Irish journalist Aisling Keenan dreamed of bringing the kinds of indulgent, escapist reads she had edited at glossy magazines to new readers online. But after six years on Patreon, her drive plateaued. Below, we're sharing her post on why moving to Substack unlocked new growth for her work, and how it ultimately changed her creative experience.

How I changed my working life by moving to Substack

As a writer, I spent six years slogging away on Patreon, only to move to Substack and quadruple my subscriber number in under four months. I’m no mathematician, but I like those numbers.

“That should be on a billboard!” was the reaction when I first told this mini success story at a recent Substack Writers’ party. The person who gave that response was a friend of the co-founder, to contextualise the enthusiasm. But nonetheless – I shared the excitement, and want to share the ‘how’. And as my billboard is being repaired at the moment (ahem), I decided to do what I literally do best and explain why I think the numbers jump happened for me right here on Substack.