Who Else Is Going All In on Substack in 2026?
52 posts. One reader question each. The quiet library that builds authority you’ll wish you started sooner.
Who else is committing to Substack in 2026?
Forget Notes and the endless chase for viral hits. What if the real path to building a business on Substack is quieter, deeper, and far more enjoyable?
Here’s a system that works by ignoring the hype. You commit to publishing one Substack post per week. The rule? Each post must answer one key question your ideal reader is wrestling with.
After a year of writing 52 posts (at ~1000 words each). You’ve built a 50,000-word library of answers—an entire book disguised as a newsletter archive. You’ve built a library that positions you as the authority they trust. New readers not only find on of your posts; they find a universe of solutions. They binge, they subscribe, and they start seeing you as the one person who truly gets their struggle.
This is how you grow Substack by serving readers on a fundamental level. It’s how you build Substack authority without begging for likes or playing algorithm games.
This Substack consistency plan flips the script: Forget your ego. Focus on their struggles. It forces you to get out of your own head and into theirs. It’s sustainable because it’s fueled by genuine curiosity about their problems, not the exhausting pursuit of your own validation.
Step 1: Map Your Reader’s 50 Questions (Ignore Your Ego)
If you start writing thinking: ”What do I feel like writing today?.” It’s a question driven by ego, not service. And it’s why so many newsletters never make it to the sixth month.
The fundamental shift is to stop talking *at* people and start answering their questions. Your first task is to get out of your own head and into theirs. Brainstorm a raw list of 50 pains, aspirations, and nagging questions your ideal reader has. Don’t filter. Just list.
To make this practical, think in categories. For example, if your ideal reader is an Indie Solopreneur, their 50 questions might break down into these five pillars:
Getting Started (10 Questions): e.g., “What’s the first product I should build to hit $1k MRR?”
Marketing & Funnels (10 Questions): e.g., “What’s the proven funnel to get my first 100 customers?”
Productivity & Mindset (10 Questions): e.g., “How do I stay motivated when I’m not seeing results?”
Scaling (10 Questions): e.g., “When should I hire my first VA?”
Financials (10 Questions): e.g., “How do I price my SaaS product effectively?”
Why does this work? Because you’re not just publishing random articles; you’re building an answer library. When a new reader finds one post that solves a genuine problem, they don’t just leave. They start digging. They binge your archive because they finally see a guide who gets it. This is how authority is built—not by declaring it, but by demonstrating it, one answered question at a time. It’s no surprise the fastest-growing creators are the ones delivering relentless, targeted value. They’re just systematically useful.
Your 2026 Blueprint: One Question, One Post, One Week
Let’s scrap the complicated content calendar for 2026. Most are just a frantic scramble to feed the algorithm, leaving you with a collection of disconnected ideas.
Here’s a simpler, more powerful blueprint: One Question, One Post, One Week.
The mechanics are simple. Each week, you take one real question your ideal customer is asking and answer it completely in about 1000 words. This could be a step-by-step guide, a bank of resources, or practical framework they can use. etc.
By the end of the year You’ll have built a comprehensive library of answers that establishes quiet authority. Business starts flowing to you naturally because you’ve become the most trusted resource in your niche.
While your competitors are chasing algorithm hacks and churning out shallow, engagement-bait content, you’re building an evergreen asset that actually serves people. This is the reader-first edge everyone talks about but few actually build. It’s a fundamental shift from being a content creator to becoming the definitive answer.
The Foundation: Borrow, Improve, Publish
Most of the time ideas are not born from thin air. They’re synthesized from existing concepts, remixed and refined. As Wilson Mizner famously said: ”If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; if you steal from many, it’s research.”
This is the foundation of strategic content gap creation. Your 2026 content plan isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It’s about finding what already works and making it better.
The Content Gap Framework:
Find a piece of writing you admire that already solves one of your reader’s questions.
Identify weaknesses in the piece: Outdated information, shallow analysis, or missing practical examples.
Find these gaps and improve them by adding your unique perspective, a better story, a clearer explanation. etc.
Publish it. This piece becomes your new baseline.
You are not copying. You are contributing to the collective knowledge by improving a piece that already existed. You’re starting from what already works and making it better for the reader. It takes all the pressure off your ego and puts the focus back where it belongs:
Delivering relentless value.
The 1% Improvement Challenge: Every Post Serves Better
Now, the real challenge begins: Each piece has to be better than the last one.
Not better in some vague, unmeasurable way. Better in a way that’s actually more helpful for the readers.
Let me help you with some examples you can improve:
One less unnecessary sentence.
Visuals that makes the idea easier to grab.
Sharper insight into their specific pain point.
Easier language so everyone can understand.
Cleaner format that helps readers skim through the article.
One more concrete example that makes them think “oh, that’s exactly my situation.”
If you improve 1% each time and you keep showing up, you’re a 100% success. The chances of you not wining are 0. Not because James Clear said it. Is because your work is compounding. Because you’re competing against yesterday’s version of yourself and not anyone else.
Most creators benchmark against other creators. That’s exhausting and pointless. You don’t know their business, their audience, their context. You only know yours.
Focus on improving yourself and helping your readers, then the question becomes: Did this post serve my reader better than the last one? Did I understand their problem more clearly? Did I explain the solution more directly?
If yes, publish it. If no, figure out why and fix it.
Sustained improvement beats sporadic brilliance every single time.
In 52 weeks, you are not 52% better. You are 68% better.
Who’s Joining? Commit to Their 50 Questions
So who’s actually doing this in 2026?
If you’re in, start simple. List your first 5 audience questions. Don’t overthink it, just write down what your ideal reader is genuinely struggling with right now. By the end of 2026, those 5 questions will have multiplied into 50 answered posts. You’ll have built a library that positions you as the guide they’ve been looking for.
The system works. The only question is whether you’ll stick with it long enough to see the compounding effect.
➤ Next week: You don’t need as much as you think to live the life you want. An overlooked mental shift that will help you achieve your goals this year. Read next week’s issue.
➤ If you liked this article, help me restacking it 🔄