Episode #81
Ep81 David McIlroy—Why Chasing Likes Is the Wrong Growth Strategy (and What Works Instead)
David McIlroy joined Substack in June 2023 with fewer than 200 subscribers who migrated over from another list. He never promoted it on social media. Today, 99% of his audience has come from inside the platform itself. Suzanne sits down with David, a Substack writer and creator who helps other writers get their best thinking out of their heads and onto the page, to talk about what actually drives growth once the vanity metrics stop meaning anything. David's take is blunt: likes don't tell you whether your business is growing. The real signal is what happens in the background: the DMs, the comments under an article, and the conversations nobody else sees. He builds his entire approach around connecting with people first and worrying about the sale later, if it comes up at all. In this conversation, you'll discover: - Why likes and vanity metrics are the wrong thing to chase if you actually want to grow a business - The difference between marketing that makes people feel like they have a problem and marketing that simply opens a door - Why vulnerable, self-deprecating stories build more trust than any polished pitch - How David is launching Velocity, his new group coaching program for writers, by being upfront about the price from day one - What changed on Substack after the Notes feature launched, and why it pulled in so many writers and journalists Find all the show notes and links here: https://www.unlockyourwaywithstk.com/81
