💡 Writing to Be Read: 4 Ways to Build an Obsessive Readership with Your Substack Posts

A comprehensive guide for how to write posts that (actually!) get read.

When I was at USC studying screenwriting, I took a class called Writing to Be Read, and it permanently changed how I write.

Not because it taught me “better writing.”

Because it taught me something more useful: how to write for a reader.

Sure, sounds obvious but most readers are writing for themselves (like a diary) instead of for their readers (like a letter). And reading is a physical experience. It’s eyes moving. Brain scanning. Thumb hovering. Attention negotiating with everything else in your life.

And when your views on Substack go down — or people stop opening — 9 times out of 10 it’s not a mysterious algorithm curse.

You run into problems with growing your Substack when one of these 3 things happen:

1. Value dipped (you’re not helping them like you used to)

2. Entertainment dipped (it’s not as fun to be here)

3. Spark joy dipped (it stopped giving them that feeling Marie Kondo would approve of)

So the mission isn’t “retain everyone.” Nobody does. The mission is: make it easy to start, rewarding to continue, and worth coming back for.

Here are 4 ways to fix that — starting with how your post looks on the page.

👀 Tip 1: Design the Page for Eyes (Before You Ask for Attention)

Most writers think “being read” starts with a good first sentence.

In real life, it starts with a glance.

Someone opens your post and their brain does a lightning-fast scan:

“Is this going to be easy to read… and worth it?”

That decision happens before they really read your words.

This is something I learned back when I was a TV writer: in screenplay/teleplay format, every line needed to be as compact and powerful as possible, as to give the readers the most impact in the fewest amount of words. That practice translated really well to my freelance copywriting in my early years of freelancing as well!

💡 No matter the medium, the truth is this: if you want people to keep reading, you have to think like a reader for 10 seconds before you think like a writer for 10 hours.

📚 The Simplest (And Best) Exercise to Write for Your Reader

Go look at the stuff you actually read all the way through.

Not what you admire. Not what you “should” read. The things you finish.

Pick 3:

• a Substack you never skip

• a post you saved

• a piece you forwarded to someone

Now don’t read it. Look at it.

Ask:

• How fast do I understand what’s happening?

• How often does it give my eyes a break?

• Where are the “little rewards” (bold lines, punchy sentences, mini-takeaways)?

• How quickly does it get to a point?

You’ll start noticing patterns like you’re suddenly seeing the Matrix.

📓 “How to Be Read” Formatting Rules that Quietly Do the Most

You don’t need to turn into a listicle factory. You just need to make your writing breathable.

Make it skimmable (without making it shallow):

• Keep paragraphs short at the top (earn attention first)

• Use clear section headers that say what the section does

• Drop in occasional one-line “anchor” sentences to reset attention

• Bold sparingly — only when it helps someone navigate

A tiny reframe that helps:

• Walls of text feel like homework

• Whitespace feels like an invitation

🖊️ A caveat here is that different types of Substack posts will be formatted differently. A meaty personal essay with a hooky title that builds curiosity will earn the reader’s attention for longer — and they might not mind longer paragraphs. Educational content on the other hand might require more skimmable formats, depending on your audience.

📝 A Mini Template You Can Steal Today

If you want your posts to “feel readable” instantly, try this opening pattern:

• A human line (something real, not “In today’s newsletter…”)

• The promise (what they’ll get)

• The path (what’s coming)

Example shape I used above:

1) Credibility / human origin story (1 line):

I learned this in [place/class], and it changed how I [write/teach/build].

2) Reframe to deepen the hook:

Not because it taught me [thing]. But because it taught me [real thing].

3) Promise and path:

If your [views/opens/reads] are dropping, it’s usually [diagnosis]. Here are [#] ways to fix it — starting with [first lever].

💡 If you attended my 6 Week Substack Sprint Week 2 Class last night, you learned about how to craft eye-catching headlines and how to structure your posts to build your content engine. Be sure to check the replay above to learn more about writing great posts!

---

If you want the other 3 tips (the ones that move opens, read-through, and “I never miss your posts”), plus the exact “pre-publish” checklist I use to catch drop-off before it happens:

👇 Keep reading with a paid subscription (or start a free trial).