---
title: Lessons to Grow Your Publication From the Ground Up | Trends by The Hustle
description: Steph Smith's new e-book “Doing Content Right” is a comprehensive guide to building and scaling your own publication.
image: https://www.nlopchantamang.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/imageryAsset_20127_404x-3.png
---

![](https://www.nlopchantamang.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/imageryAsset_20127_404x-3.png)

*This week’s research comes courtesy of Trendster Steph Smith, whose new e-book “Doing Content Right” is a comprehensive guide to building and scaling your own publication. She’ll teach you how to define your niche, decide what to write for whom, test and scale distribution platforms, and grow a loyal audience — through 200+ pages of insights and dozens of exercises to help you learn.*

*The following report, adapted from her book, represents just a tiny sliver of her expertise. To learn more, *[*buy “Doing Content Right” here*](https://gumroad.com/l/doing-content-right)*. Use the code trends20 for 20% off.*

## Key takeaways

- **It’s not too late to get started. **Why start another publication in 2020, when there’s more information out there than ever? Simple: If you can identify a clear advantage, you can win.
- **Understand your monopoly. **You must solve a new problem or be better (even just a little bit better) at solving an existing one. 
- **Paid or free? **Before deciding, understand your value proposition. If you plan to charge, you need to be a painkiller — not a vitamin.
- **Either way, you’re probably not thinking enough about distribution. **People think, “If I build it, they will come.” *Quite the opposite*. The CODES framework will teach you how to think through the pros and cons of different channels, and incorporate them into your strategy over time.
- **SEO can be the most valuable tool in your toolbox. **It takes some upfront investment of time or money, but it is often the most overlooked channel that leads to sustainable growth over the long run.

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