We had to be honest about why we were on Substack, name recognition or money?

We had to get honest with ourselves. Were we on Substack to build name recognition or to actually make money? Because the strategy for each is completely different, and staying in the middle is why most creators stay stuck. It's easy to tell yourself it's both. You're growing an audience, the subscriber count is ticking up, it feels like progress. You'll make money later. We hit that fork in the road and had to pick a lane. This video is the conversation we had with each other and the math that made the answer unavoidable. IN THIS VIDEO: → The real reason we're on Substack (and the question every creator needs to answer) → Why "both" isn't a strategy, it's a stall → The income ceiling built into the paywall model that nobody talks about → How we reframed Substack as a billboard instead of a bank account → The 7-step monetization blueprint we're actually following This isn't a "Substack is bad" video. It's a "stop lying to yourself about why you're here" video. ☕ New videos every Friday & live coworking every Monday. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 Substack Income Ceiling 00:45 The Fork in the Road 02:02 Three Reasons You're Stuck 03:20 Do the Substack Math 04:39 Paywall Model Problem 05:18 Substack as Billboard 07:09 Step 1 Pick Your Goal 08:05 Steps 2–4 Audit and Fix 10:04 Step 5 Start a Blog HQ 11:56 Step 6 Monetization Order 14:44 Step 7 Cost vs Earnings 16:06 Wrap Up and Next Video — ☕ Pull up a chair. This is your monthly business check-in, and we're not sugarcoating anything. 👇 JOIN THE FIX YOUR BRAND CHALLENGE:    • Fix Your Content In 10 Days (Free Brand Ch...   Watch Next: ▶️ 75 Hard for Bloggers:    • 75 Hard for Bloggers: The "Anti-Burnout" V...   ▶️ 2026 Q3 Content Planning Blueprint:    • Here is the exact Q3 content calendar you ...   ▶️ The Content Creator Era Is Over (Here’s What’s Next):    • The "Content Creator" Era is Over. (Here's...   ▶️ Is Blogging Dead in 2026?:    • Is Blogging Dead In 2026? We Lost 50% Traf...   ▶️ The Content Creator Gold Rush of 2026 No One Is Talking About:    • The Content Creator Gold Rush of 2026 Nobo...   💼 ABOUT THE BRANDING FIX: We're two solo bloggers documenting how we rebuild and future-proof our content and brand. 🔔 Live co-working every Monday at 10am EST. 🎧 Also available wherever you get your podcasts. Visit our website: https://www.thebrandingfix.com Subscribe for more blogging tips:    / @thebrandingfix   — #Substack #MakeMoneyOnline #ContentCreator #BloggingTips