1 Year on Substack - A Brutally Honest Review

From 41 to 4,620 subscribers. What have I learned?

My first AI image in the style that I settled for (created with DallE)

It's been exactly 1 year and 9 days since I posted my first article on Substack.

I had no idea what would happen, but my goals and ideas were massive. In my visualization exercise, I saw myself celebrating 52 weeks of writing, many subscribers, paid subscribers, and a thriving online business.

I had this outrageous goal of making over 20,000€/month - I honestly believed this would make me 'happy.' I would've quit my job as a freelance product manager. And I imagined writing this post from the same desk I was writing from a year ago.

It would be an upbeat, happy-happy-joy-joy post about how incredible this journey has been and how everybody can do it - as long as they believe in themselves.

Spoiler alert: this is not how it all went down.

The only goal I fulfilled? Quitting my job as a freelance product manager.

All the other goals? I crumpled them up and threw them in the trash.

I was delusional. So I didn't have to face my unhappiness. The goals were something to hold on to, the classic 'if only I have ..., I'll be happy.'

The funny (or should I say, fuck up) thing?

I earned over 10K/month in revenue as a freelancer. I made a lot of money. So why was I so fixed on the 20K/month? Why did I believe that would improve everything if I already earned a bucketload?

God, I have no clue.

That's a lie. I do know. I was extremely unhappy in that job, but I could've realized that money does not make you happy. Once you earn enough to do what you want, all the extra is just gathering dust in the savings account—the safety net that needs to grow, or so I believed.

So, 2025 doesn't look like anything I had visualized, and I am content—truly.

Now, what did it look like? How did a year on Substack play out for me? And what's next? Let's dive in.

The Past - 12 months on Substack

For the past 12 months, I have done it all. I discovered Substack, devoured it, went viral, grew exponentially, felt superior, believed I was invincible and got addicted to the growth numbers.

Then life happened.

I started to ignore Substack, even resented it for a moment. I lost interest, but I never stopped writing.

And that would be my number one tip: If you love writing, don't stop. Truly, don't stop. It will kill your streak and belief in your capabilities, but you must love it to continue.

I promised myself I would write weekly, so I did, no matter the circumstances. The only time I didn't show up was last week. I had no energy left, so I procrastinated on this article. I suddenly felt like I couldn't do it anymore, like I had nothing to say.

That's why you don't stop writing.

What I learned

Substack is like any other social media platform.

It might feel like a completely new place where everything is possible. The people here are genuinely kind, warm, and welcoming. This is the place to be for writers and readers.

But don't be fooled; it is a form of social media.

You will find the gurus who promise you all the dreams with easy-to-follow steps. You'll find the grinders and the shouters. You'll find the celebrities, the 'overnight successes.’ Nothing wrong with that. But, so you know.

Look, I'll be blunt: if your ambitions are to grow here, you'll have to put in the work. It's a lot of work. Subscribers won't magically find you and love your work. You need to be discoverable.

And that means:

• Share your posts on Notes

• Write on Notes almost daily

• React and comment on other publications

• Network in the DMs

• Share other people's posts

• Recommend other people's work

• ...

You are not above this. Even if you are an excellent writer, nobody will know unless they find your work.

Also, be kind.

I did all the work, and I went from 0 to 4,500 subscribers.

The moment I stopped spending 8 hours a day on Substack, I stopped seeing fast growth. However, thanks to all the super-kind publications that recommend The Bored Millennial, I am still growing.

So, the 4 months of very intensive Substacking are still paying off.

Going Paid

Oooh, how naive I was. After some initial success, I thought it would be easy to become a Substack Bestseller.

I had read and internalized all the advice online: find your niche, make an online product, and then sell a lot—like magic.

So, I followed that advice.

Readers asked me many questions about how I created my AI images and maintained consistency. Well, here's my answer: I'll create a course on AI images. So I did that. I put a lot of work into it and liked creating the course. I promoted it the hell out of it and believed it would easily gain me 100 paid subscribers.

Eventually, I peaked at 50 paid subscribers.

The course was appreciated, but it was only a one-time event. So, some people paid $5 for a month and then unsubscribed.

I tried other things, like monthly calls or paid articles, but I just couldn't get the hang of it. I never grasped or understood what people wanted from me or what they would be willing to pay for, nor did I have the consistency to move ahead with it. And that's okay.

Just know that if you think you can make an easy buck on Substack, that is not the case. Sorry if this burst your bubble - I want to be honest.

And I will launch a new paid offer and give it another try, but more on that later.

Consistency is key.

If you consume the same content like me, you have heard this advice a million times. Consistency is key. And I confirm, it is.

But it's better to be consistent with one thing than to keep up with a dozen rules or habits you set for yourself. I could keep up for a year because I stuck to this one rule: write one weekly article.

So, every Friday, at 6 pm CET, I published an article.

That was it, my one rule.

There were months when I answered comments and DMs daily, commented on other people's substacks, and posted notes, which equaled exponential growth. But there were also months when I did none of that, except write my weekly article.

My point is that if you want to do everything at once, it's tough to keep up, and before you know it, you'll stop everything.

So, it is better to set yourself up in a way you know you can win.

Define your one rule and stick to it. Don't make it complicated.

The Present - Current stats

My long-time readers know I have had this spreadsheet with all the numbers since day one. This will be the last time I share my beloved spreadsheet with the final numbers.

Because that was my promise one year ago.

Here's what I wrote on the 23rd of February 2024:

Isn't freedom the one thing we are all ultimately looking for?

And isn't that freedom easiest conquered when you have financial freedom?

And isn't it precisely that dream internet gurus and content creators sell us? Making money online is easy, they say, and it's all supposed to be possible if you are disciplined and show up every day.

On February 22nd 2024, I made my first dollar online with an article on Medium. And I couldn't sleep. My head couldn't stop thinking.

Everybody always talks about how to make money online, but nobody shares the journey. Why don't I share my journey of making money online and see where it brings me in exactly 1 year?

How much would I be able to make from today until the 24th of February 2025? Without any business skills or hustler mentality. Just a regular bored millennial with a full-time job trying to do something meaningful in her life.

So, I'll put the idea of making money online to the test for 1 year. I'll document the whole journey like a diary on Substack.

Full transparency.

I'll do the weekly reports as well: Earnings & Learnings.

I’ll share my ups and downs to inspire you so you can see what taking action can lead to, but I’ll always be honest and real and will not glorify it.

Worst case scenario:

Crickets 🦗🦗🦗

Nothing happens except some mean comments, maybe. I keep my full-time job, and I move on with my life. (At least I won't regret not trying)

Best case scenario:

I live to my full potential. I've built the dream.

It'll probably be somewhere in between those scenarios 😉

I hope to learn valuable lessons; some doors might open for me, and others might close. I am here to inspire you, to grow and expand myself, and maybe there's a chance to live the dream of being financially free.

Who knows? You never know what the future brings.

We only ever have the now.

In the meantime, I'll keep figuring it out while writing ✍️

xoxo,

Marie Vandoorne aka The Bored Millennial

Rereading this makes me tear up. I love Marie from a year ago and how I kept that promise. I shared my reality and truth in the best way I could.

The end result? Somewhere in between those scenarios.

So, let's pull up the spreadsheet one last time.

I opened my excel for everyone who wants to do a deep dive on the numbers: 1 Year Online Spreadsheet

Some observations:

• First paid subscriber after 10 weeks (thank you, Jen, I’ll never forget!)

• First viral note after 12 weeks: the number of subscribers doubled over the weeks for a month straight.

• Reached a peak of 50 subscribers after 24 weeks and launching my course.

• Rounded up at 4623 subscribers, € 903,50 earned (earnings - spendings) and lots of important lessons learned.

• 150 publications recommend The Bored Millennial, gifting me over 2K subscribers.

🧡🧡🧡

The Future - What's in Store for The Bored Millennial

The image I used for the launch of my AI course

The year is over. What now? Time to stop? Nope, never.

I might have lost many things over the years but also gained many insights. I am now sure that writing is my way forward. I know happiness is found in connection, moments with friends and family, traveling, finding flow, and enjoying the small things in life. Seeing beauty in tiny things. Walks in nature. Being it the now.

It is not money.

I went from earning 120K a year in revenue to basically zero today, and I have never felt more secure about my future and my choices. Sure, there are insecurities about income and paying my bills, but I luckily have been able to save the last couple of years.

I want to write and earn a living that pays the bills. I aim not to earn six figures by next year—just enough to live.

Okay, so what's the plan?

I want to build my own business, preferably by ghostwriting newsletters. However, I also want to invest more time (since I have that now) in The Bored Millennial.

I came up with a new concept for the coming year.

The 4-hour workday concept

As most of you know, I am about slow living and enjoying the moment. But I also love a good challenge; I love working hard, with dedication, and with quality. I've been into productivity and deep work for years and want to put theory into practice.

So I wonder,

Can I build a healthy one-person business by working only 4 hours daily?

I want to work four hours every morning from Monday to Friday, free the afternoons and evenings for whatever I like.

How will that play out? What are the challenges? How can I work as efficiently as possible? Is it even possible?

I'll continue writing my weekly newsletter with my findings, thoughts and musings. However, I will also write one paid article monthly to share my earnings, costs, and experiences openly and honestly. This way, you will know how much I charge a client for precisely what services, and you will see what I spend my money and time on.

Since this is sensitive information, I don't want to post it on the internet for everyone to read. It will be behind a paywall.

In complete honesty, I will mainly write these paid articles with an in-depth overview of my financial status for myself. It is a way to keep myself accountable and reflect on my work and financial habits.

And no, I don't have any particular goal, such as the number of paid subscribers I hope to join or the revenue I want to generate.

I want to give myself a chance first and see where everything goes.

---

If you are interested in becoming a paid subscriber to follow along and get all the details from behind the scenes, please consider joining:

One more thing

Hello from me 👋

I promise you to remain true to my authentic writing style, keep the personality vibes real, and share what I learn openly with you guys.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who shows up to read my writings. This is the greatest gift of all. You guys are the best. Giving your precious time to The Bored Millennial means the world to me.

I'm so excited to see where we will be in one year.

Anything is possible.

Big love and a massive hug.

xxxx

Marie, aka The Bored Millennial.

PS: From now on, I will publish on Tuesdays at 5 pm CET.