After building my Substack newsletter to 6,300+ subscribers, I wanted to understand what content actually resonated with my readers. But Substack's native analytics only showed me opens and clicks—vanity metrics that didn't help me write better content or grow my publication.
So I did what any developer would do: I built my own analytics tool.
What started as a personal script to analyze my own posts became something more useful than I expected. I could finally see:
The insights transformed how I approached my newsletter. I stopped guessing and started making data-driven decisions.
When I realized other Substack creators faced the same problem, I turned my personal tool into Substack Insights—a product that surfaces the analytics Substack should show you but doesn't.
I'm Mona Mona (a pseudonym), and I've lived several professional lives.
I spent nearly a decade earning a Ph.D. in Philosophy, then taught philosophy at several universities. My academic work has been published in over a dozen peer-reviewed journals.
After years in academia, I pivoted to tech, working as a software engineer and teaching at coding bootcamps for eight years. When the tech layoffs hit, I decided to chart my own path: building online businesses that combine my philosophical background with my technical skills.
I now run Philosophy Publics, a newsletter exploring existentialism, phenomenology, and critical theory. I also create tools like Substack Insights to help other creators build sustainable online businesses.
I believe in making work meaningful, building communities online, and using technology to amplify ideas that matter.
Too many talented writers give up on their newsletters because they can't figure out what works. They write into the void, hoping something resonates, without the data to guide them.
Substack makes it easy to publish. But they've left creators without the insights needed to grow.
Substack Insights fixes that. It's the tool I wish existed when I started my newsletter—and now it's available to you.
Questions? Feedback? Want to share how Substack Insights helped you grow?
Email me: info@substackinsights.com
Or find me on: