Interview Date: February 9, 2025
Table of Content
- Meet GJ Fallon
- Newsletter Identity Card
- Tools he uses to run his newsletter
- How he started The Rotten Apple
- How he grew over 9,000 subcribers
- His strategies to become a Substack Bestseller with over 300 paid subscribers
- Personal & professional impact of running a newsletter
MEET THE CREATOR
GJ Fallon is a freelance writer from London. He has written for various publications including Vulture, Complex, Business Insider and many more.
As an experienced writer he started a newsletter as a hobby called The Freelance Writing Network. And, within less than a year, it became a Substack bestseller with over 9,000 subscribers and 300 paid members.
In this interview we will explore:
- How he started a newsletter to offer something unique in his genre
- How he reached over 9,000 subscribers step by step
- How he became a Substack bestseller within less than a year and reached around 300 paid members
- How his newsletter has impacted his professional journey
Enjoy!
NEWSLETTER IDENTITY CARD
TOOL STACK
START
How and why did you start The Freelance Writing Network in the first place?
I became slightly disillusioned with some of the similar newsletters in the genre. I don’t mean that disrespectfully, they just either had a more niche focus or reach or I just felt the sheer volume of opportunities wasn’t enough.
It meant I was searching for them on my own as well, and I felt I was finding more than was being shared. I felt that if I was doing this already, I might as well start my own newsletter.
I also wanted it to be more than an opportunities newsletter though, and I’ve loved branching out. Now I get to interview freelance writers, share top tips, give newsletter growth insight and share relevant publications either paying a certain amount or who are within a certain niche.
It’s grown far more than I ever imagined (and far quicker too) but I have loved every second of it.
You also run two different newsletters called “The Classical Book Club” (see here) and “Write Your Novel!” (see here). How do you position The Freelance Writing Network among your other works?
They’re all completely separate. Each newsletter recommends the others but otherwise they are all their own separate entity. The book club is just something I felt passionate about, while my previous studies, writing and editing of fiction meant I felt I had something to offer in that space.
The FWN is within a different genre so while they are attached to my Substack profile, I don’t feel that they overlap in any way otherwise.
GROWTH
You grew your audience to over 9,000 within less than a year. That’s really impressive! How did you reach the first 1,000 subscribers?
“With a lot of work! A lot of sharing my work shamelessly on social media (primarily Twitter and Reddit for me) as well as using Substack Notes and DMs to reach people.”
If someone said they were a freelance journalist then I would follow, engage and suggest they check out my newsletter.
It took over four months to go from 0 to 1000 (which is still quick, I appreciate!) and that was definitely the toughest milestone to hit. I have found that as I hit each milestone, getting to the next one has been even easier. From my perspective, the more who subscribe and read, the more respectable my newsletter is within the community.
Which strategies did you use to grow over 9,000 subscribers?
1,000 – 2,500 Subscribers
“At this stage I continued to promote myself directly, post on social media, use Notes and engage with others. Consistency – every week, at the same time, without fail. That’s what worked for me.”
I also found and started some recommendations on Substack with similar newsletters, and found that to be a really productive growth strategy.
2,500 – 5,000 Subscribers
Very similar to above. Still some self-promotion, used Notes a LOT during this period too. I seemed to get a load of Notes boosts and that really helped me during this period.
I also tried to create semi-viral Twitter threads (a thread of opportunities for example) and this really helped me to grow newsletter subs from that platform.
5,000+ Subscribers
Since I reached this point, I have done very little in terms of strategies for growth. I post regularly and share the posts, as well as try to be active on Notes as much as I can. To be honest, I sometimes will have a week or a month where I have a flurry of new readers and I have little idea of where they come from.
I’m just at the point where word of mouth is my friend, too. I have had university professors share my newsletter with their students. Strangers post about me in Facebook groups. Once you hit a certain point of visibility, things just happen naturally.
I just ensure the work is professional, regular and high-quality. Everything else follows on from that now.
In our previous conversations, you mentioned that 30% of your growth comes from social media. What is your social media strategy to convert your followers into subscribers?
In the beginning I would DM new subscribers with a friendly message and a link to my profile. Quite a lot of them would reply to say they would or had subscribed. Quite a few of them did need me to point them to the newsletter link specifically, despite it being clear what the account was about.
After I stopped doing this (probably at around 3,000 subscribers) I just tried to engage with the community and post the odd semi-viral thread, as mentioned above. The same went for LinkedIn and Reddit, though I have found those platforms to be a little more challenging.
Regarding growth efforts, what would you do differently if you had a chance to start over?
I’m not sure there is anything I would change right now. If I knew where it would end up, I might have spent even longer doing the self-promotion stuff, but it sort of didn’t feel necessary after a while.
When I would get 20-50 new subs a day without doing anything, I didn’t really see the point in spending hours recommending myself to potential readers directly.
It’s been a lot of work, often shameless (or proud, depending on how you want to view it) but has ultimately paid off for me now. It’s all grown so fast for me that I don’t know what else I could do differently?
Perhaps I’d have spent more time really developing what the brand looks like visually, but that’s only really in my mind now because I’ll hit 10,000 subscribers at some point this year and I want to look as professional as I can.
MONETIZATION
50% of your revenue comes from your newsletter businesses and your primary monetization channel is paid subscription. When was the right time for you to start a paid subscription for your newsletter?
“I actually had paid subscriptions turned on from the start, it just took around three months before I got my first one. From there things developed fairly quickly.”
What I would say is that a lot of my paid offering was almost theoretical at that stage of the newsletter. I didn’t really post much paid content, I just told myself I would start more once people subscribed. Once I got my first paid sub, it was the motivation I needed to start creating much more paid content. And paid subs snowballed from there.
You have around 300 paid members which is impressive considering your newsletter is only 1 year old! What are your strategies for converting free subscribers into paid ones or gaining new paid subscribers?
For me, it’s mainly about value for money. There are various newsletters that share opportunities, so for a paid option, I need to offer them value. That’s why paid subscriptions come with chat access to extra opportunities in the week, newsletter growth insights, top tips, insight from other freelancers and high-paying or themed opportunities. Though free subs still receive the weekly newsletter, the way I see it that is a lot of extra content for paid subscribers.
I just keep the content consistent so that they never feel like they are not getting value for money. Not everyone wants to pay to subscribe forever, of course, but the feedback I have had from paid subscribers over the last few months is really good. I’m proud of what I offer and I really do think that shows.
“On Substack, free previews are the best way to convert free subscribers. I’ve also had lots of success with free trials, you just have to not take it personally when people cancel those after a brief period of time. Otherwise, they’ve been really useful for giving readers a taste of the paid-only content.”
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned from running a successful paid subscription?
Be clear about what you’re offering. Then deliver it. If I ever fall behind or don’t give them something worth their money, that’s when I’ll lose subscribers. I’m passionate about continuing to grow and so this is something I really want to focus on. Value for money is really important to me.
IMPACT & LEARNINGS
How did building The Freelance Writing Network newsletter contribute to your life professionally and personally?
It started as a hobby but has grown to become something close to a business. It has meant I spend less time than I used to in actually writing on a freelance basis because so much time and energy goes to the newsletter. Because it makes up a big chunk of my income, however, it is giving me more freedom to work how I like, when I like.
It is also starting to open up new opportunities. I have had requests to write, people asking me for work or contributions, even offers to buy the newsletter itself (which I rejected). I just feel so much more positive about my financial future as this thing grows.
What would you do differently if you had a chance to start over The Freelance Writing Network?
I’m not sure there is anything. It’s gone so well for me that I’m not sure what I could, or should, do differently. I am happy with the different steps I took at each time, and happy that I leveraged each growth route in the right way. Simply being consistent and then proud of sharing the work is largely all I needed to take off. And from then it has just managed itself.
What would it be if you had the right to give one piece of advice to aspiring newsletter creators?
Keep writing. Enjoy the small wins. You have 50 subscribers? Well, that’s amazing! Picture all the people who subscribe to you in one room and, even if the number feels small, you’ll get an idea of just how many people that is. Imagine having to talk in front of all of them, for example.
Keep writing and be consistent. In the early days it was quite hard to keep going at times when there was seemingly little financial or career benefit to me. But I did keep going. And where it can go, with the right mindset and approach, is something beyond anything you ever expect.
“Not everyone will make a living off Substack or become a bestseller, but real opportunities to thrive really do exist for those with the right mindset. Trust me, I used to be you!”
3 Popular The Freelance Writing Network Issues
- 29 publications paying up to $2 per word!
- Five common new newsletter mistakes
- 25 publications paying for travel stories!
Where to find GJ Fallon
- “The Freelance Writing Network” Newsletter
- GJ’s other newsletters: “The Classical Book Club” and “Write Your Novel!“
- X
- BlueSky
