How Josh built his 350k Trading Newsletter on Substack

Check out FMS PRO, the mastermind community for investment newsletter & trading education publishers & marketers with monthly zoom meetings, in-person masterminds, and a discord channel . https://financialmarketingsummit.com/fms-pro-the-finpub-community/ ----------------------------- What does it really take to turn a blank Substack page into a six‑figure publishing engine? Options trader‑turned‑newsletter mogul Josh Bellinger sits down with Andrew Keene to share the playbook that rocketed his list from zero to tens of thousands of loyal readers—and well beyond. If you’re a creator, indie journalist, financial guru, or anyone who wants to own their distribution, this candid, hour‑long conversation is your roadmap. In this episode (“Substack Sovled!”) you’ll learn: How Josh cracked Substack’s growth loop—leveraging daily storytelling, reader “restacks,” and cross‑platform funnels to snowball his list past 39 K active subscribers (and briefly top 500 K total emails) Monetization tactics that work in 2025: from “support this writer” pledges to a multi‑tier product ladder ($1.5 K to $15 K mentorships) that sidesteps high churn on low‑priced monthlies AI as an editorial team‑mate: how he trains custom GPT/Claude bots to polish copy, generate newsletter art with Grok, and even handle customer support The distribution mindset: why owning an email relationship beats fighting social‑media algorithms—and the simple automation that turns viral Instagram reels into fresh Substack leads every day Actionable startup tips: posting cadence, ideal article length (600‑800 words), pricing tests, and the #1 mistake new writers make on the platform