Hey Rebecca, stopping by because it has been awhile since I commented on anything of yours. I'm so glad that you talked about what wasn't working in your earlier content. Because in writing this piece, you diagnosed exactly what wasn't working ... keeping the actual product a bit of a secret before it's official launch.
I remember commenting on one of your Notes a few months ago. In your Note, you asked several questions of Substackers, including whether or not others worry or care as much about saving everything that might be helpful for future content creation/writing (forgive me, I can't remember the exact phrasing and it may have been more than one Note). I know that whatever I said was probably not super helpful for your product iteration process. But I jumped in because I always want you to be successful in whatever you do. It's hard to find your way if you feel you are writing or speaking into a void.
That said, I can see how much you have improved with writing about your process since the beginning of the year. In earlier pieces, I was so confused about Magpie and what it would offer to me. Whereas with your writing about Orbit, I understood (mostly) exactly what you were trying to do every step of the way. It just goes to show that writing consistently brings that clarity not only to you, but also to your audience.
I know you've said before that you don't think you're a real writer. Don't sell yourself short. I think you're an excellent and real writer. Not only because you're here on Substack regularly, but because you're also bringing all of your readers along for the ride.
The line that got me: "the wrapper is what made it possible, not a personality trait." Everyone treats consistency like a character flaw they need to fix. It's a format problem. Give yourself a container and showing up stops being a willpower fight.
The part I'd underline harder is "searching for content everywhere." That's the real unlock in your story, not the challenge itself. Once you're on the hunt, your feed turns into raw material instead of noise.
That hunt is the piece I ended up automating for myself. Before I publish I check what themes actually showed up across the people I follow that week, so I'm answering a live question instead of guessing. That's what I built snapfast.ai for. Raw plus receipts, but you have to know which raw.
Thanks! Totally agree that the feed is material - what’s been most valuable to me, in my eight months here, is getting to know the thoughtful, smart people who are also posting. Reading along with them, building relationships with them, making jokes about our lives in the comments, then taking it from DMs to a Zoom - that’s been so rewarding, and that’s one of the things I want Orbit to help me do more of.
Love this one! You really hit your stride with that Orbit challenge and it was sooo cool and so fun to watch!
Your post made me think about how the challenge also does something important for staying top of mind for folks. It's hard to focus and stay engaged these days--even with things you're interested in. I know I struggle to promote something "too many" times because it feels annoying? And yet, I also know that I need people to reping my text thread because I forgot to respond and I'm never mad or annoyed when they do.
I feel like the challenge format gave you a way to be like "hey, it's me again!" in a fresh new way each day, but for folks who maybe saw a post one day, got a ping from their boss, or a tug at their sleeve from their kiddo and then promptly forgot to dig in, an easy way to come back to you the next time they saw you.
Yes!! That’s so true about creating permission to keep talking about it. I love the challenge format - thinking about how to do more of those and towards other goals too 🤔🤔
I’m happy for you and your journey is so admirable, thanks for sharing! I too am sooo guilty of always holding back and “saving” everything for the reveal in every aspect of life because I worry nobody would care in the least unless what I’m bringing is perfect. And yet, as you say, most often I’ve found that my painfully honest and very much imperfect confessions/contributions/thoughts lead to the best outcomes and conversations.
Oh my gosh it’s such a hard lesson to remember and apply to yourself, right? I love unpolished people but I still struggle to show up in that way.
What are you working on that’s hard to share? Maybe there’s some version of a daily or weekly challenge that could be a catalyst, I love to brainstorm!
Ah, you’re so kind 🫶 I have a thousand little ideas I never seem to find time for but most obviously this Substack I suppose! I have started getting back to writing and that feels good because I specifically make time for it rather than pushing it away in favour of everything else going on, so that helps! Might take you up on that brainstorming one day ☺️
The gap between PocketHog's 7 likes and the Reddit thread getting real people into your TestFlight beta is the whole lesson for me. I built a table for a customer I invented in my head, gave him a name and everything, and he never existed. The polished reveal gets you nothing. The messy back and forth with a stranger who might actually say no is the only thing that ever validated anything I made.
Hey Rebecca, stopping by because it has been awhile since I commented on anything of yours. I'm so glad that you talked about what wasn't working in your earlier content. Because in writing this piece, you diagnosed exactly what wasn't working ... keeping the actual product a bit of a secret before it's official launch.
I remember commenting on one of your Notes a few months ago. In your Note, you asked several questions of Substackers, including whether or not others worry or care as much about saving everything that might be helpful for future content creation/writing (forgive me, I can't remember the exact phrasing and it may have been more than one Note). I know that whatever I said was probably not super helpful for your product iteration process. But I jumped in because I always want you to be successful in whatever you do. It's hard to find your way if you feel you are writing or speaking into a void.
That said, I can see how much you have improved with writing about your process since the beginning of the year. In earlier pieces, I was so confused about Magpie and what it would offer to me. Whereas with your writing about Orbit, I understood (mostly) exactly what you were trying to do every step of the way. It just goes to show that writing consistently brings that clarity not only to you, but also to your audience.
I know you've said before that you don't think you're a real writer. Don't sell yourself short. I think you're an excellent and real writer. Not only because you're here on Substack regularly, but because you're also bringing all of your readers along for the ride.
Love reading the history behind this creation. And I loved being a part of it even more! You are a rockstar 🎉
The line that got me: "the wrapper is what made it possible, not a personality trait." Everyone treats consistency like a character flaw they need to fix. It's a format problem. Give yourself a container and showing up stops being a willpower fight.
The part I'd underline harder is "searching for content everywhere." That's the real unlock in your story, not the challenge itself. Once you're on the hunt, your feed turns into raw material instead of noise.
That hunt is the piece I ended up automating for myself. Before I publish I check what themes actually showed up across the people I follow that week, so I'm answering a live question instead of guessing. That's what I built snapfast.ai for. Raw plus receipts, but you have to know which raw.
Rooting for the beta.
Thanks! Totally agree that the feed is material - what’s been most valuable to me, in my eight months here, is getting to know the thoughtful, smart people who are also posting. Reading along with them, building relationships with them, making jokes about our lives in the comments, then taking it from DMs to a Zoom - that’s been so rewarding, and that’s one of the things I want Orbit to help me do more of.
Love this one! You really hit your stride with that Orbit challenge and it was sooo cool and so fun to watch!
Your post made me think about how the challenge also does something important for staying top of mind for folks. It's hard to focus and stay engaged these days--even with things you're interested in. I know I struggle to promote something "too many" times because it feels annoying? And yet, I also know that I need people to reping my text thread because I forgot to respond and I'm never mad or annoyed when they do.
I feel like the challenge format gave you a way to be like "hey, it's me again!" in a fresh new way each day, but for folks who maybe saw a post one day, got a ping from their boss, or a tug at their sleeve from their kiddo and then promptly forgot to dig in, an easy way to come back to you the next time they saw you.
Yes!! That’s so true about creating permission to keep talking about it. I love the challenge format - thinking about how to do more of those and towards other goals too 🤔🤔
I’m happy for you and your journey is so admirable, thanks for sharing! I too am sooo guilty of always holding back and “saving” everything for the reveal in every aspect of life because I worry nobody would care in the least unless what I’m bringing is perfect. And yet, as you say, most often I’ve found that my painfully honest and very much imperfect confessions/contributions/thoughts lead to the best outcomes and conversations.
Oh my gosh it’s such a hard lesson to remember and apply to yourself, right? I love unpolished people but I still struggle to show up in that way.
What are you working on that’s hard to share? Maybe there’s some version of a daily or weekly challenge that could be a catalyst, I love to brainstorm!
Yeah it’s a learning curve for sure! 😁
Ah, you’re so kind 🫶 I have a thousand little ideas I never seem to find time for but most obviously this Substack I suppose! I have started getting back to writing and that feels good because I specifically make time for it rather than pushing it away in favour of everything else going on, so that helps! Might take you up on that brainstorming one day ☺️
The gap between PocketHog's 7 likes and the Reddit thread getting real people into your TestFlight beta is the whole lesson for me. I built a table for a customer I invented in my head, gave him a name and everything, and he never existed. The polished reveal gets you nothing. The messy back and forth with a stranger who might actually say no is the only thing that ever validated anything I made.