2600+ Subs and What I've Learnt from writing on Substack (So far)
Where this newsletter could go next.
Over the past year, this newsletter has grown to over 2,600 subscribers across 15 countries, with some posts reaching over 1,000 views each.
I'll be honest, I've been staring at those numbers for weeks, trying to work out what they actually mean.
Numbers are just numbers.
What they really represent is a group of people showing up each week, trying to understand how AI is reshaping product management before their next performance review catches them unprepared.
So here's what I've learned about you, about what works, and about where this is all heading.
💡 If this breakdown resonates, I’d love your input.
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The Posts that actually landed (and why I think they did)
When I look at the data, the pieces that really took off weren't the ones I expected. They weren't my carefully crafted frameworks or strategic think-pieces.
They were the ones who spoke to something more immediate: career survival.
I almost lost my PM job to an AI Agent hit 1,200 views.
How I'm stopping my PM skills from becoming worthless by AI Agents pulling in 1,170.
Both titles scream loss, extinction, and irrelevance, and readers clicked because that directly mapped onto their biggest fear.
The thing is, these posts spread like wildfire, but didn't convert many subscribers.
They were great for visibility but weak at building an audience. That told me something important:
“Fear gets attention, but it doesn't build trust.”
What was converted was Chatbot vs Copilot vs Agent? Why most organisations choose the wrong solution. Only 364 views, but it brought in 22 new subscribers, a 6% conversion rate, my highest yet.
Why?
Because it wasn't about fear.
It was about giving people the language to look competent in meetings. It was career insurance:
“I won't get caught out when my boss asks me to explain the difference.” (PM sitting in a meeting, talking about chatbot differences)
Meanwhile, Why 60% of PMs using ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity work harder, not smarter got the highest raw opens, 375, because it offered proof plus urgency.
A surprising stat, familiar tools, and the uncomfortable suggestion that you might be doing it wrong.
Then there's Hello, Future-Self: Design AI into the Way You Work, Not Just Build It, 1,100 views, zero subscribers. I was proud of that piece. It was about long-term thinking, system design, and building sustainable practices. But it was too far ahead of where most readers actually are right now.
What this data actually tells me about you
Here's what I've pieced together from the analytics, the comments, and the patterns I'm seeing:
“You're not here for ten-year frameworks. You're here because the ground feels unstable.”
Most of you are product managers, designers, or team leads who don't want to be caught off guard in your next strategy meeting. You want to sound credible when someone mentions agents or copilots. You're looking for career insurance, not strategic transformation.
And that makes complete sense.
When everything feels like it's changing this fast, survival comes before optimisation.
The posts that convert aren't the scariest ones or the most visionary ones. They're the ones that give you something practical you can use tomorrow:
a stat for your next presentation,
a framework to sound informed,
a way to reframe a conversation.
You might have come here from LinkedIn, or just signed up through the Substack app, looking for depth, but you stayed because you found clarity. Not "‘I is the future’ think-pieces, but ‘here's how to actually use this stuff without looking like you don't know what you're talking about.’
👀 Does this sound like you? Please let me know where you are on your journey.
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Thank you.
The Tension I keep feeling
Here's where I'll be frank. This has created a real tension for me.
When I started this newsletter, I thought the posts that would resonate most were about system design and long-term frameworks, because that's what product managers will actually need for AI projects:
Repeatable processes,
Governance models,
Ways to integrate AI that don't collapse,
Avoiding one’s own complexity.
But the data is clear.
That's not where you are right now. You're in survival mode, not strategy mode.
So I'm caught between writing what I think will matter most in the long run, and meeting you where you actually are today.
“Do I keep pushing frameworks knowing they'll underperform?”
Or
“Do I focus on the quick wins and career insurance you're actually looking for?”
The answer, I think, is both.
But staged differently than I originally planned.
What I'm thinking about next
I'm starting to see this newsletter as a progression rather than a single approach.
Most of you seem to move through three stages:
Survival
Right now, it appears career insurance is what’s needed. The tools and language to avoid looking behind your peers. Quick wins you can apply in tomorrow's stand-up or next week's planning session.
Competence
Once that foundation is solid, the shift to repeatable expertise arrives. Templates and processes that stop you from reinventing the wheel every time. Ways to build on what you've learned without starting from scratch.
Mastery
Eventually, you'll need the deeper frameworks and systems thinking that let you shape how your organisation adopts AI tools, to accelerate product development, rather than just responding to it.
But here's what I've learned.
You can't skip steps. Frameworks only matter once you've mastered the basics. And right now, for most of you, the basics mean not getting caught out in meetings.
What I need from you
I could keep guessing at what you need based on my own AI product management experiences, but I'd rather ask.
“Where are you right now?”
‘Are you still in survival mode, seeking quick wins and career security?’
‘Are you ready for more systematic approaches and repeatable processes?’
‘Are you already thinking about long-term frameworks and organisational design?’
More importantly,
‘What's the gap between where you are and where you want to be?’
‘What would actually be useful to you in the next month, not the next year?’
You can reach me in the comments of this article, or if you prefer, I've created a quick survey [link] that takes approximately two minutes to complete.
Which step are you on — survival kits, repeatable expertise, or frameworks?
Pick your step in the 2-minute survey.
Thank you.
A Final thought
I don't think AI will take your job next week. However, I believe the PMs who will thrive in the next few years will be those who transition deliberately from survival mode to strategic thinking, those who build systematic approaches rather than just collecting tools.
That's what this newsletter is really about.
Not hype or fear-mongering, but helping you build genuine competence in a way that scales with your career rather than just solving today's problem.
Thank you for reading, sharing, and helping me understand what truly matters to you.
Whether you're just starting to figure out prompt engineering’s role in product management, or you're already thinking about organisational AI strategy and product development, I'm grateful you're here.
Here's to building something sustainable together.
Until then,
Tim