Episode
Focus on Craft, Ignore the Platform Noise, and Build Slowly with Mason Currey
- Podcast
- Substack Live Podcast
- Published
- Sep 14, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 2793
- Processing state
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Summary
As people scramble onto Substack, it’s easy to overlook why it’s the platform to be on right now: Certain early adopters spent years creating Substack newsletters so good people would actually read and paid to read them. Which is why I’ve created an entire podcast to share them with you. My conversation with Mason Currey contains some of the best advice on how to stop feeling like you have to chase the algorithm and can set about owning your platform and doing your best work. Nearly 300 people showed up for the live recording. If you don’t know Mason, he’s the author of the Daily Rituals books and writes the Substack newsletter Subtle Maneuvers about how creative people get work done. Cal Newport called him “the undisputed master of finding, in the messy lives of great artists and thinkers throughout time, deeply human lessons about cultivating meaning in our current age.” * This is some of the best advice on how to build a Substack that people will spend their time and money reading. * + How to stop chasing the algorithm and own your platform. 6 Ways to Build a Substack People Will Actually Spend Their Time and Money Reading 1. Don’t call it your Substack Mason doesn’t say “my Substack.” He says “my newsletter.” The distinction keeps him focused on the writing, not the platform dynamics. “When you think ‘my Substack,’ you start thinking about Notes, recommendations, leaderboards, what other Substacks are doing. When you think ‘my newsletter,’ you think about your readers and your work.” 2. His writing process When writing, Mason doesn’t necessarily think about what will get subscribers. He’s thinking about what hits him and what will hit his readers. “I’m always really thrilled when I read something or hear something in a podcast. I have my feelers out for that thing…