Welcome to our new series for paid subscribers: “The Minimalist’s Guide to Substack.” Declutter your Substack brain and life, so you can actually grow in what is an increasingly crowded Substack landscape.

The biggest mistake I see on Substack is people making it way too complicated.

Principle #1: Post when you have something worth sending.

Each post should pass two tests: Is this something people need right now? Is this something they could get from ChatGPT?

Enter the Golden Nugget post.

It's an easy, short post you can create when you don't have time for a full, high-quality post. A gift—a book, a song—something that doesn't ask readers to do anything. A full post, not a Note, that comes from a genuine desire to share one thing that means something to you right now. No call to action, no questions for comments. Don't make readers do any work.

But a Nugget post isn't about you. It's a gift to your readers—something they can absorb without much effort. The Nugget gives you and your readers breathing room while maintaining connection.

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