We invited Brian Lund who writes The Lund Loop, a publication at the intersection of markets, trading, and life, to share meaningful moments of growth over his four years writing on Substack.
What questions do you have for Brian? Leave them in the comments and we’ll ask Brian live at this week’s Investing Happy Hour on Twitter Spaces.
About: A community of traders and investors helping each other crush the market. Basically, we’re the anti-FinTwit.
Started on Substack: February 2018
Went paid: March 2019
Free subscribers: 7,000
Paid subscribers: 750
Schedule: Posts five days a week, Monday through Thursday and Saturday.
Post types:
Video posts: I produce three video series, the “Daily Update,” which as the name implies, goes out daily, and the “Market Strategy” and “Deconstructing a Trade” videos, which go out in the weekend edition.
Podcast: I also do a weekly podcast, write a lengthy intro to the weekend edition, and randomly publish a separate section of my newsletter called “The Anecdote,” where I write overly personal stories about my life.
Getting started. It was late 2017, and I’d fallen out of love with a blog that I had been writing since 2007. The format just wasn’t working for me anymore, and I was seriously debating whether or not I’d continue writing at all. I’d recently subscribed to Erin Griffith’s newsletter, and I was intrigued by the format. She announced that she was moving her newsletter to this new platform called Substack, so I thought I’d give it a try. Nearly five years later, I’m still here.
Saying “yes.” I was a guest on a podcast that’s widely followed among investors and traders. Up until that point, I had turned down these types of invitations because I didn’t think my newsletter was ready yet. In retrospect, that was a hang-up. Going forward, I began saying “yes” to more things.
Slow, steady, and consistent. During this period, I got more strategic in my approach to the newsletter. I began posting regularly, sharing on social media, and using the “Subscribe” button in all my posts. There was no big “aha” moment, but being more consistent and continually refining how I presented my newsletter paid off in a steady stream of new signups.
Read more: How to promote your work on social media
Experimenting with ads. In late 2021, I experimented with paid ads on Facebook and YouTube. Although I got a significant increase in new subscribers, ultimately, it didn’t feel authentic to my brand, so I discontinued the campaign. However, it was a great learning experience, and I’m glad I did it.
Today. The past year has been very exciting because I’ve been focused on broadening The Lund Loop from a newsletter to a community. My paid subscribers now get exclusive access to The Lund Loop Discord, where they can interact and share ideas with each other. The newsletter is still the core component, but I’m looking at new ways to interact with subscribers and strengthen the community bond, possibly through live webinars, AMAs, polls, content libraries, and other interactive features.
Read more: How to find and engage your readers
What questions do you have for Brian? Leave them in the comments and we’ll ask Brian live at this week’s Investing Happy Hour on Twitter Spaces.
Join us for Investing Happy Hour with Brian on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET.
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