I’m building the biggest project of my life.
And I want you to be part of it.
I didn’t plan this.
I didn’t wake up one day thinking:
“Let’s build a big Substack project. Let’s teach growth. Let’s do this perfectly.”
It started the same way most things start.
Confusion.
Trying things.
Following advice that should work…
and realizing that somehow, it wasn’t working for me.
For context (if you’re new here):
Hi! I’m William. I’m 19. 👋
And everything I’ve built so far came from trial, errors, and a lot of moments where I felt behind, late, or just… lost.
When I started on Substack, I did what everyone does.
I read posts about growth.
I saved threads.
I tried to “apply the strategies”.
And here’s the truth nobody really wants to admit:
Most of what people say online doesn’t actually works.
Just not the way you think.
The real problem isn’t bad advice.
It’s that advice is almost always shared out of context.
People tell you what worked.
They never tell you how they tested it, why it worked for them, or what failed before.
And the only real way to find winning solutions is not to copy them.
It’s to test, adapt, and build with people.
That’s what top creators actually do.
They just don’t really talk about it here.
So, while building this Classroom project (an awesome project I can’t be more excited about!), I went back to basics.
And I want to share a few things I learned the hard way, things you can use too.
Not sexy tips.
Not “post more”.
Real stuff. Stuff that I never saw anyone share here on Substack.
1. Create groups. A lot of them.
Not growth groups.
Human groups.
People you genuinely connect with.
And yes, you can seek connection with intention, not manipulation.
Ask yourself:
How can I help this person?
What do they do better than me?
How could we grow together?
That can turn into:
restacks
recommendations
long-term partnerships
idea exchanges
honest feedback
Visibility comes naturally when people know you. Then, I will be easier to gain subscribers and actual readers.
And the awesome thing is that I want to do this with you.
Yes, you all!
The thing is a group of 4 people is nice but if we can get a group of 50 people who have ambitious, ask questions, share feedback, restack your post and help you build your audience, that would be even better.
If that’s something you see yourself part of, let me know here: (Don’t miss this hihi)
2. Get on calls (seriously).
One way to get ahead of this dead-visibility zone is to be different but actually sharing problem in what a way that intrigue people.
The problem at the start is: you know nothing about what your audience want and what they hate.
You have to discover it.
But when you do, you gain an edge towards all the other newsletter in your niche.
Calls changed everything for this.
Because you can access completely honest feedback to put you in the right direction.
Text is good.
Calls are different.
You see patterns.
You hear doubts people never write.
You understand why something doesn’t land.
I used calls to ask questions like:
What was the best lesson you got from my post?
Why would you recommend my newsletter over others?
What do you hate in this niche?
What feels fake or repetitive?
At first, it hurts.
Then you grow.
Most of my biggest improvements didn’t come from writing more.
They came from listening better.
At the start I was just another self-improvement newsletter but once I understood this, I completely change it and tried to make it unique like me.
And if you think:
“I don’t have anything extraordinary to share”
Good.
That’s often where the best stories start.
You don’t need an extraordinary life.
You need a real problem, lived honestly, and solved in public.
Share it everyday. See what people connect the most and actually build something in public.
Then, you can use calls with your connection to go 10x more ahead of this, with the right feedback.
3. Test demand before creating anything.
This one is underrated.
Everyone says:
“Create a lead magnet. Give it to people, gain their email and gain subscribers.”
The problem with this is that nobody will really read your work, because first they don’t know you and second, they will not even know they are in your newsletter.
And that completely affect you reach and open rate, which is bad for your newsletter.
Here’s what I do instead.
I create the idea first.
The page.
The promise.
And only if people want it…
I create it.
If someone is willing to give their email for a free solution, that tells you everything.
And no, it doesn’t need to be complicated.
“But they will receive nothing?”
Yes, you are completely right and that’s the point. You create it after.
You can simply tell them that their was an error and that you will send it to them once it’s fixed.
“But I don’t have time to create a lead magnet like this”
Don’t overcomplicate it.
A good lead magnet is:
short
actionable
immediately useful
10 pages is enough.
Don’t overthink it.
I’m currently building guides + templates on how to make the best lead magnet for myself, because I wasted so much time overcomplicating it. (and now I can actually gain time)
And I wanted to know if it would be useful to you as well.
Leave your opinion here:
All of this is part of the project I’m building right now. (really exciting!)
In public.
I’ll start posting notes like:
Day 1.
Day 2.
Day 3.
Which includes:
What I test.
What works.
What doesn’t. (All of the journey really)
And I want you involved. I need your help on these notes or Chat Threads, because I want it to be useful for you and not me.
So don’t hesitate to engage, support and share your thoughts. (We will build this together!)
Thank you x1000!!
And in this post, I am also creating short surveys and polls, not to collect data, but to build direction together.
So let me ask you:
If this resonates, answer the polls.
Comment.
Or DM me directly! (That is what it is for)
And I would love to just talk and support you!
Final words
This isn’t just a growth project.
It’s a space for people who want to build something meaningful, step by step, without pretending they have it all figured out.
Together we are stronger and that’s one of the important messages I want BeBetter to be.
As a community.
If this hit home, let me know what your goals are, your ambitions and where you feel stuck.
If we share the same goal…
Why not build it together?
— William
BeBetter Week #23
Building in public is what I'm doing as you read this. Today I released my first book. Yes, I'm officially an author, thing is I didn't go the route of a publisher. I just put it out myself. It's been 4 years of writing and last month I completed it.
'Sovereign navigating the MS data Gap'
It's about my journey over the last 5 years with multiple sclerosis and how I've learned to deal and cope with life. I give actionable steps that anyone with a chronic illness can use. I also created a bundle that includes the book, a spreadsheet tool to manage your chronic illness for better self advocacy and a guide that goes along with the book.
I'm not stuck but I did do this without any outside influences or help. So with that I know it's all on me to push and promote this book and build the authority in my niche.
The first thing that came to mind was... DA heck man, I don't have 115 years to live left!
The initiative is a cool one. Aside from the whispers a bird recently sang in my ears about how early interactions pushes notes and posts alike, which means the community is the true bang on susbtack and I am all for it... I also appreciate the little cycle, because entrepreneurship is a team sport. You look at those we aspire to be like, and you'd see they have their own cycles, they refer, Collab, and help each other more so than what's public.
Anyway, this post has been on for a while, ao I assume you already have a chat group loaded? Print me an invite brudar!
(Two things I should have kept to myself: 1) I disagree with the lead magnet stuff. The transition towards the email should be left to the welcome sequence, the free guide is there to... Guide. 2) the start of the article was stellar, but midway I noticed a dip in tone... Run out of juice and got bunches or wut?)