From Zero to 10,000 Substack Subscribers in 6 Months!

An interview with Bouncin' and Behavin' writer Jason Provencio

Hello Friends,

Today I’d like to introduce you to

Jason Provencio

, although many of you probably know him already. He runs the Bouncin’ and Behavin’ Blogs (BBB) on Medium. Like

Robin Wilding

and

Ben Ulansey

, Jason is a Boost nominator. He’s built a wonderful community over there and he’s only recently expanded into Substack.

Boy has he ever!

After a couple months of cajoling him with emails with subjects like, “Hey… Jason, you need to be on Substack, I think you’d do really well there” he moved to Substack, and he’s doing really well here. As of this writing, he’s just short of 10k subscribers! 10k, in like 6 months! How?

Well, we’ll get to that.

Jason kindly referred to me as a “mentor,” but the feeling is mutual. He’s one of the writers on medium I frequently seek out to try out new ideas. I try to submit at least one story per week to BBB, and you can usually depend on those stories getting published the same day. I don’t know how he does it, so let’s ask him.

Interview with Jason

Walter: So, how do you do it? How do you have time to manage submissions on BBB, work as a Boost nominator, and acquire new subscribers at such an astonishing rate?

Jason: I have great editors who help with the submissions we get daily in the BBB publications. They do a wonderful job and make it possible for me to focus on my writing and marketing on both Medium and Substack. Without their help, I couldn’t manage it all. 

Walter: Let’s back up, tell us a bit about how you wound up becoming a writer. What do you foresee will happen in your career in the near and distant future?

Jason: A man falling from a roof led to me becoming a writer. No kidding! A Facebook friend took up writing after a roofing accident and became a content writer to earn a living. I picked his brain about it after seeing his posts. He recommended I join Medium to put a portfolio of my writing together. The content writing job came and went, but I’ve always loved writing anything I wanted to on Medium and now Substack. 

Near future? I’d like to keep growing my Medium following and more recently, my Substack subscribers. I see a lot of potential for Substack’s growth model and I’m enjoying it greatly. I’d like to keep being a voice for social justice and equality, as I am in my writing.

Walter: Tell us more about your notes game and the professional background that made you so darned good at this.

Jason: I’ve been marketing on social media for 18 years. As a real estate agent for 20 years and owning a small carpet cleaning company for a dozen, I became adept at posting memorable ads and funny memes to help build a following. It was good for business and it’s working out in a similar way for me now on Substack.

Walter: What does your work day look like, are you in and out of the office, or are you bathed in the light of a laptop screen 24/7?

Jason: I have my laptop open from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep, with my cuddly sidekick, Libby, AKA Mooch by my side. I take a few breaks throughout the day, but I put a lot of hours into all I do, 365 days a year. I’ve found that it’s easy to keep at it during TV time later in the evening. It helps when you love everything about what you do for a living, as a writer.

Walter: What kind of topics do you like to explore, and how has your work evolved over the years?

Jason: I enjoy writing about politics, religion, mental health, and relationships. Humor writing is my favorite, and I almost always inject humor into my articles, regardless of the topic. I am not afraid to state bold opinions or use cursing when I feel it’s appropriate. Being a real person that people can relate to helps make my writing authentic. 

Walter: What advice would you give to new writers?

Jason: Outwork the competition. The more hours, days, or weeks you take off, the slower your Writer’s Journey progresses. If you truly love being a writer, it won’t seem like a job. I love what I do, so I’m always showing up daily to do it proudly. &:^)

Jason is on fire

I rely on Jason a lot. The BBB blog is an excellent resource for both new and experienced writers on Medium. There are times when people send me a story that doesn’t quite fit my publications, and I often refer them to BBB.

If you’re going to have any success as a writer, you have to cultivate strong relationships. In addition to the authors I mentioned above, I know I can rely on people like

Kristina God

and

Alison Acheson

to provide good answers whenever I have a question about something. It’s exciting to see Jason do so well on Substack because it’s like he’s uncovering the cheat codes that will make success possible for the rest of us.

Quite often, all you have to do is make a couple little changes to experience exponential growth. I recommend that you give

Jason Provencio

’s Substack a look.

Thanks for dropping by Jason!

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