that moment.

The responsibilities of life built into a crescendo with new cities, a new marriage, newborn kids, new jobs and an entirely new and unexpected career.

This is how life works.

And the mind can only focus on so much.

So I became focused.

But as the marriage grows, and the kids get old, the relationships deepen. As I gain experience and first-hand knowledge, insights and a clearer understanding of who I am and who I want to be, my future becomes brighter.

That wasn’t fear I felt before. That was uncertainty.

Those weren’t responsibilities I had to my wife or my kids. That was a privilege.

That wasn’t just a job working with those people. That was an honor.

Suddenly, I understood.

Life goes in cycles. It feels like patterns, but it’s not. It’s cycles. And each cycle is different from the next.

Sometimes we leap forward. Sometimes we take a step back. Sometimes we hop to the left or to the right. Sometimes we run into a brick wall.

And then we pick up a sledgehammer and we smash it to the ground.

Each step of the way, we’re learning new things, picking up new skills, meeting new people, and building new relationships.

And as we do, we keep circling back to a place of familiarity. A place where the rhythm is building, where the static dies down and we can hear clearly. A place where the mind is calm.

It’s here where we are building our own signal.
Our own clarity.
Our own message we want to share.
Built from our experiences.
Our failures.
Our fears.
Our struggles.
Our convictions.
Our passions.
Our desires.
Our hopes.
Our dreams.

And every time we return to that place and do the difficult work… the signal is building. It grows stronger. It drowns out the voices of self doubt, fear, anxiety, and failure.

So today… return to that place of familiarity.
Focus on what matters and leave everything else outside the door as you enter the studio of your mind.

And build your signal.

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Here’s a song I wrote, inspired by how my wife and I met at a bus stop (lyrics written by me, melody/voice by AI at Mureka.ai). Oddly enough, I would never have met her at a bus stop if my car had not been repossessed a few months prior during the fallout of the 2008-2009 depression when money was tight and jobs were few and far between. Funny how life works.

Do you have an example of unusual events in your life that ultimately resulted in a blessing?

Leave a comment

Lyrics:

[Intro] A soft rain falls, neon in the night,
Hearts unknown, waiting for the light.

[Verse] At the bus stop corner, under city skies,
You stood there quiet, stars behind your eyes.
No words were spoken, but the silence knew,
That something eternal had just come into view.

[Pre-Chorus] And it felt like a sign, something greater in play,
The world paused for us in that fleeting delay.

[Chorus] It was destiny, meant to be,
Just you and me— A bus ride to eternity,
Let’s leave it all behind.
No map, no plan, just your hand in mine,
Riding through forever, one stop at a time.

[Verse] Coffee in the morning, footsteps in the rain,
We danced through sorrow, we laughed through pain.
The roads weren’t easy, but love always knew,
That the ride was worth it when shared by two.

[Pre-Chorus] Each mile a memory, each turn a vow,
What started by chance is everything now.

[Chorus] It was destiny, meant to be, Just you and me—
A bus ride to eternity, Let’s leave it all behind.
No map, no plan, just your hand in mine,
Riding through forever, one stop at a time.

[Break]

[Bridge] Through every skyline, every bend,
I’d choose that corner, again and again.
Our journey’s inked in stars above,
A story sealed with steady love.

[Chorus] It was destiny, meant to be, Just you and me—
A bus ride to eternity, Let’s leave it all behind.
Forever in motion, with hearts aligned,
We’ll ride through the echoes of space and time.

[Outro] Let’s leave it all behind… Just you and me, forever aligned.

Leave a comment

Substack used to dominate, but now substack competitors are challenging the status quo with lower fees, advanced features, and better automation capabilities for audience growth.

If you're wondering:

• What’s the best Substack alternative?

• Which newsletter platform offers the most customization options?

• Who wins in Substack vs Ghost CMS?

• Are there real alternatives to Substack?

You’re in the right place.

Let’s dive in — no filler content here, just a real breakdown to help you choose the best Substack alternative (or to choose Substack) based on your goals.

Note: We’ve included links to helpful resources throughout this post. Some of these may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission — if you choose to make a purchase after clicking them — at no additional cost to you.

Why Substack Still Leads (For Now)

Most of the “competitors” to Substack are either just a regular blogging platform, or they’re just a traditional newsletter tool, or CRM (Customer Relationship Management tool).

Substack isn’t just a blogging platform or newsletter tool.

It’s more like a social publishing platform built around audience engagement through both long-form (blogs/newsletters) and short-form (social-media-style posts) content:

• Notes: Short-form content that dramatically boosts discoverability, unlike typical social media.

• Posts: Your traditional Substack newsletter or blog content—flexible, with email or web publishing options.

• Re-Stacks: Share and amplify others' content to your followers.

• Comments and Likes: Build real-time discussions around your work.

• Private Chat Groups: Create exclusive communities for your subscriber list.

• Private DMs: Collaborate directly with peers and fans.

• Recommendations: Cross-promote and grow faster via network effects.

• Best Of Lists: Spotlighted newsletters boost credibility and discoverability.

Simply put: No other Substack competitors offer the same all-in-one social publishing experience—though Ghost CMS and Beehiiv come close.

Why Creators Are Seeking Alternatives to Substack

Despite its strengths, Substack has limitations:

That’s why many are seeking alternatives to Substack with stronger monetization options, automation tools, and user friendly interfaces.

Substack vs the Top Competitors

Substack vs WordPress

• Customization Options: WordPress wins with themes, plugins, and custom domains (Substack also offers custom domains… you’re on my custom domain Substack right now).

• Monetization Options: With WordPress, you can sell digital products, memberships, courses— selling on WordPress goes well beyond newsletters. on Substack, you’ll have to use a third-party platform to sell anything beyond newsletter subscriptions.

• Ease of Use: Substack wins for plug-and-play simplicity.

👉 Verdict: WordPress is the best Substack alternative for brand builders who need the flexibility to scale beyond written content within a single native platform. Substack is for writers who want fast results, and grow an audience.

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Substack vs Ghost CMS

• Ownership: With both Ghost CMS and Substack, you fully own your subscriber list.

• Automation Features: Ghost offers integrations for email automation and content creation – on Substack, there is no option for things like automated email workflows, not even with a third party app like Zapier.

• Advanced Analytics: Detailed insights for smarter growth strategies – on Substack, analytics are pretty minimal. However, you can integrate both Google Analytics and Google Search Console on Substack.

• Customization: Total control over design, functionality, and membership platform features – Substack has limited options here.

👉 Verdict: Choose Ghost if you want full control, customization, and no revenue share.

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Substack vs Beehiiv

• Automation Workflows: Built-in growth-focused automations.

• Advanced Features: Audience boosts, landing pages, automated workflows, referral programs.

• Paid Plans: Starting at $0/month for up to 2,500 subscribers. But you won’t get their most powerful features, including their Ad Network, Boost Network, and Paid Subscription functionality unless you’re on their $49/month plan.

👉 Verdict: Beehiiv is the best Substack alternative for scaling aggressively with automation capabilities and SEO optimization, as long as you’re willing to fork over $49/mo to access the features that enable you to achieve those things.

Explore Beehiiv

Substack vs Buttondown

• User Friendly Interface: Extremely simple.

• Monetization Options: Low fees, direct subscriber payments.

• Email Automation: Basic but functional.

• Customization Options: Minimalist design.

👉 Verdict: Perfect for solo independent writers who value privacy, simplicity, and low overhead.

Substack vs Medium

• Audience Engagement: Medium has a bigger native audience.

• Subscription Model: Substack allows direct subscriptions; Medium relies on Partner Program payouts.

• Content Ownership: Your list is yours on Substack, but not Medium.

👉 Verdict: Pick Substack if you care about list ownership; pick Medium if you want fast reach.

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Substack vs SendFox

SendFox was built and is owned by AppSumo

• User Friendly Interface: Substack is built for writers—minimal setup, ready-to-publish. SendFox offers a slightly more marketing-focused interface with a learning curve but solid for email-focused workflows.

• Monetization Options: Substack includes built-in paid subscriptions with a 10% revenue cut. SendFox has no native monetization tools—users must use third-party platforms to sell products or subscriptions.

• Email Automation: Substack supports basic welcome emails. SendFox offers stronger automation features, including drip campaigns and RSS-to-email capabilities.

• Customization Options: Substack offers a public-facing newsletter site with limited branding. SendFox allows landing pages and forms, but email design is minimal—no images or file attachments.

👉 Verdict: Choose Substack if you're an independent writer monetizing exclusive content with community features and discoverability. Pick SendFox if you want a lightweight, low-cost email automation tool with strong automation capabilities and no need for a full newsletter platform.

Best Substack Alternatives (2025 Edition)

Here’s a quick guide:

How to Choose the Best Platform for You

✅ Choose Substack for fast, easy launches and built-in audience engagement.

✅ Choose Ghost CMS if you want complete control, scalability, and integration options.

✅ Choose Beehiiv if your focus is aggressive growth, SEO, and automated newsletters.

✅ Choose Buttondown if you're an independent creator who values minimalism and privacy.

✅ Choose WordPress for full content creation, digital products, and business building.

✅ Choose ConvertKit (Kit) if you’re combining newsletters with full membership platform funnels.

Substack vs Discontinued Platforms

The newsletter and blogging niche is highly competitive and that competition only continues to grow. As a result, not everybody “makes the cut.” Here are a few platforms that you may have considered comparing against Substack that no longer exist either due to shutting down, being acquired and absorbed, rebranded, etc.

Substack vs TinyLetter

TinyLetter was acquired by MailChimp and shutdown in 2024

User Friendly Interface: TinyLetter was known for its ultra-minimalist setup, perfect for writers who wanted zero friction. Substack is still simple, but with a few more layers (like profiles and recommendations).

Monetization Options: TinyLetter had none—no way to charge subscribers. Substack supports paid subscriptions, with a 10% revenue share.

Email Automation: TinyLetter offered no automation. Substack has basic automation, but still lags behind competitors like Beehiiv or ConvertKit.

Customization Options: Both platforms offer limited design flexibility, but Substack includes a hosted newsletter site and basic branding tools.

👉 Verdict: TinyLetter was great for sending simple updates to a list, but it’s now discontinued. Substack is the closest surviving platform for minimalist creators—offering similar ease of use plus monetization, analytics, and discovery tools.

Conclusion

The newsletter platform landscape is more competitive than ever. Whether you're a solo independent writer launching your first paid subscription or a seasoned publisher scaling a subscriber list, there's a perfect platform for your needs.

Take stock of your goals, desired automation capabilities, monetization options, and customization options before you pick a platform.

And remember: the "best Substack alternative" isn’t about which tool is objectively best—it’s about which one fits your unique path to creating quality content and building lasting relationships with your subscribers.

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150.

That’s how many Notes per month some of the fastest-growing newsletters on Substack are posting.

Not guesses. Not vibes. Independent research from multiple people have confirmed it.

4-5 Notes per day = 150 Notes per month = 1,800 Notes per year.

If that number made your heart rate spike, good.

It means you understand the new game:

• Attention is earned through consistent, high-quality volume.

• Growth is no longer just about writing "great essays." It's about showing up daily in the micro-moments where readers make their next subscription decision.

The old model:

Publish one perfect article per week.

The new model:

Publish 4–5 Notes per day that train attention — and then convert it.

And here’s the brutal truth:

Without the right tools, this level of output is almost impossible.

You can’t brute force 150 Notes a month without burning out. You can’t lower your quality without losing trust. You can’t just "post more" without training your brain to think in hooks, frames, and shareable stories.

If you’re serious about growing with strategy, not guesswork, now’s the time.
→ Unlock everything for $24/year. Launch pricing ends soon.

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That’s exactly why I’ve spent the past month building VTG 2.0 (the Viral Thread Generator).

Why VTG 2.0 Exists

VTG isn’t just another "write faster" tool.

It’s a strategic thinking partner, built on powerful marketing and psychological principles that help you:

• 🧠 Craft emotional hooks that stop scrolls

• 📘 Structure micro-stories that spark shares

• 📊 Get instant feedback on why a Note hits or doesn’t

• 🖋️ Rewrite using proven copy frameworks (PAS, AIDA, SLAY, and more)

But most importantly?
VTG helps you send stronger signals — signals that attract attention, build trust, and travel further than you ever could manually. Every note you publish will make you sharper, faster, and more magnetic.

It trains your brain while it accelerates your output.

Every time you use VTG to refine a Note, you’re not just "getting a better version."

You’re building the instinct to:

• Spot story moments faster

• Hook harder

• Package ideas tighter

• Think in "share energy"

Access VTG 2.0 (Viral Thread Generator)

The Real Problem: Quality and Quantity

Unfortunately, most writers are forced to choose:

1. High quality, low volume — but no audience momentum.

2. High volume, low quality — but no real engagement.

VTG destroys that false choice.

It’s how you produce consistently high-quality volume — without burning yourself out, and without watering down your voice.

Imagine:

• Waking up with 5 fresh Note ideas already drafted.

• Running your drafts through a real-time feedback system.

• Refining your hooks, stories, and CTAs in minutes.

• Publishing more often — while learning faster than 99% of your peers.

That’s the real compounding advantage.

What Happens When You Don't Adapt

Creators who cling to the "perfect essay" model will get crushed by:

• Faster feedback loops

• Higher frequency creators

• AI-powered publishing teams

This has nothing to do with "hustling more."
It’s has everything to do with working smarter with the right thinking leverage.

Tools like VTG aren’t a luxury anymore.

They’re the only way to stay competitive.

Ready to Make 150 Notes/Month Feel Doable (and Even Fun)?

VTG 2.0 isn’t a shortcut.

It’s a skill-building engine designed to accelerate your growth — both in audience and ability.

You don’t have to guess what makes a Note go viral.
You don’t have to waste hours stuck in "draft hell."
You don’t have to wonder if you’re actually improving.

Just log in and quickly learn how to:

• Think sharper

• Write faster

• Scale smarter

VTG 2.0 does the heavy-lifting for you.

🚀 Now available at 1/3 the price during early launch — for a limited time.

The future belongs to creators who adapt.

Let's build yours.

GET VTG 2.0 (Viral Thread Builder) Now

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📝 Substack notes that rack up hundreds of likes, re-stacks, and comments.

📈 Mini-stories that spread like wildfire across Substack.

🚀 Observations so magnetic, you click “subscribe” without even thinking twice.

And then you post something just as smart—maybe even smarter—and it goes… nowhere.

Crickets. Nada. Ghost town.

So what gives?

Let me break it to you gently:

• It’s not the idea.

• It’s not the platform.

It’s the packaging.

The difference between forgettable and viral comes down to one thing:

Marketing Psychology.

Wait—don’t run.
This isn’t a textbook lecture.
I’ll show you what I mean in under 60 seconds.

Let’s look at three real Notes:

See if you can spot the differences between them.

Note 1

Kevin Joyce: 105 Likes, 38 Comments, 14 Restacks

Note 2

Zalman Nelson: 49 Likes, 75 Comments, 1 Restack

Note 3

Honest Embellishments: 2 Likes, 2 Comments, 0 Restacks

🧠 The Psychology Behind What Works (and What Doesn’t)

First, I’m not knocking any of these writers. They all create great stuff, so definitely go check all three of them out. This is just an analysis of what separates the notes that perform from the ones that don’t – and how you can replicate the ones that do.

Let’s decode what really happened under the hood:

🟢 Kevin’s Note

It hits something called the “P-A-S” framework hard:

• Problem: Undiscovered talent

• Agitation: “She had one follower”

• Solution: A spotlight publication and a CTA to uplift others
  It triggers the Endowment Effect, Social Proof, and a Framing Shift—positioning readers not just as spectators, but as participants. It communicated in a way that causes the reader to feel something.

🟡 Zalman’s Note

It has the right energy, but lacks a narrative arc. It’s supportive, not sticky. There’s no clear journey or emotional payoff to anchor readers. With a “S.L.A.Y.” structure, it could’ve soared:

• Snap: Snap attention with a bold or emotional opening

• Lead: Lead with a relatable story or vivid example

• Add: Add authority, experience, or a surprising insight

• Yank: Yank the audience into action with a specific, clear CTA

Without these elements, the Note feels helpful but forgettable—good for comments, but weak for virality.

🔴 Honest Embellishments

This note fizzled because it lacked emotional tension, a vivid example, and a compelling CTA. The idea was there—but it wasn’t framed or contrasted for virality.

Here’s an example of how it could’ve been framed to improve engagement using the S.L.A.Y structure:

What’s the Substack Canon? It’s real—and it’s waiting for us to name it.
The essays that cracked something open inside you.
The poems you still think about years later.
The posts that made you whisper: 'I wish I could write like this.’

🔍 Lets’ build a living archive—a hall of fame for the words that stayed.
A place where the best of Substack never gets lost.

Drop your all-time favorites below—or nominate your own.
✍️ Let’s build the Canon together.

Why This Version Works:

• Snap: Opens with a bold question and subsequent claim that sparks recognition and curiosity.

• Lead: Anchors in shared experience ("cracked something open inside you").

• Add: Frames the request with a purpose (“let’s build an archive”) which signals meaning.

• Yank: CTA is direct, inclusive, and identity-based (“nominate your own” = share proudly).

The Problem With These Frameworks

🔁 These are more than just “performance stats.” I could break down a thousand other notes and posts. They’re proof that packaging—psychology + structure—is what turns smart Notes into scroll-stopping stories.

But here’s the problem...

• It can take years of practice to spot these patterns.

• Years to master storytelling formats like SLAY, PAS, AIDA, and others.

• Years to intuitively use tactics like the Framing Effect, IKEA Bias, or Rule of 3.

And to actually grow on Substack?

Recent data from top-performing publications suggests you should post 3–5 Notes per day to stay top of mind.

That’s:

90–150 Notes per month; 1,800+ per year

And no realistic way to keep up—without help.

Even experienced marketers can’t hit that cadence and quality consistently.

That’s Why I Created VTG – The Viral Thread Generator

(Yes, I know “thread” sounds X-ish. But bear with me—this applies beautifully to Substack Notes and Posts.)

VTG isn’t a writing tool. It’s a thinking machine.

It takes any short story, personal anecdote, lesson, or insight—and turns it into a viral Note, optimized for:

✅ Substack
✅ LinkedIn
✅ Threads
✅ X (formerly Twitter)
✅ Facebook

And it does this using:

✅ Time-tested frameworks like SLAY, PAS, AIDA, and BCG’s 4S model (Streaming, Scrolling, Searching, Shopping)
✅ Neuromarketing hacks like the Framing Effect, Contrast Bias, and the Power of 3
✅ Behavioral insights that reflect how your audience actually scrolls, pauses, and shares

Sound like a lot? That’s because it is.

But VTG teaches while it creates.

You don’t just get output—you learn why it works while you create.

The more you use it, the more your brain will start to recognize viral patterns in everyday moments. A walk, a podcast, a conversation at the coffee shop—all start to look like note-worthy insights.

You’ll start to think like a viral creator, even offline.

Why VTG Feels Different

🧠 It’s not a ghostwriter. It’s a mindset shift.
✍️ It adapts to your tone, not the other way around.
🎯 It boosts your consistency without sacrificing quality.

Most tools help you create more.
VTG helps you create smarter—and become more memorable in the process.

Final Thought

If you’re serious about growing your Substack—or building a personal brand that earns trust and attention—your biggest bottleneck is likely content velocity and clarity.

VTG removes both obstacles. It turns your loose thoughts into polished, story-driven Notes—without sounding like a robot or falling flat.

✅ Want to write better Notes in less time?
✅ Want to actually learn what makes content resonate?

👉 Get VTG at the Early Bird pricing now.
Get early access at early pricing + exclusive launch bonuses.

👀 Still not sure what’s holding your Notes back?
Try this: Take your last Note. Now apply 1 of these:

• Add a micro-story arc

• Frame it with a strong emotional contrast

• Use a CTA that invites identity-based action

Did it change how it feels? That’s VTG thinking in action.

Let’s make your next 1,800 Notes your best yet.

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Today, I’m pulling it all together.

If you’ve ever wondered how some creators seem to effortlessly explode with engagement, followers, and opportunities — this is the framework they’re (knowingly or unknowingly) using.

Below, you’ll find the fastest, smartest way to plan, execute, and scale your income — through content that cuts through the noise.
No guesswork. No burnout. No "hope marketing."

I’ll link out to the deep dives in each section so you can see exactly how the pieces fit together — and how this system has helped me (and can help you) scale faster and more sustainably.

Because here’s the truth:

No strategy = No real plan.
No plan = No real execution.
No execution = No real growth.

That’s why the SIGNAL(S) Framework exists.
And once you apply it, your content won’t just add noise.
It will multiply your impact.

If you’re serious about growing with strategy, not guesswork, now’s the time.
→ Unlock everything for $24/year. Launch pricing ends soon.

Get 50% off forever

S: Search (Search Intent)

If you’re writing without direction, purpose, or an end-goal, you’re just shooting in the dark.
One day it’s a poem. The next, a business article. No matter how good the writing is — it feels chaotic, and you’ll lose your audience’s attention and trust.

Testing is fine — but even testing needs structure.

Before you create anything, you need to answer two simple questions:
👉 What are people searching for in your niche?
👉 Why are they searching for it?

Only then can you start crafting content that answers their questions, solves their problems, and helps them reach their goals — while positioning you as the obvious guide.

I: Indexability

If you’re just blindly writing content without understanding the platform you’re publishing on, you’re going to find out — pretty quickly — that your content doesn’t surface the way you want it to.

On Substack, you’ve basically got two options:

Option 1:
Write like it’s a traditional blog — meaning you structure your posts to rank on Google (and other search engines).
This is the SEO path.
You’ll need to think about headlines, keywords, formatting, linking — all the unsexy-but-important stuff that makes search engines notice you.

• Upside: You can pull in readers from outside Substack.

• Downside: You might have to tweak how you naturally write to fit what SEO likes.

Option 2:
Write purely for Substack’s internal algorithm — no SEO, no keyword worries.
Just publishing freely and letting the platform do its thing (kind of… more on that in a bit).

• Upside: Way easier to write exactly what you want, the way you want.

• Downside: You’re playing by Substack’s discovery rules… and it’s not as simple as "write a post and they will come."

Big thing most people don’t realize:
👉 Posts don’t automatically show up for new readers unless they already follow or subscribe to you, or search and find you manually.
👉 But Notes do show up in people's feeds — even if they don't subscribe or follow you.

That little difference matters — a lot.

Example:
One single Substack Note I recently posted led to 39 new free subscribers, 2 new followers, 798 clicks, 3 shares and a couple hundred comments — without trying to game anything. And it achieved those engagement metrics within roughly 2-3 days.

Bottom line:
Whether you’re trying to rank on Google, grow inside Substack, or do both — you have to be intentional about how your content (and which content) gets indexed.

Otherwise, you’re just hitting publish and hoping for the best.
(FYI: That’s a terrible strategy. Don’t do that.)

Ask yourself:
👉 Are you writing for Substack only?
👉 Are you trying to build search traffic too?
👉 How are you making sure new potential subscribers actually find you?

I’ll give you more distribution and indexing options later under L: Linking — so keep reading.

G: Gain Attention

It doesn’t matter how often you show up — if nobody clicks to read your article, it’s dead on arrival.

How do you fix that?
You gain their attention — fast.

It’s called Stopping The Scroll.

Every platform rewards that initial engagement. Every platform quietly punishes you if you don’t get it. And that includes calculating how many people see your content and do (or do not) click through to read it when they see it.

Here’s why:

Google’s Reason:
Google needs to deliver the most valuable content based on what users search for.
If they get it wrong too often, users will go elsewhere.

Google looks at signals like:

• Did people click your article, or skip it? (Skipping suggests your headline doesn't match the search intent.)

• Did people stay and read, or bounce back to search? (Bouncing suggests your content didn’t deliver.)

• Did people re-search the same query after reading your post? (Meaning you didn’t answer their question.)

Enough bad signals? Your rankings drop — no matter how good your post felt when you published it.

Substack’s Reason:
Substack is playing a different game. Their whole model is about building community, not just serving up answers.

If people see your post or Note in their feed but they don't click through, don't read it, don't share it, don't comment, don't like, or don't restack, it sends a clear signal:
👉 Maybe your content isn’t worth recommending.
(that sounds harsh, but that’s the reality of any algorithm)

And if it’s not helping build connections between readers — no community, no network effect — Substack’s not going to promote it.

The unemotional algorithm will quietly let your post (or Note) fade into obscurity while lifting up the content that does spark conversation, relationships, and growth.

Lesson:
Learn how to grab attention on purpose — don't leave it up to chance.

GET VTG 2.0 NOW

N: Narrative

Getting attention is just the start.
Keeping it is where narrative comes in.

Your content needs to be structured to hold your reader's attention — start to finish.

If people drop off too early, that’s considered a bounce.
(Basically: they didn’t find your article helpful, entertaining, or educational.)

Again, all platforms care about this:

• Google: Bounce rates hurt your ranking.

• Substack: No engagement, no growth.

A strong narrative makes your content "sticky."
It pulls people deeper, keeps them reading, and builds enough trust to make them want to read your next piece too.

A: Authenticity and Authority

Right now, the internet is filling up with recycled, stale, AI-generated content faster than ever.

If you want your signal to break through the noise, you need two things:

• Authenticity — Your real voice, your real stories, your real insights.

• Authority — Showing people you know what you're talking about because you've lived it, not just Googled it.

Readers (and algorithms) can feel the difference.
Surface-level content might get quick views. But deep, authentic, authoritative content earns loyalty, which in turn earns engagement.

L: Linking

Publishing without linking is like building roads that lead nowhere.
You need to build links in a way that makes sense.

Here’s the three types you need:

1. Internal Linking:
Connect your own content together. You’ll notice in this article that I’ve linked to all of my other related articles for each of these elements of the SIGNAL(S) Framework. That’s by design–it’s intentional internal linking.

• It helps readers go deeper.

• It helps Google and Substack map your expertise.

• It keeps people on your pages longer, and engaging with even more of your content as opposed to the single article they read initially.

2. External Linking (Inbound Links):
When others link to you, it’s SEO rocket fuel. It’s also Substack growth fuel, because now people will naturally find you while reading other creators content.

It’s no longer growth through addition – it’s growth through multiplication.

How do you do that?

• You build relationships.

• You write guest posts.

• You collaborate.

• You network and establish Substack cross-recommendations.

3. Ecosystem Linking:
Connect your whole content world:

• Substack → Social Profiles (if relevant)

• Social profiles/posts → Articles (if relevant)

• Articles → Notes

• Notes → Articles → Interviews

• Notes → Articles → Products/Services

• Articles → Subscription Pages

• Newsletters → Upsells/Cross-Sells/Downsells

• Purchases → Workflows → Articles/Products/Services

Think of it like weaving a network of radio towers.
The stronger and more connected your network, the harder it is for people to lose your signal — and the easier it is for platforms to keep boosting you.

S: Shareability

If people aren’t sharing and re-stacking your content, it’s going to have a very hard ceiling on how far it can spread — no matter how good it is.

Remember:
👉 Engagement drives visibility.
👉 Visibility drives growth.

And shares are a super-powered form of engagement.

When someone shares your content, they're basically telling their own audience:
"Hey, this is good. You should check it out."

It’s a credibility boost and an organic distribution channel — all for free.

How to increase Shareability:

• Write for emotions, not just facts.
  People share what makes them feel something — inspired, smarter, validated, understood.

• Make sharing easy.
  Create quotable moments, easy pull-quotes, strong one-liners, and eye-catching visuals.

• Package ideas cleanly.
  A messy, complicated post? People will say “cool” — and move on.
  A sharp, tight post? They’ll think, “This is worth showing someone.”

• Earn the first share.
  The fastest way to get multiple shares?
  You share first. And include the "ask" when you create your own content.

⚡ Final Word:

The SIGNAL(S) Framework isn’t just theory.
It’s a simple, actionable system for making your content more discoverable, more clickable, more engaging — and way more powerful.

When you build your content this way, you’re not just publishing.
Your moving from growth through addition to growth through multiplication.

Ready to put the SIGNAL(S) Framework into play?
Start with the next piece you write.

Because if you can master your signal, you can scale anything.

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You don’t need to be a genius to write viral content. But you do need to learn how viral creators see, think, and frame the world.

This is not just a writing guide. It’s a rewiring guide. Because virality isn’t about tricks. It’s about training your brain to:

• Spot stories in the wild

• Feel when something has share energy

• Package ideas so they hit emotionally

The good news? This is learnable. And this guide will show you how to accelerate it.

🔄 Step 1: Think in Hooks

Hooks aren’t headlines. They’re emotional tension in one sentence.

When you consume content, start asking:

• What’s the tension?

• What would make someone stop scrolling?

• Is it curiosity, contradiction, or conviction?

Daily Practice:

Read 5 viral Notes or Tweets a day. Screenshot only the first line. Try rewriting it with:

• Original Line Sample: "Building wealth takes time and patience."

  • Curiosity angle:
    "How millionaires actually shortcut the 'time and patience' game."

  • Emotional trigger:
    "Waiting 40 years to enjoy your life is the biggest lie they sold you."

  • Contrarian tone:
    "Patience is overrated. Speed is how real wealth is built."

This builds instinct. You’ll start spotting hookable moments in conversation.

If you’re serious about growing with strategy, not guesswork, now’s the time.
→ Unlock everything for $24/year. Launch pricing ends soon.

Get 50% off forever

🎭 Step 2: Build a Swipe-Then-Study Habit

A swipe file is not a library—it’s a workbench.

Here’s the process:

1. Save 10 viral posts per week.

2. Highlight the hook, story arc, CTA.

3. Ask: Why did this resonate?

Break it down like a copywriter:

• What’s the conflict?

• What’s the emotion?

• What’s the structure?

This is reverse-engineering, not inspiration. Do it 15 mins a day for a week = writing muscle gains.

Example Swipe Study

Viral Post:
"Most people think confidence is built by achieving. It's actually built by failing and showing up anyway."

Study Breakdown:

✅ Hook:
_"Most people think..." → Introduces a common belief and flips it = instant tension.

✅ Story Arc:

Set expectation ("Most people think confidence = achievement")

Break expectation ("Actually comes from failing")

Reframe belief ("showing up anyway")

✅ CTA:
Implied: Encourages resilience, not perfection — no explicit CTA but strong emotional takeaway.

Copywriter’s Reverse Engineering:

Conflict:
Society teaches achievement = confidence, but real confidence comes from enduring failure.

Emotion:
Empowerment + relief ("I don’t have to be perfect to be confident.")

Structure:
Belief → Contradiction → Empowerment.

Why it Resonated:

It challenges a popular misconception (framing effect).

It offers emotional permission to fail (removes guilt/shame).

It's instantly relatable to almost everyone struggling with self-doubt.

📓 Step 3: Convert Life into Micro-Stories

The best content isn’t manufactured. It’s noticed.

Every walk, podcast, awkward convo = content seed. The trick is to practice mini reframes:

What just happened?

What does it remind me of?

What’s the takeaway for my audience?

Then plug into a format like:

• “This happened → I noticed something → Here’s what it means.”

• “Most people do X. I do Y. Here’s why it works.”

These are the notes that feel real and get shared.

🧠 Step 4: Use VTG 2.0 to Coach Yourself

You don’t need to guess what makes a Note or Thread work.

And you don’t need to spend years studying how all of this works.
Instead, you can learn it on the go while you’re creating potentially viral content using all of these marketing and psychological frameworks.

I built VTG (Viral Thread Generator) as a thinking tool that helps you:

• Get instant feedback on your content

• Rewrite Substack notes and social posts using proven copy frameworks

• Learn why things hit—or fall flat

The more you use it, the more you’ll start to see viral structure in everyday moments.

🎯 Want to write smarter, faster, and more shareable content?

👉 Grab VTG 2.0 here — it includes my exact prompts + rewrite format breakdowns.

Train your brain to write virally (even if you’ve never gone viral before).

Get The Viral Thread Generator Now

🚀 Step 5: Rinse, Repeat, Reflect

The way to become a viral writer? Make 100 small adjustments. Not one big leap.

• Write often

• Hook harder

• Edit tighter

• Analyze winners

• Get feedback (from VTG or others)

And once a week: Reflect on what worked. Ask:

What got engagement?
Where did I lose people?
What felt easy vs. what felt forced?

Keep going. You’re training a muscle the algorithm will never ignore.

You don’t need to go viral. You need to perfect your craft. And when you do that consistently? Virality becomes inevitable.

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That disconnect?
It’s why so many newsletters stall out before they ever start growing.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing “everything right” and still not seeing growth, this might be why.

Let’s fix that.

🧭 Substack Is a Trust Platform, Not a Social One

“Substack’s ethos is deeply rooted in the blogosphere and aims to foster a community of writers and readers who value direct relationships and quality content over algorithms and the attention economy.” — Substack

That’s not just branding.
It’s your blueprint.

Here’s how:

1. Direct Relationships > Algorithmic Reach

Social media cares about clicks.
Substack cares about connection.

It tracks:

• Who opens your email

• Who reads to the bottom

• Who hits reply

• Who shares it

• Who pays to keep reading

Substack doesn’t profit from ads. It profits from alignment.
When your publication gains subscribers, Substack notices—and rewards it.

This is not a race for attention.
It’s a practice of earning trust.

Share

2. Signal > Noise

There’s no algorithm to hack.
No “For You” page to game.
Just humans sharing work they believe in.

You grow by:

• 👉 Writing Notes that start conversations

• 👉 Genuinely engaging with other creators notes and posts

• 👉 Recommending writers you respect

• 👉 Restacking ideas with context

• 👉 Being consistent, helpful, human

Your signal doesn’t need to be loud.
Your signal just needs to be real.

3. I Almost Didn’t Get It… But When I Did…

When I first started, I hit “publish” and waited.
Nothing happened.
3 opens. 1 unsub. 0 replies.

But I kept going—one post, one reply, one reader at a time.

That’s when I realized:
Growth on Substack doesn’t feel like going viral.
It feels like growing roots.

And that’s the kind of growth that lasts.

✅ Want to Grow Here?

Then stop chasing hacks.
Start building habits.

Here’s how:

✅ Write What People Reread

Your best content isn't always what goes “viral.”
It’s what people save, forward, and come back to weeks later.

How to use this:
Look at the posts that get quoted, re-stacked, bookmarked, or replied to with “This hit.”

👉 Remix those.
👉 Go deeper.
👉 Make more.

This tells you that your best growth asset is already written.
You just haven’t optimized it yet.

✅ Publish When It’s Quiet

Some days will feel like shouting into the void.
No replies. No shares. Minimal opens.

Don’t flinch.

Quiet seasons build momentum that loud ones cash in on.

There’s often a lag between effort and return.
Keep publishing. Keep showing up.
That quiet post might be what earns someone’s trust forever.

✅ Engage Like a Neighbor, Not a Broadcaster

Substack isn’t built like social media.
It’s built like a local community bulletin board.

Don’t treat it like a stage.
Treat it like a porch conversation.

👉 Comment on other creators Notes thoughtfully: And respond to comments on your own.
👉 Reply to other creators newsletters: And reply to comments on your own.
👉 Recommend with context: Find other creators who are in your niche, or parallel niches, and reach out to do cross-recommendations with them.
👉 Collaborate with care: Find other creators who are in your niche, or parallel niches, and reach out to collaborate with them.
👉 Communicate in chats: Engage with other publications private chat groups, create your own; engage, and add value everywhere you go.

Create value like a neighbor, not noise like a brand craving for attention.

That’s how discovery happens here.

✅ Build for Trust, Not Trends

Creating scroll-stopping subject lines and notes is fine.
But if the content doesn’t deliver once clicked, you lose trust.

And on Substack, trust is currency.

So yes—craft bold hooks.
But pay them off with substance, clarity, and resonance.

Short-term clicks mean nothing without long-term credibility.

Write like you’re earning someone’s next 10 minutes—not just their next 10 seconds.

💡 Pro Tip: The best Substack writers aren’t chasing eyeballs.
They’re building libraries.

This is how growth happens here.

Not all at once.
But all in.

🎯 Final Thought

If you’re looking for a “Substack growth hack,” this is it:

Make something people care about—consistently.

No gimmicks.
No tricks.
Just signal.

Let’s build something that lasts.

💬 Also, hit the comment button and tell me one thing you’re building slowly, but with heart. I’d love to hear it.

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If it’s not being shared, it’s not being remembered.

You don’t need a big budget, a brand team, or a social media manager to create momentum.
You just need to build something that people can’t help but pass along.

That’s the final piece in the SIGNALS Framework:
Shareability.
Because great content doesn’t just get clicks—it gets quoted, saved, linked, and shared by others who matter in your world.

(psst… you’ll wanna save this one for future reference via the three dot button (…) in the upper right corner of this post ☝️)

🤔 So what does shareability really mean?

It's when:

• Another Substack writer drops a link to your piece in their issue

• Someone tweets a line from your post and says “this hit”

• A creator on LinkedIn or Threads reshapes your idea and tags you

• A podcast host riffs on your framework
  

And a whole lot of other ways your work can be distributed by others.

That’s organic spread. No ad budget. No begging. Just ideas that travel.

🔍 How to Make Your Content Shareable (Even with Zero Followers)

1. Punchlines > Paragraphs

People don’t share your whole article—they share that one line they couldn’t stop thinking about.

That one sticky phrase that lands like a truth bomb:

• “You don’t need better content. You need content people can’t wait to forward.”

• “TOFU-MOFU-BOFU isn’t a funnel. It’s a fantasy marketers made up to feel in control.”

• “Write for search, sure. But write for screenshots too.”
  

🔁 If someone can’t quote you, they won’t remember you.

2. Tools Over Takes

You can have a spicy opinion. Or… you can give people something they can use today.

That’s what gets bookmarked, forwarded, and added to someone’s workflow:

• A Notion template

• A swipe file

• A Google Doc framework

• A re-usable prompt list

People might thank you for a great take.
They’ll share you for giving them a shortcut.

Grab the free swipe file: The Shareable Content Builder; A plug-and-play doc to help you create content that gets quoted, saved, and passed along.

Get The Shareable Content Builder Now

3. Visuals That Explain, Not Decorate

You don’t need fancy design chops. A simple sketch or screenshot will do.

The goal? Help people see the idea—not just read it.

• A hand-drawn framework

• A “before / after” table

• A 3-step system in a box

If it could live on someone’s desktop, it could live in someone else’s newsletter.

(Psst… hey, “right click” and “Save As Image” if you want to save this mindmap.)

4. Format for Frictionless Forwarding

Your content shouldn’t just be helpful—it should be easy to pass along.

• Short sections

• Headline-style takeaways

• Clear formatting and spacing

Make it easy for readers to copy, screenshot, or link your work.
The fewer the clicks, the farther it goes.

🧠 Why It Spreads (Even Without a Big Audience)

You’re tapping into two human instincts:

1. Social Currency
   People love sharing things that make them look smart, generous, or ahead of the curve.

2. Cognitive Ease
   The easier it is to understand and repeat, the more it spreads. That’s science. (Thanks, Kahneman.)

🧪 Final Gut Check Before You Hit Publish

Ask yourself:

“If I shared this with a fellow creator or newsletter reader I respect… would they thank me, or scroll past it?”

If it’s not a “hell yes,” trim the fat. Add the line. Build the tool. Find the beat.

🎯 Closing Thought

Your best ideas shouldn’t just live in your blog.
They should be whispered in DMs, embedded in newsletters, and screenshotted into group chats.

You don’t need virality. You just need relatability + repeatability.
That’s what makes your signal travel.

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Not a simulation. Not theory.
A real-world test using an aged, trusted niche website—this time, powered entirely by AI.

I wanted to see:

• Can AI-written content still rank on Google in 2025?

• And more importantly: Is Google truly cracking down on “low-quality” AI content… or just saying it is?

So I ran an experiment. And what I found was… surprising.

The Setup: A Real Site, a Real Test

I’ve had a niche real estate site for several years. It was never a massive traffic driver, but it had a solid foundation:

• Clean domain structure

• High-performing legacy articles (written by me)

• One article in particular ranks top 3 for a few competitive keywords—and still brings in daily traffic

That site became my sandbox.

I wanted to test what happens when you scale content with AI—but follow all the SEO rules.

Over 3 weeks, I published 5–10 articles per day, all generated by AI and supported by:

✅ AI-generated images
✅ Internal linking and topical clusters
✅ External citations (.edu/.gov)
✅ Optimized metadata and alt text
✅ Lightning-fast hosting via Ghost CMS

Basically: everything Google says it wants—minus the human authorship.

Week 1: The Honeymoon Phase

At first, the results looked promising.

📈 Rankings climbed rapidly
🚀 Impressions spiked
🔝 Dozens of new posts hit positions 5–20 in search results

The momentum was very real.
And honestly, I was impressed.

It looked like high-quality AI content—done right—could still absolutely win in the SERPs.

Until it didn’t.

Week 2–3: The Breakdown

Just as quickly as the rankings appeared, they vanished.

👻 Visibility tanked
📉 Impressions nosedived
❌ Most articles dropped beyond position 100 (aka: invisible)

Only a few remain between position #10–99.
It’s unclear if they’ll recover—or if they’re next to be buried.

What I Haven’t Done (Yet)

To be clear, this test isn’t complete.

There are still several elements I haven’t introduced—factors that could improve the AI content’s survivability:

– ✅ Fully built-out topic clusters (currently only partial)
– ❌ Fresh, high-quality backlinks pointing to AI content
– ❌ Off-site content strategy (Pinterest, X, Reddit)
– ❌ Clear E-E-A-T signals (experience, authorship, authority)

These are all known trust/authority builders.
But even without them, the early signal is already loud enough to pay attention.

What This Really Tells Us

👉 Google isn’t just filtering AI content.
It’s evaluating content ecosystems.

That means:

• Thin, templated, fast-spun content—even if SEO-optimized—isn’t enough

• Authority and authenticity matter more than ever

• Scaling with AI is only sustainable if it’s supported by structure, depth, and trust

This is not the end of AI content.
But it is the end of the “fast-and-loose” model.

The Big Lesson

The future of SEO isn’t anti-AI.
It’s anti-lazy.

You might win the first battle with AI-generated content.
But if your ecosystem is hollow?

Google will come for it—sooner than you think.

What’s Next?

This experiment is ongoing.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be testing:

• ✅ Full cluster completion

• ✅ Targeted backlink outreach

• ✅ Off-site content support

• ✅ Experiential content (adding first-person and “real” authorship layers)

If you’re experimenting with AI and SEO too—or just curious what actually works in 2025—stick around.

Better yet, drop a comment and I’ll share more behind-the-scenes detail.

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This Is Just the Beginning

I didn’t run this test to prove a point.
I ran it to learn what’s actually working—and what’s not—in an algorithmic landscape that’s shifting faster than most creators or marketers realize.

What I’ve seen so far?

AI content isn’t dead.
But it can’t coast.

If you’re treating AI like a shortcut instead of a tool for scale + structure, you’ll get burned.

That’s what this sandbox experiment is about:
Building something at scale—intelligently—and stress-testing every piece of modern SEO advice.

Upcoming Deep Dives I’ll Share

📑 How I actually structure and template my AI articles (with examples)
🔗 The backlink strategies I’m testing—what’s moving the needle (and what isn’t)
📊 Google Search Console snapshots, week-by-week
🧠 What I’m learning about authorship, trust, and E-E-A-T signals
🛠️ How I’m blending AI + human content into a system that scales without collapsing

These aren’t high-level summaries.
They’re the real workflows, data points, and play-by-play learnings I don’t post publicly.

TL;DR Recap

• AI content can rank—but often temporarily

• Without depth, trust signals, and structure, it collapses

• Google isn’t hunting AI—it’s hunting shallow execution

• The path forward? Smart ecosystems with AI as the engine, not the excuse

If you want my full backend content framework (from prompt structure to linking logic), reply or leave a comment below. I’ll share the good, bad, and nerdy.

👋 More to come.

– Chris

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I opened the fridge, grabbed the container, and started to tip it into my glass. But right before the milk left the spout, something caught my eye.

There were faint lines running along the side of the container—barely noticeable, but enough to make me pause.

So I gave it a sniff.

Spoiled.

Dodged a stomachache by half a second.

But as strange as it sounds, that moment stuck with me all day—not because of the milk, but because of what it taught me about writing.

Most people ignore the signs.

Just like spoiled milk, bad writing gives you clues:

• A rambling intro

• A hook that doesn’t hook

• A promise the post never delivers on

• Sentences that sound smart but say nothing
  (kind of like how AI writes without a human editor…)

But unlike spoiled milk, no one will tell you it stinks.

They’ll just click away. They won’t finish. They won’t share.

They’ll forget it ever existed.

And that’s how most content dies.

Is your content silently dying?
Before you pour your next post into the world, make sure it’s not already spoiled.
This tool shows you where your content loses people—and why 👇

Editing is the art of noticing what others don’t.

Great writing isn’t about big words or fancy ideas.

It’s about ruthless clarity.

It’s about protecting your reader’s time—treating every sentence like it has to earn its spot on the page.

I’ve adopted a simple ritual since that milk moment:

Before I publish anything, I “sniff” it.

• Is the headline still fresh?

• Does the intro pull me in?

• Is every sentence carrying its weight?

• Does it deliver on the promise I made in the beginning?

If not, I cut. Rewrite. Or scrap the whole thing and start fresh.

Spoiled ideas are worse than spoiled milk.

They don’t just leave a bad taste—they erode trust.

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Attention to detail is a business advantage.

The best founders, marketers, and creators I know all share one superpower:

They notice things.

The weird line in the UI. The off-brand tone in the email. The stat that doesn’t support the story. The friction a user won’t mention, but definitely feels.

Great brands are built by people who see what others ignore.

And the same applies to your writing.

So here’s the takeaway:

Before you publish your next post, thread, or landing page…

Run the Milk Test.

Ask yourself: “Would I still consume this if I didn’t make it?”

If it smells even a little off—fix it.

Because once you hit publish, you’re pouring it straight into your reader’s mind.

Make it fresh.

Make it worth sipping.

If you found this helpful…

I send out fresh takes on writing, business clarity, and brand storytelling every week. No fluff, no spam—just signals.

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Or drop a reply and tell me about the last time a small detail saved you from a big mistake. I'd love to hear it.

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