A Wide Door of Opportunity Has Opened!
But before that door opened, God led me through a process.
A lot has happened since I published Substack: My New Blogging & Newsletter Platform in early January.
Some things were welcome: Like taking a much-needed break from writing in May, followed by revamping my note-taking system in June. (Did you know you can work the Zettelkasten Smart Notes system in Evernote? Both my inner muse and scribe are celebrating!)
Other things — like bizarre health-related issues that sometimes sidelined me for a week or longer — weren't much fun. But I've learned how to handle stuff like that: keep getting up!
Then, in early July, suddenly, God surprised me by opening what appears to be a wide door of opportunity that has left me reeling at the possibilities. He sure knows how to turn things around! Talk about being encouraged!
In reflecting on all that has happened (that goes back more than 20 years, by the way), I realize that before He opened that door, He led me through a process that I’ve broken down into five stages:
It starts with a prompt — an idea, a moment of inspiration, or simply an interest in something. It can also be a promise or personal Word from the Lord. But it doesn’t have to be that defined. Often, it’s not.
What’s next? Permission to pursue! Do you sense a prompting toward something, but you aren't sure it's a God-thing for you? Ask Him for permission to pursue, and then watch how He answers. Do you have peace? Then keep going. If not, wait for Him to show you what you need to know. The last thing you need is to head off into something that’s NOT His will for your life.
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track. Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG
Once you're clear that you're on the right path, get ready because He's going to turn you every way but loose as He prepares you! Also, get used to the idea that you may be on the potter's wheel for years! Are there attitudes that need adjusting? Relationships that need restoring (or severing)? Circumstances that need changing in order to bring about stability in your life? All this training is about learning to follow Him (and not your emotions) and KEEP HIM FIRST! Remember: He’s the end, not a means to an end!
During the preparation stage (#3), you will likely begin doing the thing you saw from the beginning. And you may make a certain amount of progress, but it will be slow-going and tedious. Why? One reason is you’re still learning. Another might be that you’re not yet in position. You are missing something, or the timing isn't right. And you may not even know it. So what do you do? Be patient and keep on keeping on until He does what only He can do.
Finally, if you hang in there with Him long enough, enduring the messy middle, promotion will come, and He will propel you into your purpose. I know sometimes it can feel like it’s never going to happen. But trust me. It will surely come, and it will be right on time!
For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day. Hab 2:3 AMPC
So what has happened that makes me think I’m finally in the place?
I’ve begun publishing articles on Medium, another platform, and I'm gaining traction like nothing I've ever experienced!
Substack is Good, But...
Before I tell you about Medium, I want to explain my disappointment with Substack.
As of this morning, we have 30 subscribers — and 21 of them are family and friends.
Of the nine that we don't know personally, one came from my old website and at least two are referrals from friends.
That means only six (or fewer) have subscribed to The Hillam Blog by finding us on Substack over the past seven+ months. And my guess is all six subscribed because they saw me engaging on Notes!
Granted, we would have likely picked up more subscribers had we NOT taken a four-month hiatus from publishing. Even so, when it comes to gaining readers from within, Substack has not at all met my expectations.
In thinking through how Substack works, be it their reading app or accessing their website from a browser, I now realize that their model presupposes that you, the reader, are already subscribed to writers (actually, you subscribe to publications, e.g., The Hillam Blog). That's why the apps start with the inbox — the main feed for content.
So how do you attract new subscribers? Three ways:
by sharing your content on social media or another website (like Medium, YouTube, or a personal blog)
by being active on Substack's Notes
by readers who put forth the effort to find new writers and their content via Substack's search or browse by category — and it's not all that easy!
This means that, for the most part, only existing subscribers are reading our posts and newsletters.
No wonder we don't have more subscribers. Most people who use Substack aren't seeing our content and don't even know we exist!☹️
Medium is Better!
Now let me contrast that with my experience so far on Medium.
Here's the timeline:
July 11th: I joined Medium as a paying member (so that I could get access to all of their articles, and at only $5/mth, it's a deal!). At that point, I was only interested in reading — not writing. But it didn't take long before I thought, hmm. Why not? All I had to do was create my profile, open the editor, and start writing. Super easy!
July 21st: I published Book Review: Pray, Write, Grow by Ed Cyzewski (imported from Substack). In less than 24 hours, I had my first follower!
July 24th: I imported and published I'm Getting Up — Again! A few hours later that same day, I published Our Creator God: The Incomparable Master Craftsman.
July 25th: I imported and published From Abuse to Addiction to Prison to Freedom: The Michael Molthan Story and picked up my second follower.
Over the next two weeks, I added 11 new followers! (Whoa! What’s happening here?)
Aug 8th: I published What Do You Do When Life Catches You by Surprise? I Speak Jesus, a modified version of the Hillam Happening newsletter I published here on Substack on Feb 3rd.
Aug 10th: Three new followers signed up overnight, bringing my total to 16!
Today is August 18th, and I now have 25 followers! (And only one is someone I know.)
How is this happening?
People are seeing my articles, reading them, and following me! Hallelujah!
I’m also picking up followers by commenting and engaging with others on Medium. It’s become part of my morning ritual: I read articles from the Daily Digest and engage with my new community while drinking my smoothie! I love it!
Here are the stats I received this morning:
Note that Medium distinguishes between views and reads. That’s a big deal because it’s one thing for someone to see and view (open) one of my articles; it’s another thing for them to be interested enough to read it! (I have no way of knowing this info on Substack, and from conversations with some of my subscriber friends, several don’t actually read our posts and newsletters.)
Medium’s Focus is on Articles, Not on Authors
How is it that I'm seeing such great results on Medium? Take a look at the following screenshot from my desktop browser:
Do you see what takes precedence on the page? Articles! Medium emphasizes content over the authors and their publications. This is huge!
I didn't include the scroll bar on the right, but it's there. And I could have kept scrolling all day, browsing articles like this.
The above feed was what Medium curated for me based on my reading history. "For You" is the default. But notice that there are other curated lists: Following, Writing Life, Christianity, etc. These are the major categories that I've selected. To change or add others, I click the plus sign to the left at the top.
In addition, they list Recommended topics (in the middle of the right sidebar): Christian Living, Faith, Writing Tips, etc. Again, these are based on what I've been reading. Clicking one filters the main feed, limiting it to only articles tagged with that topic.
The reading experience on Medium is excellent! So rather than endlessly scrolling Facebook, I now peruse great content on Medium and engage with a growing number of interesting writers who inspire and inform me.
As a writer, this ease of finding content is a game-changer! I am able to add up to five topic tags to each article. So this means readers can potentially find my articles in five different curated lists. That’s exposure times five!
But it gets even better. Notice that each of the three articles listed above is published in a publication. Example: Janis Cox published How Walking the Way of Peace Can Bring Life, Peace and Happiness in Koinonia.
Guess what? Most publications actively solicit submissions from writers. That’s how it works. Unlike on Substack, where almost all content found in publications is written by the owners (e.g., only David and I publish posts and newsletters in The Hillam Blog), publications on Medium are like magazines that feature articles by many writers.
So for maximum exposure as a writer, write articles for one or more publications. And you better believe that’s precisely where I’m heading!
Our Future on Substack AND Medium!
Yes, I’m over the moon about Medium, but that doesn’t mean we’re leaving Substack. In fact, we will primarily or even exclusively publish the following on Substack:
Hillam Happenings newsletters
Short, impromptu writings
Posts by David
At the moment, I don’t anticipate a situation where I wouldn’t be able to publish on Substack, at minimum, an adapted copy of an article I publish on Medium. But we shall see.
In closing, I want to share what I wrote on my About page on Medium. It came to me one day while reading a handful of articles written by people who had walked away from Christianity — something our current culture calls deconstructing your faith.
I'm not here to make money; I am here to make a difference by telling my story and sharing things the Lord has taught me while walking with Him for more than 55 years.
I may not be able to help everybody, but I believe God has called (and now positioned!) me to help a few somebody’s. That’s my heart. That’s why I’m here. ❤️
Any thoughts? If you’re reading this as an email, just hit reply. Better yet, leave me a comment:
Exciting progress! You have such a gift for writing clearly and with positive encouraging energy. Keep it going ❤️
And you, my friend, have such a gift of encouragement! Thanks so much!