Hi, Julian! this is a great article! if it feels silly to you writing it, thats usually the stuff you should write about! whatever seems obvious or sill to you, usually isn't for us readers!
Thank you Jessica! You know what? I was thinking "this is so obvious to me", but then I thought about all the things that other people foudn obvious and that I was like "wait, what?" and so decided to write this piece anyways. So, thank you very much for your feedback and I'll endeavour to explore other topics like this as well in the future! If you have any you'd like me to write about do let me know!
okay thank you, if I come up with any questions, I'll shoot you a DM. thank you for being so helpful. but yeah anything you think is obvious, silly, stupid, or too low go hanging fruit, remember the post isnt really about what you want. its about serving your audiences needs and solutions to their problems. youre the publisher on the substack, so more than likely youre a few steps ahead of your readers. so what comes easy to use or seems dumb is exactly the stuff you need to provide to your readers.
no problem, Julian! you must honor yourself and your accomplishments and not minimize them because it if were easy everyone would do it. and don't let anyone who doesn't have a PhD affect you with their opinions and tribulations. they have no say because they dont have the degree you do and didnt go through the rigorous academia that you did and you dont need people projecting their insecurities onto you. you know who are you, your worth, and the value that you bring don't let anyone else without a PhD tell you otherwise, they opinion is irrelevant!! and you dont need that negative or envious energy towards you.
I do try to keep in mind that good ideas and good questions can come from anywhere, degree or no degree. What matters most to me is whether something helps people think more clearly or move forward.
But your core point absolutely lands: don’t minimize what comes from years of effort, learning, and reflection, and don’t let other people’s projections define how seriously you take your own voice. That’s a valuable reminder! Thank you again!
of course, Julian. we must remain open to others ides and questions at times. we never know how much we could be truly helping that person. I dont see people with degrees better than people without, or see people without degrees any less. everyone has their own unique expertise and experience; however, if you wan to get your PhD and you earn it and rock it, anyone hating is just envious or jealous and like I said they probably dont have the same higher level of degree or education so you dont really even has to listen to their spell of contempt. just block it out and keep moving forward, you know who you are and what your worth and value you bring is. dont let anyone without the same accomplishments tell you other wise!!
This is a great breakdown and in the author universe, many authors go straight for the sales, and call that marketing. But they have little-to-no visibility (a huge pain point for many writers), and haven't generated interest first.
Exactly (and I say this because my father is also an author): so many people jump straight to “buy my book” and then wonder why it feels like shouting into the void.
Interest has to come first: visibility, trust, and a reason to care.
Sales is the conversion step, and marketing is everything that makes conversion possible.
This article was SO insightful! For a beginner like myself, I appreciate you breaking down the difference between marketing and sales so plainly. I can definitely improve in both areas, but especially sales. This article is one I'll be coming back to often on my entrepreneurial journey. Thanks for sharing this!
I am glad you found it helpful! Thank you for your kind words Aja! And there are always areas to get better at. I am like you: gotta improve sales! haha
Hi, Julian! this is a great article! if it feels silly to you writing it, thats usually the stuff you should write about! whatever seems obvious or sill to you, usually isn't for us readers!
Thank you Jessica! You know what? I was thinking "this is so obvious to me", but then I thought about all the things that other people foudn obvious and that I was like "wait, what?" and so decided to write this piece anyways. So, thank you very much for your feedback and I'll endeavour to explore other topics like this as well in the future! If you have any you'd like me to write about do let me know!
okay thank you, if I come up with any questions, I'll shoot you a DM. thank you for being so helpful. but yeah anything you think is obvious, silly, stupid, or too low go hanging fruit, remember the post isnt really about what you want. its about serving your audiences needs and solutions to their problems. youre the publisher on the substack, so more than likely youre a few steps ahead of your readers. so what comes easy to use or seems dumb is exactly the stuff you need to provide to your readers.
I will take this to heart Jessica! Thanks again!
no problem, Julian! you must honor yourself and your accomplishments and not minimize them because it if were easy everyone would do it. and don't let anyone who doesn't have a PhD affect you with their opinions and tribulations. they have no say because they dont have the degree you do and didnt go through the rigorous academia that you did and you dont need people projecting their insecurities onto you. you know who are you, your worth, and the value that you bring don't let anyone else without a PhD tell you otherwise, they opinion is irrelevant!! and you dont need that negative or envious energy towards you.
Thank you for the encouragement, Jessica!. 🙏
I do try to keep in mind that good ideas and good questions can come from anywhere, degree or no degree. What matters most to me is whether something helps people think more clearly or move forward.
But your core point absolutely lands: don’t minimize what comes from years of effort, learning, and reflection, and don’t let other people’s projections define how seriously you take your own voice. That’s a valuable reminder! Thank you again!
of course, Julian. we must remain open to others ides and questions at times. we never know how much we could be truly helping that person. I dont see people with degrees better than people without, or see people without degrees any less. everyone has their own unique expertise and experience; however, if you wan to get your PhD and you earn it and rock it, anyone hating is just envious or jealous and like I said they probably dont have the same higher level of degree or education so you dont really even has to listen to their spell of contempt. just block it out and keep moving forward, you know who you are and what your worth and value you bring is. dont let anyone without the same accomplishments tell you other wise!!
This was a great exposé of the difference between the two. :)
Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Marketing brought people from unaware to solution aware while sales deals with product aware and most aware people to get them to make the purchase.
Sales and Marketing are both needed skillset as a Solopreneur
Indeed. Without one or the other, a solopreneur will struggle greatly!
This is a great breakdown and in the author universe, many authors go straight for the sales, and call that marketing. But they have little-to-no visibility (a huge pain point for many writers), and haven't generated interest first.
Exactly (and I say this because my father is also an author): so many people jump straight to “buy my book” and then wonder why it feels like shouting into the void.
Interest has to come first: visibility, trust, and a reason to care.
Sales is the conversion step, and marketing is everything that makes conversion possible.
The marketing is such a tough part for many authors. They are writers, and it’s a hard mind shift and a skill to market their book.
We should talk Julian. I think maybe there’s a collab in our future?
Would love to! Will send you a DM now :)
Woo hoo!
This article was SO insightful! For a beginner like myself, I appreciate you breaking down the difference between marketing and sales so plainly. I can definitely improve in both areas, but especially sales. This article is one I'll be coming back to often on my entrepreneurial journey. Thanks for sharing this!
I am glad you found it helpful! Thank you for your kind words Aja! And there are always areas to get better at. I am like you: gotta improve sales! haha
Absolutely! That's so true! We've got this!
I loved reading this! Thanks for the thoughts on the subject!
My pleasure! Glad it resonated with you!