The Fourth of July?

Nope, celebrating two years of writing Tales

Jul 12, 2024

Part 5 of Just a train ride away will arrive next Friday.

I love this photo, the beauty of the fireworks of course, but especially the snow-covered mountains in the background and the lights below; poetic in a sense regarding this post, without nature and the people represented by all the city lights, what is there really to celebrate?

July marks two years that I have been writing Tales. It has been, without a doubt, a labor of love and a huge learning curve. The Substack platform and its writers have evolved and grown in leaps and bounds. Luckily for us writers, there are now many avenues to learn more about Substack's workings and how to create a successful newsletter that can earn an income. It wasn't so in the beginning; it felt like swimming upstream.

For those of you who have been with me from the start, you have been witness to my fits and starts trying to gain paid subscriptions. I wasn't alone in my discomfort, as I watched many other writers suffering along with me. But finally, the tides are changing. Readers like you are embracing the beauty of a platform without ads, where the writers own their work and are free to create unique, engaging, informative newsletters in all genres. Substack only succeeds when its writers succeed, which is the beauty of the system.

I'm proud of my small corner on Substack and the community we have created (we-- you and me), and I want to keep doing this as long as my stories arrive. Going forward I’d like to increase the income stream from my writing. For those of you who already are paid subscribers, please accept my heartfelt gratitude.

I’m such an advocate of asking for what one wants in life, or manifesting as I love to call it. But sometimes even for me, it’s hard to speak my truth.

Come on, my girl, it's okay to ask for what you want. You aren't asking for a handout. You are providing something of value.
Go on now; dip your toe in the water; how about your whole foot? You can do it.

With all that said, on this anniversary of sorts, I'm making it my goal to hit a 10% paid subscription rate, which, according to the Substack experts, is the average rate of subscribers who convert from a free to a paid subscription. I'm currently at a 6% rate, which means I need to do a little work to convert an additional 4% of my current free readers to a paid subscription.

That slight increase will allow me to devote more time to my newsletter, which I would love to do. There are projects I plan to implement, such as

Creating a Voiceover for each post allowing my readers to listen as opposed to read if that's their preference
Create and offer something extra just for my paid subscribers, something light and fun. My main posts will always be available to everyone.
Participate in more writing classes/intensives
Learn more about the Substack app and its abilities to be used in future posts
Publish my next book (which is in the works) and serialize it on Substack, with my readers being a part of that experience

If you value my work and are currently a free subscriber, I would ask you to consider upgrading to a paid subscription, which is the cost of buying me a coffee once a month.

If upgrading isn't for you, but supporting me is, please hit the heart button whenever you enjoy a post because that alerts Substack that you are enjoying my work, which is essential for my growth. Restacking (hitting the two arrows that form a circle at the top of my post) is also fantastic for my site. Restacking simply means that my post goes into the Notes section of Substack where more eyes will see it. Hitting that is your way of endorsing my work for free.

Any of these added efforts will help me more than you know, so please accept my thanks in advance. For all of you who follow and support me, I see you, and I appreciate you. You are the only people who can keep Tales of a Wayward Yogini going. Without you, I'd be writing into the void.

Here’s to year three!

Namaste, my friends.

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