College teacher turned ghostwriter | Scaling founders, coaches, and consultants to $100K+ /mo | Writing to build wealth and better self | 98,000 on Twitter (X)

Taylin John Simmonds

I just want you to know, it’s possible to become a full time writer. 

It might take longer than expected. It might not happen the way you expected. But it is possible. 

Please, on the hard days, remember that.

College teacher turned Substack ghostwriter | Helping multi-passionate writers and creatives earn on the internet | 2 billion impressions | $4,000,000+ revenue generated | All in on Substack

I ghostwrote for 6 months with zero pay.

3am writing sessions to hit deadlines. Then I’d teach college classes from 8am to 6pm (exhausting).

I tracked every win. Saved the screenshots. Studied what worked.

That invisible work became my portfolio.
That portfolio landed my first paid client at $3,000 a month.

To get paid, get proof.

I’m 31, Canadian, introverted, and run a small online writing biz with my high school best friend.

Last year, we did $315,000 in revenue.

What we sell (copy us if you like):

– Social media ghostwriting: $4,700/mo + 10% commission
– Newsletter ghostwriting: $2,000 /mo
– Ghostwriting coaching: $5,700/qtr
- Ghostwriting course: $500
- Paid Substack newsletter: $99/yr

How we market:

– Post on LinkedIn 5x/week
– Post on Substack 7x/week
– Post on Twitter 14x/week
– Email my list 2-3x/week
– DM 100 people/mo on LinkedIn

Tools we use:

– Loom (SOPs and audits)
– Stripe + Whop (payment processors)
– Calendly (calendar bookings and pre-sale automation sequences)
– Heartbeat (community platform for coaching)
– Eden (all writing + my entire life in systems)
– Notion (company systems)
– Claude + ChatGPT (AI assistance)

Where I started:

4 years ago I was a college teacher who knew nothing about business, marketing, or sales. I just wanted more control over my time and to make a little more money. Today, I have exactly that.

if you do a fraction of this, you can make $100K /yr on Substack alone. You just need the right offers, strategy, and time.

I hope this gives you some direction.

—Taylin

My tiny writing biz did $315,000 last year.

If I were starting over and wanted 6 figures, I’d ghostwrite newsletters on Substack.

Go to LinkedIn, find business owners, health coaches, and tech founders. DM them. Show them how a paid newsletter will make them more per mo than they pay you.

Do this well and you’ll have more clients than you can handle.

Funny... After 31 years of exploring, my happy life turned out to the simple one.

• Reading great books
• Going on walks to think
• Writing what I’d love to read

A little breathwork. A lot of time with my gf.

That’s it. That’s happiness.

Build in public (show your process)
Think in public (share your insights)
Write in public (show your skill)

Public credibility creates private opportunities.

If you want to level up in life, you must create more than you consume.

Create art, books, content, products, and businesses. Shape your body, mind, and environment. Build your ideal life one tiny step at a time.

Most people are stuck because they only watch. Don’t be like them.

Create something. Anything.

You only need 1 client.

Not one who underpays, drains your energy, and ignores boundaries.

1 client who pays more than most corporate salaries, treats you like a professional, and builds with you long term.

That single client will permanently change what you think is possible with a one person business.

You're exhausted because you have too many open loops.

Too many books you’re reading. Articles you’re writing. Skills you’re learning. Businesses you’re building. Problems you’re solving.

Pick one thing (for now). And grieve the rest. 
Energy will follow.

Don’t write with AI. Write assisted by AI.

AI can come up with ideas. You decide which are worth writing.
AI can research. You fact-check.
AI can give feedback. You choose what to keep.

You think. You write. You lead.

You bring the perspective, taste, and truth that no machine can.

AI saves you time.

Not so you can write less, but so you can write more, write better, and write more you.

Solo building is overrated.

Find your people. Meet daily. Build cool sh*t together.

I’m creating a newsletter ghostwriting course with two close friends and it’s the most fun I’ve had in months.

Few things beat building with people who care as much as you do.

The happiest people I know are not doing more. 
They are noticing more.

They pause to celebrate small wins others ignore. Ten minutes of focused work. One uncomfortable email sent. An honest start on a low-energy day.

That habit will make you effective.

Because people who notice progress keep going.

Multi-passionate people get stuck because they over-consume and under-create.

You don’t have to give up learning. But you do need to devote yourself to producing work daily.

Create for 2-4 hours in the morning. Explore for 1-2 hours in the evenings.

That’s how you both learn and earn with multiple interests.

You don't need motivation to achieve great things.

I don't always feel like writing.
I don't always feel like working.
I don't always feel like exercising.

Honestly, MOST days I don't feel like it.

But I do it anyways.
And I never regret it.

The future won’t belong to specialists who refuse to change.

It will belong to people who can become someone new again and again.

Technology is moving too fast for fixed identities.

Agency, learning speed, and keeping cool under uncertainty are the new job security.

A lack of pressure leads to an abundance of procrastination.

New milestone: 100 paid subscribers on Substack!

Be different, stay free, and make money teaching stuff you enjoy. 100M+ views. 150K readers. INFJ, Coach, Writer. Regular tips to set you apart at the Mastery Den newsletter ⮕ masteryden.com

Connect with me and learn how to master your writing habit and make an impact with your words: https://www.alexmathers.co <- Get your free productivity checklist when you join.

I'm a writer, coach, illustrator, film-maker and course creator.

I have a readership of over 200,000 to my newsletters and articles.

My focus right now is helping you overcome sabotage, build confidence, find your voice and develop a writing habit that changes the world.

I write stand-out articles that generate tens of thousands of new eyeballs weekly for brands and individuals who want to grow.

"Alex is a hell of a writer. When I observe people who write well I feel empowered."

- D. Selinger, Illusionist, Business owner

“Alex has a command of the medium that I don't have. His tweets were better than I could have written. We all need someone outside of ourselves to see us - and perhaps speak for us - better than we can do ourselves. Alex has impressively risen to this challenge.  I highly recommend his writing service."

- Derek Sivers, Founder CD Baby, entrepreneur, writer

--

Businesses founded:

Red Lemon Club - A blog for creatives, leaders and entrepreneurs about creativity and consciousness.
Ape on the Moon - 'The best in contemporary illustration and animation'
Book of Lift - 'Daily questions to help you succeed, one step at a time' (productivity planner).
Alex Mathers - Impactful writing and courses.
Alex Mathers Coaching - Transformational coaching and coach training.

I built a global design business in my twenties, working with international clients, without any formal training in either business or design.

I work with a handful of people each year as a coach to help them realise their full potential and expand their businesses.

"I had the pleasure of working with Alex for several months. I found our coaching calls to be insightful and frequently surprising. Alex has a knack for distilling what can feel like big, complicated problems into actions and patterns that I can then control and manage." ~ Chris Hough

I'm self-taught in illustration with a degree in Geography and a Masters in Real Estate. Clients include Google, the BBC, Mars, Barclays, Saatchi & Saatchi, Two Dots Games, Wired Magazine and Time Out London.

My personal site: www.alexmathers.net

Speaking includes:

OFFF Design Conference, Barcelona
Icon Illustration Conference, Austin, TX
Behance, Tokyo
DXSaigon, Ho Chi Minh City
New Designers, London
Association of Illustrators, London
Ilustratour Conference, Valladolid, Spain

35+ podcast interviews various.

Alex Mathers

If you feel like you can't go on,

You need to stop thinking in miles,

And start thinking in inches.

Everything is conquerable.

Coach, illustrator and author of 8 books. Helping you develop a resilient mind and a writing and publishing habit for impact. 205k readers. 200M+ views. Regular tips at my newsletter ⮕ alexmathers.co

I now write fiction for two hours in the morning 
before anything else.

Then it’s newsletters and articles.

It took me years to figure out how to finally bring 
fiction into my routine.

I kept treating fiction like dessert when it needed 
to be the main course...and so fiction never got done.

But now I know the stuff that feels the ‘least important’ 
is usually the most important.

That now comes first. 

Everything else can wait.

. . .

Want more energy to create remarkable things?

You will triple your productivity in days...

When you join my daily newsletter and grab my productivity checklist.

Most people are lost.
They need purpose.
But purpose isn't found.
It doesn't come knocking.
The minute you act with purpose...
That's when you have it.

I learned that one of the fastest ways to grow 
your following as a writer is to get good at this:

Say the true thing most people aren’t saying.

I don’t always remember to do this.

Often it takes too much courage for me to bother with.

But when I do, my audience responds better, even 
if many decide to unfollow.

Honesty, often brutal, is the best long-term play.

. . .

Want more energy to create remarkable things?

You will triple your productivity in days...

When you join my daily newsletter and grab my productivity checklist.

Join 33,000 via link in bio or top comment.

I had a big revelation years ago that still affects 
my life.

I learned that most, if not all, my problems were 
directly linked to my fear of one thing:

My fear of disappointing people.

Think for a moment how your current concerns 
revolve around this.

So my life changed when I asked myself one question:

‘How might my life improve if I was okay with 
sometimes disappointing others?‘

. . .

Want more energy to create remarkable things?

You will triple your productivity in days...

When you join my daily newsletter and grab my productivity checklist.

Growth from writing was slow for years.

I'd check my stats and wonder if I was wasting my time. 

The numbers barely moved.

But I had been through the same process as an illustrator.

I created and shared over three hundred illustrations before 
I started seeing results, and clients approaching me.

Things start slow, but it doesn’t mean things aren’t compounding.

This means my skills were sharpening, the library of work growing, 
and the slow accumulation of people who actually cared.

Fast growth is mostly luck. 

Slow growth is mostly skill. 

One of those you can control.

. . .

Want more energy to create remarkable things?

You will triple your productivity in days...

When you join my daily newsletter and grab my productivity checklist.

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The Battle

Taylin John Simmonds

Alex Mathers

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The Battle

Taylin John Simmonds

Alex Mathers

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Posts

Engagements

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Taylin John Simmonds's LinkedIn Performance

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