The Only Tech Stack a Writer Really Needs
How I went from Chaos to Calm
A few days ago, I sat down to record a video about my current tech stack.
Not because tools are exciting, they aren’t (well maybe a little!) but because the tools we use shape the way we build our businesses.
They can accelerate you.
Or drown you.
Most people never notice which one is happening until it’s too late.
I’ve spent the last twenty years trying every shiny object the internet has dangled in front of me.
I’ve done the “10-tab tech stack.”
I’ve paid for the fancy automation suites.
I’ve burned thousands on tools that promised simplicity and delivered overwhelm.
At one point, I realised I was spending over $13,800 a year on software subscriptions. ( I know it’s embarrassing!)
And for what?
To feel “busy”?
To look like a professional?
To pretend complexity was the same thing as progress?
I wasn’t running the business. The business was running me.
So I stripped everything right back. I rebuilt from first principles.
And for the first time in years, things started to flow again.
Today, I want to show you the exact tech stack I’m using heading into 2026.
But more importantly, I want to show you the philosophy behind it, the part most creators miss.
Because the real magic isn’t in the tools.
It’s in the restraint.
The Purpose of a Tech Stack
A tech stack should do three things:
1. Grow your audience
If a tool doesn’t help new people discover you, it’s a luxury, not a necessity.
2. Deepen the relationship
You don’t need a giant audience. You need repeat readers.
Subscribers. People who stick around.
3. Create opportunities to buy
Not in a pushy way.
In a helpful, obvious, frictionless way.
Most people try to solve these three goals with one monster platform.
That’s where the trouble begins.
The solution isn’t “all-in-one.”
The solution is small tools with big impact.
Here’s What Actually Works for Me (and Why)
I divide everything I use into three categories:
Audience Growth
Technical Tools
Income Generators
Let’s go through them, but focus on what matters, not just what’s installed on my devices.
1. Audience Growth: The Front Door
Medium: Discoverability on Autopilot
Somehow, and I still haven’t worked out why , Medium has been on a roll.
This month alone:
+379 new followers
+291 new email subscribers
Medium is still the easiest way I’ve found to consistently get in front of new readers.
What matters for you is this:
Don’t treat Medium as a place to earn. Treat it as a place to be found.
The income is nice when it comes but it can’t be reliend on, I’ve recently experienced a $1700 month (woohoo we've made it). then a $300 month (back to work) with no rhyme or reason for either.
But the real reward is what happens after someone reads your article.
Substack: The Deepening Layer
Substack plays a completely different role.
It builds relationships. It builds trust. And it builds it relatively fast.
In the last 90 days, my Substack has grown past an audience of 4,000, heading toward 5,000.
And without even pushing the paid side, it has generated over $3,000 in subscriptions this year.
Medium brings people in.
Substack gets them to stay.
Skool: Where the Real Work Happens
We recently opened the community for free.
Almost 80 people joined in a week.
This is not by accident.
When you remove the door charge, you remove the friction.
People step inside.
They look around.
They get value.
A percentage will upgrade.
Skool has become the heartbeat of my audience, not because it’s a fancy platform, but because it’s where conversations live.
Articles → Substack → Skool.
Articles → Skool
Those are the paths.
Simple. Predictable. Repeatable.
2. Technical Tools: The Glue Layer
These tools don’t make money.
But without them, nothing works.
Think of them as the infrastructure beneath the writing.
Loom + ScreenFlow
Record → upload → paste link into Skool.
Done.
Canva
Fast graphics. Zero fuss.
ActiveCampaign
This will be my dedicated buyers list going forward.
Clean. Focused. Controlled.
Zapier
This is the quiet hero.
Every time someone buys, joins, cancels, upgrades, or requests access… Zapier makes sure the right thing happens automatically.
ChatGPT
This is the tool nobody admits they use, but everyone should.
Idea bouncing.
Outlining.
Seeing blind spots.
Testing hooks.
Structuring courses.
Drafting frameworks.
Analysing stats
It’s not a writing tool, it’s a thinking tool. It helps you to get clarity.
ThriveCart
Every sale.
Every mini-course.
Every funnel.
ThriveCart is the single source for product delivery.
Deadline Funnel
This one is invisible on purpose.
A reader clicks from Medium to a sales page for the first time?
They get a cheaper offer with an eight-hour timer.
After that, full price.
It increases first-touch conversions more than almost anything else I’ve done and it requires zero maintenance.
Ideogram
A tool for generating images.
Great for speeding up article publishing.
Income Generators: The Engine
Here’s the part nobody tells you:
Your income layer only works if your audience layer and tools layer work first.
If you skip those two steps, every product launch feels like shouting into the wind.
Medium
Unpredictable income.
Never rely on it.
But brilliant for funneling the right people toward the stuff that matters.
Substack
A surprisingly strong revenue stream.
Low friction.
High trust.
Skool
The main home of everything.
This is where the Inner Circle lives.
Where all the courses sit.
Where the community grows.
ThriveCart
Handles every non-Skool sale across the system.
When you put all of this together, you get a business that can grow without any of the chaos.
You publish. You email. You show up inside the community.
The system handles the rest.
The Real Lesson: Tools Don’t Build Businesses, Systems Do
People think they need more tools.
More features.
More automation.
More dashboards.
But what they actually need is a clear, simple system. One that doesn’t require them to think. One that doesn’t drain their energy.
One that lets them focus on the thing that actually moves the needle, consistent publishing.
If you’re building your own writing business, here’s my best advice:
Start with the minimum.
Stay with the minimum.
Only add a tool if it solves a real, painful problem.
Track how much everything actually helps you daily.
Strip away anything that feels “nice to have.”
Simple systems make consistent creators.
Complex systems crush them.
A Question for You This Friday
What’s one tool in your stack that you’re paying for…but you don’t really need?
If you removed it, would your writing become easier?
Because my experience has been consistent:
Every time I simplify, my business grows.
Every time I complicate, things slow down.
Food for thought going into the weekend.
Yep. So far, I have the bones of this up and running, but I haven't had a lot of time recently to fill it out. Being in your ecosystem, I can see that it works well.
I love the simplicity and effectiveness of your system, Mark. 👌