One Year on Substack: 7 Biggest Lessons

What I've learned from 12 months of putting myself out there.

One year ago today, I published my first essay on Substack with zero audience. Today there are over 10,000 of you here, almost 8,500 subscribers, and I still can't fully wrap my head around it.

I remember the night before I published. I reread it fifteen times, finding reasons not to hit publish. What if nobody read it? What if I was embarrassing myself? I published it anyway, and that single decision changed the trajectory of my life.

Within 24 hours, This Is Not A Memo was #6 on the Rising Bestseller Business list. I've been on the Bestseller list consistently all year, and even got my Bestseller Badge a few months ago. I've been invited to speak, to collaborate, to consult — all because I started writing and putting myself out there.

This past year has been the most transformative of my career. Writing forced me to get to know myself in ways I never expected. It's made me braver, sharper, more honest about who I am and what I actually believe. It's made me realize what I truly want and where my redlines are, and in that process, I hope I’ve given you something too.

Whether it was an essay on reinvention after getting laid off, surviving a heart attack at 42, my perspective on Iran, the shifts in Hollywood and the creator economy, or on courage and rewriting our narratives, I hope you found something in these pages that made you feel less alone. That gave you permission to start. That reminded you of what you’re capable of.

Good things happen when you put yourself out there. Here are the 7 biggest lessons I’ve learned in 12 months of doing exactly that.

1. You Just Have to Start

The hardest part is just starting even when you’re not fully ready. As a Hollywood marketer this was hard for me to wrap my head around. Nothing ever sees the light of day in corporate media without multiple eyes on it and several rounds of approvals. So naturally, I wanted everything to be perfect, a brand kit, a content strategy, a niche I could own. What I've realized is that I didn't need any of that.

Yes, you need to be specific about who you’re talking to, and your why. You also need to have an identifiable brand, that matters, but you don't need to have everything fully mapped out. My best essays are the ones I don’t plan, the ones that come from the heart.

Your content doesn't need to be perfect. It just needs to be true to you, and it needs to be consistent.

The reps ARE the strategy. There is no shortcut around them. You cannot think your way into becoming a good writer or a compelling creator. You have to do it badly, in public, repeatedly, until you don’t.

Courage compounds. Every time you publish, every time you post, every time you put something out there that scares you, you’re building a muscle. The thing that terrified me a year ago is now just another Tuesday.

Start imperfect, messy, and terrified. Just start.

2. There Has Never Been a Better Time to Tell Your Story

We are living through the biggest democratization of storytelling in human history.

Twenty years ago, if you wanted to reach an audience, you needed a publisher, a network, a studio, or a newsroom to say yes. You needed gatekeepers to grant you access.

All you need is a phone (or a laptop for writing) and a story. That’s it. You can build a brand, grow a community, launch a business, change your career, all from your kitchen table.

And yet most people won’t do it. That’s the opportunity. The field is wide open for anyone willing to be brave enough to take it.

3. You Don’t Have to Niche Down

The content gurus say pick a lane, niche down, become the "XYZ person." I rejected that from day one. Best decision I made.

I write about heart health, reinvention, storytelling, leadership, the creator economy, Hollywood, psychology, parenting, and being an Iranian immigrant. Those are a lot of content buckets, but they all carry the same throughline: resilience, hope, and courage.

Here’s what I’ve learned: depth isn’t one topic. Depth is one person, being fully themselves. People don’t just subscribe to a topic. They subscribe to a voice. They subscribe to a perspective. They subscribe to someone who makes them think, who makes them feel seen, who shows up with honesty and range and doesn’t apologize for being multidimensional.

You are not a category. You are a human being with a complex inner life and a unique set of experiences. Write from that. All of it. The audience that’s meant for you will find you because of your range, not in spite of it.

4. Stay True to Yourself

The internet is full of people performing a version of someone else. They watched what worked for another creator and tried to reverse-engineer it. Same hooks. Same cadence. Same aesthetic. Same opinions repackaged in a slightly different font.

It’s so boring, please don’t do that.

When you’re first starting, you need to study what’s working for others, but learn it and make it your own. The internet needs creativity, lived experience, and differentiated voices. It needs the real you.

I made a decision early on: I would rather have a smaller audience that genuinely connects with who I actually am than a massive one built on a performance I can’t sustain. What I've found is that authenticity scales. The more real I've been, the more people have shown up.

The posts that scared me most, the ones where I thought “this is too much, this is too personal, this is too honest”, those are the ones that performed best and impacted so many people. Every single time.

It brings me so much joy when someone messages me and tells me "thank you for this post, I needed this." That's why I write.

Your only actual competitive advantage is being you. Nobody else can do that. Lean all the way in.

5. In 2026, Showing Up Online Isn’t Optional

If you are not building a presence online in 2026, you are leaving opportunity on the table. Period.

This isn't just for influencers anymore. Forbes reported from Cannes Lions that C-Suite executives are becoming creators. Senior leaders are realizing that visibility is strategy. Personal brand isn't a nice-to-have, it's a career asset. It's how people find you, trust you, and want to work with you.

Source: Forbes

The algorithm has changed too. People follow people based on interests now, not because they're polished influencers. Your expertise is your moat.

Whether you’re a consultant, an executive, a founder, or someone in the middle of a career pivot, showing up online is now non-negotiable for growing your career, your brand, or your business. The people who understand this now will have an unfair advantage over those who wait.

The best time to start is today.

6. Consistency Beats Virality

I’ve never gone viral on Substack. There was no single essay that exploded and changed everything overnight. There was no hack or shortcut.

I showed up every day. That’s it. That’s the strategy.

Every Tuesday, a free essay. Every Thursday, a paid essay. Week after week after week, whether I felt inspired or not. Whether the numbers were up or down. Whether anyone was paying attention or not.

And here’s what happened: it compounded. Slowly at first. Then faster. You can see my growth chart above. The first few months were really slow.

The people who found me in month two, most of them are still here in month twelve. Consistency built trust. Trust built community. Community built everything else.

7. Writing Clarifies Everything

I started writing because I had something to say and I wanted to share ideas. I stayed because it made me a fundamentally different person.

Writing forces you to think clearly. You can’t write a coherent essay about something you haven’t actually thought through. The act of putting words on a page exposes every gap in your logic, every assumption you haven't examined, every belief that doesn't hold up.

This year, writing has made me a clearer thinker, a better communicator, a more intentional leader, and a more honest human being. It’s helped me process grief, reinvention, fear, ambition, and joy. It’s given me a container for the things I used to carry alone.

And it’s connected me to people I never would have met otherwise. People who sent me messages at 2am saying an essay changed how they thought about their career, their health, their goals, their courage. That's not about metrics. That's about meaning. That's why I'll keep going.

What’s Next

I’m not slowing down. Year two is about going deeper, more conversations, more community, more courage. YouTube is next. Speaking is growing. The vision is getting clearer every day. The book is still in progress, and I’m working on launching a business. As soon as I do, you know you’ll be the first to know.

But none of it happens without you. This community — the people who show up, who read, who reply, who share, who challenge me, you’re the reason this works. I don’t take that for granted. Not for a second. Thank you for betting on me in Year 1!!!!

To celebrate one year, I’m offering 25% off paid subscriptions this week. If you’ve been on the fence, if you’ve been reading the free essays and wondering what’s behind the paywall, this is your sign. Come inside. The best stuff is in there.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for reading. Thank you for trusting me with your attention, I know how valuable it is.

Here’s to year two. Let’s keep going.

With Courage,

Maryam

P.S. If a piece of writing has stayed with you, I'd love to hear which one. Send me an email, DM, or reply in the comments.