Why Every Serious Creator Needs a Substack
Why Substack is the biggest opportunity on the internet in 2026 and why you can't afford to wait
There's an opportunity on Substack unlike anything I've seen on the internet in a long time.
Back in 2020 we caught the wave on X (formerly known as Twitter). Since then I’ve watched a lot of people branch off onto other platforms like Instagram and YouTube. There’s still potential on those sites. Obviously there are huge audiences there.
But a bigger internet rush is coming, and most people are still sleeping on it.
And it's on Substack.
Last week I was invited to speak at a Creator Conference in Pittsburgh. What got me in the door was our 350,000 follows on X and the massive amounts of money that we sold online. But the most interesting thing that happened had nothing to do with what I said on stage.
EVERYONE WANTED TO TALK SUBSTACK!
And here's what got me these weren't beginners with a few hundo followers (although sometimes it was). I'm talking major players in the media industry running eight-figure companies including some of the biggest names online we're interested in this platform.
Didn't matter what their audience size was the Qs were always the same.
How important is Substack?
Should I be building there?
And what does the site do?
So I opened up my laptop and showed them over beers or coffee and I showed them how easy it was.
FOR INSTANCE: The first $10K I made on Substack came from importing an email list we already had. Simply, I took a list we’d already collected somewhere else, brought it over, turned on paid subscriptions, and it did $10K.
When they saw that, they were blown away.
So much so that every single person I talked to left saying
I’m going home and I’m building on Substack ASAP.
As someone who has been building religiously on social media for 5 years straight I can tell you this is something special… The amount of buzz Substack is generating between creators tells is NOT NORMAL.
But it gets even better if you think about it…
Regular people still have no idea this platform exists. Walk outside and ask nine or ten people on the street what Substack is, and they couldn’t tell you.
But every one of them knows YouTube (and most of them want to be YT stars)
That’s how early we still are.
There’s a massive wave coming to Substack and most creators are behind the curve.
Why Substack Hits Different
Every platform in the past has followed the same arc.
At first there is a massive growth phase but at some point they change the rules. Algorithm shifts everyones reach gets cut in half overnight. Content that was crushing it suddenly stopped working. And you couldn’t do a damn thing about it because you never owned your audience.
Substack changes that…
When someone subscribes to your Substack you get their email. Think about how insane that is for a second. On X if someone follows you they’re just a number. On Substack they hand you a direct line to their inbox and every single time you publish they get it delivered straight to them. No competition. No feed you have to fight through.
And I’ll say something that might sound crazy but I mean it:
My 15,000 Substack subscribers are worth more to me than my 350,000 followers on X.
Going viral on X is cool. But hitting someone’s inbox? Talking directly to someone who said yes I want to hear from you? That's where the real money is and likes can turn into cash because you have a real relationship.
And it gets even better…
PEOPLE ON SUBSTACK AT SOMEWHAT NORMAL
Most of the internet is a cesspool of anger and doomscrolling…
But the community on Substack is unlike anything else I’ve been on. People comment, reply, share, they get invested in what you’re building. They seem genuinely interested in what you do. Meanwhile on most platforms your audience is will burn you down for saying one little thing wrong.
On Substack people feel part of your tribe. They aren't antagonistic because these are people who feel like they’re part of something bigger.
This loyalty turns into revenue fast if you know how to build online.
Get in Front of the Wave
Timing matters more than talent right now. Full stop.
The people who won on YouTube showed up in 2007 and 2008 when the lanes were wide open. The people with the biggest Instagram followings built them before every brand and their grandmother flooded the platform. The people crushing it on X today planted their flag back in 2020 before the feed turned into a war zone.
Every platform has a window. Early movers get rewarded disproportionately. Show up early and the platform works for you. Show up late and you’re fighting for scraps.
That window is open on Substack right now.
The people I talked to at that conference are going home this summer with one mission. Start building on Substack. These are smart people with real audiences and real resources about to pour everything into this platform.
The wave is coming whether you’re on it or not.
So where does that leave you?
You can wait until your feed is full of everyone who read this same article and decided to move. Or you can be early, while the window is still open.
Let’s Build Something Real (together)
If any of this hit home I want you to consider becoming a paid subscriber to the Profit and Purpose newsletter.
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The wave is coming. Let’s make sure you’re ahead of it.
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- Dino Anthony
The choir, contrary to the cliche, also likes a good homily.
I'm making friends and gaining subs on here. It's so true!