Thinking of Rebranding Your Newsletter? Here's How I Did It (and What I Learned Along the Way)
How I Turned a Writing Experiment into a Clear Vision: A Journey of Growth
Outline of the Article
📢 Important: Read until the end—bonus insights + survey results included!
1️⃣ Introduction – The newsletter’s evolution from experiment to clear direction.
2️⃣ Where I Started – Writing without a niche, focusing on consistency.
3️⃣ Finding My Focus – Using data, polls, and feedback to refine my niche.
4️⃣ Growth Strategy – Doubling down on what works, choosing a niche.
5️⃣ Why ‘Notes Before Dying’ – The meaning behind the name and chamomile symbol.
6️⃣ Why I chose the new name – Making Substack growth simple and accessible.
7️⃣ What’s Next – Resources, structure, and helping writers take action.
8️⃣ Bonus – Survey questions + Notion setup for content analysis.
Hey there, Friends!
This newsletter started as a personal experiment—just me, putting my thoughts out there, getting comfortable with being perceived, and learning by doing.
But as I’ve grown, so has this space.
And now, I want to take you behind the scenes of this rebrand—not just as an update, but as a teaching moment for anyone looking to refine their writing niche.
I hope this article and newsletter can be a beacon, showing you that starting from nothing is not only possible but very okay.
Where I Started: From Experimentation to Purpose
I’m starting here because this is where everything began—just me, writing for myself. Before I could write for anyone else, I had to develop the habit, find my voice, and get used to sharing my thoughts with the world.
When I first began, my only goal was to write consistently.
No niche, no strategy—just a desire to share and learn more. That’s how this newsletter born.
On it’s early days:
I wrote daily, experimenting with different formats and styles.
I published over 60 articles in 60 days, learning from each one.
I studied high-performing pieces, analyzing what made them work.
I engaged with the community, made friends, and learned from them all.
This wasn’t just about writing—it was about confidence, trial and error, and developing a bias toward action.
Because let’s be real: you never really learn until you try.
I’ve read tons of books and articles, but none of them could replace—or even come close to—what I gained the moment I simply decided to try.
Moving forward, this is what I’ll focus on: helping you build a bias toward action—something I’ll dive deeper into later.
How I Used Data and Feedback to Find My Focus
At first, writing without a niche was freeing.
But over time, simply continuing without a clear direction—just floating in the air with no real purpose—became more draining than I expected.
I realized that if I wanted to make a bigger impact and if I wanted to survive not just on this platform, but also the self-limiting circumstances that came from lacking clarity in my work I needed a clearer focus.
I knew something had to change.
Instead of guessing or relying solely on my own estimates, I started using tools to analyze what actually worked:
📌 Polls and Surveys – I asked readers directly what they wanted more of.
📌 Subscriber Chats – Real conversations gave me insight into recurring challenges.
📌 Metrics and Analytics – I tracked which articles performed best and which led to the most engagement.
📌 Personal Emails and DMs – Reader feedback helped me understand what content was truly valuable.
📌 New Subscriber Surveys – I set up an automated survey asking newcomers what they needed. (I will be sharing the results at the end )
Through this, I found a common thread—people resonated most with practical writing strategies, personal growth systems, and audience-building techniques. That’s when I knew it was time to refine my direction.
The Open Secret to Growing as a Writer
It’s an open secret: double down on what works.
At first, I resisted because all my observations were based on visual evaluation—what looked like it worked. As someone with a scientific background, I wanted my conclusions to be backed by numbers, not just assumptions. That’s what led me to start using tools, as I mentioned earlier.
Not only did this help me make better decisions, but it also became a way to involve my readers more directly—turning my newsletter into a two-way conversation rather than just a broadcast.
It strengthened engagement and made my content feel more personal and relevant.
Another thing holding me back was this lingering thought:
Would choosing a niche and doubling down on what people like reading mean I’d no longer get to write for myself?
Well, I was wrong.
Choosing a niche doesn’t mean writing about one thing forever or mass-producing content on a single topic. That’s actually why many writers hesitate to niche down—it feels limiting. But in reality, choosing a niche does the opposite.
If your goal is to grow an audience, having a niche makes your writing sustainable. It gives you a foundation—one that allows you to write what you truly care about while making it easier for the right readers to find and connect with you.
That’s why my next articles will dive deeper into these topics:
📌 How and Why Find Your Niche – The exact steps I took to analyze my content and audience, plus a deeper look at why it's essential.
📌 How I Use Notion to Decide What to Write – A simple system to track what’s working and plan future content.
If you’re looking to refine your niche and grow your audience, these next steps will help.
Want more? Subscribe for free to join my private chat—get behind-the-scenes insights, sneak peeks, and be part of the creative process! 🚀
Now, let’s take a look back at what’s been happening and the changes that have taken place along the way.
The Logo: Why Chamomile?
The original Notes Before Dying had a chamomile flower in its branding—because chamomile is one of my favorite flowers. But more than that, it symbolizes calmness, joy, positivity, peace, and resilience—qualities that I want this space to represent.
In some cultures, chamomile is considered a symbol of good luck, a token for dreams to be fulfilled.
And in many ways, that’s exactly what this newsletter has become.
It’s both a dream and a way to fulfill adream.
A little back story:
A few years ago, I came across a writing prompt from Ali Abdaal that asked, "What would you want written on your tombstone?"
I listed three things: a good friend, a good daughter, and a teacher.
Now, when I say "teacher," I didn’t think of teaching in a traditional classroom (though that would be lovely too).
What I envisioned was sharing something valuable, leaving an impact on others—even if it’s just one person.
I have no idea how but the closest I could imagine it happening is through a conversation, or maybe even a book one day, never did a newsletter cross my mind.
It was a goal I set for myself, but as life unfolded, it got pushed to the backburner.
Then, last August (2024), after reading Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work, something clicked. I found the courage to just start putting my work online, to write without overthinking, see where it would take me.
That’s how Notes Before Dying was born - the previous name of this newsletter.
The name was born from a simple and direct thought, something to propell my self to publish:
One day, I'm going to die, and none of this will matter so might as well try.
This place literally started as a dump site for everything that I have learned before I die, My notes before my death.
It wasn’t just about writing—it was a push to take action, not take myself too seriously, and learn along the way. Maybe I’d even become a better writer—or at the very least, share something useful with someone.
It wasn’t planned, but in hindsight, it became the realization of my goal to teach, to pass something along.
And now that the direction is clearer, the milestone of rebranding is part of this natural evolution.
This journey has been invaluable, and I hope this space continues to grow and improve for all of you.
Why Average Joe’s Guide to Substack?
Well since this rebrand is about clarity, you might have guessed the reason, it’s plain and pretty straightforward .
I chose the name because that’s what I wish I had when I started.
I remember the struggle of figuring things out: how to grow, how to engage, how to structure a newsletter that actually resonates or just how to use susbatck, I was a complete beginner. Now that I’ve learned, I want to simplify that process for others.
Just like the the new name, this news letter will aim to break down complex topics into clear, actionable steps, again, straightforward.
Whether you're just starting or trying to refine your strategy, this space is for you.
I would also like to thank for providing me with valuable insights on how I should rename the publication. This is why it’s always been great to be connected with other writers here, you’ll learn tons of things form them.
Here's the formula I used to rename my publication
"X (Target Audience) + Y (Main Problem) + Z (Desired Outcome)".
It's a great tip for structuring your article headings as well.
Using this approach can help make your content clearer and more appealing to the right audience.
What to Expect Moving Forward
Now, as I always say: I don’t write about quick fixes.
I don’t hand out perfectly laid-out maps for you to follow and will transport you magically to where you want to be. I’ve read tons of books and articles, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that consuming more content doesn’t get you anywhere—except with more things to think about and more things to say.
The real learning happens when you take action.
What I aim to do is help you open a door—give you a head start, a spark of an idea.
Because if there’s something I wish someone had done for me, it’s at least showing me a starting point—a framework.
Starting from scratch means building everything from nothing.
It helps to have an existing framework to start with—deconstruct it, adapt it, and make it your own.
No system is one-size-fits-all. You'll have to put in the work to shape it for yourself. Think of the things I share as training wheels—my goal is to provide them in the most comprehensive and accessible way possible.
I’ll be building a library of resources—a structured archive where you can easily find content based on what you need.
Expect tweaks, groupings, and better accessibility, making this newsletter your one-stop shop for Substack growth and systems thinking.
Looking Back and Moving Forward
Four years ago, I had no online presence. No experience, no platform—nothing. I built from scratch, learning as I went.
When I launched Notes Before Dying, it was a way to document that learning process. Now, this newsletter is evolving into something structured and intentional—designed to help you move from point A to point B in your writing and personal development journey.
As promised here are some sample questions from the survey, along with the Notion database I used to analyze my articles.
(I'll be sharing the full survey results in the subscriber’s chat, but for now, here are the questions I used but I will also be writing more about them in future articles so you could just check those when they go live.)
NOTION (a snapshot)
SURVEY (Sample questions)
This community means the world to me. Let’s keep building, writing, and growing together!
— Frey
All my content is currently free, but if you’d like to support my work, you can buy me a coffee on Ko-Fi! ☕✨ Every bit helps me keep creating contents like these. Thank you! 💛
Want to go deeper? Subscribe for free to join my subscriber-only chat, where I share behind-the-scenes insights, early drafts, and engage directly with readers on the production of these articles. Let’s build better content together! 🚀
Frey you’re awesome. Thank you so much for the mention, glad my answer was helpful to you. I love that you are constantly thinking of how you can better serve your audience, but also be true to yourself. I think too many writers focus on the needs of their audience and overlook their own. Yes, you need to serve your audience, but you have to benefit as well. I hope others can strike the balance as well as you have. Looking forward to the rebrand and continuing to support you!