The Irresistible Writer By Derek Hughes | Substack

How I Built A $50k Writing Business From Scratch Aged 51 (With Zero Experience)

3 dead simple steps anyone can use to find their dream life

Apr 25 • Derek Hughes

Confused by Substack? These 10 Lessons Saved Me

If you feel lost on Substack. Read this

Mar 26 • Derek Hughes

5 Brutally Simple Moves That Took Me From 0 to 4,300 Subscribers in 11 Months

I grew two newsletters in 11 months (One in a “hard” niche). Here’s exactly how.

Aug 23, 2025 • Derek Hughes

I Was 51 Struggling On 500 Followers. This Risky Shift Helped Me Quit My 9–5

The foolish rule I swear by

Aug 5, 2025 • Derek Hughes

I’ve Tested Every Trick To Get More Readers—These 4 Actually Work

How I gained 25,000 followers in 24 months

Mar 24, 2025 • Derek Hughes

Every week, something that makes your writing sharper and your audience bigger.

Upgrade your writing

I Compared My 100 Best Notes to the Flops. Only One Thing Hooked Readers

I built a tool that writes the line that hooks readers in seconds

Jun 8 • Derek Hughes

The 5 Types of Notes That Earned Me $457 and 753 Subscribers Last Month

5 Notes every Substack writer needs (most only use one)

Jun 6 • Derek Hughes

Your Idea Was Solid. Here's Why It Still Went Nowhere.

3 moves that turned my most ordinary ideas into my most-shared posts

Jun 1 • Derek Hughes

My Highest-Performing Post This Year Uses One Formula. Here It Is.

The Wrong Turn Post - how to write one today

May 25 • Derek Hughes

Gain more readers

24:52

The One Thing Slowing Your Substack Growth

You're not behind. You're doing too much

Jun 5 • Derek Hughes

4 Tools I Built Because Good Writers Deserve to Grow

You don't need to work harder on Substack. You need these 4 moves.

May 30 • Derek Hughes

5 Substack Tactics That Don't Work (I Used Every Single One)

Why your Substack isn't growing

May 23 • Derek Hughes

Five Fixes That Turn Your About Page Into a Subscriber Magnet (In Only 17 Minutes)

What "Hi, I'm Sarah" is actually costing you

May 4 • Derek Hughes

Make more money

She’d Written for 10 Months and Earned $0. The 4 F’s Showed Her Exactly Why.

How to pick an idea that pays.

Jun 13 • Derek Hughes

The clerks were dying first. Nobody knew why.

A question worth asking yourself

Jun 11 • Derek Hughes

29:49

$800 in seven days. Here's the video.

Watch now | I had my best week ever (and I want to show you how)

May 28 • Derek Hughes

I Had an Idea 7 Days Ago That Could Make Me $20,000. Here's What I'm Doing With It

The income stream most writers don't know exists

May 16 • Derek Hughes