When I first started my Substack, I would stare at a blank screen every week wondering what to write.
Not because I didn’t have ideas. I had plenty. But turning a rough idea into a polished article, plus notes to go with it, plus something worth reading on a Tuesday morning felt like a whole second job.
So I built a system that does most of the heavy lifting for me. And it starts with one rough idea and ends with a full week of content, stored, organized, and ready to go.
Here’s exactly how it works.
I don’t sit down and try to write. I sit down and think out loud.
It might be something I noticed in a client call. A question someone asked in my Skool community. A frustration I had with a tool that week. A small win I wanted to share.
It doesn’t have to be polished. It just has to be real.
That rough idea is the only input my system needs.
I have a custom skill inside Claude that I built specifically for my Substack. When I give it a rough idea, it knows my voice, my audience, my content pillars, and what I’m trying to do.
I don’t prompt it from scratch every time. I just say here’s my idea, and it goes to work.
What comes out the other side:
A full Substack article, written in my voice, ready to review and refine
Five to seven Substack Notes built from the same idea, each one a standalone post
A daily posting rhythm so I know exactly what goes out and when
One idea. One session. A full week of content, done.
AI does not publish for me. I read everything, adjust what doesn’t sound right, and make sure it actually sounds like me talking to you, not like a tool trying to sound like me.
This part usually takes twenty minutes, maybe thirty.
That’s it. The rest of my week I spend time engaging with real humans on the app.
Here’s the part that changed everything for me.
Once the content is ready, it gets pushed directly into my Notion content bank. Every article. Every note. Organized, labeled, and waiting.
That means I am never scrambling. On a busy week when I don’t have time to create, I go to Notion and pull from what’s already there. On a slow week, I get ahead and build up a buffer.
I have a running bank of content ideas, half-formed thoughts, and finished pieces that are ready to go at any time. When inspiration hits at 6am, I add it. When a client says something brilliant on a call, I add it. It all goes into one place so nothing gets lost in a saved folder or a sticky note that disappears.
This is the difference between content that happens when you feel like it and content that runs like a system.
Here’s something I don’t see talked about enough.
The content system only does its job if your Substack is set up properly underneath it. And most people skip that part.
Your publication name, your About page, your welcome email, your subscriber settings are not just administrative boxes to check. They are the first impression every new reader gets. A weak About page loses subscribers before they even read your first post. A missing welcome email means people sign up and never hear from you again.
The backend of Substack is where trust gets built before you’ve written a single word of content.
Getting it right at the start means every piece of content you create actually lands with someone who is set up to stick around. Skip it and you’re filling a leaky bucket.
That’s exactly why the June Build-A-Thon covers setup first, before we ever talk about writing or growing.
The problem most people have with content isn’t a lack of ideas. It’s the gap between the idea and the finished thing.
AI closes that gap. Not by replacing your thinking, but by amplifying your message.
Your expertise, your stories, your voice. AI just helps you move faster and show up more consistently than you ever could alone.
I grew from zero to 200 Substack subscribers in my first month using this system. Not because I posted more than everyone else. Because I had a system that made it easy to show up consistently, with content that actually sounded like me, without it taking over my week.
AI doesn’t replace you. It amplifies what you already have to say.
Speaking of Substack growth, I’m going live today, Monday June 15th with someone who continues to amaze me with literally everything she does in the AI business space.
Suzanne Taylor-King is an AI-enabled coach and business strategist who has built her Substack audience to over 80,000 subscribers. I’m sitting down with her to talk about exactly how she did it, what she would do differently, and what she sees working right now for people who are just getting started.
If you’ve been curious about Substack, wondering if it’s worth your time, or trying to figure out how to grow past your first few hundred subscribers, this is the conversation you want to catch.
🎙 Join us live on Substack this Monday 👉 https://open.substack.com/live-stream/240156
Come with your questions. I know you will be as impressed with Suzanne as I am.
If Monday’s conversation sparks something and you think “okay, I actually want to do this,” I have a spot for you.
On June 18, I’m hosting the June Build-A-Thon: Substack 101.
This is a two-hour, hands-on session where we set up your Substack together, live. Backend first. Then your About page, your welcome post drafted in your own voice using AI, and your first Note published before we close.
You leave with a real publication that is set up right, not just set up fast. And a simple weekly content rhythm you can keep without burning out.
If you are just getting started, this is where you hit the ground running. No more Googling how to set up your profile. No more wondering if your welcome email is set up right. We do it all, together, in one session.
No more “I’ll start it someday.” Someday is June 18.
VIP SKOOL members, this is included in your membership.
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