How I turned crickets into $1.6k/month on Substack without stripe
Just real conversations, real trust, and a Gumroad system that pays me every week.
The real story that started everything.
Two months after I finally left Medium, I started posting consistently on Substack.
And I was hearing absolute crickets.
Nothing.
No traction, no replies, no subscribers rolling in like I’d hoped.
Until I completely changed my strategy.
I stopped just posting for the sake of it.
I started communicating.
Showing people exactly how I’d solved the problems they were struggling with.
Talking like a human, not a content machine.
Actually proving I’d figured this stuff out for myself first and then giving them the cheat codes.
That’s when it all flipped.
I built real trust.
People saw that I wasn’t guessing.
I was literally showing them the systems that worked for me.
They stopped treating my emails like fluff and started treating them like must-open guides.
Right now I’m earning a minimum of $1,600/month, purely by using Substack as my newsletter launch engine for digital products.
I don’t run a traditional paid subscription.
I don’t even have Stripe (it’s not available in India anyway).
Everything runs through Gumroad.
Substack grows my list, builds trust, and nurtures the relationship.
Gumroad handles the payments and drops the money straight into my PayPal or bank account every week.
I even closed my mentorship spots. Fully.
Because this system alone replaced it, and it’s 10x less draining.
The rest of the plan
Now here’s exactly how I’m doing it.
Raw, transparent, and the real behind-the-scenes, so if you’re a creator (or an Indian creator who can’t use Stripe), you can swipe it straight up.
This is my shop, not a hobby
Forget all the “find your niche and make a moodboard” advice.
This is my live lab and my content shop.
Every newsletter, every Note is me testing what works, what flops, what you keep DMing me about.
I’m not building this on what I think you might like.
I’m building it on real clicks, real replies, real cash.
From day one, this is a business.
And the best part? It’s still personal, raw, weird, fully me. That’s how it should be.
Trust and relationship first.
I’m replying to every comment like we’re texting.
I’m name-dropping your wins.
I’m telling you when I’m stuck or burnt out and exactly how I pull myself out.
I want you to feel like you’re literally building this with me.
Because you are.
That’s how people stick around.
That’s how they share your stuff.
That’s why they buy without overthinking it.
Trust beats everything else.
Build your free list like it owes you rent
I’m going wide for 30 days. Writing about anything I’ve actually solved for myself writing confidence, burnout, getting 17k views in two months, using AI to crank out 10 headlines in 10 minutes, making sales on Gumroad without Stripe because I’m in India.
I’m writing like I already have 10,000 subscribers.
That’s how I’ll get there.
“Reply and tell me your biggest writing struggle.”
“If this helped, forward it to a friend. That’s literally how we grow.”
It’s raw. It’s honest. It’s personal.
That’s how you build trust that lasts.
Engage sideways. Build sideways.
I’m reading and commenting on other Substacks at my level not just the big guys.
Actually caring, actually saying something useful.
That’s how other readers see me, click through, subscribe.
That’s how writers notice and start cross-promoting naturally.
Early growth is sideways.
Not virality. Not hoping. Not hashtags.
It’s being a real person who shows up.
Notes literally changed my entire Substack game
Not hype. Pure math.
Since I started taking Notes seriously:
I’m gaining at least 10 new subscribers every single day.
I pulled in over 400 new subs from just 3 Notes in under a week.
Notes are why this is working so fast.
I use Notes to drop quick lessons, behind-the-scenes stories, small confessions, or to ask simple things like:
“What’s one tiny win you had this week? Hit reply.”
Notes are why people feel like they actually know me.
And people buy from people they know.
Most writers completely ignore this.
I’m doubling down.
You don’t need more writing tips.
You need people to actually see the ones you’re already posting.
The Visibility Reset is the same cheat sheet that helped me:
turn random Notes into a system that brings in 10+ new subs a day
get over 400 new subscribers from just 3 Notes
and finally get replies, clicks, and actual care from readers who used to ignore me
It’s not theory. It’s the exact strategy I used to go from crickets to a minimum $1.6k/month — all without Stripe, all from India, all just using Substack + Gumroad.
Use even 30% of it and watch people start paying attention.
Grab The Visibility Reset here.
What I’m doing vs what I’m not doing today
Doing today
Posting even if it’s messy.
Replying to every comment like we’re on WhatsApp.
Watching what gets opened, clicked, and replied to because that’s where the money is.
Keeping everything on Substack. Gumroad is only for checkout.
Talking like a human, not a brand.
Not doing today
Stressing about a “perfect niche.”
Waiting to have 1000 subs to start selling.
Comparing myself to big names who’ve been doing this for years.
Spending hours tweaking colours or logos.
Making a giant fancy course nobody even asked for.
Reopening my GET SEEN & PAID Bundle (over $45 worth) for $12
Real talk.
When I first opened my Creator Bundle (literally everything I’ve made so far), 50 copies sold out.
Then I reopened it, and another 25 copies sold out.
So many of you have been DMing me asking if I’d open it again.
So here it is. Just 25 copies this week. Twelve bucks.
Then I’m shutting it down because I want to keep it small and actually serve the people inside.
This isn’t some bloated course.
It’s a creator-tested system, built from lived experience that actually works — even if you’ve tried every other tactic and still felt ignored.
It’s the exact playbook that’s helped over 100 writers go from overlooked to in-demand.
And now it’s your turn.
Just $12. Instant access. Yours forever.
Over $45 worth of stuff, yours for $12.
If you’re building your own writing or creator game, this is my exact system.
No hype, just the real behind-the-scenes.
Hello Meena, thank you for good and doable advice, I too am based in India with scientific research and teaching in the past, now about four months on Substack with about 50 free subscribers - will keep in touch with you, your run here seems exemplary, congrats!
Thank you for all your amazing advice! I realised I ordered your bundle a while back and it hadn’t appeared on my Gumroad because I was logged in with another email. I’ve now downloaded and am looking forward to reading all your work. 🤩