How I Made $80K on Substack in 2 Months: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing and Monetizing a Paid Newsletter

Everything you need to know to grow your audience, earn recurring income, and turn your Substack into a passive sales funnel - even if you're starting from zero.

Don’t get me wrong—
I LOVE the business I’ve built.

The Lazy Millionaire brand has allowed me to generate over $10 million, travel the world, buy my dream home, and take days (or weeks) off at a time while still generating revenue AND helping people in the process.

#blessed is honestly an understatement.

AND.
A few months ago, I started to feel a little… bored? uninspired? dangerously close to launching a completely unnecessary product line just to feel something?

It was this weird, post-bucket-list haze. Like—
Cool, I’ve checked everything off. So now what?

And the part that really surprised me?
I actually missed the version of me who had no clue what the hell she was doing.

I missed the early days of building Lazy Millionaire (back when it was still called Rebelle Nutrition, shoutout to my OG girlies), when I was throwing ideas at the wall, following inspiration, and waking up at 6am not because I had to—but because I was so excited to create something.

I wasn’t trying to be “strategic.”
I didn’t have a content calendar.
I definitely didn’t have a monetization plan.

But I was deep in the passionate, creative pursuit of building something meaningful.
(Which people love to call the “hustle phase,” but for me it felt more like the honeymoon.)

So—I started writing.
About anything and everything. The kind of stuff I used to share before I had a brand or “audience” to impress. The kind of stuff that felt fun again.

And then I remembered something...

A few years ago, one of my besties (who also happens to be one of the smartest and most successful people I know) told me I had to start a Substack.

Now - context: I don’t take business advice lightly. Especially unsolicited.

But Levi Chambers (*name drop here because he’s kind of a big deal lol*) isn’t just anyone.

He’s an award-winning journalist who casually founded the massively viral Instagram channels @LGBT, @LGBTQ, @PRIDE and

Rainbow Media Co.

- racking up over 4 million combined followers. Now he runs one of the top LGBTQ+ publications on Substack, where he’s literally made millions. Levi Chambers knows digital media—and yep, he has receipts.

Me x Levi at the Era’s Tour (aka the best night of my life lol)

So when he told me to get on Substack, I listened.

Fast-forward to now, and this platform has become one of my favorite parts of my business. It’s fun, creatively fulfilling, and surprisingly lucrative. Plus -

In less than 2 months, I’ve built a recurring annual revenue stream of over $80,000 from my Substack alone.

Now I’m fully in my “digital magazine editor-in-chief” era - writing what I want, when I want, while also turning my random thoughts into recurring revenue.

I even hit some pretty epic milestones in my first month (!!) of writing:

#1 rising in business

Became a Bestseller !!

And have added an additional $80k in annual revenue to my business (a little over $7k/month)

No paid ads. No hard selling. Just writing what I love, in my voice, with full transparency and zero gatekeeping (well, maybe a little gatekeeping because I keep most of the good stuff for paid subscribers only lol)

And even though Substack is still a very small percentage of my overall business revenue - it feels SO exciting to share the monetization possibilities - for anyone who is ready to GTFO of their current job and build another income stream, stat.

Also I have to give credit where credit is due:
Most of what I’ve learned about how to grow and monetize on Substack is thanks to Levi. I basically followed his blueprint, made it ✨Lazy Millionaire✨, and ran with it.

I still consider myself a newbie to the platform (remember I only started 2 months ago) BUT the fact that I am already generating $5k+/month (more than I used to make at my old serving job!!!) is SO INSPIRING to anyone who is looking to get started.

Plus…

SUBSTACK IS THE SH*T (especially if you’re starting from zero followers OR you don’t want to show your face on camera)

Seriously. It’s built to help you grow.

Substack is THE platform for the girlies who don’t want to show their face on social media, but still want to build a personal brand (+ make money, duh)

There are built-in tools that literally promote your work to new readers. There’s a recommendations feature where other writers can send their audience to you (and vice versa). You can grow organically just by writing good sh*t. No dancing, no trending audio, no burnout.

If you’ve been craving a new income stream built from your passions, but weren’t sure how to start…this is it.

Here’s why I’m obsessed:

• You can monetize from day one (yep—even with zero followers)

• There’s built-in growth from things like recommendations and the “discover” tab

• It’s designed to reward good writing, not popularity contests or perfectly edited reels

• You OWN your list (email = power = peace) and can use it for other things (ie launching your online course)

• And the vibe? Cozy, supportive, no-gatekeeping energy—aka the opposite of most social media apps

So yeah… if you’ve been looking for a platform that actually wants you to win, Substack is it.

And in this post, I’m spilling everything I’ve learned (so far) about how to make it work for you—even if you’re starting from scratch. We’re talking:

✨ Step 1: Set Up Your Substack (The Right Way)

• What to name it (don’t overthink)

• How to make your homepage bingeable

• The “subscribe” button psychology trick

🧠 Step 2: What the Hell Do I Write About?!

• Picking content pillars that feel fun AND make money

• Creating binge-worthy content—even if you’re multi-passionate

• Why people pay for content (and what they’re actually buying)

💅 Step 3: Branding + Bio That Makes People Obsessed With You

• How to stand out even if your niche is saturated

• What to say in your Substack bio to get subscribers instantly

• How to position your Substack differently than your social media

• What makes people actually pay (hint: access, depth, community)

📈 Step 4: How to Grow Organically (Even Without a Following)

• How I grew to 40K+ subscribers in 60 days

• Substack’s built-in growth tools (that no one talks about)

• Leveraging recommendations, mentions, and the discover tab

• How to get other writers to promote you (without it feeling weird)

💸 Step 5: Monetize Like a Lazy Millionaire

• Free vs. paid: when to switch

• How to use free trials to convert lurkers

• Different ways to monetize:
  → Paid subscriptions
  → Sponsorships
  → Affiliate links
  → Digital offers (courses, guides, templates)
  → Vault content / exclusive archives

• 🥂 The Sneaky Way I Use Substack to Increase My Course Sales

📬 Step 6: Set Up the Backend (So It Sells For You)

• Writing a welcome email that turns readers into buyers

• Using a paywall strategically (not prematurely)

• What to put in your header + footer to drive conversions

• How to import your existing email list (and not annoy anyone)

💡 Step 7: Using ChatGPT like a Lazy Millionaire

• To batch content, write posts, and generate headlines

• To Brainstorm Topics When I Feel Stuck

• 10+ of my favorite prompts to get you started

• To optimize the SEO of your posts

• *WITHOUT* sounding like a robot of having Ai rob you of your humanity

🔥 Step 8: Keep It Fun, Sustainable + YOU

• Setting a rhythm that works for your life

• Why consistency matters more than frequency

• How to stay inspired and never run out of things to say

• Turning your Substack into a brand (not just a newsletter)

PLUS!!

💸 Where to start (Substack vs Online Courses) if your goal is to make money online - STAT.

I’m sharing what I would do TODAY if I had to start over again from scratch - with everything I know now about Substack vs. Online Courses.

So, yeah - this isn’t just another “start a newsletter” tutorial.
It’s your permission slip to finally build a fun, flexible, passion-fueled business… with screenshots, prompts, and cheatsheets to guide you.

just a lil preview of the rest of the article…

Because this platform? It’s not just a place to write. It’s a place to build an entire brand.

Ready? Let’s get into it.